-- Mike Dixon (burmashave@compuserve.com), October 14, 2000

Answers

oh, god, mike, at the risk of sounding like steve1, the truth is that this is just a bad picture with some reflections in it.

-- wayne harrison (wayno@netmcr.com), October 14, 2000.

In one of my posts of the little boy behind the shovel, Tom Meyer pointed out a few "unimportant little light spots whispering in my (visual) ear" -- a great metaphor, not unlike James' remark "the image...falls on deaf eyes" in Jeff's recent Portrait Without a Person? thread. Well, in this shot, there are numerous of those little whispers, but I think they significantly add to the appeal and somewhat whimsical qualities of this photograh. I presume that by "angles" you not only refer to the reflections of the people in the windows, but of these little bright spots that are popping up all over the place. The first one I encountered was the reflection of what looks like the sun off of the topmost circular ring of the bar stool she is sitting on. Then my eye went to the near edge of the chair back in the close foreground, then up to the upper left of the photograph where I think I see a tiny chunk of sky coming through from two buildings. Then to the far lower right corner, then up a bit, and... This photograph is definitely some eye candy. Each time my eye tracks to the next bright angel, it crosses over to the most prominent subject -- maybe the mother of all the angels, with the veil of backlit hair -- the girl reading. I like this one because it is poetic and mythical seeming.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), October 14, 2000.

Angels. Not angles. Sorry!

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), October 15, 2000.

I like the photo a lot - but not the title.

-- John Kantor (jkantor@mindspring.com), October 15, 2000.

I agree with John. In fact, what I like about this has nothing to do with the reflections at all, I could do without them. It's the quiet space in the corner of a cafe with the busy world outside, the contrast between the two. It's how real and well-defined it is inside and how cloudy and vague the outside world is. To me, the "angels" are a distraction.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), October 15, 2000.

Check out the same shot at night, it might make an interesting diptych... t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), October 15, 2000.

Thanks for the input. I called it "angels" based on a comment a friend made when he first looked at it (and because I didn't really have a better title in mind); perhaps a more neutral title would be better.

Here's a night shot taken in the same cafe (but a different window) a few months ago.

-- Mike Dixon (burmashave@compuserve.com), October 18, 2000.

Tryptich. (Gesundheit!) Seriously, a threesome with these two as supporting angels.

An early evening rushhour shot with sharp solo diners amid a blurred crowd would continue a timeline, and the public privacy theme.

-- Struan Gray (struan.gray@sljus.lu.se), October 18, 2000.