It's interesting the things you see while walking the streets with a camera. You do tend to see things most other people probably never notice. That's one of the big attractions to photography for me: seeing the usually unnoticed and thus becoming better aware of the world I live in.
When I saw this store window on Powell Street in the process of being dressed I realized that it is indeed rare to see a commercial space in this state of transition. Window dressing seldom takes place during business hours. I was also struck by how these mannequins were so much more life like in their features than most clothes dummies. I made a couple exposures of the scene aware of the reflection of the posters in the H&M windows across the street and at the same time trying to eliminate my own reflection all together.
The very next day I'm reading Brad Evans' blog and what do I see...the very same window and mannequins in vivid color with the ghostly reflection of the photographer in a subtle overlay. It's no surprise that another photographer who often works the streets of downtown San Francisco should see the same scene and be moved to photograph it. But I found it fascinating how we treated the situation so differently.
I see things in Brad's image that also appear in mine but through Brad's perspective I see a dimension of awareness not conveyed in my image. That's to be expected because we are each unique in our vision and approach to making pictures. That's why we continue to got out there looking. And that's the beauty and power of photography.
Photo: ©2013 David W. Sumner
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