11 Comments
Jan 20Liked by Marcel Borgstijn

I like this kind of structured poll to see other people's opinions. The photo is very well executed, almost completely black, but with just the right amount of nuance. The boy's gaze is very captivating. I voted for a 'negative impression' because of this boy, but this question made me doubt how to answer, as I don't think it's a 'negative' photo. You want to help him because he is sitting alone and looks a bit scared.

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Jan 20Liked by Marcel Borgstijn

I really like this photo and I’ve kept coming back to it all day. I find myself really drawn to it. For me, the dark, black and white edit really adds to the mood of the image. I also like that the photo leaves it up to the viewer to try to determine what is going on. It’s a good, thought provoking image.

Regarding the comments about it being too dark, I found that adjusting the backlight on my iPad brought out some of the details in the shadows.

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Jan 20Liked by Marcel Borgstijn

Your 4th question is a little tricky to answer, bcs on the one hand, I feel the boy is experiencing a negative emotion, could be fear or frustration.....but the overall impression I'm left with is of the photographer's empathy for the boy, so a positive emotion. Why do I think that.... I'm not really sure but it's something about the lighting, so much darkness, and the choice of black and white not colour.

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Jan 20Liked by Marcel Borgstijn

My first thoughts upon seeing the photo were about domestic fighting, as it looked to me like the boy was hiding in an enclosed space while covering his ears. Only after enlarging the image I realized that he was sitting in the corner of a subway/train wagon, seemingly overburdened by the noise and possibly the crowded conditions.

The photo feels very relatable to me and reminds of the negative feelings that I often have myself when using crowded inner-city transport to get to/from work. In my opinion, the photo is technically well-executed and exudes strong emotions.

Great work!

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author

I'm a sucker for dark images. I like this photo a lot. Even as it is almost completely dark, there is lots to be seen in the shadows. (It helps looking at the photo on your laptops' browser instead of on your mobile phone. The boy's expression and the fact that he is sitting on a train (I guess) really tell the story of a little boy being alone, and maybe afraid of all the commuters or the noise. Great shot, Michiel!

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I think that because the photo is too dark, it is difficult to see the context. This type of street photography often leaves the viewer to develop that context and supposition. Perhaps it’s a failing of mine but I prefer documentary photography where context is well defined. For street photography, I prefer the Vivian Maier style. Or maybe I’m just old and my photography education was more traditional......

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I feel that the photo is well executed in a low-key exposure style, which fits the mood of the subject. The message I receive from the photo is that this is a child in distress, and leads me to ask questions about why the child is in distress. Why is the child left in distress by the adult who is in frame? Is that adult related to them? Parent? Why doesn't the adult seem to be providing any level of comfort? Or maybe the adult's presence is the amount of comfort that the distressed child is able to receive? Maybe this child is autistic and sound sensitive in the train, and therefore, this is the best comfort they can receive. At first I was reminded of the images of so many children in Ukraine, but the warning label on the door looks more like NYC. So, I like the image in that it effectively captures a stressful moment in childhood - a moment that I think many of us can recall in some similar fashion at least once in our childhoods. But it also doesn't resolve, so that it haunts well.

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about chat - chat is available in app it's just not used by people. all previous versions of "chaturday" were seen and appreciated by me on the app. regardless, i think the section will work better and have more visibility.

the presented photo - i like it, it does what it was meant to do: showing a bit of a social documentary and i think it has a strong message. now i'm going to be picky: from a technical point of view, when i seen the photo in the app on the dark mode, everything looks a tinny bit too dark, it is hard to see all the details.

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Thanks. I enjoy your account!

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Would like to be able to see the photo while completing poll. New email design opens new window

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author

Yeah I know. So you need to first take a good look at the photo. It works better in a browser, opening a new tab.

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