rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Nuno
Nuno
Nuno: This photo well conveys a certain sense of mystery since we don't know what the three are concerned with, but also of loneliness and isolation because they stand there in an otherwise empty, barren urban terrain that is deliminated only by streetcar tracks and pavements. There is a nice compositional contrast between the gray and black structure of the cobblestones and the uniform white of the umbrella and some of the clothing. However, it is difficult to "understand" this shot because there is little clear reference to either an emotional or personal disposition or to the surrounding situation. The umbrella is really the only link here.
I have great sympathy for people using FSU gear, especially when the results are good. (Half of my gear is Russian.)
Compositionally I have a personal problem with shots where there is only one main object attracting the eye straight in the center of the picture within a uniform surrounding - partly because I've shot many such shots and now can't seem to like them anymore. Maybe my personal taste is somewhat conventional here, but in this case I would like it to be more to the edge to expose it by contrasting it with empty space in the other half, I've attached a very crude crop showing the general idea. A completely minor side-note in the same direction: in a uniformly structured background I find out-of-focus effects a little bit distracting, partly because the uniformity is lost. In this shot I would probably have preferred more DOF in the upper half.
Philipp
Nuno
Nuno: This photo well conveys a certain sense of mystery since we don't know what the three are concerned with, but also of loneliness and isolation because they stand there in an otherwise empty, barren urban terrain that is deliminated only by streetcar tracks and pavements. There is a nice compositional contrast between the gray and black structure of the cobblestones and the uniform white of the umbrella and some of the clothing. However, it is difficult to "understand" this shot because there is little clear reference to either an emotional or personal disposition or to the surrounding situation. The umbrella is really the only link here.
I have great sympathy for people using FSU gear, especially when the results are good. (Half of my gear is Russian.)
Compositionally I have a personal problem with shots where there is only one main object attracting the eye straight in the center of the picture within a uniform surrounding - partly because I've shot many such shots and now can't seem to like them anymore. Maybe my personal taste is somewhat conventional here, but in this case I would like it to be more to the edge to expose it by contrasting it with empty space in the other half, I've attached a very crude crop showing the general idea. A completely minor side-note in the same direction: in a uniformly structured background I find out-of-focus effects a little bit distracting, partly because the uniformity is lost. In this shot I would probably have preferred more DOF in the upper half.
Philipp
Attachments
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
formal
formal
formal: I found this the most difficult picture to say something meaningful about partly because the picture says it all. As others have pointed out street photography is about catching the essense of a situation, and here my immediate association was how this kind of angry disinterest is typical of children, and how excruciating shopping is typical of women.
However, I'm not sure whether shopping is actually taking place here; I don't see shopping in the picture, just a shop and a woman with an unnerved child, and the association mainly comes from your title.
Did you shoot this from the hip? It doesn't look like a hip shot, so I'll say that I would have liked more precise framing with respect to orientation. Otherwise, the formal structure is very clear and well executed in terms of overall composition (I like how there is something different, yet central in both halves of the picture), contrast (dark marble, bright window, door emphasising the figures in front of this) and focus (slightly unsharp window decoration emphasises the two figures).
Philipp
formal
formal: I found this the most difficult picture to say something meaningful about partly because the picture says it all. As others have pointed out street photography is about catching the essense of a situation, and here my immediate association was how this kind of angry disinterest is typical of children, and how excruciating shopping is typical of women.
However, I'm not sure whether shopping is actually taking place here; I don't see shopping in the picture, just a shop and a woman with an unnerved child, and the association mainly comes from your title.Did you shoot this from the hip? It doesn't look like a hip shot, so I'll say that I would have liked more precise framing with respect to orientation. Otherwise, the formal structure is very clear and well executed in terms of overall composition (I like how there is something different, yet central in both halves of the picture), contrast (dark marble, bright window, door emphasising the figures in front of this) and focus (slightly unsharp window decoration emphasises the two figures).
Philipp
rxmd
May contain traces of nut
Replies
Replies
Now some replies and explanations for my own picture:
Regarding focus: This was a hip shot, which explains a lot of the picture's deficiencies, I think. I have a very low success rate on hip shots, maybe 30% which show something interesting and maybe one in twenty that I would consider good pictures. In this case the camera rotated a little bit around the center axis of the lens during the shot, so the blur is actually motion blur. I find this to be somewhat risky, it can look good if you get the centering right but it tends to look dizzifying and unnecessarily distracting. I would have liked the man's head to be in focus, too; then the picture would look completely different because the circle of in-focus objects would be much larger, and the shirt and the number would not stand out as much. It would look a lot less dizzying, though; it's certainly not a very quiet picture as it is.
