Words - Transaction

This was taken originally last weekend for the street shootout, but

alas, I dragged my feet and didn't get to develop until this

afternoon.

 

Anyway, per the new "rules" about posting Words/No Words threads...I

was trotting around Downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, and

before long I found that I was capturing many images of transactions

(cash for keys, diamonds/gold in the jewelry district, cash for

food, etc.). This is but one example. The reason I want to post

it...because I feel like it.

 

Please feel free to give me any tips, pointers, or advice. I am here

to learn unlike some of us (I guess).

 

This image was taken on Plus-X with my M6 and CV 35/2.5C, souped in

D76 1:1 for 9 minutes. Exposure was about 1/1000 @ f/5.6

 

Thanks,

 

Erik.<div></div>

i like the tones, but i find the car in the bg distracting. i'd wait for it to get outta there, or us an nd filter or slower film iso so as to use as large an aperture as possible(2.5 in your case) to minimize dof.

 

like the idea.

Erik;

 

Honestly, your photo is not of the quality as Andrew Nemeth's. Look below at his Shootout pics and I'm sure you'll agree. The guy is good. But you that already didn't you?

 

Now, I'm an amateur and can only offer amateur advice. I Kinda like your photo. The subject matter is interesting because the impression is of something elicit going on. I think the car wheel is a little distracting and adds nothing to the composition. The hands of the figure on the left as well as the money are not as sharp and properly exposed as I would like. Iyt may npt be the kind of picture I want to go back and look at, but I still kinda like it. Keep it up.

 

Dennis

That should be "illicit" Sorry.

Doesn't the car, with it's groovy wheel, indicate a getaway vehicle of some sort? I mean, if you were Joe Hollywood and this were a publicity snap, or an outtake, you'd put a Lamborghini or an SUV in the background wouldn't you? The totality of the image is not perfect, but it's a grab shot, f'chrissake. The perfect version is in colour, it was taken in a studio, and it's on the Digital Forum.

Interesting the way you guys think I believe the car is central to the point of the photo. Here is a trasaction taking place a person is handing money to another in return a set of CAR keys is being exchanged. OH maybe like a parking attendant or a valet or or or. BUT nothing in the photo lends me to think illegal behavior. Not to mention that this photo was taken from a rather close distance and most BAD guys don't like their photo's taken during the crime.

 

But then I'm just a small town truck driver who might not know what the big bad city is like.

 

By the way I neither like or dislike the photo based on it's subject matter but I do find it to be a good image of the subject and has the ablity to make people think about the image in different ways.

It works for me. great composition: simple and efficient.

I'm with Mark on this; the car is the context for the transaction. At first I took it to be a car purchase, but $1 bills have little place in that! So on second glance, I'll go for the valet & a tip. A whole series of transactions around the city would continue the story interestingly. :-)

In my opinion when a photo is interesting enough to elicit discussion about the meaning of its ambiguous content, it has some merit. I see now what I had missed before about the transaction. From a technical standpoint, it's not an Andrew Nemeth, but it still works for me. Interesting little photo. Keep it up.

 

Dennis

Here is a variation on this theme.<div></div>

i actually feel like it's not mysterious enough. to me it seems clear that a guy is getting/droppng off his car at a car park. i wish there were more mystery.

 

i love the concept of this shot, however, and think it would work really well as part of a group of related images.

 

i think people too often overlook the special power that a group of shots can have. people should post groupimngs here more often.

 

let's see a series of these.

 

as for the technical side, you were dealing with very bad light, and it shows. try not to shoot at midday unles you have to. light is everything when it comes to tonality.

First, thank you to everyone for you honest opinions and input. I think it's great to see some of the interpretations on this image.

 

As for the car...I framed this shot without the car, and it looked rather dull to me. I decided on putting the car into the image so as to give the image a sense of place (valet parking lot).

 

As for the midday sun...the past few weeks have been pretty warm (downright hot) in LA. I inteneded at first to make a series of images based on how damn hot it was in Downtown LA, and I felt that the blazing midday sun would be key in realizing this on film. I know how tricky that can be in regards to lighting, but I wanted to try it.

 

Again, thanks for the input.

 

Erik.