Friday, July 29, 2011

Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt: Graffiti Art

While walking around London's South End with Jacky, we stumbled upon this underpass which was covered in graffiti and used by skateboarders and bicycle riders.
The thing that caught my eye was the presence of a woman in a bridal gown! I then noticed that there was a portrait photographer there at work, setting up a shoot. I wonder if this is a real couple (the Insens, I assume) or whether it's an advertisement or something else entirely. What do you think? From a portraiture standpoint, do you like these types of portraits which juxtapose beauty and grunge? 
I was also wondering about this guy on the left:
Is he with the photographer? Or is he an interloper coming in to take the same picture as the professional? If it's the latter, is that acceptable? I partly wonder because I was, in essence, doing the same thing, although I was another twenty-five yards away or so and I'm sure the photographer didn't notice me.  I was reminded of this article, which references this article, about professional wedding photographers who sometimes feel as if others come in and "steal" the shots they are taking. I think both are very interesting.
The graffiti shots for the Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt have been really interesting (you can see Jo's here, Deb's here, Cindy's here. Mary's here and Irene's here). Am I missing any graffiti shots?

11 comments:

JO SOWERBY said...

ooh thanx for the link maria. love this post, it is interesting how the photographer's feel about people pinching their set ups. I have only ever ''borrowed'' the groups cos otherwise you never get any pictures but over here the more intimate pictures are usually taken somewhere away from the crowds in private,
jo xxxx

Amy said...

From my recent wedding photography experience the only real issue is when the subjects look at everyone else rather than my camera ... I have some community street art appearing soon - though, the shots were taken at night so I don't think they are too fabulous!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

OOOOooooh...I love your graffiti art photos, Rinda. What a great backdrop for portraits, although it seems a bit grungy for wedding pictures, but maybe it matches the couple's personality...

This past May I took a ton of photos at my brother's wedding but I was very conscious about where their photographer was and made sure that I stayed out of his way. My new SIL did order a BUNCH of my photos from the website I uploaded them to, and was happy to have saved a lot of money as mine were much cheaper than the photographer's shots were. So...I guess I did butt in on the photographers work, but I did at least stay out of his way. ;o)

Anonymous said...

Sensational graffiti photo. I would have loved wedding photos like that.

Sian said...

Yes! You are missing my Norway one!

Really interesting juxtaposition - I like it, but I think most of the guests at our wedding would have had a fit if we had posed like this lol

The Mann Fam said...

Wow what a find! There is so much of it in one place. My team has been searching high and low to find something that the graffiti patrol hasn't already painted over. Most of what we see is just plain gang tagging.

We The Mann Fam Team has started to finally post our finds. The first you can see is at http://mannhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/summer-photo-scavenger-hunt.html
and I'll be posting more through the week.

GlorV1 said...

I think they were going to be wedding photos. Great shots. Nice going.

scrappyjacky said...

You're also missing my one with you in it!!!

Yoli said...

I'm a strange bird. I LOVE graffiti. I'm not talking about just scribbled words but more like the beautiful art you have captured in your photo. Graffiti artist seem to always choose a deep and rich color palette and paint with such intensity that it always captures my attention. I LOVE when photographers incorporate an edgy background in their photo shoots. I'm enjoying seeing your photos of the scavenger hung. I may have to join in. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Ginger said...

I'm loving all these scavenger hunt photos, I've managed to take a couple myself and hope to share in the coming week! Love this graffiti art!

Beverly said...

I'm voting it was a wedding shoot and the guy on the left is the backup photographer. I have several friends that are pros and they always have an asst as a backup. I have been on the lookout but none of the graffiti I see is "art" and some are straight out murals.