Gina O'Leary, 6, hangs out in a newspaper box as she and her bother Robert, 13, wait for their mother to pick them up in front of Aspen Valley Hospital Monday afternoon May 20, 2002.

What a great shot!That kids hair makes this image really "pop".

Has almost a Norman Rockwell charm to it.

Boy,I'm prayin' for a shot like this someday.

Thanks for sharing it.:^)

regards,

mike S

...maybe, but that's definately NOT thumb twiddling !

I am just the new one to this forum, sorry for my ignorrance

HCB is Henri Cartier Bresson, a famous French photographer who was one of the founders of Magnum photo's. I don't think we are all member of his fan club here, I have lots of other photographers as my favorite along them the Dutch street photographer Ed van der Elsken but who knows him ??? I think HCB stands for a kind of photography like Ansel Adams (AA, you Americans like to use only the capitals I've noticed like LBJ). stands for the master of the b&w landscape photography. So when speak of a portrait like HCB than I mean the HCB style (much copied in later years).

"The image makes the work superior, not the border." - Doug Burgess.

Agreed. But the border (is part of what) makes the work an image...:-) Like borders make countries...

"I doubt if anyone would disagree that a crop can make or break an image"

Certainly.

"...but the philosophy of never cropping is in no way the mark of a better photographer"

Agreed again. But the fact of never (or rarely) needing a major crop is the sign of a better compositional skill - imo.

By the way, I crop images very often - just like you. Sometimes it's just a minor adjustment, or to get a squared format whereas I don't have a squared format camera, etc. That's all ok.

And sometimes it's because I just wasn't good enough to analyze what exactly, in the image I was about to record, should be in, and what should be out. This is the only case, where I feel a bit silly to crop, but I still do it. Because it's better to see the right thing later than to never see it...:-)

I agree with you Marc. I usually shoot full-frame. However, there is the occasion I say to myself whilst looking at the neagative: "What the heck was i thinking, I needed to be in a tad closer and what the hell is that on the right?"

Hence, the cropping and sometimes scissors.

As a fly by the seat of my pants comment, I would guess that the two most subjective aspects of critique would be composition, which would include camera angle, and tonal considerations, which would include the choice of b&w or color. I wonder how the critique's on photonet would sort out if subjected to an analysis. By critiques I mean thoughtful comments based on the structure of an image, not to include comments such as "Wow" or "great work," etc. My point is that choices in composition and tone are probably the two most subjective photographic considerations when viewing any photograph, whether your own, or someone else's. So, is there any such thing as the right crop?

Assuming right crop, as correct crop, I would agree only that artistically, it may be necessary:

For instance, to bring balance (may be symmetrical or asymmetrical) or make emphasis on a focal point, etc., for example. Maybe what you see through the viewfinder is not the complete 36x24mm frame in the film. It has happened to me that the prints (which -I understand- are usually framed to fit 35mm) are already cropped from the lab by 1 mm and sometimes more if a bit off... and the prints are useless if that cropped a portion of head of a statue, for instance. A slightly larger framing would help reduce the possibility of this common problem (to me). Also the actual formats might not fit a "scene" so you get rid of the extra areas... and maybe if the subject you're after is changing fast, you rather start shooting, than thinking if the framing is exact, as long as it fits in the picture. I guess cropping is just a necessity, I think in this type of photography it is more important to get the subject or elements you want on film an then worry to crop at your desk on how to present to make it more attractive or aesthetically "correct". Regards,

Awesome photo ... bravo!

I'm thinking the photo Gabriele uploaded needs to be cropped ;)

Cool!

at first, when i saw this, it seemed as though the girl was sad that she was IN the box, and the boy was sad because he was too BIG for the box. but then when i read the title that they were in front of a hospital, i took on a completely different tone... they seem horribly sad, waiting as if to see if their mom or dad would live and make it out of the hospital. with that in mind, they seem alone physically, mentally and emotionally. my heart aches for them!

Nice Catch! Think inside the box!

this is my kinda stuff. if i loved this any more i'd have to marry it. great characters, balance, colour, moment, obersvation and photographer.

wouldn't you love to meet the characters who rated originality 3 and 4 ? regards, cb :-)