Bombay, 2008, on Juhu Beach by Leo Rubinfien

Bombay, 2008, on Juhu Beach Possibly 2008 - 2014

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photography

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portrait

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wedding photograph

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black and white photography

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cool tone monochrome

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black and white format

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warm monochrome

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street-photography

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b w

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photography

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black and white theme

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black and white

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monochrome photography

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monochrome

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monochrome

Dimensions: image: 40.64 × 49.53 cm (16 × 19 1/2 in.) sheet: 58.42 × 67.31 cm (23 × 26 1/2 in.)

Copyright: National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0

Leo Rubinfien made this gelatin silver print, Bombay, 2008, on Juhu Beach. The grayscale image is all about tonality, where shades of light and dark create depth. It’s a method of seeing and feeling, of choosing and composing, and it shapes the world with light. The photograph depicts a baby being held, with a crowd behind, blurred in the distance. Look closely at the child's hands – the softness of the skin is enhanced by the stark bands of the bracelets. The out-of-focus background gives way to a textured foreground, drawing our attention to the subject's face. There's a certain timelessness about this work, a stillness that contrasts with the bustling beach it captures. It puts me in mind of Helen Levitt, who photographed the streets of New York with such tenderness. Like Levitt, Rubinfien finds poetry in the everyday, inviting us to contemplate fleeting moments. Art isn’t about finding definitive answers, but asking compelling questions.

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