A short response to Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare…
Everyone knows this image but being asked to single out an element to return to – a pivotal point in the image that the eyes return too I have to scratch my head a little because at first it’s obvious – its the foot, a fraction of a second before it hits the water – obviously. Job done.
Okay then, think about that foot again – now picture it without the reflection underneath. A foot just about to hit the pavement ground does not make the image The impact has gone. But is the reflection the key piece you return to all the time – no – it’s just there in the background quietly doing it’s job adding an almost surrealist element to the picture and making the guys step a leap into a very wet unknown. Speaking of a leap into the unknown that body shape is surely a pivotal moment – a strange shape that reminds me of a video game character jumping a deadly gap. Awkward and ungainly but for me not pivotal.
How about the other details – something that Stephen Shore would describe as the ‘structural density’. In essence the visual relationships in the picture. If you look properly there are several brilliant elements that match – the ripples in the water caused by the movement of the ladder as he steps off which relate to the metal circles and c in front of the ladder. The pose of the man that almost matches the pose of the dancer on the poster. The man in the background whose shape matches the structures behind the fence to the right – all looking like observes to this weird act – though it seems the only human onlooker is actually looking down unaware. These are undoubtedly all elements that help to make the image iconic but I don’t return to them as pivotal elements.
For me the key to this photograph is not actually shown. It’s the unseen and unknown reason for this leap. Is it a leap of childlike joy? is he late? is he being chased? The fact that he is on the far right of the image is unusual as you get no hint of what’s in front of him – he is leaping out of the frame almost. There could be a car parked just out of shot, or dry ground, or shelter of some kind. If any of these elements had been visible the mystery of the image would evaporate and so would a great deal of the beauty of the image. The fact that we don’t have a hint of what came before the jump or after also adds a tension to the image that would still exist even if the actual ‘decisive moment’ of the foot was a splash rather than a perfectly timed reflection.
I know the image was cropped on the left hand side due to the fence being in the way but other than that how much of what was in front of him did Bresson know about at the time? Did he deliberately leave out these potentially destructive and distracting elements to the right of the man? Luck or skill it doesn’t matter either way – what matters is being there with your camera ready to shoot anything that plays out in front of you.
Lee Abbey OCA Photography Degree 