"The 'Grim Reaper' Patiently Awaits His Turn" © 2009, John Crosley Trust, all rights reserved...

An old lady beggar bends over seeking alms on a main shopping street,

a figure drawn crudely on the wall behind her mocks her cruelly, and in

front, 'THE GRIM REAPER PATIENTLY AWAITS HIS TURN' -- a totally

candid capture, from a day or so ago.

 

Your ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate

harshly or very critically, or just wish to state an opinion, please submit

a helpful and constructive comment; please share your photographic

knowledge and opinions to help improve my photography. Thanks!

Enjoy! John [To emphasize: this capture is entirely spontaneous

and extemporaneous - it is NOT posed and is 100% impromptu 'street'.

jc] © 2009, John Crosley trust, all rights reserved

This photo has been re-uploaded with very slight enhancements to help it being being quite so 'flat'. It was originally taken at night and presented as though taken at night, for after all, isn't that when 'death' steals away?

 

But for PN purposes, it did not show well enough in thumbnail and needed some slight brightness, contrast enhancement in a very few selected areas to 'help' it, but not very much at all/just a swipe here with a dodge tool at 1% and a selection and a slight contrast adjustment there.

 

If it does not show,and you've previously viewed this image, after all three PN servers have updated (it may take an hour or two), please refresh your browser by pressing Control (or Apple) and Refresh (the circular arrows).

 

I hope this helps. If anyone has a better and faster way of refreshing or knowing it's refreshed (because it's rather subtle, then please let me know.

 

It required just a bit more 'work' before to 'view' this photo, and it is hard to compete on a site, when one's photo has to have 'work' on the viewer's part to 'see' it and/or understand it.

 

John (Crosley)

 

Again, it's you. I often click on your photos without first seeing who the photographer is. You're certainly consistent. If this were Flickr I would 'fave' this one.

No matter what time of day or night I get the urge, especially if it's been two days or more, I just pick up my cameras and go out and take photos with no plans at all.

 

This was one of those days, pretty cold and new cold so I was not used to it and really didn't want to be walking around, so I supposed I would be in pretty poor form.

 

I took a few 'pro forma' shots, and then this.

 

Satisfied, I decided at any time I could 'call it an evening', but continued to take more, and ended up with more pretty darn good ones.

 

I was ecstatic over this one; raters were not, though a friend who saw it said 'worthy of a prize' but it does not show so well in thumbnail -- perhaps in a gallery where it can be appreciated.

 

I'm working on that,

 

Get this; I'm kind of with two minds about my shooting.

 

I am sure I'll never get anything as good as the 'last good shot' -- the last really good one(s) being the underground shot with two stairways and the man running (and also the Metro escalator shot posted the same day with the still, destitute woman, back to camera, with rushing crowd off escalator going by in blurs.)

 

So, I am sure I cannot equal those shots, but I still keep trying.

 

Then almost at once, on another day, I get this.

 

Just goes to show you . . . . never try to duplicate success; try to reach a different success and it may bite you on the butt.

 

This is a guy I passed with Halloween mask.

 

It was Saturday, Halloween.

 

He was tall; much taller than I.

 

I reached up as far as I could, having seen this beggar woman (with the strange 'happy' wall graffiti behind her) in the background.

 

I wanted to combine the two images for a 'story'.

 

But the guy was too tall.

 

So, I set my camera's auto-focus, walked up to the masked guy looking in a different direction, held my camera above my eyesight in a position I thought would get this capture and in focus framed correctly.

 

Then I said 'moschina' (mister in Russian), he turned, and I fired, getting this.

 

I showed it to him, he looked at it, and like many Ukrainian people on the street instantly recognized that it was a very good photo, said 'klass' (great), and I moved on.

 

Later, I went to him and tried to pose the shot, but completely failed, because I couldn't frame it right without a stepladder; really he was too tall, still.

 

The 'redo' shots were garbage and proof that you really have to get it right the first time, even though he was was willing (a little) and the woman oblivious and not going anywhere.