Rafael, you commented about DOF: actually there is a lot of DOF (I think I shot at f/11), but it gets lost in the motion blur. I wish I was as compositionally sophisticated as to point out the blurriness of the end-1960s by deliberately motion-blurring everything in a circle around the year, but alas, I can't claim this; all I wanted to shoot was market scenes, and when I saw the two I was just attracted by the colour contrast and the number which stood out on his shirt, so all I can credit myself with is that I got the object which interested me into the center on a hip shot, which is already difficult enough. I don't think I even read 1969 as a year at that moment. But I like the way it came out in the end, probably better than if I would have if everything was in focus.
I normally like to have clear orientational axes, but they don't have to be vertical. In this case I find that the composition works out, because there is the diagonal from the lower left to the upper right, as outlined by the heads and skyline, and it's orthogonal line outlined by the body and the blue of the sky and the guy's jeans. So I think, partly in response to
Thanks for the kind words about the use of colour. I'm originally a black and white person and trying to teach myself colour at the moment, so your positive feedback is very much appreciated New York is a great city for colour IMHO, but Agfa Optima with it's slightly exaggerated colour rendition helps in this picture, too, I think. Also, as sbug pointed out and I competely agree, here the Cosina lenses really shine. From the same trip I've taken a number of BW rolls on XP2, and there the lenses are a bit too contrasty, especially when scanned on an automatic minilab that tries to get all the contrast from the chromogenic negative into the scan and squashes the midtones in the process. I'm not really used to thinking in colour, so it's rather rewarding to have a picture every now and then where I think colour does the job.
Philipp
Replies
Now some replies and explanations for my own picture:
Regarding focus: This was a hip shot, which explains a lot of the picture's deficiencies, I think. I have a very low success rate on hip shots, maybe 30% which show something interesting and maybe one in twenty that I would consider good pictures. In this case the camera rotated a little bit around the center axis of the lens during the shot, so the blur is actually motion blur. I find this to be somewhat risky, it can look good if you get the centering right but it tends to look dizzifying and unnecessarily distracting. I would have liked the man's head to be in focus, too; then the picture would look completely different because the circle of in-focus objects would be much larger, and the shirt and the number would not stand out as much. It would look a lot less dizzying, though; it's certainly not a very quiet picture as it is.
Rafael, you commented about DOF: actually there is a lot of DOF (I think I shot at f/11), but it gets lost in the motion blur. I wish I was as compositionally sophisticated as to point out the blurriness of the end-1960s by deliberately motion-blurring everything in a circle around the year, but alas, I can't claim this; all I wanted to shoot was market scenes, and when I saw the two I was just attracted by the colour contrast and the number which stood out on his shirt, so all I can credit myself with is that I got the object which interested me into the center on a hip shot, which is already difficult enough. I don't think I even read 1969 as a year at that moment. But I like the way it came out in the end, probably better than if I would have if everything was in focus.
I normally like to have clear orientational axes, but they don't have to be vertical. In this case I find that the composition works out, because there is the diagonal from the lower left to the upper right, as outlined by the heads and skyline, and it's orthogonal line outlined by the body and the blue of the sky and the guy's jeans. So I think, partly in response to
Thanks for the kind words about the use of colour. I'm originally a black and white person and trying to teach myself colour at the moment, so your positive feedback is very much appreciated
New York is a great city for colour IMHO, but Agfa Optima with it's slightly exaggerated colour rendition helps in this picture, too, I think. Also, as sbug pointed out and I competely agree, here the Cosina lenses really shine. From the same trip I've taken a number of BW rolls on XP2, and there the lenses are a bit too contrasty, especially when scanned on an automatic minilab that tries to get all the contrast from the chromogenic negative into the scan and squashes the midtones in the process. I'm not really used to thinking in colour, so it's rather rewarding to have a picture every now and then where I think colour does the job.Philipp
formal
***
My comments. Four different, interesting images.
sbug
Her stance, the cigarette and the look on her face all add up to make me wonder what she is thinking.
I assume this was from the hip, but I don't like the object on the upper right. The brightness on the right is also distracting.
I would have liked to have seen her feet.
