Category: Street.
Photograph: “Past & Present” by Hassan Askafi (username “Hassan Askafi” on Flickr).
Originally shared on the Photofocus Flickr community right here.
Why I picked this image: Hassan captured a beautiful and strong unposed human moment with his image “Past & Present”.
Technically the B&W conversion is superb and I really like that he chose to zoom into this scene and focus on the little girl as main subject. The reduced angle of view simplifies the background and it also makes me think if there were 10 or 10,000 people in that location. And if an image makes me start to look longer and think about the circumstances, the photographer has done a good job.
Looking at the emotional part and story that the photo carries, I see a few things of interpretation here. All “old” women are facing into one direction and the little girl is looking into the opposite direction. Taken from the title, symbolically it could mean “old” = past and “young” = present. It can also be seen that different generations may see things differently and this is how our culture evolves. Additionally the look on the girls face evokes a strong emotional feeling of hope in me. Kids are our future and they have the chance to make our world a better and safer place for all.
Congratulations Hassan, you really captured a very strong and artistically beautiful image here!
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