Waiting for a fare

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

Delhi India 1990. Comments, critiques, welcome.

 

 

 

 

 

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

Delhi India 1990. Comments, critiques, welcome.

 

[ATTACH=full]1419269[/ATTACH]

 

 

 

[ATTACH=full]1419269[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=full]1419270[/ATTACH]

 

 

Don't know why the color version came up twice, certainly didn't intend it that way......Izzy

[samstevens]

Somehow, this makes me feel like a peeping tom. The technical quality adds to my sense of distance.

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

Somehow, this makes me feel like a peeping tom. The technical quality adds to my sense of distance.

???????

[kmac]

To me, the photo conveys a sense of poverty in India. Looks like he's desperate for a fare, not just waiting for one.

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

To me, the photo conveys a sense of poverty in India. Looks like he's desperate for a fare, not just waiting for one.

 

Yes! I don't particularly think I was conscious of it at the time (not completely anyway), but after looking at the print later (after we got home), I realized that was probably the case. This was a grab shot. We were actually boarding the bus or van (whatever it was to get back to our hotel at the time). As you can see it was a night shot, and as I recall it was pretty chilly. All the other pedicabs were long gone, and this guy was just standing there, holding that blanket tight around him, hoping.

[mikemorrell]

A "grab shot" is a good description, I think. It explains my sense of "distance", "impersonal" and lack of engagement when looking at the photo. Similar to @samstevens's "peeping tom" comment. The fact that the driver is behind his taxi with his head turned away adds to the 'distance. Almost as if it's the taxi that's the subject and the driver is an 'accessory'.

 

Technically, the foreground looks overexposed. As if a flash was used or another light source (bus?) close up. Playing around in Photoshop, I found that shifting the black point to the right darkens the photo and brings out more color both in the taxi and in the driver.

[samstevens]

???????

Some photos of people inspire empathy, either with the subject, the photographer, the situation, or any combination of these. Some photos of people simply inspire interest. Some feel like a more casual observance by the photographer. Here, I feel like we're staring, in the way our parents taught us not to. (I took it to be a woman before reading the other comments. Then again the image isn’t clear enough for me to distinguish details.)

 

Ii presents me with a stark and somewhat harsh curiosity and, for me, a mostly empty one. I feel self conscious (which I wouldn’t mind if I felt that was intentional), an outsider gaping, like tourists so often do. It's not that photographers don't stare sometimes, but a compelling photo might lean into that stare (in some way acknowledge or confronting it—think Bruce Gilden as an extreme example) and show self awareness of the stare or perhaps turn the stare into a story or even what might feel like a portrait, which this does not.

 

This shot so isolates the person from any context or engagement. It’s a bit like the subject has been put under the glare of an interrogation spotlight, refusing to relate in a significant way.

Edited March 6, 2022 by samstevens

[je ne regrette rien]

I apologise, but the proposition of the same photo in colour and black-and-white has a repelling effect on me.

Colour and monochrome pictures are really something different and in my opinion it is solely the responsibility of the photographer to decide upfront whether the picture needs to be monochrome or not. To me it equals presenting a novel in English rather than in Japanese and let the reader decide what works best.

The colour photo is the one I want to watch, it needs the pink, the blue and the gold. It evokes positive feelings, in some way it looks to me as if the man is praying or something like that.

[samstevens]

I apologise, but the proposition of the same photo in colour and black-and-white has a repelling effect on me.

Colour and monochrome pictures are really something different and in my opinion it is solely the responsibility of the photographer to decide upfront whether the picture needs to be monochrome or not.

I get what you’re saying and have the same general feeling, but …

 

I think of this as, in great part, a learning site. And, especially this critique forum seems tailored to learning. So, it’s a natural place to ask questions. As a matter of fact, the answer you gave answers the question from your perspective, providing the photographer insight he might otherwise not have received had he not posted the two. Ultimately, sure, he’ll determine whether it works best in color or black and white when he arrives at a final presentation. Here, he’s offering us a work in progress.

[mikemorrell]

Despite some previous 'critical' comments, my warm thanks go to @mrAndMrsisszy for posting this photo for critique! Whatever comments you receive, your posted photos give us all an opportunity to reflect and learn from them. I'm pretty sure someone once said that 'comments reveal as much about the commentators as about the subject that is commented on'. If no one has said it yet, then I'll copyright it ;).

 

All feedback on the 'requesting critique' forum is potentially helpful in enabling photographers (and commentators!) to reflect and learn. At the same time, the feedback is - by its nature - subjective. Whenever I give 'feedback' (on anything), I always add the comment "use what's helpful to you now and just ignore the rest'

 

In other words, my advice is to treat all feedback as 'suggestions to be considered.

 

 

Mike

[samstevens]

Despite some previous 'critical' comments

Imagine that! And in a critique forum. :)

I'm pretty sure someone once said that 'comments reveal as much about the commentators as about the subject that is commented on'.

Many people have said it and I, too, think it's true. Though it can also be used as a defense mechanism by the photographer asking for critique or someone else feeling protective.

