Any thoughts on this one.

peterm1

peterm1

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I made these photos in gritty backstreets of Hong Kong when there a few years ago.
The first is in a street above mid-levels on Hong Kong Island.
The second is a alley in Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon.
In both cases I think I was looking for photo opportunities that went beyond the normal tourist fare.
I like them both in some ways but the first in particular feels a bit busy to me. And I suppose the second perhaps does a bit too. But perhaps that is part of the charm too (if they have any, that is :) )
How do others react to them?
Just curious.

XJtjGKP.jpg


In a Kowloon Alley by Life in Shadows, on Flickr
 
I like the first one a lot. Photographing a person with such a complex background is not easy; the background can be very distracting, especially if some detail behind the person looks like it is 'growing' out of her head. You got her in a place where the immediate background is relatively calm.

The second one looks odd, though. Like it was shot through a soft-focus filter. Or maybe a very fast lens shot wide open, as that can give the diffused glow around edges that this photo has. Whatever the reason, I don't like the effect. The sharper, more realistic look of the first photo works much better.
 
I do see exactly what you mean about the second photo. I did not try to correct it with the clarity / dehaze filter for example as I thought it might possibly add something while also acknowledging that leaving it in risked losing something too. I suppose that's the kind of choice we make as image makers all the time. But it's one thing that worried me too. Thanks for the comment. Glad you like number 1.
 
Wow! I’ve rarely commented on member images but these are extraordinary. The detail is so amazing and they have almost a painting vibe. Digital or film, and I’m curious the lens you used. #1 is one of the best things I’ve seen in quite some time
 
hilltime said:
Wow! I’ve rarely commented on member images but these are extraordinary. The detail is so amazing and they have almost a painting vibe. Digital or film, and I’m curious the lens you used. #1 is one of the best things I’ve seen in quite some time
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Thanks for this, it is greatly appreciated.

I was using my Nikon D700 at the time and as far as I recall, I only took two zoom lenses plus one small prime with me due to weight restrictions (though I did buy an extra lens while I was there :) ). One was the 35-70mm f2.8 AF D which used to be a top pro lens back in its day (I kept it for trips as it was lighter than the later 24-70mm f2.8 AF and its images were within a hair of it in terms of quality). The second was a 70-210mm f4.5-5.6 AF D which is a prosumer type of lens but has a very high quality image output too. In this shot I was using the first lens - the 35-70mm AF D. It has an excellent reputation and fully deserves it. The prime was the Nikkor 50mm f1.8 which I only used for night or dark interior shots. All of these lenses are excellent.

Some other photos from that trip here if you are interested.

Hong Kong 2012 | Flickr
 
I react on them as usual.

Which is:
You are last remaining photo forums user I'm aware of who is over processing. It is so aggressive, no camera, lens, nothing naturally rendered is remaining. It hurts my eyes.
 
Big fan of the first one, mainly for the person in it. Not too busy for my tastes, but any time you have a human in an image, as opposed to just buildings, my interest goes to the human.

Best,
-Tim
 
To my eye, the second photo is the one that is too busy. It keeps my eye moving, searching for, but not finding, a place to come to rest. There is no one clear comfortable subject to arrive at. Not the case for the first photo. My eye scans around briefly and comes to rest on the girl. Then I feel free to explore the details in the rest of the picture in a comfortable way, because I can always stop searching and return to the girl. The details feel like texture, not clutter. A very nice picture!
 
I guess I'm the oddball. I may prefer the second photo. The vignetting and focus seem to give me a surreal sense of being, which is sometimes how one experiences HK. It can be a very surreal place and I like that reflection. The first photo is good. I think I have become knee jerk unconsciously biased when I see people with cell phones. Aside from that, I appreciate the limited pallette of color and how it allows me to experience the entire image without getting bombarded by an extreme tone or color, yet easily settle on the subject of the photo without thinking or searching.
 
Peter,

This is definitely your look in both images and I appreciate and enjoy the consistency that you maintain over a body of work.

