my 1st photo here... some moment lost in time... wondering about... strangers lives...

On a side note: I finally ran across another photo I was thinking of when I saw this POW for the first time. It has a similar element of movement but a much different feel.

 

Click here for a shot by Luciano Checco

 

WOW!!

 

At first sight I just stopped breathing!!!. A beautifully heavenly feeling went through my vain.

 

You must post more of your work, we will be looking forward to that...

 

I am speechless....

 

I wish I could.....

 

RGDS

 

I wish Rui would take a picture of me like that, so long as I get to choose the girl.

Hmm, yes, I have to say that the ideal pic you posted is better. The position of the couple is more interesting, and having the scene w/o people in the background works better than I would have thought. Keep it up!

If you think about motion blur for a moment, not everything in the scene is moving the same. (OR SHOULD BE.) For instance, the man with the goatee on the right is moving about 9 pixels to the right and slighly downward (about 5 degrees from horizontal) as he is stepping down. The heel of his shoe isn't moving at all. His toe is moving down at about 15 degrees from vertical. The lady with the glasses to the left of the couple is actually moving up slightly and is also moving about 9 pixels in this frame. But her leading foot isn't moving because it is planted! There is some evidence of an USM because the highlights and dark detail on the people in the background are amplified, but it is a great shot.

This is really great. I don't think that those examples with the sides cropped off looked good at all. No so much because they took the couple off center (though I quite like them at the center), but because they brought them too close up. Like this you really see how the rest of the world just moves on by without noticing them. However, the one crop that took of the legs was rather good, and I think that some experimentation could have been done on that idea.

 

I also wouldn't mind seeing a version of this where the couple are burned in slightly, which would make them seem even more alone in their own little world. That might also compliment the little rectangular halo caused by the train window. I've also been looking at this image low down on my laptop screen, and the people in the background appear much darker, with no detail in them (like the line on the mans jacket). When I sat back up, I realized that I far prefered it with them dark, which would again be achieved by burning and dodging.

 

As someone else menetioned, the diagonal line of the railing points right to them, which is nice. However, trying to picture the image without it makes me realize that I would have far prefered the photo without it (not that this could have been changed by the photographer, of course).

 

Finally, I might have waited for the man to have reached furthur to the right, but either way, this photo is great, and much nicer than the other example you posted.

Really nice! I'm jealous of the shot AND the couple, Maybe someday???

Ufff i have kept frozen when I have seen this photo ... it's great for much reasons ... and it's great this way, I don't think it needs to be crop or retouched in any way

Paul G., a motor drive wouldn't help here. What I was talking about was native reflex of the photographer, anticipating the shot, adjusting his field of view to suit and waiting for the split second (among other split seconds) that was the right time to press the shutter.

Nowadays I do use a camera with an automatic advance (it's pretty hard to get one that doesn't have this feature), but I don't think that qualifies as a motor drive. I can truthfully say I've never used the "continuous" setting to make the "decisive moment" decision for me. There's something exquisitely satisfying in exposing a candid shot and just knowing you got it right. Besides, motor drives use up too much film.

Simple, clean, effective. Great use of blur to make the couple the main subject. As with the question of the feet, and 1/20th of a second: you can capture them as they are on the ground and get them sharp, even when the person is running.

 

I agree with Tony on the motor drive. It's nice to advance the film, but to many photogs today use it as a crutch to capture the decisive moment. As a result, they lose that ability and when they must capture that all elusive slice of time, they're rusty and end up missing it.

 

Congrats Rui on POW.

To me this screams of Doisneau's "Kiss at the Hotel": http://www.masters-of-photography.com/D/doisneau/doisneau_kiss.html

 

In Doisneau's photo he had to admit, finally, that the lovers in his photos were actors he hired for many of his 'oh so perfect' candid shots of spur of the moment Paris romance.

 

The first thing that screamed at me when viewing this picture was "Tripod!", the second was 'Just how many actors do we have here?' I was willing to bet the walkers were also part of the company.

 

This is not to diminish this photo -- It's great! Maybe it is so entrancing because, as so many have noted, it is such a interesting place to start.

