Yep, I know it's not very 'gai' as the French would say, but this is a large part of what living in Paris is about, and as long as I feel it's worth drawing attention to this sad aspect of city life, I'll carry on taking this sort of shot. I'm building up enough material on this topic to have an entire exhibition on it soon!

Apart from the obvious social comment of human beings lying around like so many thrown-away plastic bags and McDonalds cartons, the composition of this on-the-fly shot is pretty strong. None of the straight lines are parallel to the borders of the photo, and this greatly increases the dynamics and tension of the shot.

The three main diagonals of the metro corridor corner also lead the eye directly to the huddled subject, which is important, and the blurred, heavily hardened treatment I used here emphasises the circumstances in which the photo was taken: quickly as I hurried past, not wanting him to look up and catch me voyeuristically taking advantage of his wretched situation just like so many others...

~ October 2007 Slide Show ~