Us and the others
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These two photos were taken in different places, at different times and in different contexts.
I hope for your feedback from a photographic point of view and also how you interpret them together.
It's what happens if you make a witch angry. And some witches have short tempers.
Don Cox
LOL, I don't believe in witches. But there are, there are :)
This is why I put these images together.
Image #1
I wanted to photograph the statues with people close to them if possible with some interaction but I couldn't, people were passing by on the other side of the street and with total indifference. I don't know why they were behaving like that, maybe they were getting away from me that was in the middle of the street photographing. I don't think people are stupid enough to feel repulsion just because the statues look strange, but...
Image #2
The statue is a human figure with people in close proximity where there seems to be a certain interaction.
The title chosen is not unprecedented and neither is the theme. I wanted to convey a message implicitly, which was: We handle difference badly.
I don't think I succeeded, certainly through my fault. Maybe the images are not dramatic enough or provocative enough or "beautiful" enough, I don't know....
I am not sure if this is asking for critique. If it isn't, ignore. But the title of the forum suggests so.
(Picture 1) Step aside to the right and get the statue in front of the blue sky. Probably the other one will then be at the right of the front one, which is also working better.
(Picture 2) Go to the left and have only the two men standing in front of the "witch" who is looking down on them. That would have been an awesome photo!
In short: Move to get a better composition.
From a compositional perspective, I agree with both these recommendations.
From an interpretive standpoint, I noted that in the first image, the passersby are few and far apart and are for the most part wearing masks, indicating that this was probably taken during the height of a covid outbreak. The second shot shows people crowded close together, unmasked, cheerfully interacting with the crowd, suggesting that this photo was taken either before covid, or after people began ignoring it. I would not think the statues either drew them close or pushed them apart, but there are other variables that did. However, the statues are reinforcing the distance/closeness in a symbolic manner.
Thanks @ReneGR, those are good recommendations.
Of course not. Here, the statues have a metaphorical meaning and represent "the others." The "others" can mean many things, for example, ethnicities, religions, political systems, etc.
When "the others" are different from "us", the relationship becomes difficult.