Defeated

[Runmonty]

Signs of our times by Dwayne, on Flickr



Defeated by Dwayne, on Flickr

[Marko]

I really dig both images. Shot 1 is a very thoughtful composition -- Love it. But shot 2 wins this battle for me.
Shot 2 needs to be rotated though unless the slope is purposeful thematically - wonderful juxtaposition with the words. Love the man's motion and the colour palette of this scene.

The title though....hmmmmm....it's personal....but in this case - it's the only thing i'm not crazy about.
Defeated is too heavy a word for this image....and it can bias the interpretation because the title is the first thing we see.
From my take, This man is not defeated; he is still interacting in both images.
Defeated is dead. defeated is hopeless.
I'm seeing a harsh life here, but not defeat, nor hopelessness.

[Runmonty]

Thank you Marko. Great, thoughtful feedback

As for the title, I could obviously chosen something better. I had meant for it to highlight the irony of the "job warehouse" having had to shut its doors and is now becoming derelict. The image title originally applied only to the second photo and was not intended to refer to the man. I should have changed the title for this thread. You are very perceptive. I learnt afterward that this man is a bit of an institution at this location. I understand he sits all day drawing or doing crosswords and engaging with passers-by. As you say, quite clearly not defeated but in fact the opposite.

The site was sloping and had I rotated the photo, then the signs and architectural features would all be out of alignment. I had to go super wide (11mm on a full frame camera) for this shot, as parked cars prevented me from standing back further, so I think lens distortion comes into play here too.