Streetphotography: Review thread

<p>picking up on a very good idea Clive launched last year and which was quite succesfull in the beginning I'll start another review thread or a POP thread as Clive called them.</p>

<p>The "rules" are simple. Apart from the OP, each poster first critiques the image immediately above (and only that image ) before posting his/her own picture (preferred is one that hasn't previously appeared in this forum). One post per person per thread. The point is to get an unbiased opinion. <strong>Therefore explanation of your own photo is not required</strong> . Please control the urge. As with W/NW, a theme should encourage posting.</p>

<p>Nice would be if the start of these threads (on Thursday?) would rotate</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Good initiative Ton. So let me start by commenting on your photo above. I struggle to kep my attention to a scene that does not really seem to have a point to communicate apart from the engine the lady is pushing, the name "Dirk" and the fact that se is about to tumble over her shoe ribon. The perspective of the rails is always worth having a go on, but here it is surely not the main subject matter of the photo. In more technical terms, the B/W is Ok but not spectacular and the darkness of her close could benefit from some more details. To conclude: This photo is surely not one of your best Ton, but maybe a good start of the thread</p><div></div>

<p>I really hate critiquing other peoples photos but I want to get in on this so here goes. If this were mine, I would crop to just below the guy's knee, turning it into a horizontal, eliminating the lower half completely. I don't think the lower half adds anything and I would want to emphasize the jumper more. Here's mine, have at it!</p><div></div>

<p>the story being told here isnt really all that interesting. there's nothing that i find remotely compelling in this scene. perhaps a different angle would have held interest, but i have to wonder why this shot was even taken.if this is a beach or waterfront scene, surely there has to be more capitvating stuff going on somewhere, right?</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Maybe you should have called that the <em>Streetphotography : Slash-review thread</em> Ton, lol.</p>

<p>( sorry couldn't help myself )</p>

<p>I'll respond to Eric's shot...</p>

<p>The subject in the middle is interesting, and the structure around it makes for a convenient frame. However, the the face is too dark - the eye is drawn up to it by the shapes below, but doesn't get to see that final part. That said, I can see from the building on the left and the blown sky that the contrast range in the scene might have been rather high.</p>

<p>I'm a sucker for strong wideangles, but I'm not sure it works here. One of the things that makes street photography interesting for me is the stuff that can sometimes be seen going on in the background. In this shot, the image surrounding the main subject doesn't have much going on, other than the strong perspective of the buildings on either side. I might have been tempted to use a slightly longer focal length, or maybe place the main subject off-centre and get some of the people more into the shot.</p>

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<p>OK, what the Hell, I'll give this a go. Nomads shot above I would like better if more information had been included. Normally I like close up shots but here there is just enough info to arouse curiosity, but not enough to offer any closure. Obviously the man is the subject but why was his picture taken? He is outdoors, it appears to be winter based on his attire and the barren trees in the background. But where is he? What is he doing and what is his relationship to his surroundings and the people in the background? The shape in the lower right appears to be a coffin but is it really? The dark attire of the man and those in the background would suggest a funeral, but is it? <br />We need more information in the form of more details included in the photograph. Without such information the question of "is it or is it not" remains. Perhaps Nomad. cropped this image and a full frame one could be provided so these questions can be answered? If this is a funeral perhaps providing more info in such a seemingly stark and cold environment could have been a comment on the mysteries and the "cold harsh reality" of death. Here all I see is a man tightly framed and dressed like a possible actor in a B movie spy caper. I see three maybe four people total in this photograph but the humanity is missing.</p><div></div>

<p>Well, it looks like a parade is in store. At first, the bulge in the man's face looks comical, but then the bib and the discoloration on his face makes me wonder if there isn't something else going on there, possibly a disability of some sort. The tension between the similarities & differences in their postures (legs, arms, expressions, glasses, flags) keeps my interest going. The blown sky forms a void that sucks my attention away from the people, and the darkness of the foliage imparts a slight heaviness to the scene, bringing me back to the bulge. <br /> <br /> Here's mine:<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/10471972-lg.jpg" alt="" /></p>

 

<p>@nomad...sometimes in street shooting, you have to take what's there. thanks for the critique, but we're talking about a quick grab shot taken during a walk through a crowded district in Mexico City of a skeletal face encased in a shroud under a canopy in otherwise bright daylight. on my monitor, i can clearly see santa muerte's skull, but short of placing reflectors and monolights around her altar (which would not be organic street photography, but a set-up shot, besides requiring permission from her disciples and/or greater facility with the Spanish language on my part) i don't think it would have been possible to light her up more to your liking. fyi, i did use fill flash, and if you look at the pic not straight on, but from a slightly elevated perspective, her facial features are clearly evident, possibly due to catching reflections from the gold trim above her shroud. perhaps you should have taken more than a second or two to study the photo from different angles before issuing your verdict. anyway, that's my critique of your critique.</p>

<p>ps in case you're interested, i also took a closer shot without the crowd (sorry for bending "the rules," ton -- but we all know there are no rules in street photography)</p><div></div>

<p>"sometimes in street shooting, you have to take what's there"</p>

<p>And dismiss what wasn't.</p>

<p>I like the fireman photo. Dressed for official business, but carrying a squirt gun. And if I had to guess, striding down to talk to those people. The broad smile seems to let us in on the joke, but the photo doesn't give it away.</p>

<p>Technically, I might like to see the photo taken a few feet closer and on a wider lens, but you takes'em where you finds'em.</p>

