Reality

Personally i feel its fine. All these crop suggestions indicate to me that they prefer to see pics on screen and not as large prints

In my opinion Marius has captured a moment in time that many of us would have liked to photograph (Clear to me by the several comments and manipulations of the original).

 

I for one won't claim to be an expert, but for me the feel of the shot that was originally taken is the shot for me.

 

In most photo's we take we can always see where we could have done better or shot from a different angle or wait for better lighting.

 

But the bottom line is the choice that was made at that split second in time to photograph the shot Marius took.

 

Waiting too long the child moves away, too soon not there, but the shot as it is, and the time to prepare your camera to shoot says to me Marius's timing was great.

 

The Crop is in the eye's of the beholder

 

g

When I first looked at this photo on Monday, I loved it. If I had posted a comment at that time, I would have raved about it, and said something like, "This comes very close to being a perfect example of the type of photography that I aspire to. It has it all: sense of place, graphic composition, social meaning, emotion, and more."

 

However, as the week has gone by, I must confess that I have grown tired of seeing this image on the home page. So while it had a strong impact on me initially, it hasn't held up well over just one short week in time. So I have to agree with the peeople who said this is not something they would like hanging on their wall.

 

Something about the color cast that many others have mentioned is bothersome, although I do think that it helps to set the mood and the sense of place. I get the feeling that there are some trees overhead that are causing that color cast.

 

And I have come to understand why some people are calling for part of the left to be cropped, although I would not crop it. I think the circuit-like appearance of the pipes gives the photo some of its meaning and also adds to the graphic appearance. The problem is that they add to one's initial impression of the photo, but after looking at it for a while, you begin to find them distracting from the main point of attention, the boy.

 

I am not a believer in the philosophy that every image must stand alone, and in fact, I believe quite the opposite: that many images work best as part of a series. So my solution to the cropping issue would be to not crop it, but to present this photo together with a closeup photo of only the boy and window. This photo would set the context, and the viewer could spend time looking at the other photo without the pipes and meters becoming a distraction.

I agree with Richard, who has brought up a very good issue here. This image should be part of a series. There are so many unanswered questions about the boy in the window or the neighborhood where he lives. I am curious if Marius felt compelled to go deeper in the boys life, as a photojournalist might. The motives of the photographer seem important when images like this present their content to the viewer.

It's appropriate that there are questions left for the viewer to answer. If you answer all the questions there is no motive for the viewers' imaginations to wake up. I wouldn't want viewing to be prosaic process. For that we have bad television. I think the photog and viewer should meet somewhere in the middle.

> I like the shot just the way it is. It's telling a story and we do not know the background, only what we see. No cropping, no tweaking, no black & white for me please. No matter how many times I look at it my eye goes right to the small child in the window. I see the sadness of poverty. A window with the top pane missing, covered with plastic. The sill is rotting & needs new paint. This is not a photo that is meant for your livingroom. It is a journalist's shot. Well done.

One of the few times I've clicked on the POW, different from the clean shots we normally see. Out of life, just like it is, for some of us.

If Jan Saudek had directed Brazil, it might have looked like this. Lovely!

I should probably start by saying that it seems to me that a lot of energy is used in assuming what the author might have thought. In my view, if the author cannot convey his idea clearly, the image has lost its survival battle. Moreover, if the image is not able to make me come back and look at it again and again, it failed miserably one more time.

As a clarification, this image is not characteristic to Romania but to the eastern Europe. Maybe the color of the pipes is different, or the shape of the window, or the pattern of the concrete, but the idea is the same.

 

Lots was said here. I believe the picture comes close, but misses. I see too much chaos and not enough isolation and alienation. The look on the child's face does not seem to me like curiosity but rather fear of the outside reality.

 

I do have a suggestion of a way to clear the message, if I find a way to attach it...

 

Regards,

This

 

is to me a very good picture - far superior in my eyes to many of the usual offerings. This

 

undoubtedly shows an eye that is very different from what we normally see here and that

 

is great to see - a bit of undoctored reality, shot with great empathy.

 

 

 

r

foarte tare... cred ca nu multi straini apuca sa vada asa ceva pe strada... din pacate, la noi e ceva obisnuit

I'm new to photo.net, and although this POW is not new, it immediately grabbed my

attention on several levels.

 

First of all, the composition is very strong, even from a graphic perspective. The geometry

of those yellow pipes, the patches of blue paint here and there, the rough texture of the

wall, and the curious face-like meter to the left of the window all make for an interesting

and pleasing arrangement.

 

But it is the child's face, peering through the lace curtain, that is the real center of gravity

in the image. I am curious about this child. What is his life like? What does he see when

he looks out the window?

 

The framing of the image does not appear casual at all, but precise. While many

compositions would be possible and worth considering, to me, the photographer is

conveying a reality about that child's life to the viewer precisely by the proportion and

placement of the window with the child in the wall. It wouldn't surprise me if he had more

than one framing, but chose this one. The original feels stronger, and more authentic in

terms of what it says about this child's life than any of the cropped versions.

 

I was glad to read the comments of readers who could immediately recognize the scene as

Romania based on the details, like the yellow pipes. It is a measure of the success of

the image that, with such simplicity, the photograph identifies its location, and at the

same time, shows us something universal -- the child looking out from his world into the

surrounding world.

 

Terrific photo. Interesting series of comments. Congratulations to the Maurius, and

thanks to the 'elves'!

I think the last posted version of the image is the best. Very strong message, superb idea and composition! It could only be taken in an eastern european country....