 

The stairs are part of the couple's world, as many have mentioned; to me they reflect the inner romance of the embrace. And the "Federal Division of Acute Angles" style of architecture speaks of lives filled with acute angles.

 

So, first: I would like change the style of the stairs.

 

Maybe Absinthe inspired Art Nouveau:

 

http://mercurio.iet.unipi.it/pix/fr/metro/Paris/station/par01.jpg

 

Or maybe a polished limestone balustrade fit for a major Carnegie library.

 

Something from Budapest...

 

Then I think I would shoot from an angle to the tracks. The 90 degree shooting angle emphasizes the angularity of the stairs.

 

I would change the shooting height: it looks to me to be shoulder level and unatural... I would raise it to eye level with the tall man in the background, or lower it to the position of someone sitting down, as in the Doisneau picture.

 

But, Bravo! This is a great peice of work: the gorgeous joining of the walkers and the train sliding past behind the lovers, it's GREAT!

 

"Like yoga, it is in the breathing and the flexibility of one's body, not to mention the infinite practice that enables the seeming incredible." -- Paul G

 

I don't see why that would be incredible. Rui made it clear that Return of The Kiss was shot with a vibration reduction lens.

I don't quite get the idea behind VR lenses. Why not just use a faster lens to begin with? Is a VR lens substantially lighter or less expensive than a faster lens?

A VR (or IS) lens allows you to hand-hold at a slower shutter speed than you'd otherwise be able without unacceptable camera-shake.It's true that a faster lens would let you shoot a a higher shutter speed, but sooner or later you'll still reach a point where the lens is wide-open and then you need to shoot at a lower speed. Also, running around with an 80-400 f/2-f/2.8 would not be something I'd like to attempt. And, sometimes, as in this very POW-worthy example, you want to shoot at a low enough speed to get some motion blur but hand-holding at that speed would be difficult. You also might not want the shallower DOF that a wider aperture would cause.

Click here for information on Canon IS lenses

Click here for information on the Nikon VR lens.

1: I want one of those lenses. Perhaps I will never take a shot like this, but I could try.

 

2: There is a novel here and some of you want to take out a chapter or two. The stairway helps anchor the shot. The background people fill in for the 3rds rule. The train is an important part of the story. Ruducing it would diminish it's value to the story.

 

3: I might have panned a little to the right and captured more of the stairway, and up just a little so the diagonal bled off at the corner and you had a little MORE train. That would have set the couple a little closer to the rule of thirds, and the triangle formed by the stair would point to the couple. But of course this isn't my shot and kudos to the photographer who did take this one.

Why is it when someone has an outstanding photo of its own merit, there are constant references to the "great Masters?" Especially to the photos which have been staged, such as Doisneau's "Kiss at the Hotel." The key to shooting scenes such as this is to hang out for awhile and let life come to you. People will eventually ignore you and go about their lives and you'll capture moments such as this and they' ll be authentic.

Is it not possible to have photographers who are great in their own right?

BTW, I liked Rui's photo with just the couple much better.

"I observed that gentlemen and ladies of the press commonly--and especially when using an unsupported telephoto lens--will hook the thumb of the left hand underneath the lens, with the palm open as if away from their face."

 

You mean with the weight of a heavy telephoto supported mostly by the thumb? That's hardly the way to hold one steady for low light shooting.

 

The techiques needed have been evolved and proven over centuries in another field; check out any informed discussion of how to hold a rifle steady while standing.

...constant addressing of the use of photoshop. Here we have a nice image that was brought to a bit more life with the use of motion blur. The motion blur effect thing is not that hard to do. Just stop nay-saying and get out and try it. I use it alot in my work to show that things are indeed moving.

As far as Dennis's comment on hand holding..I am lucky to have the gift of vibration reduction built into the brain.:-) I routinely hand hold a 85mm down to 1/8th of a second and have had the rare luck of getting a sharp image with a 400 2.8 @ near minimum focus...at 1/30 of a second. I simply at least try because I like to challenge my self.

