2015 Tokyo and Hong Kong Trip – Image 3

Breaking the fourth wall – making eye contact with the subject – is not something that makes it into my images very often.

In this case, I was walking along quite briskly (as I always recommend!) and saw this little girl for a second. I don’t often shoot kids either, but she just looked so bored waiting for her mum to get off the phone and do something, that I decided to take the shot.

Unfortunately, at the time, I was a fair distance away, and was using a 43mm lens with medium format film. The whole “wide angle” thing is something I am still exploring. In this case, it worked against me. The image has been significantly cropped to improve the composition to the point where I would probably not be comfortable using it further.

A 150mm lens would have been perfect for the distance I was at.

I could see the image I wanted in my mind, when I took the photo, but knew it would be just too far away to make the final cut. The image would have been a belter if I had been close enough to get this shot with the 43mm lens… But I prefer to keep moving once I have taken a shot or two. Lingering leads to having to deal with people wondering what you are doing. Moving on doesn’t give them a chance.

The implied relationship between the two subjects just keeps me coming back to this one, though!