I have a hunch that this series is fairly unknown

by zenzaura

I have taken some time off from writing emails and cover letters to the entire photographic industry to bring you a fantastic series that I have come across today. It is untitled currently but for the sake of the post I am going to coin it ‘Hunched’. Made by the photographer Eamonn Doyle, the project looks to document some of the older characters that amble down the chosen O’Connell Street in Dublin.

Having read Samuel Beckett extensively, Doyle was influenced on Beckett’s writing concerning the older generations. He therefore set out to photograph said old people on the street which Beckett himself had walked along years before. For Doyle it was important to strip away the context of the subject, which mimics the way in which Beckett wrote apparently. To do so he shoots his subjects from above. Now I was interested in how he managed to raise himself up above his subjects with such ease. I imagined him precariously positioned on a small step ladder, camera in hand, snapping away. However, it turns out it is far simpler than that, his technique goes as far as to stand on his tip toes and shoot with an extended arm from above. The aim was to capture the subjects without disturbing them or alerting them to his presence. He wanted to remain incognito, and oblivious to the unsuspecting subjects.

Not being able to see their faces, the subjects suddenly become slightly more irrelevant and it is the clothes that help the viewer define the person they are seeing. You are able to get a sense of the character of the subject simply from the clothing.  This impromptu fashion shoot style helps to ask questions about the social way that we interpret these people. For me the subjects seem quite powerful and walk with a real sense of purpose, which contradicts the way society sees the elderly, usually judging and fragile. Now this might simply be me reading into slightly too much or it be the fact that it is a still rather than a moving image which might have led me to a different conclusion.

I feel also that the proximity of the viewer to the subject is an aspect that enhances the power of the images. From a very basic technical viewpoint, the shallow depth of field allows the viewer to remain un-distracted even with the incredibly close crop.

My apologies for the quality of some of the images, I am aware they are pixelated, however the images are very hard to source online.