 

Disagreement can be a source of inspiration. It so often can stand on its own.

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

in some way it looks to me as if the man is praying or something like that.

Good point! I hadn't noticed, but it may very well be. As kmac said (rather than waiting for a fare he may very well have been desperate for one).

 

Mike, regarding your observation about flash. I don't remember (it was over 30 years ago) but I probably did use flash (it was a night shot) , and the editing was done when I was far less familiar with the process.

 

Sam, regarding your comment about "stark and somewhat harsh curiosity". It was to some extent a pretty stark scene and while I may not have particularly thought of it (at the time) in terms like starkness and\or desperation (as kmac observed) they are appropriate to the image.

 

Aside from that the comments and critiques have been helpful, and while I may not have particularly thought of this image as a work in progress before, that's changed and it goes into the "to be reconsidered folder".

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

but …I think of this as, in great part, a learning site. And, especially this critique forum seems tailored to learning. So, it’s a natural place to ask questions. As a matter of fact, the answer you gave answers the question from your perspective, providing the photographer insight he might otherwise not have received had he not posted the two. Ultimately, sure, he’ll determine whether it works best in color or black and white when he arrives at a final presentation. Here, he’s offering us a work in progress.

 

Regarding that "work in progress part". I haven't thought of it in those terms, but in essence, that is what I post. It may be an image like this which I may have long since thought was done or something which I may be currently working on. With the former it helps me decide whether to put it back in the completions pile or move it to the to be reconsidered pile. With the latter its continue working and take that comment or critique into account.

[dcstep]

I apologise, but the proposition of the same photo in colour and black-and-white has a repelling effect on me.

Colour and monochrome pictures are really something different and in my opinion it is solely the responsibility of the photographer to decide upfront whether the picture needs to be monochrome or not. To me it equals presenting a novel in English rather than in Japanese and let the reader decide what works best...

.

 

I'd like to explore further what you mean by, ""to decide upfront".

 

I began photography in the 1950s, when we photographers had no other choice other than "upfront" when we were loading our cameras with film. We had to decide on color or black & white, speed of the film and even what filters we might add to make the sky look darker, etc., etc. These days, it hardly matters if we shoot, in RAW, and then decide. Here we have a hybrid shot, taken with film and then digitized. Mrsizzy probably had no idea in 1990 that he might process it in B&W. He likely wouldn't have loaded color film if he hadn't intended on color processing.

 

Now, there are VERY expensive digital cameras on the market that only shoot monochrome. That's certainly "upfront" and commits someone to monochrome before they even find their subject. What's that about? I'll sometime think, as I'm taking the shot, "this will be really nice in black & white." Other times, I take a picture, work it in color and it just doesn't have the power I'm seeking, so I'll move to B&W and ultimately be more pleased with that result. I feel no compulsion or pride in doing that before I take the shot. Do others?

 

Is there really a desire or need for an "upfront" commitment to black & white? I suspect that some feel that need. Personally, I prefer the freedom to make the decision after I've loaded the RAW file onto my computer.

 

In this particular forum, which is about learning, I'm not disturbed to see someone ask for help in deciding about any aspect of their images.

[samstevens]

I'd like to explore further what you mean by, ""to decide upfront".

I'm with you for the most part. As I said in my earlier response, since this is a learning site, posting in both color and black and white might get a photographer some insights into each that will help both in deciding for this photo and in thinking about making future photos.

 

As to deciding up front, I've always taken RAW photos in color and converted to black and white as I see fit. There are times when I'm specifically looking for what I think will make a good black and white image, and so I may be on the lookout up front for something that will work. For instance, I'm working on a series right now where I'm using both color and black and white to different ends. In some cases, I'm pairing photos so I may go out with a particular black and white photo I already have looking for something black and white to pair it with. Still, I shoot in color and do my own conversion, but I may have a definite up front bias in what I'm looking for during a given shoot.

 

I used to think committing to monochrome in digital was silly. I've changed my opinion on that. I tend, like you, to appreciate the most freedom I can have. So why limit oneself to monochrome? Because, sometimes, self imposed limitations can be a very creative way to go about things. They can present a challenge and lead to new places. Why did Hitchcock want to mimic a single take in Rope when editing allows so much more freedom? Why did some photographers insist on not cropping? Why was Citizen Kane shot in such deep focus? There are so many examples of artists working within very strict limitations they chose to impose on themselves. In a sense, that can inspire tackling a problem, it can force one to see a certain way, which can be enlightening.

 

Part of art is to experiment. Experimenting with self imposed restrictions is no different, if one wants to do so.

[Robin Smith]

The flash is an unfortunate aspect to this photo, adds to the "snapshot" look. Given that the flash is unsubtle I feel the black and white rendition moderates the look a bit and is therefore better. Perhaps he is waiting for a fare, but to me he just seems to be thinking or contemplating the eternal. He does not seem to be trying to catch your eye for a fare, if he was it would be a more interesting shot to me.

[MrAndMrsIzzy]

Thanks all for the comments\critiques, etc. I may not always mention it, but they are much appreciated.