Uptown on the E Trainby
HRoxasComment by ubique: Bonjour Henry ... and greetings from the Critique Club!
I'm especially pleased to have drawn this image for review, for several reasons.
First because I voted it 10 (see below), so I can now explain my enthusiasm in more detail.
Second because it attracted the attention of several commentators whose work and judgement I particularly admire.
Third because it's such a superb example of street photography that I had expected the photographer would be revealed as one of DPC's particular masters of that genre (e.g. JPR, who felt you "should have placed much higher") ... but your portfolio demonstrates a similar level of skill across just about every type of photography. So I hope readers of this will be encouraged to take a look at all your work and learn.
Now, the image itself:
The composition is effective, if nearly inevitable for the location & subject. Leading lines and the rule of thirds are elegantly acknowledged, but not to the point of cliche ... you have properly relegated them to the rhythm section, while your soloists take the spotlight. And I use the musical metaphor advisedly, because I feel this image and good jazz are bedfellows. Take the wonderful recurring dark/light pattern on the wall ... it's strongly suggestive of a piano keyboard of course, and given that your title recalls Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington's "Take the A Train" (and various other A Train, E Train and J Train titles, as well as Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl"), there's a clever musical allusion that I think provides the dominant figurative theme of this work.
The inclusion of the 50th Street location sign on its vertical band of black is also clever; "50 Street" makes a good subtitle for the photograph, and the black band provides a visual buffer on the quiet side of the image, thus making the opposite, open side of the scene all the more dynamic.
The inclusion of the human figure is an interesting question ... one commentator felt it may be a mistake. I can't agree. This oddly-dressed man, positioned far enough away to not dominate to image, but just close enough to retain some personality, adds to the evocative, uneasy spirit of the scene applauded by another commentator.
And there's a marvellous "image within an image" to enjoy as well ... the tracks, the puddles and train headlights form in themselves a fascinating little cameo.
As for the challenge ... of course your photograph is powerfully High Contrast, and not just because that was the challenge theme, but because it really had to be.
Cheers,
Paul Martin
(edit for typo)
Message edited by author 2005-09-16 23:10:26. 
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