Professor and Bike, Oxford

This is a very nice capture, though not without some minor technical faults. The use of receding lines behind the old bloke, and the fact that he is close to the edge of the frame, fly in the face of conventional photographic wisdom. However these techniques can be very effective in setting up an emotional atmosphere. Have a look at this photograph for a very different picture which uses exactly the same technique. The placement of the young boy looking at the old codger is fortuitious, and adds to the story.

The face of the old guy seems slightly out of focus, though the bike and the wall behind him are sharp - a little movement blur perhaps?

like it phil good composition

I've just started venturing out on to the street. It makes a pleasant

change. I'm hungry for plenty of feedback. Comments and ratings all

gladly received. Thanks

Aesthetics: 7, Originality: 7

 

This is a thought provoking photo. It certainly provokes feelings of sympathy for the elderly man for whom walking down the street is such an arduous task. The sweeping lines of the lintel flow down the street so easily compared to him. There are also so many wonderful shades of grey in the wall behnd him. One meta-level up I'm feeling little twinges of guilt for the persistent, almost voyeuristic opportunity that this photo provides for viewing something that you would normally avert your eyes from out of politeness.

 

(On further thought it also highlights western individualism (vs. family centered life) a bit. I've lived in Asia for years and after a certain age elderly people just don't go out of the house unattended.)

Yes, a much better photo than all the commercial stuff we sell to tourists in Oxford. It captures more about the place than a technicallly perfect shot of a building.

 

You'll never sell it as a postcard though, because people only buy pictures with those sit-up-and-beg bikes!

Very nice Phil. I think I would rather see the entire front wheel of the bicycle, but this crop is infinitely better than cropping either just the bottom or just the front. The tonal range, and contrast are excellent, and the composition is good. I think it might have been even stronger if you were able to isolate the professor from the people on the left, but alas, they were there and there really wasn't anything to be done about it, and changing angles would not have worked. Very Good Phil.

Whimsical, as if he's going to jump on the bike and ride away. I like the small boy who's turned to look at him, but the other people I could do without. The "professor"s face seems awfully blurry as well. Overall, looks good.

had

Brilliant catch, Phil. I really love this opposition between youth (walking easily) and old age (bearely managing). I may have wanted just a few millimeters more on the left, but that's a very small matter. I would like darker mid-tones as well. And I would prefer the old man's face to be very sharp. This came very close to be an excellent photo. Best regards.

Very nice work!

The angles, the story and the saturation are all great.

 

Cheers,

Ringo

I agree with Marc's assessment except that I don't mind the softness of the old Prof.

 

Unlike Scott, I love the wheel crop, it's precise, neat.

 

The geometry and the juxtaposition of youth and age really work well.

 

Congrats.

Not a bad result here, Phil. I like the fact everyone else in the pic is walking in the opposite direction to the prof, and the generation/culture gap is well captured in those few feet separating the boy from the old chap. Perhaps we could clean up the pigeon plop near his head in Photoshop?

Thanks for all these nice comments. Really appreciate your thoughts. Ive been looking at a number of b&w pics shown here and mused at how neat so many of them were, so decided Id try a roll myself. This shot comes from my first roll of b&w for nearly 20 years. I chucked this roll in to my spare EOS the day I went to Oxford. Things were a bit slow at first as old habits die hard. I began as per usual by pointing at things that dont move. That way you can take ages and ages to move around and compose. But doing that stuff was a cop out. I was in Oxford to take street pics. Id figured that the better, interesting street shots were quirky incidents or tale telling candids. However, I lacked the bottle to stand in front of a stranger (behind was no good) and when I got some courage, because of my predilection to compose carefully, the moment would be lost and Id find myself farcically pretending to this stranger that the whole incident had been about trying to find out how this button on my camera worked. Just as John Fernquest put one meta-level up and so eloquently. Being finicky had to stop. I had to chance it and get right in there. Fire first, forget framing and field any flack after.

