Banua

I guess I am pretty surprised by the comments that keep coming up with regards to the atmosphere here. I have seen this sort of thing on many occasions when in humid part of the world. It is very natural--heck, I have seen this sort of thing in the desert southwest due to the polution and increased humidity there in some places, but it is somewhat different in feel to this. Anyway, it makes me wonder if those who are commenting on this might not live in relatively dry areas of the world.

I made the comment early about the woman, behind those two in front, being more of a main character here. As I looked further, it is in fact contributed to by the line dynamics of the right side of the image. We have a bright wedge that points right to her--the area of light between the central boat and the shadow from the one this woman is in. But then there is also the black wedge of the shadow as well as the shape of the boats interior that also takes us right to her and her bright, frontal face makes her prominent here. I just don't know that the women in front are strong enough to hold our attention.

This probably is not a good thing and the right front does feel empty otherwise. It ends up working against what I think the photo was supposed to be about. I don't think a crop really works due to the loss of context and the fact that what is left feels pretty awkward. It is just an unfortunate situation.

In addition to that third woman, I also think the baseball capped gentlemen also adds a distraction due to his location and his odd appearance by comparison to what else we see. When we get to the older woman, he immediately pulls our attention away.

 

Incredible! Breathtaking! Spot on. The skies are beautiful, the backgrounds enchanting, the people and the children are wonderful. You've taken me to a wonderful place. These are painterly. WOW!

I'm with you John, all the way. The guy with the cap would be a real deal breaker for me if I were looking to buy a photo like this. I also don't like the lower right emptiness. I think this is a great piece of "darkroom" work, but an unfortunate shot circumstance. If it were me, I'd probably spend 48 hours in PS trying to remove the guy with the cap and re-cropping. But that's probably why I never have time to actually go out and take more shots.

Remarkable combination of serenity in the women's faces and seemingly ominous clouds. The inverted V framing of one woman's face is effective, as is the little girl's seemingly serious look at the photographer.

I think it's very interesting that people are talking about this person here, that person there, where the baby is looking. It's "street" photography, not a studio shot. I actually think the photographer captured the moment very well, and the uncropped lines converge very well on phi in at least two places. That's what makes the shot. You can argue with the post processing, but it is very consistent with his style. If you like this one, you will probably like the rest. If you don't you will know why.

In addition to the compositions and overall quality, I really enjoyed the content and the story telling you've done through these photos.  Excellent photo essay of a world and a lifestyle that I didn't know existed.

This is so Beautiful http://100-free-blogs.com/stuff/4/1x1.jpghttp://100-free-blogs.com/stuff/5/1x1.jpghttp://100-free-blogs.com/stuff/6/1x1.jpg

I'm a fan of this image, my reasons are as follows, the scene is very busy, yet the photographer has exhibited skill in composition, he

has made order of kaos and as pointed out made the most of the converging lines. He has subdued the elements that are secondary

to the scene. If we think how we view a scene in a split second, we see the dominant elements of the image, the rest become

secondary. I think the sturdy on of the KEY elements reinforce this. I don't find it tacky at all. the colours are vibrant and are

representative of what would be expected in a vibrant scene as this, just a little accentuated. The image is clever engaging and offers

the viewer who is prepared to study it a lot.

I hear this sort of rationale a lot, as if for some reason "street photography" means we can forget what makes a good photograph--either when shooting or looking. Certainly, there are some things we view differently, but that is the case with any genre. Pointing the camera at something that is happening doesn't cut it, in and of itself. We may release our judgement in this regard based on how rare or seminal the action is but in those cases--generally historical events--it isn't about the image as a photograph anymore but as a historical document.

You look at the great street/documentary photographers' work--Bresson, Winogrand, Frank etc--and the images that work work because everything in the image works or a possible distraction is so minor compared to what is portrayed otherwise. If that is the case here, then so be it, but let's not throw out everything we know about what makes a good photograph because it is "street". An image works or it doesn't, regardless of genre.

John A makes a very important point.

Street photography is a genre, not an excuse.

I guess I'm going to have to start paying a lot more attention to the direction people are looking before I take candid shots.

Jon, I think it's a good idea to pay attention to as much as possible whenever you're photographing, no matter the genre. Paying attention is not discussed near enough and not engaged in near enough. Photography, street, candid, or otherwise, is not just about snapping a shutter.

Though I think the whole concept of decisive moment is a bit overplayed and there's a lot more to photography and street photography than that, there are important things to learn from it. It is, in fact, when things are aligned . . . expressions, gestures, movement, positioning, lighting. You bet the great street photographers had almost an innate sense of paying attention to all these things. They did a lot more than just shoot a good scene. They turned that scene into a good photograph, in part, by being discriminating. The knew as well when not to shoot as when to shoot. And they knew how to edit out the shots that didn't quite get it.

