"Hangin' Out"

This young couple, very much in love, and enjoying themselves

immensely are just 'hanging out' at Los Angeles California's famed

Venice Beach, an eclectic place where Angelenos from all walks mix

with each other and with some of the craziest creatures in California's

Southland. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited and

most welcome. If you rate harshly, 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

I think, in joshing with this couple, that I said I'd be delighted to take his photo as they requested, especially since his zipper was down.

Then waited, and snapped this.

(Almost anything's fair to keep a posed photo from being too posed ;~))

john

John (Crosley)

This is a nice fun photo. The area of the wall behind the subjects seems to be a little lighter than the rest of the wall, almost as if you had dodged a bit during printing. That helps with the separation between them and the wall. I suppose you were up higher than them with the wide angle lens. That makes the wall look as if it was falling forward and the ground also looks tilted down. It may look a bit unnatural but that helps with the dynamics.

I have had a critic and mentor with a Lucie Award. 

He taught me many things, one of which is more recently.

He told me that my photographic voice was in every photo I take that I chose to work up . . . sometimes a whisper, sometimes a thundering bang or roar.  Sometimes in between.  'Respect your photographic voice' he taught me

This one is a 'fun photo' just as you commented, just one part of that 'photographic voice'.  I like her natural, surprised laugh. 

The other, more important lesson was, though he had a Reichenberg on his wall, and photos by famous, very famous Photo artists, he had on his kitchen a photo of kids chasing a barnyard animal, I think in a barn.

I asked him 'who took it?' thinking some great since he knew so many legends, and was personal friend of so many.

He answered:  "Who knows?  It just a great photo taken by somebody who may be 'somebody' or 'nobody' but it's a great photo."

I respect THE  PHOTO, not any particular artist, he said, and any photo had the possibility in his mind of being a 'great photo'.

I think he had found it curating photos for a book and/or exhibition or for boxed set of collector prints. for which he was I think paid a fortune . .. . if I understand correctly, and famous people from Playboy to Getty Agency (or one of the famous agencies) hired him to curate for them their best for publication.

He curated mine too, up to two years ago - no charge, really, or mostly no charge as a 'gift' to me to get me started.

He said of that kids chasing animal photo, 'It's just a great photo -- I respect 'the photo' not any 'name' who took it, because the 'name' doesn't matter if it's a great photo.'

It doesn't matter how many other good or bad photos that photographer took to his very open mind, that was a 'great photo'.

And naturally,  he was right.

So, photographic 'voice' in everything that is worthy enough to show, from whisper to roar (and to a snigger of laughter at pulling a 'trick' on this guy to get him to look down and his girlfriend to laugh -- my puckish photographic voice'?).

I can't locate him presently and worry for him, he is the SOLE person from whom I ever have taken personal photographic advice, and I respect his judgment widely, even if we argued often far into the night over what was 'good' and what was not . .. or what was a cliché that I'd taken and known was a cliché, but he didn't know the precursor photos always so didn't know of the cliché status.

It was a wonderful awakening.

I'm proud of this photo and also some other of my lesser viewed ones.

I'm disappointed that 'dodging' marks show; a selection might have done better, and if I get the chance (I'm snowed right now) I might rework and  substitute posts a little if that's not too confusing to eliminate such marks. 

The black guy came out VERY dark - almost not perceptible amid the darkness, so he had to be lightened, but after six years of photographing I was using the dodge tool for literally the very first time and clumsily.

Really, six years and I don't think I used it once before this year, or the 'burn' tool or anything, including the elusive 'sponge' (which I do know now how to use . . .  interestingly.

I LOVE to get good expressions from people, and I have a large variety of joshes and taunts to loosen them up; it helps when up close like this.

The 'leaning wall'  and uprising earth, foreground, are typical of a 12~24 mm Nikkor wide angle zoom.   

I do know how to rotate the whole camera to make the near part of the wall look like it's upright, but I just liked this appearance.

This is a photo that since last January (summer in January) has been begging 'post me, post me'.

So I finally did and am glad.

Thanks for an uplifting comment.

john

John (Crosley)

Refreshing perspective!

Refreshing comment

Yours apparently is a double entendre -- perspective meaning the whole -e.g., view of life -- or just camera perspective -- meaning the angle of view and/or just a different way of using a camera and lens than done by others.

Did I get it right?

john

John (Crosley)