First, I’d like to thank my fellow 35mmc contributors David Pauley, David Hume and Dean Lawrence for having the temerity to quadruple down on the idea of a dialogue-driven post on 35mmc, in this case a One Shot Story, in which four photographers will take turns discussing a single image amongst themselves. With contributors from Australia, the UK and Brooklyn, here we go with a virtual global studio visit…
SCOTT: This photo QUINCEANERA, DUMBO 8/3/25, is part of an ongoing series of photos of people getting their photos taken within the two or three block radius of my place in Brooklyn. Because of its NYC skyline backdrops, the neighborhood is a magnet for photography, from the ubiquitous iphone selfies to high end professional fashion or advertising shoots, with lots of wedding photos in between.
Here, perhaps a little perversely, I’m shooting directly away from the famous view of the Empire State Building framed by the stanchions of the Manhattan Bridge and from behind the main subject of both my photo and that of the photographer in the mid ground, a young woman dressed in a gown fit for a Disney princess, presumably for her Quinceanera also called a ‘Fifteen’ in some parts of the world, a tradition in the Latin community commemorating a woman’s fifteenth birthday. I was intrigued by the juxtaposition of her glittering finery fit for a Hollywood red carpet while the other people in the shot go about their less glamorous days absorbed in their own little bubbles. Literally no-one is looking at her — not even her photographer who is fiddling with his camera. Is this what she thought her big day and rite of passage would be like? Is there just a touch of impatience in the posture of her head and shoulders while she waits for the photographer to take another shot?
DEAN: I’ve had a few days to think about this image now, to absorb all that is going on within the frame. Before your image I’d never heard of the ‘Fifteen’ ( my spelling is atrocious so I’ll stick to the simple words), and for this girl/young lady, is she thinking, well this is dull? Unlike so many people in the frame she can’t even kill time on her phone. Her dress is spectacular, she should be surrounded by finery and elegance. Instead as you mention, her posture seems not joyful in the slightest.
DAVID H: I think this shot is made stronger by knowing that it’s part of an intended series. The question then becomes do we need to be told this, and are we viewing it with that knowledge or as an image by itself? And how much in general should we be told about a photograph and how much should we be able to read from it? I think what I take from it in isolation is the girl is standing there in a moment that is quite perfect to her but which no one else really gives a toss about.
DAVID P: This photo is perhaps a bit more familiar to me than to others as I live within a mile or two of where it was taken. I can tell by the fade of the light that this must have been taken at the golden hour with the sun getting ready to sink behind Manhattan at the subject’s (and viewer’s) back. So there’s an additional drama there offstage, a sense of being in the gloaming with the radiant lacy dress as the focal point as night falls.
DAVID HUME: Circling back to my point, the fact that she is being photographed with the Empire State Building as a backdrop is something that I needed to be told and it changes the image a lot. It makes more sense of it. Without that knowledge the girl is just standing in the middle of a busy street and you wonder why. Technically? Not much to say. The shot is nice. It’s not a high impact photograph. To me it seems like it’s done with a view to treating the medium with respect and getting a lot out of it in a traditional sense of what people expect from a nice negative that captures the tones. I think this is probably less important to a viewer than it is to you, except that there are no technical faults that would be distracting.
DAVID P: I think what draws my interest in the photo — perhaps even more so than the extravagant dress, or the shapely young woman wearing it — is as others have commented about that extent to which it is a photograph about photography. The Quinceañera has either happened or is about to happen, again somewhere outside this frame in space and time, but what’s happening here is the more ordinary lull between takes with a camera, a moment I’m sure we all can relate to as photographers and photographic subjects.
DAVID H: In terms of framing/composition, I would prefer to see a lower viewpoint so that the girl’s head is elevated in the frame and does not disappear into the sea of other heads. But then there is the obvious constraint of working within the time allowed because I’m assuming that you would not be “that guy” who stood in the background behind the girl sticking a ‘Blad in the face of the other photographer and getting in his shot, so it needs to be a quick candid capture between the frames made by the other photographer and that is made trickier using manual focus medium format.
SCOTT: First everyone, thanks for the very interesting reactions. Re-framing the way you, David H, suggest is a really interesting thought to consider. I think it would certainly make it a stronger composition graphically and give the girl a bit more of a heroic stature and single her out more as the subject of the photo. Subtextually, I’d have to think about it a minute because I think the unconscious story of the photo is that despite the trappings of a celebrity photo, she’s really one of the many people going about their day on the street, so ‘leveling’ everyone might be part of what I’m trying to say with the photo.
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Thorsten Wulff on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
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Ibraar Hussain on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
I hope you don’t mind my own subjective look at it.
Please Don’t take anything I say as Criticism
I thought it was a wedding photo of a bride
As the black and white turns it into a sort of wedding dress at first glance
I am familiar with the tradition as my wife is a Mestiza from coastal Peru, but even then it is difficult to recognise until
You explained it.
I reckon a different angle - a look at her face and expression would’ve worked better. Along with something which perhaps gives the viewer an idea as to what the event/celebration is.
I also think there are some distractions such as the people sitting / legs on the left of the frame . A much closer crop would be more powerful. Wondering if you took any colour shots that day?
The tones are marvellous by the way
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
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David Hume on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
Well - only three days to wait until the next one - coming to a blog near you on Oct 14!
Comment posted: 10/10/2025
Dean Lawrence on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 11/10/2025
Bravo young man, and thank you.
Dean.
Comment posted: 11/10/2025
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Comment posted: 11/10/2025
Clipping Expert Asia on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 17/10/2025
David Pauley on One By Four – A One Shot Story told by four photographers – Part 1
Comment posted: 21/10/2025
I'm coming late to the comments section party but want to thank you again for being so generous in sharing your work and nurturing this kind of conversation. In a hectic world being able to pause and think about one photo and hear a community taking it seriously (even amidst suggestions critiques praise etc) is a balm. You've been the leader in this process and given how geographically dispersed we are and differences in background experience styles I think it's quite remarkable. Well done! - David
Comment posted: 21/10/2025