I'd like to add that I have no particular problem with any of the expressions. I think they could all work. The problem, as I see it, is that the expressions were overlooked here in favor of the color and treatment of the scene. Look at the comments. Hardly anyone, certainly at least for the first couple of dozen comments, mentioned anything about expression. All the attention was focused on color. Right away, that suggests to me that color overpowered content and expression. No matter how glowing the critiques, were I the photographer I would have been disappointed that no one mentioned the feeling of the people in the scene, because there IS feeling here, it's just overpowered. I think if the expressions we have here were handled with a treatment and vision more integrated with those expressions, they would have played well. And we wouldn't have been reduced to a discussion centering mostly around color when there's a very human scene taking place before us.

the first thing that popped into my mind when i saw this photo was Photoshoped colors. 

while it is beautiful and a great moment,  if the first thing i think is Photoshoped then  i consider it more digital art as opposed to a Photograph.  i understand this is a contentious issue but i  do not see it looking natural. 

A truly great image will evoke emotion first ( the ultimate goal)   imo. 

it is a great image but my mind struggles with the perception of it being manipulated before it appreciates the content.

the first thing that popped into my mind when i saw this photo was Photoshoped colors.
while it is beautiful and a great moment, if the first thing i think is Photoshoped then i consider it more digital art as opposed to a Photograph. i understand this is a contentious issue but i do not see it looking natural.
A truly great image will evoke emotion first ( the ultimate goal) imo.
it is a great image but my mind struggles with the perception of it being manipulated before it appreciates the content.

As some has noted that this work looks more like a painting, so my mind skips the comparison to real and effectively into the surreal quality readily enough. Yes, the exaggerated colors do overwhelm the facial expression for me until Fred G’s comment reminded me to look. Hailing from SEA, I notice the use of lively colors in works of others from the same part of the world on PN. I try to think of what this scene would look like in BW but fail miserably, instead being transport along the deafening song of colors. I think it looks nice at airport lounge or Asian restaurant :)

Hi Randy!
Strange (for me) environment...but beautiful. The photo is very well done, maybe the blue colour could be less exaggerated...The child in the boat gives the ideia of continuity to this way of living...
Regards

It's a dramatic image - I would regard it as photo-art rather than art photography as the first impression is "not real" and then on closer inspection "OK it is based on a real photo but heavily processed". The oversaturated people-zone is effective at drawing a distinction between them and their surroundings but I am unfortunately reminded of those naff selectively desaturated shots and that puts me off.

Overall the concept is good but it would work much better IMHO if done in a more subtle and realistic way.

Randy...
Excellent photo and presentation. My Photoshop / Lightroom skills are slightly below elementary, so I have to ask:
Is this approach basically one of increasing saturation and brightness of the main elements...or is it more about suppressing, darkening everything else? Local area adjustments in Lightroom, or layers in Photoshop?
Michael Matthews

The scene choise is very specific.The blue is too much strong.The third lady behind the yellow dressed can be a good decoration for the foreground if her boat is not cut!

And more,an other boat part is seen in the other side(just a part), its place can be taken by the lost part of the lady's boat behind the yellow dressed.

Perhaps the oversaturaton of the clothing and such other treatments are to camouflage the important parts of the photograph, like the facial expressions, as if to intentionally draw the attention away early and to save the treats for last. "Oh, I thought this photo [at first glance] was about color contrast, but now that I really 'look', there is so much more".
I like the Easter egg effect. I like discovery. I like the approach, if this be the reason. Clearly, it worked. We all sat here, looked at our screens and went over every pixel of this shot, and have seen what the photographer wanted the audience to see.
IMHO, no one who has posted to this critique/discussion did so without some emotion being felt when seeing the photo, even if it were just pure disregard and disgust. If emotion SHOULD be the ultimate goal, this column spells success for it. If there was no emotion, the comment would not exist for any good reason.
Kudos, Randy, on letting us see this scene in the way that you do.

Bruce, if a photographer is content with reactions of disregard and disgust, then your reasoning makes sense. I don't understand the logic that says that any and every reaction means that a photo has achieved its goal. But it would have been good logic to use in school. It would have meant that every test and paper on which a teacher gave me a failing grade would have meant I really passed.

I can't but be impressed with the photographer's talent, if not totally satisfied with the results. Everything about the subjects in the foreground--their expressions, the interplay between them, the color--is fantastic. The color does seem too much in the background, especially, to me, the greens. Shouldn't the color become more muted, the deeper we go into the background, especially since it appears to be foggy?

I'm not quite sure what we are looking at here. Is it possibly some sort of photomontage? How is such a smooth texture achieved throughout? It almost doesn't really look like a photograph.

If, the operative.

Point taken, Fred. I absolutely concur and would use this debate if someone was to label a multitude of unrelated photographs. Currently we are talking about THIS photo taken by THIS photographer. The logic that says that this photo has achieved its goal belongs only to the photographer, so we as onlookers can only take stabs as to what is going on. That's what I was trying for, anyway. It was just my two cents worth.

If it were only that easy, right?! Well, the logic can be exercised in strings of art class, but trying to re invent Algebra, Language, Physics, etc would yield suboptimal grades and possibly detention! Anyway, we all know that this is no test for grade or right of passage. It's a meeting of minds where logics will unavoidably, yet invitingly, differ :)