Black+White Photography - UK (2019-12)

06
B+W

R

ain over Sydney Harbour, says the

caption. But that’s not what this picture

is about. Instead, it is an image that

leaves you breathless with admiration

that a photographer could take such a picture

that borders on the abstract. One can only ask

how long it took Trent Parke to align himself

up with these bold graphic shapes, and did he

place the man and his umbrella in precisely

the right spot to complement them.

But the caption tells us that a ‘man stands

in the rain at the overseas passenger terminal’

• so is it just a chance shot, one of those rare
  moments when everything falls together
  in front of the lens?
  Having long been an admirer of Trent
  Parke’s work, I think it’s probably not pure
  chance, more a question of a superbly
  trained eye and quick reactions.
  Take away any single aspect of this picture
  and it would lose its power. The tension
  between the curves of the opera house, the
  curves of the ship, the curves of the umbrella
  and that of the man’s back are made forceful
  by the diagonal lines of the ship’s ropes, that
  slash through the curves, connecting and
  counterbalancing them. It is a tour de force.
  And, while the picture’s graphic qualities
  are so apparent, it is still fundamentally
  human, as is all Parke’s work. The figure is
  central to the picture, giving it meaning; our
  minds make a direct connection between the
  man and the docked ship. When we read the
  caption it informs us that he is in fact about
  to be a passenger. We see his stoicism, waiting
  for his turn to board, we see his expectations
  of where he will travel, and we feel the rain
  as it slides off his umbrella.
  The dramatic tonality of the image adds
  considerably to the picture’s expressiveness,
  emphasising the weather conditions but
  maybe too, the drama of departure and arrival.

Black+White Photography has

been invited by Magnum Photos

to choose one picture each month

from their archive to discuss, dissect,

examine and consider. This month

Elizabeth Roberts looks at an

exceptional image by Trent Parke.

MAGNUM OPUS

From Dream / Life series. A man stands in

the rain at the overseas passenger terminal on

Sydney Harbour which overlooks the Sydney

Opera House. Sydney, Australia 1999.

© Trent Parke / Magnum Photos