Taking a Break

I took this a week or two before PNC Park (home of the Pittsburgh

Pirates, a professional baseball team) was about to open.

Construction workers were putting the finishing touches on the

stadium. I caught these guys taking a break from work and standing in

(what I thought) was a good pose and quickly dashed off a few frames.

Unfortunately, the shot does not look candid at all :-( There is

something about this photo that I like, but there is also a nagging

feeling that I didn't do a good job.

 

I cropped all around the scanned print slightly and boosted the

contrast a bit. Please critique all aspects of the photograph.

 

Thanks, Niranjan.

Nice picture, the harsh tonality gives it a little bit of an 'old' look. If they would be standing on a beam hundreds of feet above ground on top of a skyscraper in the making it would be a classic :)

I like the high contrast, but the wall behind the men looked like a dull piece of plywood. In my retake, I brightened the image, did a crude job lightening the worker's faces, and gave more emphasis to the texture on the plywood wall. (If you look at the far right hand side of mine, you can see where I stopped "enhancing" the wall.

 

I think it needs something like this (selective lightening/darkening/accenting to make the picture more lively.

 

Good framing, background does not distract. Ground is somewhat bright in comparison to the rest of the picture, but that merely emphasises the shadows.

 

Good use of "props". Would be better if they were holding cups of coffee in front of a sign saying "men at work" :)

Nice shot, except for the strong light burning out some of the foreground and helmets/shirt. Also, there might have been a better moment to snap to avoid the foot partially raised, and the worker looking down.

The symmetry of the two spades on either side of the crack in the background; that's what I see first. More symmetry would have been better, if at all possible.

Thanks for the interesting comment, Dominique. I was not even thinking about symmetry (I didn't until you brought it up!), but was mainly focused on the body language of the workers.

The burned out ground and raised foot are what makes this image for me. The raised foot, especially, lends an unsettling dynamic sense - as soon as it comes down their break is over! The paneling, while providing a context, is a minor problem and it might have worked better had it been selectively blurred. I do find this image strangely compelling and believe it has a certain timeless value. Regards, Mister Ken

Thanks for your comment, Ken. I also feel that the raised foot is key. Also, the bright sun -- a winter sun, clearly, since they look bundled up.

 

Nice attachment, BTW. Is the worker flashing a victory sign at you or at someone else?

I raised my camera and pointed to it as a request; the worker smiled then flashed a 'V' as I took my shot.