Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Finding a Picture Within a Picture in Street Photography


Walking through the bustling town square, camera in hand, I stumbled upon a moment that seemed ordinary yet extraordinary. With my eye following the line of a long curling bench seat I saw a solitary man sitting.  Holding on to this scene I noticed a small toddler running around the centre of the square and the child’s mother calling hand outstretched, I captured the picture — a picture that contained an unfolding story.


Later, upon reviewing my photograph, one of four taken at this scene, I decided that a square format would work well by concentrating on the middle view of the frame, the photograph was taken in portrait format.  I noticed how the viewer’s eye was led to the solitary man sitting and then to the other unfolding element of the mother and child in the centre of the town square. This scene seemed to unveil a secondary story, a picture within a picture, adding depth and interest to the scene in the town square.


This discovery was an important learning point; to look for the picture within the broader scene. I began wondering whether every picture might harbour a secondary image, a hidden story waiting to be found amid the busyness of the urban landscape. In effect to become a photographic explorer, eager to unveil the stories within stories that lie in plain view before us.


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