HOME | DD

Description
This is an HDR shot from my visit to the city.
I'm turning it in as my final for Digital Photography and I'd really like some of your input. I'm really fond of this black and white version, but I also like the plum version which can be seen here:

I wanted the photo to be an ironic representation of consumerism and social classes. So many people have it in their head that money, wealth, and fame is all they need. I used a wide angle fisheye lens so that I could capture a complete gradient of the social classes in a city. You start out at the bottom of the stairwell with the homeless; rock bottom. However, the brick walls stands for character and spirit; these people may be homeless, but they don't judge based on appearance and have a better understanding of life because their heads aren't clouded with money. All of the detail and texture in the wall represents their daily battles; what food can they get? Where are they going to sleep tonight? Lizzy didn't show up this morning... I hope she's alright. They're more like family to each other than some wealthy people's own flesh and blood.

As you get further up in the picture, you see the steps that need to be taken to even get to a level playing field for a job. Even after the battle to get to bare minimum, being able to move up in classes is, more often than not, completely impossible in the city. Finally, we hit the buildings. These are all the same. Cookie cutter apartments and smooth steel. Unlike the brick wall, the cold steel sides of the building show an utter disregard for emotion. Wealthy people walk down the street, dodging eye contact with the homeless, afraid of being mugged, when really the homeless just care about getting by for the day. More likely than not, the homeless are more civilized than he is!

The mirrored glass of the buildings is the mask that people wear when they think having money is all they should ever need. And finally, the white sky represents heaven. The stairway to heaven is literally an entire lifetime of fighting your way through the system and trying to die happy. But will you die and be remembered for how wonderful a person you were, or how rich you became?

Description
This is an HDR shot from my visit to the city.
I'm turning it in as my final for Digital Photography and I'd really like some of your input. I'm really fond of this black and white version, but I also like the plum version which can be seen here:

I wanted the photo to be an ironic representation of consumerism and social classes. So many people have it in their head that money, wealth, and fame is all they need. I used a wide angle fisheye lens so that I could capture a complete gradient of the social classes in a city. You start out at the bottom of the stairwell with the homeless; rock bottom. However, the brick walls stands for character and spirit; these people may be homeless, but they don't judge based on appearance and have a better understanding of life because their heads aren't clouded with money. All of the detail and texture in the wall represents their daily battles; what food can they get? Where are they going to sleep tonight? Lizzy didn't show up this morning... I hope she's alright. They're more like family to each other than some wealthy people's own flesh and blood.

As you get further up in the picture, you see the steps that need to be taken to even get to a level playing field for a job. Even after the battle to get to bare minimum, being able to move up in classes is, more often than not, completely impossible in the city. Finally, we hit the buildings. These are all the same. Cookie cutter apartments and smooth steel. Unlike the brick wall, the cold steel sides of the building show an utter disregard for emotion. Wealthy people walk down the street, dodging eye contact with the homeless, afraid of being mugged, when really the homeless just care about getting by for the day. More likely than not, the homeless are more civilized than he is!

The mirrored glass of the buildings is the mask that people wear when they think having money is all they should ever need. And finally, the white sky represents heaven. The stairway to heaven is literally an entire lifetime of fighting your way through the system and trying to die happy. But will you die and be remembered for how wonderful a person you were, or how rich you became?