 

I just walked on with my companion saying to myself 'I can't believe I got this,and didn't have to walk all over creation to get it', but got it immediately on one shot (but on 'C; drive so there are several 'versions' of this, including one, out of focus, which is why I shoot on 'C drive under difficult lighting).

 

I am happy you wrote what you did; this photo seems to have repelled comments.

 

Thank you so much.

 

I consider it one of my all time best shots.

 

Even if others do not.

 

John (Crosley)

I think it's worthy of a prize too! And I really appreciate you taking the time to explain how you caught this one, it's quite a lesson you're giving here...the words perfectly backed up by a spectacular image.

 

It comes to show the importance of the moment; shooting above the head, bellow the waist, at arms length or any other position you might think of, is quite helpful in this type of situations, too bad that many fail to realize this.

 

A friend once taught me the importance of knowing your camera and lens so well, that you could see the frame, without looking through the finder. One of the best lessons in photography I've ever learned.

Cheers,

 

From the first when I got my first Nikon, at age 21, I learned its (rather simple) controls easily, and as I walked streets, they became easily learned and memorized.

 

I mourn the 'death' of the aperture ring for adjusting aperture, because one could 'feel' and get feedback from that which one cannot from 'G' lenses and

command and subcommand dials, however great they may be for some; for me they limit my abilities to change aperture and shoot 'street' unless I am willing to settle for non-G lenses (those with aperture rings, which are of older design, now)

 

I also learned the ability soon to 'shoot over my head, or otherwise, but never really 'hip shooting'.

 

Interestingly in between 1300 and 1400 photos posted here, only two are hip shots: one of Parisian woman holding her packets and purse tight while two African Parisians exchange forearm holds in greeting, and another of from New York City where I walked past a businessman as I walked across a street, and liking the scene fired (from the hip) and would compare it to anything shot by Gary Winogrand,especially because the 'businessman' was caught in front of a bank during bank failure time looking well dressed,tie loosened and haggard, but still very much the businessman --and caught 'tilted' as well, of the style of Winogrand (not intentionally, of course). It's a fine photo, I think, and the other caught a good scene that would have disappeared if I pulled camera to eye, but I do not practice hip shots.

 

I do know my cameras well enough for overhead shots, and from the start.

 

See in this folder, my shot of Nixon, president and wife Pat in crowd, taken from overhead with a 28 mm (me in frame,almost), a photo of Carl with graffiti in background,framed from overhead without being able to see him in viewfinder (Carl must have been 6-7 inches taller than I and my camera looked downward, so I could not see through the viewfinder.

 

Over once in a while a maladjusted strap will hit me in the eye at the viewfinder offering me a fraction of a second of a portion of a view through the viewfinder, but I'll fire anyway, and I find my photos don't suffer, though I can't really see, and they're in focus because the focus point is preset properly and I can frame even with my eye some distance from the viewfinder (it's not hard if the viewfinder is large enough).

 

You're exactly right,though, and so was your friend.

 

Knowing your equipments and your ability to use it is one reason I stick mainly with Nikon,though I've owned a number of Leicas, Rolleis, Mamiyas,etc.I know the 'look and feel' of Nikon controls which wisely have varied little over the years.

 

Smart folks the Nikon designers.

 

Thanks for a very interesting and flattering comment.

 

Good health to you.

 

Thanks!

 

John (Crosley)

A photo such as this for a street photographer (as opposed to a movie producer/director) is a once in a lifetime event.

 

If happens once for one photographer and maybe never again for any photographer ever, unless they are inspired by this capture and seek to 're-take' it.

 

That alone, plus subject matter and rendition' makes it tops in 'originality' in my mind, at least in 'street photography' -- but sometimes others in other photographic genres do not recognize 'street' as having much worth or not standing up to the more polished and Photoshopped photos which are much prettier.

 

For me, this is the apotheosis of shooting (as well as some other recently posted favorites, some from a couple of years ago, and some from 40 years ago - good enough for any book of my 'work'.

 

One private one was just published, for galleries and museums only; not for bookstores or libraries or public sale. Two hundred photos in 100 pages.

 

Sorry!

 

John (Crosley)