This is a photograph by Dawoud Bey called “A man at Lenox Avenue and 125 Street, 1977”. In this photograph there is a man standing on the street corner wearing a suit and a hat. He has his hand in his pocket with a pondering look on his face. The mood of this photograph is quiet and deserted. There isn’t much activity going on in the background. Behind the man there is a poster on the stop sign pole that is advertising the “Isley brothers”. The shot includes another person in the distance and a few parked cars and two cars going down the street in the picture. One looks like it is either a taxi or a police car which could suggest it isn’t such a good neighborhood. He looks as though he is thinking about where he wants to go and what he should do next. He could also be waiting on someone or it is a normal evening casual stroll in his neighborhood.
The photographer uses selective focus in this photograph making it look blurry and not focused so that the focus is on the man. This kind of focus makes you pay attention to the man more than what’s in the background and it also makes the background look farther away than it really is. The photograph has a low contrast because it has mostly middle greys but it can also be described as high key because it has a lot of light tones. I believe this photo has a horizontal line because the background goes straight across in a horizontal angle. The photograph doesn’t really have a distinct frame, the buildings make up the frame and they are cut off. The photograph is at eye level because you are looking straight at the image, not up or down.
You have written a clear description of Bey’s photo. I am immediately struck when I look at the picture with how Bey has balanced the man with the pole of the traffic light. As you state, both are separated by the use of shallow depth of field from the background.