Exploring Color Photography, 6th Edition

In this deep-focus, cinematic image, not much seems to be going on, but a lot is happening. The elaborate staging points out that physical proximity does not translate into closeness and there are endless stories in any anonymous crowd. Alex Prager’s approach, costuming, and direction exaggerates her characters and looks down upon them from a bird’s eye view, thus both dehumanizing them while encouraging viewers to invent their own storylines about what they see. The lack of apparent connections generates a sense of “in-between-ness,” evoking an emotional sense of being part of the group, yet alone. Prager reflects, “Crowds amplify whatever emotion ...