109. Capturing Passing Reflections
Photographing the City as It Photographs Itself
Street photography isn’t something that can be planned. You can decide when to go out and where to begin your walk, but the rest is up to chance — and your ability to notice something interesting. It’s less about finding what you’re looking for and more about looking to see what you might find.
A few days ago, as I walked past the former Bank of New Zealand building on Princes Street in Dunedin, New Zealand, the play of light and shadow on the façade and a woman wearing a red coat caught my attention. I snapped the first photo below. The historic building was completed in 1883 and is probably New Zealand’s finest surviving nineteenth-century bank. Inspired by the sixteenth-century Italian palazzo, its ornate exterior makes it a strong photographic subject on a sunny day.
Suddenly, a bus passed. The sun’s position and the angle of the light turned the windows into mirrors, reflecting a distorted image of the old bank as it went by. I watched several buses and cars pass, each presenting a framed variation of twisted columns and elongated arches. It was as though the city were taking pictures of itself and showing them briefly to anyone in the right place who cared to look. I decided to record some of these transitory images.
Even if the built environment remains the same, the city is always changing. Its surfaces constantly shift with light, weather, and motion. These fleeting reflections — glimpsed in passing and captured in the moment — allow us to appreciate the city’s playful, multi-layered self-portraits.
What’s next?
I spent a day in Oamaru recently, and I also have some photos taken over the summer that I might share before we slip into winter here in the Southern Hemisphere.
What do you think?
I invite you to leave a comment below.
Mark how fabulous. You have captured the architectural magnificence of the bank and the reflections on the side of the van and the bus are stunning. Clever work.
I agree with Adam! Lovely and weird.