This is The Subconscious Art Of Graffiti Removal – III by Ektopia, and is part of his beautiful The Subconscious Art Of Graffiti Removal project. When I first saw it on Flickr, I wrote:
This is one of those great opportunities to see through someone else’s eyes. I never would have shot this this way because I probably wouldn’t have seen the scene as you did. I’d probably have been inclined to go tighter and would have missed out on this. I’m glad you shot it and not me.
In the seven months since, this photo hasn’t been far from my mind when shooting. It’s become one of those things to check in with, popping up along with many of the other basics. (Film loaded? Lens cap off? Exposure set? Focus?) It reminds me to look harder for the sweet spot of balance of subject and context, and that if all goes really well, it’s possible to make the context part of the subject itself, as he’s done here.
Thanks for the lesson!