Shaftsbury Avenue Dreams, a photo from London, England

Photographer's Note

Chinese New Year in London....can I get near the parade? Can I hell....the crowd is so thick here near Rupert Street you can hardly move in any direction and the route to the parade is impenetrable. So what does any self respecting photographer do in such a situation - well look for another subject of course...this coffee shop window had a lot going for it - there's even a harsh looking auto-portrait in there somewhere.

You try and work out who is one the inside, who is on the outside and who is a reflection here....and the different size scales....i promise it's just a straight image as seen.

Apols if it's a little dark on some screens - it's Ok on mine!

Today I also met TE members Nicolas Masse (Nicoz) and Brendan Head (Vapours) and their partners.

AnimeshRay, Doraemon, designsoul, prezntime, luisafonso, MiguelP, broglia, pgorod, coco has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

AnimeshRay (9073) 2007-02-18 20:37

Excellent reflection, Kev! Dreams indeed! The appeal of this image to me is in its subjects looking at all different directions...a plethora of dreamlands, each to her own, and the central character, who I think I know, makes all theirs his own! Bravo!

poulinp (4528) 2007-02-18 20:48

Good mix of reality and reflexion. We can create our own history. Well done.

Doraemon (577) 2007-02-18 20:52

Hi Kev,
The frame is well fully booked with several kind of looks, of expressions. Everywhere, a face catch my attention. My look go in all nooks and crannies of your picture and I always ask myself : inside ? outside ? what is he/she looking at ? I also like the little detail which tells us that is the Chinese New Year Parade : the baloon with a pig on it. One of the best reflection shot ! TFS,
Fanny

designsoul (21492) 2007-02-18 20:55

Yes, the title is so good Kev because this shot is more like a dream with people entering and exiting with balloons, stop signs, even harsh-looking ;-) self-portraits and young people slurping some soft drinks... wonderful whirlwhind of characters, with no Chinese person in sight! Both you and Brendan have posted very uncharacteristic Chinese parade-shots, haha! That is to your credit, needless to say...
sasa

prezntime (3946) 2007-02-18 23:25

Hello Kev.
An incredible shot man...the layers are so thick, yet very distinctive. I think the B&W was very appropriate, that way we can just focus on the content. Even the camera is thoughtfully placed, had it been at eyelevel the look of the slightly uninterested woman might have been obscured.
Well done,
Chris

Furachan (0) 2007-02-19 4:31

Yes, perfect capture of that part of London, near Soho, Chinatown, eh? the street of music, the street of dreams. You're really cranking out some fine work these days, my friend...
Good on you!
Francis

nicoz (1979) 2007-02-19 4:45

Hi Kev,
I recognise a bearded face in there ;-) I was glad to meet you yesterday.
This photo is probably better that 10000 parading dragons. You see a dream, for me it looks more nightmarish.
Well spoted and well done!
Nicolas

vapours (8264) 2007-02-19 7:23

Well like a school project, you seem to have summarised my day in a collage. A chaos of people, drinking...and you!

Its a great idea for an image, but what really gives this photo its extra punch is the look on the girls face in the middle of the window.

luisafonso (862) 2007-02-19 12:04

It's perfect in my screen. More, the range of different hues is out of this world. And I can even sort you out of that reflection "mess". :) What is that blondie doing in your mind? ;) Great shot! One of these days I will try one of these...

MiguelP (14464) 2007-02-19 12:36

Dear Kev:
I can see you got trap in a mirror once again, but this time it seems that your creativity has beeen touched by the grace of inspiration because this is one of the most oniric images I´ve seen here in TE.
Let´s see: The life as a replicant according Blade Runner "all this moments will be lost in time like tears on the rain"... Or maybe an everyday altarpiece with you in the middle, master of this particular artistic creation... I wont say "Kev in wonderland" because I think I mentioned in the past relating other photo, but, what the hell, it´s "Kev in wonderland"... I guesss somehow what I see in this photo is what the life is made out: Millions of living souls walking up and down doing the miracle of grow regardless individuality... Take care. Avenue Dreams.

ninaL (21340) 2007-02-19 14:07

Hi, Kev.
Strange and beautiful photo, like a dream...or several dreams...with your autoportrait, of cours !!!
Best wishes. Grazyna.

broglia (3598) 2007-02-19 15:15

Hi Kev, I was there too on Sunday, but with 300,000 people attending it's hardly surprising we didn't bump into each other (or maybe we did ;-)). Took the old 35mm out with me this time so will have to wait till they come back from the developers before I can post some more.

This shot is great fun, as you said - difficult to tell who is where. But some great little cameo's - the girl on the right - the couple in the bar. Not to mention the scary guy in the middle. Best regards, Roberto

Nina (4912) 2007-02-19 19:13

Hi Kev. I enjoyed this one, really creative, wish I could say that about any I took on the day!:(

Yes, Sunday would be good. Let me know.

bantonbuju (51733) 2007-02-21 2:32

no other choice - goes stright into my favorites of 2007, kev!
this is fantastic, after seeing this i made a decission not to read the note - the visual part is strong enough and speaking volumes so let me live within my own interpretation of this photo (although you made a hint with the superb title!)...
love this multi-facial reflection...
best, j.

pgorod (1019) 2007-02-21 8:02

What a mess of a photo! Confusing...

Oh, and yeah, it's looks great. Excellent mess! :-)

Polonaise (5796) 2007-02-23 22:10

An extraordinary photo in your gallery.
A gallery…?
This photo is A GALLERY on its own.
What a bouquet of …'things'…
Faces, faces, faces…!!!!
There is even a balloon that looks like…well.. A face!
I love the photo tremendously. Somehow it reminds my very own 'A prelude to a kiss" with the windows and double exposures, yet.. This one is a masterpiece in its own league.
Have a great weekend, dear pal.
g.

PS: The only face I don't like is the one, right in the middle.. (looks like a guy with the moustache…???).
Scary, very scary face…
To see the face like that one in the dark street of Soho…Jack The Ripper ??? Brrrr!!!!

(:-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Love, Kev…Love and peace …

coco (30433) 2007-03-25 12:25

And hi again, Kev.

Very original work where the black and white has been a good choice.
The composition is very complex and rich. And that's good.
I like, especially, the reflections over the glass puzzled with the background.

Regards.