Rafael
I like this sort of image; in particular the way the two main characters are confronting (?) each other. The man on the extreme right, the poster and the main man's beard suggest this is a protest about the Middle East?
I'm not sure if this is a problem with my monitor or your jpeg, but the highlights appear to bright and the shadows too dark. The man's head and hands look over exposed.
rxmd
The contrast between the yellow teeshirt and the blues in the background gives this image a boost, but for me there is too much motion blur/camera shake.
nuno
This is a much more studied and composed image. Lines, squares and circles together with the different textured cobblestones give an over appealing image.
The umbrella in very near the centre of the image and it might be better lower and to the left?
Regards,
David
sbug
Her stance, the cigarette and the look on her face all add up to make me wonder what she is thinking.
I assume this was from the hip, but I don't like the object on the upper right. The brightness on the right is also distracting.
I would have liked to have seen her feet.
Rafael
I like this sort of image; in particular the way the two main characters are confronting (?) each other. The man on the extreme right, the poster and the main man's beard suggest this is a protest about the Middle East?
I'm not sure if this is a problem with my monitor or your jpeg, but the highlights appear to bright and the shadows too dark. The man's head and hands look over exposed.
rxmd
The contrast between the yellow teeshirt and the blues in the background gives this image a boost, but for me there is too much motion blur/camera shake.
nuno
This is a much more studied and composed image. Lines, squares and circles together with the different textured cobblestones give an over appealing image.
The umbrella in very near the centre of the image and it might be better lower and to the left?
Regards,
David
Rafael
Mandlerian
Thanks to all four of you for your valuable critiques and for your very generous comments. I shot this photograph in Koln, Germany when I was there about two weeks ago. The event, as you all gathered, was a demonstration against Israel's invasion of Lebanon. This group of demonstrators gathered in the main square right out front of the cathedral. I moved amongst the demonstrators for a minute or two, snapping a number of photographs. Then I noticed this young woman who had approached the man with the beard and was engaging him in conversation. I quickly got in position to shoot a couple of frames. Some of the demonstrators were carrying flags. Others had signs like the one being held by the woman in my photograph. I wanted to use the woman with the sign to give context to the discussion between my two main subjects.
I could have shot that demonstration for a long while. But I was soon approached by one of the demonstrators who, quite aggressively, demanded to know on what authority I was "taking photographs of private citizens." I explained that I was only taking these shots for my own interest. But I soon decided to move on rather than risk another confrontation. So in the end, I only came away from the demonstration with about 10 frames.
Philipp, as you correctly surmised, I was setting the lens to its hyperfocal distance. As I walked through the crowd, I was really only thinking about composition. I agree that it would be interesting to see how this image would look with the tree and the buildings in the background thrown out of focus.
With regards to the contrast issues that both Scott and David raised, I'm afraid they are due to my terribly mediocre computer skills. The original print is less contrasty than the image on the screen. When I first scanned it in, the image looked incredibly flat and it seemed to be tinted. So I played around with the few controls I know in iphoto and this is what I came up with. I agree that it is not entirely satisfactory.
I could have shot that demonstration for a long while. But I was soon approached by one of the demonstrators who, quite aggressively, demanded to know on what authority I was "taking photographs of private citizens." I explained that I was only taking these shots for my own interest. But I soon decided to move on rather than risk another confrontation. So in the end, I only came away from the demonstration with about 10 frames.
Philipp, as you correctly surmised, I was setting the lens to its hyperfocal distance. As I walked through the crowd, I was really only thinking about composition. I agree that it would be interesting to see how this image would look with the tree and the buildings in the background thrown out of focus.
With regards to the contrast issues that both Scott and David raised, I'm afraid they are due to my terribly mediocre computer skills. The original print is less contrasty than the image on the screen. When I first scanned it in, the image looked incredibly flat and it seemed to be tinted. So I played around with the few controls I know in iphoto and this is what I came up with. I agree that it is not entirely satisfactory.
Rafael
Mandlerian
rxmd said:
Oh, that makes sense. It's all motion blur then. I see it as soon as I go back and look at your image.
On the question of intent, I have to say that some of my favourite images turned out nothing like I had intended them to. You may not have intended to make a commentary on the year 1969, but your image does so in a very interesting way. And your use of colour does make the image quite eye-catching.
formal
***
Thanks for all your comments.
