Visual Analysis - Peter.jpg

This image, taken at street level in what looks like LA, shows the tiny storefront of "Gus' Barbeque," surrounded by much taller buildings, including an enormous parking garage directly to the left, and some skyscrapers/office buildings behind. The square, medium format frame of the image suits its subject well, as the image is immediately divisible into three main parts, formed by the straight lines of the buildings: the left half of the frame, which is taken up by intricately patterned wall of the parking garage, the lower right quarter of the frame, made up of the storefront of gus' and a neighboring building, and the upper right quarter, made up of the sky and the buildings visible in the background. The most immediately apparent visual element of this image is the contrast between the tiny "Gus' Barbeque" building and the immense structures surrounding it. This suggests perhaps that Gus' is something of a remnant of a forgotten time, a small business that has managed to survive amidst the growth happening around it, but may not last much longer. Interestingly enough, this sentiment is echoed in a review of Gus', that I looked up out of curiosity: "Everything on Gus's menu is as old, slow and tough as the geriatric waitresses that don't give two shits about you or anybody else. The food was below average and the experience was downright awful. And it's all because of the old people." Based on this, it seems that the photographer (Peter?) did a great job capturing the mood of an establishment that unfortunately seems to be on its way out, though I doubt it is really the fault of the old people. A great documentary photograph.