 

Thats how this shot came about. I saw the Prof (I dont know if he is a Prof) gingerly step in to the street from some college door and quickened my pace judging that he and I would arrive by this bike around about the same time. I whacked the barrel around to 20mm to get able bodies in the frame and fired the moment the viewfinder hit my eye. The EOS 1000 only advances at one frame per sec so another shot after would have been a waste. I was delighted to discover Id snapped just as he used the saddle to help him on his way and that my decision to go wide had introduced the lad as he checked the Prof out. Those attributes, which rather make the picture, are all pure flukes. Its cropped from the top only and the fuzz in face and leg is motion blur. Funnily enough Id thought about cloning out the pigeon plop. Its a bit glary isnt it? But then I like the warts and all approach. I might end up cloning out the chewing gum on the road and the fag buts in the gutter. Where would it all end?

 

Whilst Im ranting, Ill mention one other new found pleasure with this street stuff. I can get through a whole roll in just one day. Im firing away to my hearts content. The roll in my EOS-10 has been in there since November. Im pretty patient but getting developed pickies back less than a week after you took them is brilliant. Dont suggest I go digital though. Theres something rather beautiful and personal about having a collection of negs and trannies. Bit like a prized stamp collection.

 

"Those attributes, which rather make the picture, are all pure flukes."

 

Nonsense, you make your own flukes (luck). Take some credit!

 

"I like the warts and all approach. I might end up cloning out the chewing gum on the road and the fag buts in the gutter. Where would it all end?"

 

I agree. Leave the warts.

 

"getting developed pickies back less than a week after you took them is brilliant."

 

You're almost hooked. Next step is to get a used Paterson one reel tank, a thermometer, measuring cylinder and a few chemicals, probably all for under 20 pounds. I predict you'll be developing at the kitchen sink before the end of April.

 

Cheers,

I really like this picture. There are a number of old world vs. new world relationships going on here. The child looking at the older man, the cane and the bike (note the modern U-lock too), and the asphalt pavement abutting brick and cobbles. I also like the B/W rather than color format for this print. Thank you for sharing!

Like some others I like specially the "relation" between the Young guy and the old man ! It is not just a street photo, it acts almost as the visualisation of the generation gap.

As a street shooter I appreciate the moment, and the eye it takes to see this coming...but the blur in this case doesn't work for me. Compositionally it has a lot of empty space, which I love, but doesn't exactly help somehow. Is this printed full frame? I wonder what else there is? Michael

We have a foot issue here which was quite a fuss in Charo's POW. The bike wheel cut into a pie wedge is interesting, though , but it actually makes the bike seem to be moving, as do the extreme lines of perspective. So, the result is a lot of motion about this elderly chap who can barely more. A terrific shot.

A wonderful image. I can't help but wonder how it would cropped without the people on the left.

I wouldn't crop the people on left--the juxtaposition of the young boy to the old man is what makes this a memorable commentary. Really nice!

Fantastic shot, youth and age...I like the positioning of the two subjects parallel to each other but moving in separate directions. I also love the fact that all the people's coloration is very soft/light gray, the older gentleman has much more contrast than the rest of the photograph. "was the boy looking at himself 80 years from now?" Well done.

1. The subject of this photo is the old gentleman and boy. Not the bike. The cropping of the wheel is great. You know its a bike, nothing else is needed.

2. The converging lines behind the "old Bloke" is one of the reason's this photo works. It suggest a long journey-from youth to wisdom.

3. His face is slightly out of focus, So what... again we don't need to see his face. The only thing that we need to know is he is an old man.

4. This print is not just black and white, youth/age. It's a very personal suggestive photograph. Different meaning for all viewers. That's another reason this image works.

 

Weak tones, not a particularly interesting moment. Fuzzy focus, edges too close, empty center makes weak composition.

I do not agree with the person's comment above mine. I think this is a very interesting photo. Surely not the best street photo around, but far better than the average street photo IMO.

 

The center is "empty", in the left there's a kid, and in the right the old man with the bike. They are divided with empty space and this empty space is even strenghtened by the diagonal that's in it. But then there is the interaction between the two people that makes the photo "one" again. The kid looks at the old man, and this is the brigde over the division. I think this is very interesting.

 

As for the tones... there might be a bit of a haze, but this could be my monitor settings, and if not, it really doesn't affect the quality of the image IMO.

 

So nice image, with some interesting aspects, and some strong lines that make the photo rather dynamic.

 

Regards,

 

Julien