I took this picture on a wet day on Grafton Street, Dublin. I used a pre-focused, 24mm lens held at waist level; so I was actually pleased how well the composition turned out. I have attached the original uncropped version.
I felt that it need to be cropped to tighten up on the mum and boy.
I rotated the image and considered having the central pillar vertical, but I compromised so that I could keep more of the mannequin in the picture. Clearly it didn't work
Rafael, I think an image of just the mum and boy would have been stronger, but I was using the wrong lens. They are small in the negative, but I have produced a vertical of just them. I resisted the temptation of using Photoshop to remove the handle.
Regards,
David
I took this picture on a wet day on Grafton Street, Dublin. I used a pre-focused, 24mm lens held at waist level; so I was actually pleased how well the composition turned out. I have attached the original uncropped version.
I felt that it need to be cropped to tighten up on the mum and boy.
I rotated the image and considered having the central pillar vertical, but I compromised so that I could keep more of the mannequin in the picture. Clearly it didn't work
Rafael, I think an image of just the mum and boy would have been stronger, but I was using the wrong lens. They are small in the negative, but I have produced a vertical of just them. I resisted the temptation of using Photoshop to remove the handle.
Regards,
David
Attachments
Rafael
Mandlerian
David, for a shot from the hip I think your composition is great. And as far as the lens chice goes, hey you shoot with what you've got in these situations.
In terms of the crop, I understand your dilemma about the mannequin. But I'm not sure that the image needs the mannequin. How do you like the image when it is cropped just to the right of the mannequin (or even just to the right of its head), just to the right of the number sign on the right side of the door, and straightened out? If you crop it this way, your image is split almost perfectly in two by the left side of the door frame. There is a great juxtaposition between the two sides of the frame. I really like it. What do you think?
In terms of the crop, I understand your dilemma about the mannequin. But I'm not sure that the image needs the mannequin. How do you like the image when it is cropped just to the right of the mannequin (or even just to the right of its head), just to the right of the number sign on the right side of the door, and straightened out? If you crop it this way, your image is split almost perfectly in two by the left side of the door frame. There is a great juxtaposition between the two sides of the frame. I really like it. What do you think?
formal
***
Rafael,
I tried this crop, but without the mannequin I think the left hand side of the picture becomes boring, but thanks for the suggestion.
I tried this crop, but without the mannequin I think the left hand side of the picture becomes boring, but thanks for the suggestion.
Rafael
Mandlerian
No problem.
N
Nuno
Guest
First of all let me thank you al for your comments and critiques. I'm loving these threads because they really help one look at his and other's photos in a different light.
About my photo, I totally agree with your suggestions especially about the crop choice. This was a bit of a hasty post of the complete neg scan I got back from the lab in October 2004. Had it saved in my PC at work, resized and uploaded from there when I saw I was the only one left... I should (and could) have waited 4 hours and post a scan from my Epson at home. I really like the composition shown by RXMD, thanks!
This photo was taken from my window on a rainy October day in 2004 when I was really "burning" film to see if my Kiev still worked, as it had been gathering dust for some 8 1/2 years. It had stopped raining and I came to the window to confirm, looking down I saw two people just standing there in the corner under a rather big umbrella, while the street was completely deserted. One or two minutes later the rain came back and a third person joined them. I thought I was funny that at least one of them lives about 15 meters (yards) away but they continued their conversation out in the rain. I grabbed my Kiev and snapped this shot before they changed their minds.
That's the story, and by the way, my Kiev still lives!
Cheers
Nuno Santos
About my photo, I totally agree with your suggestions especially about the crop choice. This was a bit of a hasty post of the complete neg scan I got back from the lab in October 2004. Had it saved in my PC at work, resized and uploaded from there when I saw I was the only one left... I should (and could) have waited 4 hours and post a scan from my Epson at home. I really like the composition shown by RXMD, thanks!
This photo was taken from my window on a rainy October day in 2004 when I was really "burning" film to see if my Kiev still worked, as it had been gathering dust for some 8 1/2 years. It had stopped raining and I came to the window to confirm, looking down I saw two people just standing there in the corner under a rather big umbrella, while the street was completely deserted. One or two minutes later the rain came back and a third person joined them. I thought I was funny that at least one of them lives about 15 meters (yards) away but they continued their conversation out in the rain. I grabbed my Kiev and snapped this shot before they changed their minds.
That's the story, and by the way, my Kiev still lives!
Cheers
Nuno Santos