SUBJECTIVE TITLING

This is in honor of a dear friend (JM) who unknowingly taught me more than one valuable lesson in humbleness. I dedicate it with all due respect and admiration, let alone my thanks and appreciation for his contribution to my photographic wanderings, and my admiration for his trajectory in PN, and I imagine, certainly in many other fields and human circles.

DG

This image lends new meaning to the worg GRUNGE!  The composition is unusual in that the vehicles are heading off the image, but I like the unconventional composition with resting eye room on the left.  Not sure if you need ALL that left space - that's up to you.  I air-cropped it and it still works, but that's your decision.  My eye is sort of getting stuck on the green patch on the left part - could you clone that out?  Without it, my eye travels through all the different reds in the image.

its marvelous

Thanks Lynne and Stephanie for taking a look at this posting.

Lynne, I intentionally left the crop as I originally composed through the viewfinder, as the graffiti, IMHO plays a very important part here. The green patch could be a sign left by someone, and above it, the symbolic tiger. It is graffiti, granted. I hate and condemn vandalistic signs of gangs, like urine territorial markings by animals. In addition, I believe all the space to the left adds dimension to what the eyes win the painting might be looking at, serving possibly as an empty space like a sky, except that the colors left by time and weather fill that emptiness with texture and a natural "smooth" palette vis a vis the straight markings of the wall against which fences appear to have been painted. So Lynne, as you see, there is always more than meets the eye, and certainly much more than the conventional composition rules, which have to be slightly bent sometimes to allow room for silent things to speak louder.

DG

Brilliant image, excellent colour, composition and backdrop.

A very beautiful image well seen and well realized, the murales of the girl reminds me of a Johannes Vermeer painting, ciao Giangiorgio

Daniel,

  Beautiful tribute to your friend with wonderful composition & colors.  Take care, Patsy

Well, I take a couple of days off and I miss your recent additions. This is a beauty, Daniel, a street photo rich in color and detail and yet one that veers just a bit towards the fantastical and the surreal. Thanks for your e-mail. I've been really busy lately with work and haven't had a chance to reply. Promise to do so soon. Best regards, Jack

 

P.S. This goes in the favorites. I just read your dedication. Thanks.

I agree that the green thing on the left and the negative space in general seems to work well. One of the hallmarks of graffiti can be its hodgepodge nature and its many distracting elements. It does, in fact, catch my eye, but since so much of the main theme of the photo is to the right of the green patch, my eye has no trouble moving beyond its being caught by the green. As a matter of fact, an interesting struggle ensues because of the tension between the minimal yet strong pull of the left side of the frame and the more full pull of the right side. As to graffiti, while there are cases where it may be like animal marking, there are also cases where it's clearly inner city people who don't otherwise have one using color and symbolism to assert voices of expression. I don't see graffiti as a clearcut case of vandalism in all aspects. In any case, you chose to stand just where the eyes of the mural seem to have caught you. Can't run, can't hide.