The second one at first glance captured my attention for the glow of the objects/colors, drawing me in. Overall though I think the fist one works better as a composition focused around the subject. The second one does explore a nice interaction of walking into the alley space with the juxtaposition of fore and background! I think though, I'd likely crop the lower area by a bit as it is OOF area that could be minimized.....just my two cents. Thank you for sharing.

David
 
Peter, I like them both. You've used your signature processing style (NOT over-processed, in my opinion) on an uncharacteristically gritty subject. The contrast between the subject and the "romantic" look sets up a nice tension and gives the images an interesting psychological depth. Definitely a path to explore!
 
First Image - I like the rendering. I would prefer a higher crop (maybe 15% more?) The foreground in much less interesting than the woman. This is a distraction.

Second Image - The rendering seems psychedelic. This distracts from the image's strong point -- the balance (tension) between composition and content.
 
willie_901 said:
First Image - I like the rendering. I would prefer a higher crop (maybe 15% more?) The foreground in much less interesting than the woman. This is a distraction.

Second Image - The rendering seems psychedelic. This distracts from the image's strong point -- the balance (tension) between composition and content.
Click to expand...

Willie Thanks for this I understand what you mean about the crop on image 1. I actually have a version of this photo which did exactly that for the reason you suggest and published it on Facebook in a group there. But on the whole, my personal preference is this version if only for the reasons that it provides more context to the subject and also because I liked how the graffiti at the foreground looks. In the second image it does have a touch of 'dreaminess" ( I should not have thought it was psychedelic exactly) about it from the slight veiling flare and I think I always expected that this one would be either a "like it" or "hate it" proposition for different people. (I am relaxed about that its normal for people to differ on such things. Though I was curious to see what people might have to say on the topic.

The FB version (clickable link)

242603508_10228016602100108_2749782737958085952_n. jpg (1300×2019) (fbcdn.net)
 
I like them both but then I always like your work...
The first one is super busy BUT the girl standing there pretty much doing nothing balances that all out.
The second is just as good but could use a person standing somewhere under the blue tarp...that might finish it up...I feel it needs a human element amongst all that man made clutter...
 
While I like both images, the first one is more interesting because there is a human in it. To me they have a cinematic feeling, like stills taken from a movie.
 
Austintatious said:
While I like both images, the first one is more interesting because there is a human in it. To me they have a cinematic feeling, like stills taken from a movie.
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Thank you Austintatious. I find myself going for that filmic look quite a bit. I rather like it right now when it works well. I may grow out of it as one so often does over time but for now I rather like the effect (as I say when it works well).
 
My first impression is the post-processing before anything about the image. That can't be good. It is too complex. The most obvious improvement would be to convert the first one to monochrome. And create more shadows. It has an HDR look which is inimical to to the import of the image. The second one looks fuzzy and I have no interest in it regardless of what might be done to rescue it.

I was reminded this afternoon of Walker Evans: photography trafficks in emotions, not ideas. The emotion of the first photograph has been nullified by the processing. The second I don't think has any emotion that I would recognise. Forgive me Peter. I am trying to be less blunt than Ko.Fe. I am intrigued by his contributions here. He doesn't make friends. But his knowledge is impressive. And his candour is refreshing.
 
Peter, I enjoy looking at your images. I admire that you stick with your style and you good naturedly endure the negative reactions you sometimes get to your photographically based art form. You, in my opinion, are a bit like a modern day Vincent Van Gogh.

If I have any negative comment it’s that you almost always post two or three pictures together. Here: this is something I mentioned about myself in another thread a few days ago:

I used to post (and sometimes I still do) several pictures in one post. This year I have been making an effort to limit myself to one picture per post. I think that's the best way to display, and to honor your image. Let the star shine, unless it isn’t a star in which case why post the image?

Peter, I think you should only post one of your marvelous works of art per post, let us enjoy and savor just one at a time. Put a frame around it, hang it on the wall, let us walk by and take it all in one picture at a time.

And, lastly, there’s no need to ask us what we think of your work, it’s good. RFF is not the center of the art world, We’re a bunch of grumpy old men that don’t like much of anything except old cameras and film. Well, some of us like new cameras that look like old cameras that simulate film. Either Way, I appreciate your contributions to this community. And, thank you very much for sharing!

All the best,
Mike
 
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