Please help me pick the best image...

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi,


Yesterday it was a wild protest day here in Barcelona and Madrid (more than 100 people in the disturbs were sent to prison) because of the crisis (3 years!) and the new laws that -once again- protect companies and leave employees unprotected, allowing firms' owners to easily and cheaply fire workers, all part of the European Union ways of healing economy... As I don't like to look for those wild “news” shots, I was just walking around quiet places with my 90 as my only lens when I saw a trash container had just been burnt: yet it was warm... I wanted to get a shot of any neighbor looking at it... That was version1: someone looking, and the container... I like its clean composition and mood, and it was done from the point of view I considered optimum, but then I saw -a bit below us- there was an “anticrisis offer” ad from a bar, inviting to go drinking for little money: chupitos for 1 euro are single drinks, and cubatas for 4 euros are double drinks mixed with coke, so I thought the image could be better if instead of people and container I showed crisis ad and container, and that's version2, a bit cold because no people are included, but better from a narrative point of view because the viewer can imagine the container was destroyed in a fire during crisis protests, and interesting because of the whole no money but let's keep getting drunk thing... Of course including the ad made me change the point of view to a less clear one, but there was no other option... Then I thought of including people, ad and container, and that's version three... I think the three images have pros and cons...


All of them are on direct sun with Tmax3200 using my 90 Summicron wide open at f/2. I just don't know which one to print: I guess I need advice from people who were not there and can tell me better what the images say... Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/40894234@N07/5038698187/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40894234@N07/5039280894/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/40894234@N07/5038648567/

Cheers,


Juan

 

[hipsterdufus]

I personally like version 1. There is something about the contrast between a society in unrest and the young couple in love that really speaks to me. It reminds me that two lovers can be torn apart at any given time for any reason, not the least of which is civil disorder. Just my $.02.

 

[jsrockit]

Version #1...though I'm not sure I would have known what was going on if you didn't tell me.

 

[Crazy Fedya]

Hi, Juan!
Personally, I think the second one is the best, but it would be a little more striking if the ad on the post was in focus, and the dumpster was slightly out of focus, IMHO.
Thanks,
Sam.

 

[Crazy Fedya]

I forgot to give the reason why. Here we are:
I think it demonstrates action-reaction between cheap drinks and destruction.
Thanks,
Sam.

 

[HuubL]

3. But crop the right. The advertisements don't tell me much, but it could be that there's a message there that you would want to tell. 1 is nice also. I like it because it shows some of the face. 2 is dead.

 

[Matus]

Nr. 1 for me - communicates the point most strongly. It has the contrast of static subject (trash bin) and the moving couple - yet his view connects them.

 

[robin a]

Juan,#1 is my choice.Good comp. and it makes the mind work.

Robin

 

[robbeiflex]

Nr 3 for me. It tells a more complete story in my mind. It draws my eyes back and forth between the Offerta Anticrisis ad and the people's reaction to the dumpster, and then finally after a bit of wondering whats up, I see the dumpster.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi, Juan!
Personally, I think the second one is the best, but it would be a little more striking if the ad on the post was in focus, and the dumpster was slightly out of focus, IMHO.
Thanks,
Sam.

Hi Sam,

I did that version too, but -to my surprise- as the ad was so close to camera, the destroyed dumpster just couldn't be recognized! And the option of stopping the lens down to get both on focus meant a lot more general disorder from a more in focus background... I was shooting into real narrow limits... I made six different shots, and after scanning the strip, I picked just three of them to show...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Ezzie]

I like both 1 and 3. 1 over 3 because there is motion and you can imagine the couple´s disgust. 3 over 1 because (with your explanation) of the poster as a contrast to the carnage.

 

[ebino]

i voted for the second shot because it provides a story. it will be understood easily by people in Spain right now. by its composition its stating what it wants to say. also it does not make one feel to see "more" or "get close" as the other shots do mainly to the long focal length of the lens you used.

 

[sprokitt]

V1.
The people give the photo scale, and the sideways look highlights the fact that there is something unusual in the lower right.

Good photo.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Thanks for all the comments... This is being helpful! There are some very nice points from forum members: real perceptive people around! Just like in my mind, opinions are divided...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[nikon_sam]

I like the first photo only for its composition...It alone doesn't tell me anything of what just happened...that trash bin could have fallen from the sky, been hit by a car or roughly treated by the trash truck...I been given no indication that protesters set it on fire...where's the smoke or even better a little flame, I can't tell from the photo that it's still warm...what I get is a young unafraid couple walking past a broken trash bin...
The other two photos are just too confusing...what does an ad for drinks have to do with the trash bin that just fell from the sky...
Show me an angry crowd passing by this bin with flames flowing out of it and then I might be able to put two and two together...

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Hi Sam,

My first image, as others have posted, show a feeling of surprise from people passing by and taking a look... What the viewer can imagine depends on the viewer's imagination only... To me, it's a trash bin that was burnt, and to me also, trash bins are burnt in precise occasions, generally vandalism and other kinds of protest... Here in Spain I haven't seen too many burnt bins falling from the sky... And I have never seen one left like that by a car either...

The other two shots clearly relate the burnt bin with an ad that states there's a society in economical crisis. Thanks!

Cheers,

Juan

 

[trekker]

For me, it was between #1 and #3. In the end, I picked #1 because the expression on the guy's face tells us more on how he feels about the situation. It also has the cleanest composition.

Although #3 tells more of the story, I find that having 2 focus points (posters on the right & the people looking at the dumpster) a little distracting.

 

[Rhoyle]

#1. You can almost hear the conversation between the two people!

 

[tj01]

3 works for me. 1 is confusing, 2 is clinical.
Whichever you chose, it works for a third of your audience. This poll shows the varied variety and preference of this community.

 

[Alejandro CD]

IMHO i find version 1 better in a aesthetically way. Composition is clean and it's well balanced.

Talking about the message, i think version 3 can be quite confusing. Maybe someone could think that cheaper booze leads young people to burn bins 🙂

Cheers!