THE STORY
My trip to Buenos Aires in August 2016 was sort of a bucket list item to check out. Following WWII, the Pelech side of the family made a five-year layover between Europe and the USA, where my aunt became fluent in Spanish, and my grandfather started his electrical business. From always hearing about their times in Buenos Aires, I knew that I had to see the land of those pivotal post-WWII years. I convince a friend to come with me to visit the country and check another continent off of our lists.
This particular shot was taken at Buenos Aires's main train station, Retiro Railway Station, which is a transportation hub for the region. It's another large vaulted railway station that brings in a tremendous amount of natural, in which this means lots of fun for playing with shadows. When you first enter the station, you are bombarded with people just trying to make a quick buck off of low priced tickets. Once you get through the chaos, small individual cafes lay beneath the old style departure board click-clacking away. To get to where the actual trains are located, you pack subway fare's amount and proceed through the turn style. It is well worth the money for getting up close quality street photography.
THE COMPOSITION
I just tried blending in with my surroundings as people were going about they every day routine (remember, this was in the middle of winter for South America). My eye was drawn to the straight blue lines, and as they matched up against the strong yellow railroad warning streaks. When I saw that opening on the train, I just waited for someone to pass through. Starting off very unlucky, I would was only able to capture half a passenger or two, but no one like this shot above. I am always a man for a silhouette. A story can be told with silhouette. You, as the viewer, can put in your own spin this person's back story. It can go on forever and its great. Photography wise, the way to my heart is through silhouettes.
Check out some more of my Argentina photos in my Adventures page and with my iPhone photos. I've included some more Retiro Railway photos below.
