Back in the day of downtown department stores, people would walk the
streets gazing in windows to be enticed by the latest fashions, appliances, and
toys to bring shoppers in to spend their hard earned cash.
See the photo above? What do you see?
A man in a hat holding the hand of a child looking in a window display of
toys? Then there is this woman dressed in dark color away from the man and
child but looking in the same window.
Take a closer look. The man’s haircut, hat, overcoat and baggy pants
appear to be 40’s style. The woman’s shoes confirm the timeline. The child’s
knitted hat and the woman’s bundled scarf indicate that the weather is cold.
This is perhaps a family Window Shopping for Christmas? Why aren’t they
all together?
There is no one else in the picture and no seasonal decorations so it is
just these three people staring into a window of toys.
The man and the child seem to be looking at a doll so perhaps the child
is a girl, but she is wearing pants. Remember it is cold outside the window.
The woman stands apart looking at another item in the window. What is the
fascination? Is there a conversation going back and forth? Will they go into
the store and purchase a toy or are they just looking?
Photos are not always what they appear to be. Assumptions of what the
photographer saw at that very moment might not be what the viewer interprets.
Take a closer look. You didn’t expect that.
