Excellent use of shallow dof, the white bg really offsets the man and his plight all the more. Very nice b/w even if the white is a tad bleached.
Very poignant image; what most of the commenters have already said is all I can echo. The sad state of society today, where is looks like the man has only his letteboard to communicate with. His left hand seems to show a state of palsy. Yet the expression on his face is one of stoicism and strength too. He's made it this long; a little longer won't kill him. But us showing him even the most basic human kindness might kill us.
On second viewing I noticed the sticker on the wheelchair - what a serendipitous find with this street scene! The 'elephant in the room' is the way society looks at or treats those who are handicapped - for many it is an uncomfortable truth that is either ignored or goes unaddressed. Here in this photograph the man in the wheelchair sits alone - no one is talking to him, smiling with him, or sitting beside him. In fact the camera shows us a person who is walking away. There are people far in the distance and that distance shows the 'disconnect' that is going on here between the man in the wheelchair and the society he lives in.
With 20 minutes before the next bus arrived John had plenty of time to visit that place in his mind where the world was different and he could smile again.
You've made me want to know more. The image is great although I find myself wanting to rotate it slightly CCW.
and I also wish i could get a better view of this person. It in my top few for sure - Personally, I would not title it the same way but that's me - I'd try to let the image say that what it needs to say. 7
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