"Park Kid II"

A miss for me. A figure with their back turned towards the photographer and walking away very rarely makes a good picture, in my opinion and this one absolutely falls into this category. It can work if the foreground or background is interesting and the rest of picture makes up for it. But this one looks easily taken, with no interaction required from the subject, and with no discernible meaning or purpose, or aesthetic appeal.

"A figure with their back turned towards the photographer and walking away very rarely makes a good picture"

A subjective viewpoint.

Subjective it is John H., but that's what the discussion of the POW is typically centered around - subjectivity.

I like the effort here to create a unique perspective, but I tend to agree with Robin that there's nothing that really pulls you in. Perhaps some detail in the sky would help. I do think B&W was a good choice, and it's rare for me to prefer that over color. I probably would have removed the pipe on the left side of the frame. Perhaps it would have greater impact at a larger size than what is presented in-line. Overall, not a particularly interesting photo for me, but I credit Rob for seeing the subject matter from a different angle.

I gather so, but, the comment was directed at photographs containing the same subject matter. The comment was more about the view on that rather than the view on the POW itself.

John, did you miss the "in my opinion"? That means it's subjective (is there any true objectivity possible in these situations?), and I also qualified it by saying that I think some pics like this work and what kind they are. Do you have anything to say about the image at all?

I agree having ones back turned to the photographer may not make an interesting shot, most of the time. With that said, perhaps a little more dressing up may help. I think I would try an Orton Effect, give this a dreamy look, plus it would make the tones a bit more richer. Perhaps follow up with a dark Vignette. If that is not acceptable, maybe try a Tilt Shift effect.

Well, I tried a little tweeking, I am not sure, could be the subject.

Tony,

Just thought I'd mention that, if you like playing with processing, you might want to hop over to the Digital Darkroom forum and check out the 'Weekly Processing Challenge' thread, if you haven't already.

Bill

We can ask ourselves what the photographer is trying to communicate by this photo. We don't see the face or hands of the child so I guess it must be a question of enigma or the unknown, but I cannot grasp that intention. If it is the bridge or pathway structure then we are not seeing it in any particularly interesting way and some of it is out of focus. I am not even attracted to the small child. There are certainly better ways to treat a subject of this sort but one has to start by some sort of objective or intention, graphically or symbolically or emotionally, and I guess I haven't discovered anything of those qualities here. Looking at Rob's other images provides superior examples to this one, although I understand it is not the objective of the picture of the week to show the best of photography in every case.

Usually I'm not a big fan of photos of people's backs, but there are exceptions and this is one of those. The photo needs no tweaking. The mid-stride capture of the human figure, along with the low angle, converging lines and framing, are nearly perfect.

The static elements seem to lend a sense of perspective and proportion to the human figure, yet the figure somehow seems not to fit. Only the title serves to lend a hint about the possible reason for the seemingly skewed proportions of the human figure.

I wouldn't kick this photo out of my portfolio or put a paper bag over its head. It makes me smile, which is more important than beauty or perfection any time.

I don't understand how a purely descriptive title helps you Lex. How does "Park Kid II" help you to understand the "seemingly skewed proportions of the human figure"? It's a pic of a kid...in a park? Do parks frequently produced skewed proportions?