'The Subtle Colors of Evening Rush'

'Subtle colors' and a wide range of tonalities mark this photo of 'Evening

Rush' in Kyiv, Ukraine, recently at a combination pedestrian walkway

under a giant square, entrance to an underground shopping complex

(nearby) and Metro entrance. Tens of thousands pass down these

steps each day, up and down as their day starts and ends. Your

ratings, critiques, and remarks are invited and most welcome. If you

rate harshly or very critically, or just wish to make an observation,

please submit a helpful and constructive comment; thank you in

advance for sharing your photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Enjoy! John

Kept my eyes busy for sometime. I think for the statistically minded, this is a 'rich' photograph, with the least clutter.needless to say, I like the choice of the shutter speed and positioning of the camera. But one thing I am curious about is that no face seems to stand out. Was it intentional or just a feature of that particular time?

This is indeed a very 'rich' photo both from the  standpoint of color and from composition.

It was chosen in part and I took it in part because of the steady  but interspersed line of oncomers and their relative degrees of separation (physical separation).

I posted it because I found it VERY appealing.

The faces are obscured because there was no light to illuminate them.  The information is there if one turns on Photoshop's 'shadow/highlight filter and it defaults to twice as much light in the shadows (or position 50 in the continuum) which is not 'normal' but very, very lightened.

But it makes for an otherworldly look for the whole photo and that setting is only for the photo almost lost in shadows - this was properly exposed.

The faces literally played no part in this photo and their obscurity reflects that. 

If there had been some GREAT expression or interaction between the stair descenders, that might have been different, but there is none.

As a result there was no attempt to try to ' brighten' the faces -- to do so would have voided the whole idea of this photo, which is more about composition, color AND anonymity than anything else.

It's more about a crowd forming a line, through its interspersed members, than about individuality . . . .. which I think you now will see.

Thanks for the very lucid comment.

john

John (Crosley)

Hi John,

Everyday life in a city.  Good angle, nice depth and perspective. What you want to express, comes across very well. And as you write, the individual faces are of no relevance to the image, it is the setting, the situation.

All the best 

 . . . which this is, but also it's got the composition, and especially I chose the color version of this (instead of my desaturated version which was pretty darn good) because of the wonderful, subtle colors.

I always enjoy when you stop by; your critiques are almost always full of insight . . . . and understanding.  You write with what seems like the appreciation of a true street hunter.

Thanks so much.

john

John (Crosley)