Under a Dim Grey Sky

This is an amazingly powerful and thought-provoking cityscape photo.

São Paulo has always been known for its overpopulation and poverty, characterised by sprawling favelas. With around 20.4 million people within its urban area, life in this city must feel very tiny and insignificant.

The São Paulo you portray in this cityscape is dark, bleak and depressing. It is taken from a great distance (presumably from a plane), such that only the main highways are visible - because who cares about those insignificant residential streets where people actually live, right? You've chosen to display the image in black and white, which was an excellent choice, as the lack of colour robs the scape of any areas of individuality. In this, everyone is anonymous; just a component in the urban machine. I feel this even in Sydney, with "only" 4.6 million people - the thought of four Sydneys is nothing short of frightening to me.

The cropping in this image is excellent. By declining to show any sign of the metropolis thinning out into rurality (as they all eventually do), or meeting with the ocean and being forced to end, you have given the scape a feeling of endlessness. Also, the way you have used the clouds to frame to top of the image is clever; their blacks and greys interacting with the scape below, making it feel ever darker, ever more ominous. This particular effect is enhanced further still by the capture of the shadows they cast across the city. I'd also like to point out that I'm glad you didn't decide to include a border, which would close off the image and give off a sense of finiteness which would probably ruin the mood of the image.

Finally, your title and description really adds a professional touch to the image. Without your stirring words, one may see this as simply a bunch of buildings with a bit of cloud and a cool watermark. But your words ensure that no mistakes are made about what this image is intended to portray.

All in all, this is one of the most excellent photos I have ever seen. I do not give out high ratings lightly (as you will see if you view my other critiques), but there is nothing that I would do to improve this image.