john_perkins2 Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 <a href=http://www.ripserve.com/perkins/cityofthedead>http://www.ripserve.com/perkins/ cityofthedead</a><p> Some new pictures...<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_Es Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I went to the website and, like the posted photograph, I found the overall work annoyingly dark. Is this intentional or is there a calibration problem? I also think this work would be stronger in black and white. The concept is brilliant and the effort put into this project is praiseworthy and compelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted_kozak Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I guess the flash failed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odama Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 John, I don't know why, but my ie closed after trying view your site http://www.ripserve.com/perkins/ cityofthedead Is anything wrong with it? Thanks, Jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Fabulous work, John! I vaguely remember (in my book that means that made an impact) that you posted a link to a set on Palestinian children on Gaza strip earlier. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I agree with Alex that the images are quite dark. The subject matter is interesting, but I don't find the images that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesrani Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Concept and effort are worth nothing without results. Children always make engaging subjects, but I found this a pretty pedestrian batch. And tilted frames, isn't that a really worn out trope by now? On the whole, the set gives me no feeling at all for life in the City of the Dead - there are no establishing shots, and nothing that really sets these pictures apart. Since it's a long term project, I'm sure it'll develop over time - maybe this was just a first stab at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_perkins2 Posted October 28, 2007 Author Share Posted October 28, 2007 Ah Rob, nice to hear from you. You still in Italy? Thanks for the feedback. I guess the 3rd pic is the closest to an establishing shot you'll get from this part of the cemetary where the family live. I did make a weird selection, mostly going for the simpler pictures. So what's missing? The way the older kids look after the younger ones? How the flower selling business works? Kids chained up? Meal times? The mosque? More on the goats? Where does this go? About how divided Cairo is between rich and poor? How the state fails the vulnerable? I remember some of your India work. I'll go and take a look at that again and try and work out where you're coming from. Yes, exposure is funnny, most of it was shot on expired film. That will teach me to live in the 3rd world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el_fang Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I think some of the pictures could use some adjustment but I suppose the darkness adds the elements of foreboding and mystery. I also didn't get distracted by excessive tilts. Overall these pictures are much better than the dreck that typically gets posted here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesrani Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 John - don't take it so hard! Don't go to my snaps for any guidance - I am as dissatisfied with them as anyone could possibly be. I suppose what I hope for in pictures these days is something new - something I haven't seen before. The only thing in a PJ mode that has given me that feeling for a long time has been Suau's Beyond the Fall (I think...). Also a long term project. So there is always hope. Children chained up? Victims, poverty, "problems" don't interest me at all. People do. And I don't yet have a feeling of that from what you're showing... But maybe that's not what you're after - who am I to wag my finger at you. You're living in Cairo these days? I'm in Bombay at the present time, have been for the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 OT: (John, Please excuse me) Another Bob, I looked at your site (for the first time) and the one photo that is visible to me is just amazing!! Do you have other images posted online? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 John, One way that may work for you is to sit with the locals for a while, sipping some tea, and then slowly take candid photos as you become a "part" of their community. -------------------------------------------------------------- John said: "So what's missing? The way the older kids look after the younger ones? How the flower selling business works? Kids chained up? Meal times? The mosque? More on the goats? Where does this go?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I adjusted one of you posted images, John, just to illustrate that you can get soemthing different [if you want to]. Alex suggested that the images are dark and may also look better in B&W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad_ Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 >>> One way that may work for you is to sit with the locals for a while, sipping some tea, and then slowly take candid photos as you become a "part" of their community. Have a feeling he knows his way around people and communities - just a thought looking at his work (which I like a lot) from many countries... www.citysnaps.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Brad, Referring to the Cairo images, I do not see a close personal eye to eye contact between the photographer and the people. I am from that culture, and therefore I have John an advice that will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nesrani Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Vivek, you click on the image of the boy and the monkey to get into the site, after which you have a number of pdf portfolios available to you. Raid, I believe John has spent many years in the Middle East (we met there in 2002) and is very familiar with local cultures and people. There is no doubt that he spends a lot of time on his projects and is good at getting close to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pensacolaphoto Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Bob, This is good to know.I guess, my advice was not needed then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivek iyer Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Robert ("Another Bob"), I did get to one or two of the pdf files. Others have been very slow (too slow). Very nice work. Love it! The boy with the monkey shot is just priceless!! Lutz Konermann visits Daravi for making movies, BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurentvuillard Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Nice work, potentially, too bad the lighmeter looks dead as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_jones4 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I thought "Shaimay the day before Eid" was a very attractive image. There's something gently poetic about a couple of the images which I quite value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymond_tai Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 if the scene was dark then the picture was true to the scene. What is wrong with that?<div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lutz Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Hi Vivek, Rob and I are together here in Mumbai, working on the same Dharavi movie! Thanks for the HU, anyway. ;-)<p> <img src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_F3Ply6kAYtw/RyieGByjcEI/AAAAAAAAAC4/cwT-mPCO1S8/s1600/P1040125.yellow.web.jpg"> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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