Thursday 10 December 2009

Stood up

Furious woman in the mall, Bondi (November 2009)

Chance has a way of parting the waters. It is subtle: there are no flashing red neons, or shrill wolf whistles. Reflected light at an odd angle, or a portion of a sign glimpsed while idly waiting, will suffice.

Enticed to the Art Gallery by the sharp wit of Annabel Crabb, I chanced upon a small softly-lit alcove housing "6 Photographers" and there, in a corner, was this gem shot by Hal Missingham, instantly recognisable as a precursor to my furious woman in the mall.

Stood up in Swanston Street - Missingham (1947)

28 comments:

Olivier said...

deux photos différentes, deux beaux b&w, mais on retrouve la même tonalité (ambiance)

brattcat said...

That top photo I would title 'fuming'. The second photo...you might want to read the passage about "the bride" in Brooklyn Bridge.

Lois said...

Just goes to show you that the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Susan Ellis said...

Wonderful comparatives...could even be the same woman perhaps still malingering.

lizziviggi said...

Oh, I wish I had the courage to take the photos you do! Wonderful shot. Is she actually smoking inside? You can tell she's not in the US!

glduro_marieloupe said...

I always go back to your blog as an example of pictures of good taste, wonderful technique and unusual objects. Wish to have a minimum of your capacity ...

marieloupe

glduro_marieloupe said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joan Elizabeth said...

Great pairing Julie. Ugh ... it is so horrible waiting and waiting thinking something is wrong ... wondering whether to pack it in.

PurestGreen said...

I love the intensity in both of these photos. The top one is so...human. That little bit of body language that would have been over in a second, is frozen forever.

bitingmidge said...

Wassamatta? Cat got the colour?

Just kidding, I too rather like the pairing. I can almost feel her shaking in your shot.

P
Sunshine Coast Daily Photo - Australia

Mirela said...

The second one has the looks that could kill. I wish I could see the eyes of the woman in the first photo!

Ann said...

Wonderful. You look at her and know exactly how she feels.

Anonymous said...

No painter could have made it better.

Please have a wonderful Thursday.

Lowell said...

Now, the lady in the first photo could be meditating on the dangers of smoking...or she could be planning the evening meal in her mind...or she could be wonderful how she can rid herself of the boorish lout she married...or she could be...well, so many possibilities...

The second photo is an excellent 1940s shot and she is waiting for something or someone!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful picture, Julie: reminds me of me (internally of course) on a bad day...

Marie-Noyale said...

We could almost exchange the dates on the photographs!!
Smoking seems so out dated!

Three Rivers, Michigan said...

Amazing that she never changed her hair-do in all those years!

A nice portrait. Tense, arms crossed, legs crossed - lots of body language!

Three Rivers Daily Photo

Unknown said...

That 2nd one looks kind of like my first wife. Something about the expression on her face.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to the theme in advance.
With all the omments you have you are likely to get even more busy if you check in on Saturday.
Well caught image.

diane b said...

Great pairing of photos. Lots of emotion in both. I would like to have seen that exhibition too.

Julian Davis said...

Great picture Julie. It reminds me the bad days I had. I like the theme behind all your posts.

Sydney Things To Do

Jo said...

Great body language; great shot. Your blog inspires me to try harder at my photography.

Virginia said...

Both are so compelling. I love the bottom for it's HCB effect but the top one is a nice accompaniment Julie. Thank you.
V

PJ said...

I know that woman in the top photo and I can smell the cigarette odor in her clothes. So far from anything I'm ever around now.

The second photo, I wonder what happened to her.

Stephen Van Tuyl said...

Always like the street stuff. Nice job Julie!

Julie said...

Thank you, Stephen. I take this as an acceptance of my comments and the tone with which they were made. Your work is just astounding, really.

Jilly said...

This is one I saw at the time, Julie. Just love the two ensemble. So works, so touching really. The expressions make us feel we know just what both women are thinking.

Again, so sorry I've not been commenting. My dog has been terrible sick - on morphine etc and then massive surgery to remove the inner ear that was full of an abscess. In addition, you might have read that I now take photos and write articles for a new Cote d'Azur website (get paid too!) so it's keeping me busy, a bit too busy. So apologies. I try not to be away so long next time.

Julie said...

Yes, I trawled through Alex's baby. Such a pleasure to see you get the wider plaudits that you so richly deserve.