Bad Picture or brilliant HCB-moment?

[didotcicero]

Here's the story: I saw this guy reaching for his bottle of a certain brand of cola.

It looked like the arm came from nowhere. I missed the shot but since the bottle wasn't empty I decided to wait for the next time he would reach for it.

That took longer than I thought but this time I had the shot.

I like it (maybe because I got the shot afterall) but I get very mixed reactions on this photo so now I ask you guys (and gals): is this a bad picture or a brilliant HCB-moment (or something in between)?


(Photo was shot with Bessa-R and Color Skopar 35/2.5C)

 

[varjag]

The shot shows promise, but you should've gotten closer. The arm and shadow too small in the vast space of passage.

 

[ray_g]

is this a bad picture or a brilliant HCB-moment (or something in between)?

What is a brilliant HCB moment?

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I agree with varjag -- it's a good photo that would benefit from being closer or cropping.

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

agree with varjag as well, promising idea that needs either tighter crop or closer composition.

the size of the arm is so small that one has to visually hunt for it. I would also suggest some burning around the arm so that it stands out more from the highlights from the light outside the hallway.

interesting idea

 

[Ash]

Maybe on a huge wall-size print it would look ok, but it took too long to notice the arm in the photo at all. Maybe it's the grain? A few steps closer would have made a better shot definitely, but its interesting none-the-less.

As for HCB-moment. You can't have one unless you're HCB.

 

[ywenz]

the addition of the arm is confusing. Me no like.

 

[xayraa33]

this would make a lovely photo in a book about haunted cloisters,
a disembodied arm appearing in a tourist snapshot ( maybe from a thirsty ghost).🙂
way cool!

 

[didotcicero]

I stand correct, I should have said "in the spirit of HCB" ofcourse (where HCB is short for photog Henri Cartier-Bresson).

I'm not a wannabee HCB although the title might suggest just that.

@ ray_g @ A brillant HCB-moment would be a photo of "a decisive moment" in which HCB excelled.

I thought of moving closer but I was afraid that:
1) I would attract the guy's attention and spoil my 'second chance'
2) you wouldn't be able where this scene took place

I agree cropping might help and I'll try the burning.

One could argue this is a bad picture because here is a picture of a church-like architecture and in the middle of it there is this sudden arm-with-cola bottle that doesn't belong there.

Thank you all for making me understand where I went wrong and how I can get a better picture next time.

You can't learn if you don't make mistakes.

 

[didotcicero]

@ xayraa33: hahaha

 

[Dougg]

I think the IDEA of the shot is cool, and the unexpected and angular arm makes the shot. Agree that the pic might benefit from being a bit closer-in... Or a sizable print might do.

 

[terrafirmanada]

I like it the way it is. The atmosphere is set up by the setting, and then there is the question of the arm. Looking at the photo, I was wondering if the arm was hiding the bottle behind the pillar. I think by giving the viewer the perspective of this architecture, you allow our minds to wander through the scene. Cropping anything other than a bit of the right side might take some of the mood away.

 

[Marc-A.]

I agree with Varjag too. But it's a very good approach of the subject.

 

[laptoprob]

I like the shot - almost. I am a great fan of light and space and therefore I would have included the more of the solar projection of the 'window'. Then the arm would not be in the center and therefore be more of a surprise in the picture. The picture would be more complete with the arm.

I guess.

 

[Xmas]

didotcicero

Critics are there to be ignored.

I like the shot, you should have grabbed it the first attempt. Did you try for a third? Are you too shy like me?

Try a 5cm lens, some of the time.

I can only use 35mm but you might want to use two bodies, or a SLR with a zoom? Would you have used a 5cm, would you have framed differently?

Noel

 

[SteveM(PA)]

I like the idea of someone reaching into a holy place to grab a diet coke, so much so that I'd go back and set it up and shoot it again, maybe with the hand a bit higher and more grabby looking so that it's separated from the bottle in the shadow. You're out there thinking and shooting and learning, as are we. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Hmm, I agree, I don't know what a "brilliant HCB-moment" is, unless HCB were having a moment, brilliantly, in your photo.

It's a good, interesting photo. If it's not what you intended, then it was bad for your intentions. If you have an artistic application for it, then it has a lot of great potential waiting to be exploited.

In short, neither. But it's not a bad photo at all (I have a funny bone or two), imho.

 

[mc_vancouver]

Reminds me of the missed shot of the nuns jumping off a castle wall...my camera was, unfortunately, not at the ready. I think missed shots, or caught shots, are among the most interesting. This one is intriguing. Perhaps...I don't know...perhaps blowing it up a bit, so that one can see that arm. I think 16x20?

 

[didotcicero]

@ Xmas: I have been using 50mm lenses for quite a while, this was the first time I used this 35mm lens. What I hear around me is that the 35mm is the ideal lens for a rangefinder. I'm not sure if I know what that means.
I got one offered quite cheap so I bought it. Now I can find out if that is true.
My mind, however, is still thinking in 50 mm.

I didn't try for a third, I was quite happy that I got a second chance and I was confident that I got the shot I wanted. Seeing it now I realize I could have gone a meter or so forward.

I'm shy from time to time, true. It depends on the situation, though. On familiar turf the chance is bigger that I get shy.

On the Bessa-R I use both a 35mm and a 75 mm. I have a Bessa-L with a 25mm which acts like a second body.

@ langdon auger: I don't like staging something, although I agree that could improve the whole of this picture.

 

[jamiewakeham]

I like this shot a lot. Personally, I think that getting closer or using a longer lens would detract from the sense of location. Agree that the shot needs a little dodge'n'burn, perhaps looking at the bright spots on the floor as well as around the arm.

Incidentally, I also like this sudden trend for people to post one-off or very small sequences of work and ask for critique. It's instructional for all of us.

Cheers
Jamie