<p> </p>

<p align="center"><a title="Los Pobladores by NoHoDamon, on Flickr" href=" title="Los Pobladores by NoHoDamon, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3300463773_7ea6e02224.jpg" alt="Los Pobladores" width="700" height="560" /> </a></p>

<p>no worries Eric this is talking "business" and that's what it is about.</p>

<p>However, although I don't think it's what you mean here this:<br>

<strong>"sometimes in street shooting, you have to take what's there"</strong><br>

is a borderline argument<strong> </strong> in the sense that it's too often used as an excuse instead of editing more rigourously.<strong> </strong> Not the easiest part of photography, let alone in street.<strong> <br /> </strong></p>

<p>Phylo, English does have some advantages in twisting words doesn't it? ;-)</p>

<p>Eric, I see this thread as a bit of fun while still being something that we could each learn a little from. Also, hindsight is 20/20, and it's usually easier to see where changes could be made after the photo has been taken. Like I said, I could see that the contrast range you were dealing with was wide. If the detail is there if one looks at the monitor off-axis, then perhaps it could be brought out in an image editor? I appreciate that it was a grab shot - all of my street shots so far have been (and the hit rate per roll is pretty bad).</p>

<p>Marc, thanks very much for the critique. Your "air of mystery" interpretation matches my own, and the B-movie spy caper observation is spot on (I think it's very 'cold war'). Point taken about the lack of context, or the somewhat ambiguous nature of what little context there is. The shot was taken in Edinburgh a couple of weeks before christmas '09. There was a small open air market in this area, and he was looking at a ferris wheel that was out of shot to the right. He's standing at the top of a flight of stairs, and the 'coffin' is the top of a stone balustrade leading away from the stairs. There were three other people in the background, one of whom got cropped away. I had walked past him and down the stairs to see what was there, didn't see anything interesting, and headed back up. The picture was taken from the hip (camera in front of my belly) from about 2 metres or so. I was looking in the same direction as he was, with the camera pointing to my left. The left and right sides were cropped a bit (mainly to straighten the shot), and I chopped off the bottom of the frame to lose some distracting details in the balustrade leading down by the side of the staircase, and because the shadows there were rather dense. I still had to lift the shadows a bit to get some detail in his coat. A small version of the original shot is below for comparison.</p>

 

<p>Trying the attachment again...</p><div></div>

<p>Hmm, looking at it again, I think the 'coffin' is actually the top of a couple of litter bins...</p>

 

<p>Dropped by after a long absence and couldn't help but laugh at seeing how yet another of these threads has come off the rails. A belated Happy New Year to Ton and everyone else.<br /> I like the colours of Damon's photo, and the guy's expression is classic. Very D'Amato.</p>

<p><a href="http://fotogrotto.wordpress.com/"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/4131178324_7ae986a5db.jpg" alt="" /> </a> <br /> Tokyo</p>

<blockquote>

<p>Did it "come off the rails" as Clive writes ?- I don't think so. It started by chance with a few fairly critical remarks that might have frightened some away, but later found a more balanced mood. I think the initiative of Ton is very good but should invite for constructive comments that can be either critical and positive.I admit that it is vary much easier always to be positive but not always very useful for learning.<br>

Maybe Ton should consider introducing a minor change to the "rules of the game" permitting or even asking for feedback and reactions to comments. </p>

</blockquote>

<p>WRT Marc's image, I would have cropped and lightened the shadows a bit in post, if you couldn't do it in camera.</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

<p>Here's mine. D200 + Sigma 30mm/f1.4 nearly wide open. Converted to B&W using Power Retouche Pro's "BW Studio" inside of PS.</p>

<p>It's a hotel hallway, not a street, so I hope this qualifies.</p>

<p>Tom M</p><div></div>

<p>That lady crossing the street picture is really dramatic. Definitely it tells a story.<br>

<a href="http://BlueDigitalCamera.net">blue digital camera</a></p>

<p>Thanks for the update Nomad. I also failed to include my confusing regarding the title "The Watcher". I didn't know what he was watching and because of his expressionless face I didn't know how he felt or what he thought about what he was watching. I do like the color version better. Do you have any images of him and the ferris wheel in the same shot? I'm thinking that a shot taken more from his side with his dark clothes and expressionless face would contrast nicely with the ferris wheel especially if it was garishly painted and there were a few children running around it. Just my $.02</p>

<p>Thanks for your post production work Ton. I see your horizontal composition works better then my vertical. On my monitor though the highlights look a bit too bright. This was at a veterans day parade a few months ago. It was an overcast day which for some reason I see to have trouble getting good exposures in. I should someday push a roll a stop and over develop to see what I get.</p>

<p>Thanks for the update Nomad. I also failed to include my confusing regarding the title "The Watcher". I didn't know what he was watching and because of his expressionless face I didn't know how he felt or what he thought about what he was watching. I do like the color version better. Do you have any images of him and the ferris wheel in the same shot? I'm thinking that a shot taken more from his side with his dark clothes and expressionless face would contrast nicely with the ferris wheel especially if it was garishly painted and there were a few children running around it. Just my $.02</p>

<p>Thanks for your post production work Ton. I see your horizontal composition works better then my vertical. On my monitor though the highlights look a bit too bright. This was at a veterans day parade a few months ago. It was an overcast day which for some reason I see to have trouble getting good exposures in. I should someday push a roll a stop and over develop to see what I get.</p>

<p>Oops how did that happen? Sorry for the double post folks!</p>