Photos you like but don't know why

[peterm1]

I don't think a photo is that good if you know exactly why you like it. Of course, this only applies to "free" photography and not to photos taken for a specific purpose, such as advertising photos.
A really good photo has to have something mysterious about it.

Exactly! Pretty well all of my street photography is captured with this in mind. Not that I often succeed. But when I do such images are like poems. They force the viewer to interpret and when at their best they can go straight to the heart.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (nikkor 50mm f1.4) nikon s2

Utrecht, 2020

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (summicron 50mm f2 v4) leica m5

Amsterdam, 2017

 

[Richard G]

That is a great first image. Cinematic. There is a calm order, the colour harmony, diagonals, the rotation of heads, the lady’s fixed ahead, pursuing a misunderstood instruction for quelling sea-sickness - on a calm sea. The standing figure is intelligent, calm and commanding. A few minutes from now disaster will strike.

 

[Rikard]

That is a great first image. Cinematic. There is a calm order, the colour harmony, diagonals, the rotation of heads, the lady’s fixed ahead, pursuing a misunderstood instruction for quelling sea-sickness - on a calm sea. The standing figure is intelligent, calm and commanding. A few minutes from now disaster will strike.

Thank you. I’m happy to report that no disaster struck us 🙂 This image is so very different from what I usually shoot. I never photograph people I don’t know. But now I’m thinking that maybe I should 🙂

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (summilux 35mm f1.4 steel rim v2) leica m5

Amsterdam, 2017

 

[Richard G]

1. I like this one.
2. I think I don’t know why.

 

[oldhaven]

very Felliniesque

 

[Rick Waldroup]

very Felliniesque

It is, isn't it? What with the ketchup bottle (I think it is ketchup) facing backwards, the seemingly empty container next to the bottle- what does it mean? And, to top it off, the sudden gust of wind blowing the tablecloth... 😉

 

[p.giannakis]

This one for me. I probably like it because of childhood summer memories 🙄

 

[DownUnder]

1. I like this one.
2. I think I don’t know why.

I like it too. I also think I don't know why too.

As an architect, I find the linear composition here is super good. Everything seems to have fallen into place at the moment you made this image. Even the tablecloth at the left end, seemingly lifted by a sudden unexpected breeze.

I call these images 'happenstance'. They just happen when they do, because they do. No other explanation(s) to be made. None required.

In two words - good one!!

 

[Tuna]

I share only the images that I like (instead of posting images for the sole purpose that others will most likely like it). I suppose that if I were to be asked why I liked a particular image of mine I would be able to say but I’m not sure if I could every time. I just know that, for me, it is good, a good moment or light or something undefinable. Maybe just a feeling.

On the other hand, if I have a strong opinion on why I like the image I post, I wouldn’t want to say why because I would want the viewer of that image to have their own feeling, impression or story without any influence.

 

[DownUnder]

This one for me. I probably like it because of childhood summer memories 🙄

View attachment 4844030

Agree. It also captured the amazing light I recall from my time in Greece, so many decades ago (1970s).

 

[Rikard]

1. I like this one.
2. I think I don’t know why.

I absolutely do love this one. And I'm also not sure why. Maybe because of the "gesture" of the table cloth. It sort of points at someting outside of the frame. And again it's red against green. Just loaded a roll of Harman Phoenix in my M6. I think I seek out that colour combination. It shall be my mission for the weekend.

 

[peterm1]

I have been looking for this photo ever since I saw this topic. Just found it. There is something about this otherwise rather boring street scene that always grabs my attention and makes me like it, but I find it hard to discern why. I think it must just be that there is a lot going on with people sort of wandering around engaged in their own stuff, while walking in every which direction that it gives it a sense of movement and activity that is not always evident in such street shots.

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (summilux 35mm f1.4 steel rim v1) leica m5

Amsterdam, 2017

 

[Retro-Grouch]

I have been looking for this photo ever since I saw this topic. Just found it. There is something about this otherwise rather boring street scene that always grabs my attention and makes me like it, but I find it hard to discern why. I think it must just be that there is a lot going on with people sort of wandering around engaged in their own stuff, while walking in every which direction that it gives it a sense of movement and activity that is not always evident in such street shots.View attachment 4845840

Not boring at all! I think it works very well, and I like it a lot; both in structure and in subject, there's an overall random field with assorted small focal points of energy that keeps me moving through the image with both curiosity and visual pleasure. Meyerowitz has spoken often about trying to bring together disparate and random events that create a new meaning when put within the photographic frame. Just so, there is a multitude of events here, all brought together with superb skill.
A little while back, I made mention of photographs I've made that I initially didn't even know for certain were worth keeping. Later, after living with them, I realized that they were opening a significant new window into a fundamental change in my photography. I just had to pay attention to what the photograph, and perhaps my subconscious, were trying to tell me. Perhaps the strange fascination that this image holds for you is just such a case.

 

[Leon C]

 

[Erik van Straten]

gelatin silver print (elmar 50mm f3.5) leica 1a (1928)

Amsterdam, 2019

 

[peterm1]

I have always been fond of this photo for some reason. I wish it was not so out of focus and that more of the passing couple with the woman's arm about the man's waist was visible. But in the end, I like the enigmatic way the story is only hinted at - mostly because it is a little mysterious and hints at the intimacy that can only just be seen.