Challenging simplicity in street photography and digital presentation

Street photography has grown in popularity in recent years. Many people who are beginning to explore street photography bring with them ideas and concepts they have learned from landscape, portraiture etc. So often in photography we are taught to simplify the image, to cut out distractions or isolate our subject from the background. Obviously this often works, including in street. However I am becoming more attracted to more complex images and trying to apply this to my own photography.

Rather than isolating the main subject I am trying to add context and interest by including other elements for example the man in the background in this photo with the water bottle, and the main figures hand which almost seems cut off from the body.

My shots that have a more simple composition with less elements seem to get more attention and likes online than this type of image. Perhaps this is because so many people have been taught or influenced to see and appreciate the more simple image.

With the thousands of images presented online everyday sometimes the images with more elements in them get overlooked - there is too much to take in with a simple glance. And it is even more difficult when only a thumbnail is presented. I posted the above image to a couple of forums and have mainly received comments on the bicycle. I don't think many people looked close enough or long enough to notice what is really going on here. Perhaps in a larger view or presented on a wall as a print the response may be different.

Part of developing as a photographer is learning to see, to see in different ways and apply that to our own work. To do so we need to take the time to really look at photographs and understand them in new ways. Sometimes those other elements we are often told to exclude can in fact make the photograph more interesting. We must continue to challenge the conventional.