Photo of the Week - #18 - 1/17/22

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Nice Fred Herzog style.

Maybe some color variation?

IMHO, the image would come across more effectively in B&W. I do like its composition and the "sandwich" in the BG adds a bit of intrigue.

I really do like this photo a lot (in color)! For me, it exudes 'atmosphere' in bucketloads. The scene is so small, empty, and deserted. And yet, it still exudes 'atmosphere' in bucketloads! The colors and the play of light and shadows are just wonderful! The reflected 'Sandwich' letters give the scene context.

Yes, the circular, vertical and horizontal lines add interest to the photo as do the color contrasts but my main takeaway is the wonderful 'mood'' that this photo suggests.

 

Very appropriate on what (at least in the UK) is called 'Blue Monday'.

 

My congrats to the photographer.

 

 

Mike

 

PS. Just out of interest, I tried to find out where this photo was taken. And failed miserably! So if the photographer would like to PM me (confidentially) over the location, I'd be delighted. My lips will, of course, forever be sealed!

Edited January 17, 2022 by mikemorrell

I call it a good photo because I like looking at it. With the flood of images these days (ubiquity of cameras and media) there's so many (most?) that provide little or no reward to the viewer (they're boring). As is common with arresting images, the contrast is the hook. In this case it's chroma contrast more than luminosity, but it does grab the eye. The geometry then fleshes out the viewing experience, and the shapes of the lettering, roundness of the seats, etc. give continuing reward for further viewing. The 'gesture' is strong in the distillation of what makes the scene what it is.

The word "SANDWICH" really makes this image for me. The furniture makes it clear that it's a diner or "very casual" dining experience here, but the SANDWICH shadow slams it in the basket. I love the colors. Not sure what's causing the aqua color, but the reds and yellows are familiar to us and confirm the accuracy of colors overall. Nice shot.

Neo-noir. Reminds me of a still from a John Dahl or some such movie.

 

For me, it creates atmosphere and implied/suggested but not specified narrative. So it opens my imagination without filling in too many blanks.

 

I also sense absence. The emptiness of the table and chairs and especially the sense of being in the corner, even the shadow of the words on the wall, don't necessarily make me imagine who might have been there (though Val Kilmer making a shady deal comes to mind), but just leave me with a sense of empty human space.

 

One of the benefits to me of both the critique forum and the photo of the week forum, as well as No Words to some extent, is getting to see other photographers' interpretations of scenes as well as their own unique sense of style and taste. This photo, to me, has a distinctive flavor. I could imagine many ways to add salt or pepper but I find myself settled with this as presented. The colors likely aren't exactly as I would have chosen to process them and, if I thought about it and I were working on it as my photo, I might lighten or darken certain areas to my taste. But I'm fine just relaxing with this as it is, being in the photographer's world for the moment, which seems quite adequately created.

 

The color seems to me to provide depth and richness and the specific colors, being so primary and straightforward (the red not leaning toward orange, the blue not leaning toward turquoise, the yellow just as it might be found), seem in a good play with the light and shadow, the mood, and any narrative the scene seems to give out.

 

In short, I'm convinced and find myself absorbed into the world of this photo.

this photo works w ell and I really like it. IMO the color is great as it's a colorful scene. I won't over think it or pick it apart- just enjoy the atmoshperic vibe this shot exudes.

I like the color palate and there's something about a slice of Americana. Reminds me of some of Eggleston's work in spirit. Nice pic!

P.S. I like Nick's version.

Edited January 19, 2022 by http://www.photo.net/barryfisher

I like the photo as well as Nik's variation, although the darker reds of the original seem to better compliment the overall mood. The double exposure blurring of the signs on the wall, so that you can't quite read them, is an interesting editing detail. There must be something about the signs that does not add to the story that the photographer is trying to tell.

Hi, Everyone,

Thanks for your comments. I took this photo during a weekend trip to Rehoboth, a beach resort in Delaware. It was midsummer, early evening. On the way to dinner with camera in hand, just in case. And we came cross this eatery (breakfast and lunch only). So this was a snap, not a thought-out composition. The light, the shadows, the colors just made me stop and shoot. Just one example of why I love street photography!

Hi, Everyone,

Thanks for your comments. I took this photo during a weekend trip to Rehoboth, a beach resort in Delaware. It was midsummer, early evening. On the way to dinner with camera in hand, just in case. And we came cross this eatery (breakfast and lunch only). So this was a snap, not a thought-out composition. The light, the shadows, the colors just made me stop and shoot. Just one example of why I love street photography!

Maybe not a "thought-out" composition, but recognition of the mentioned elements (light, shadows,colors) is the talent that discriminates good photographers from the rest of us, and I suspect it is a mixture of innate and learned factors. Would you have stopped noticed these at the beginning of your photography? And framed to isolate the essentials while excluding distractive surroundings?

Just a postscript to Glenn McCreery. A small case of over-thinking the photo: The signs on the wall we’re blurred not because I edited the photo but because I was shooting at an angle through a thermal-pane window!