The centering and the railing don't bother me.The timing on the man on the right does a bit.

HINT: For good slo-mo or blur work, hammer off no less than 3 frames with the fastest motor speed you can use (if you have one). What you will find is that the first one and maybe even the second will be soft. The third or last one might just suprise you...:-)

db

"The forward left hand position cradling, or clutching the barrel grip, in addition to supporting the weight, is meant to counteract the reflex anticipation of the recoil, is it not?"

 

Not in my experience, and I've got a fair amount with things that go bang. If you can anticipate the moment of recoil you're not squeezing the trigger correctly, and if you seriously tighten up your grip with either hand well in advance you'll create muscle tremors.

 

In any event, recoil, as you said, isn't an issue. What I question is the use of the thumb as the main weight-supporting unit if you're talking about a reasonably sized lens like the Canon 70-200 or 100-400 if you're waiting for just the right expression or gesture on the part of a politicritter.

 

Try each style for a while with a big lens. Perhaps your thumb is as strong as my wrist, in which case the issue is moot.

 

And I have no objection to "argumentative". I could always send email to myself if I was looking for agreement. IMX, that gets boring in a hurry.

I think the photo is great as is. I think to "perfect" it would detract from its spontenaity (sp??) and feeling. The ONLY thing that bugs me is the timing of the guy on the right, but hey--how was he to know?

 

Love the shot!!!

 

I've just gotta say it: like Rui's intentions and disposition as much as I do, REAL candid photography just ain't done with a 300mm lens. You have to get in close and make yourself part of the scene. Anything else is a cop-out.

 

Ultimately this shot demonstrates a goodish eye, but tells us nothing about the soul of the photographer (as opposed to the subject). Candid photography should tell us such things.

 

The involvement of the photographer in the story is as much a part of the making of the picture as the people depicted by it.

 

You weren't really a part of this story Rui. You were a voyeur on that occasion. Perhaps next time you could bring us something of yourself.

Not bad, but maybe the railing is a bit distracting, perhaps if they were truly asea in motion would make this photo even stronger compositionally and thematically. But, nice nonetheless, was it a posed shot?

I think Rui's photo is excellent. Centering the subject is not always bad composition. If somebody think that, is obviously short-minded. In this case, the couple IS the center. Nothing distracts them, as they are the center in a senseless world. It doesn't need croping or re-compositing. The blur has no mistery, it's simply real blur. Congratulations!

....Yer showin yer age 'N' pompossity Dos' Candidos.

 

My favorite lenses for candid work are my 24mm F2.0 and my 85mm F1.4. The reasons for this are the speed and the fact the lenses aren't the size of a small water heater scaring the subject away or giving your self away.

 

Does this mean that Photographer of the Year or pulitzer awards aren't given to folks who occasionally use long glass to get, say, a candid spot news image such as a fire or some other restrictive scene...heck no mate!

 

We photojournalists use whatever lenses needed to get the shot. I don't know that I would make it a habit of using a rather obtrusive 300 zoom or a 16mm fisheye lens to get a candid shot of someone. But on the same token, I think that it is kind of funny that the majority of the "street scene'rs" seem to think that you have to use a Lieca M6 with a 34mm 1.4 aspheric loaded with Tri-X to get into thier league....horse manure!

 

Maybe thier stuff would not all look the same if they thought a bit more out of the box...afterall, it is not the car, it's the driver. ( Now don't get all miffed, your stuff is great Tony!)

 

The fact that rui used a long piece of glass made the scene compress a bit, sometimes it is easier in my experience to "Single out" the subject with a longer lens. For the record, I only pry into people's lifes if the image before me is exceptional.

 

db

Great work here -- you managed to design a scene that took me straight into your frame. Don't worry about the obvious zoom-work qualities of your photograph -- your shot is too good to fail under suggested accusations of voyeurism. It looks almost like an opening frame of a movie -- I am just waiting for this train to pass and the couple to start talking -- absolutely positively bizzare experience! BTW: Paul G. -- I think I just pee-ed in my panties laughing.