'My New Years'

There are lots of things for nit-pickers to critique in this photo, just taken

in the last few hours, representing my New Years, but I ask that you

evaluate its totality as a unique photo. Your ratings, critiques, and

remarks are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly, very

critically, or 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. (shot in a

tunnel, New Year's night (not Eve). Enjoy! John

GREAT! Fantastic!

Short focal length lens, VR, in a tunnel at night.

Wonderful blurs as passersby went and movement turned into colorful blurs.

Couldn't ask for anything more magical than that from a couple hundred dollar lens badly scarred from 'battle'.

Who says you have to pay $2,000 for a good lens for difficult lighting?  (Of course, I LOVE those $2,000 lenses, but in a pinch, anything will do). I'll take VR over f 2.8 in these circumstances most times -- the true wonder will be when they make those f 2.8 lenses with V.R., and then I'll be in line waiting.

People passed through other frames and were just colorful blurs at long exposure times, their movement didn't completely ruin the other frames as well (different framing, of course, as this is one-off).

Glad this one pleased ya.

john

John (Crosley)

It's pretty amazing; sometimes amazing shots seem to be attracted to my lens and almost 'fly' into my camera, with what seems like so little effort. 

One moment I'm walking home stiffly, and another I'm capturing this unexpectedly, then a few minutes later, resuming my walk home.

People like these actually seek me out; if they see me they run up to me or a friend whispers in their ear that I take interesting photos,and occasionally I'm overwhelmed by strangers approaching me, as here.

Life is good, sometimes!

This isn't everyone's cup of tea, but if it is, it's really savory; I'm really happy with it.

john

John (Crosley)

Shutter speed: 0.3 seconds hand held.  ISO 2500, Aperture: f 4.0 (maximum). Focal length: 24 mm (widest for this lens and on a DX sensor body), consumer body, not prosumer or pro body.

john

John (Crosley)

Full frame--no crop.

john

John (Crosley)

Io la trovo interessante e creativa ! a mio modo di vedere toglierei un po a sinistra,mi toglie l'attenzione centrale.   saluti Paul

Wow, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of the "All About Crosley" show. Maybe you should contact Oprah about getting yourself a show on her "It's all about Oprah" network.

Few things come to mind:

The person in the foreground seeks the attention but the one in the wheelchair completes the shot, composition-wise.

People staring at the camera is interpreted either as a show of confidence, and therefore, being most natural; or makes them more "aware" and therefore takes the spontaneity out. Here, it is probably the former.

Choice of colour over b/w....which works when? I have this "feel" of seeing a scene in b/w or sepia when I think it may make a good photo. Do you hink that way too, or do you have another technique to help you decide?

Finally, the subconscious essence of this shot...dreams from the past?

Regards.

This is a translation by google translate of Paul Casagrande's comments in Italian:

'I find it interesting and creative!  In my way of seeing off a bit to the left, I removed the central focus.'

Regards Paul.'

I'm glad you found this 'interesting and creative' - and it was all impromptu - not set up at all but it just 'came to me' just like this!

As I said above, Life Can Be Good.

I am not so sure I understand the comment about focus to the left, so I cannot reply.

I am glad you enjoyed this one.

Thanks for taking the time and energy to comment.

john

John (Crosley)

Your ultrarrude and snide troll has been reported to abuse@photo.net.  It is unworthy.

JOHN CROSLEY

Photographer

Very good feeling of holiday and holiday walking!

Samrat, in your brief questions, you have presented tremendous insight into both this photograph and into the photographic process, which I will be forced to probe in order to answer fully.

I regard this photo, not worked up, as one of my 'all time great photos' and for me, at least, for good reason.

It also was taken entirely spontaneously.

The guy in the wheelchair, background, is legless and beggar, also a drunk, sometimes sober, but he and I have a rapport.

He always asks me fo rmoney, and I always refuse; he should work and no legs does not mean he cannot work.  He uses 'attendants' (volunteers) to get around; there are no power wheelchairs in Ukraine and no 'scooters' for the disabled.

He's shown here in a 'pedestrian subway', beneath ground near the entrance to Kyiv's most important Metro station.

It has no handicapped access, though it's underground, so when it's very cold outside, he begs undergound, and his attendants help him get there.

I think he's a sort of a handicapped 'Tom Sawyer' in enlisting help; he always has 'help' around.

(In summer, he's always outside on a broad, parklike sidwalk, surrounded by friends/helpers.)

He has learned my name and always calls my name out when he spies me.

Jan. 1, evening, when I went home, stiffly at about 6:30 p.m., in great pain, I heard my name called. I turned and there he was.

I saw him tell something to the masked man, and masked man immediately came to me, vodka bottle in hand and surely expected to be photographed, bottle and all, outstretched. I obliged but it was not good; lighting was bad, and the masked man moved too much.

I started to go away, but this wheelchair guy obviously had told the masked guy I always was up for a good photo, so he pursued me, without fear.

I responded by trying to focus, asking him to hold still as light was extremely low, and I had a relatively cheapo Nikon camera and lens but with a good sensor.  It was first day of use for the body.

The shutter speed ultimately was 0.3 seconds, hand held, showing how steady a holder I am. It was vibration reduction, but that is far below  advertising range for hand holding with Nikon VR; I'm an extremely good hand holder, though I have enormous pain/partial paralysis right hand/arm.

The blurs are people passing through the scene, including the flesh color arc in front of the first guy in background (that's someone's face passing through as the shutter was open;~)))

There's another blur for someone else passing, to the left.

This was New Year's day underneath Ukraine's most heavily visited single place in front of its most important Metro station -- people were constantly passing through the scene with NO breaks.

I focused on masked man's eye, and had great trouble as 3D focus kept searching for a different focus point with better light.

But I kept one good capture only, with all the rest being discards.

My right arm/hand are extremely painful and holding a camera is horrifically painful, but I do it because it's the way to get such captures, and my left hand is useless even if they did make left hand cameras.

The camera was not a pro or semi-pro, but a consumer Nikon. It had a beat-up, partially broken, 24-120 mm lens on it, but blessedly VR with a max aperture of f 3.5 close range; this is at f4.

Not being fast and my holding steady allowed people to pass through as blurs, a lucky happenstance, as a fast lens would have frozen them and they'd have been horribly distracting -- fatally so I'm sure.

Life's good, sometimes, with amazing luck.

what about color and black and white?

I started posting a few black and white photos, from long ago, then whne I took photos, not knowing how to desturate, posted them as color and got HUGE views.

A member remarked my color reminded him more of H C-B than my B&W, he said 'strangely'.

He was right.

A prominent PN member suggested a great color photo, almost all red, of a man in a Bangkok Alley in their Chinatown in front of a Coke poster (all red) be desaturated and posted.

I did, and views and comments soared fir that already outstanding photo.  It is now one of my best-viewed photos.  It also did well in color. but the two are quitedifferent photos (photo of smiling man below smiling man on Coke poster, with similar lighting in case you want to look).

Having learned properly to desaturate (as many of my early B&W photos were slides desaturated in a chemical darkroom), I adopted the following guidelines over time.

1.  If its composition looked best in black and white, and I needed it for a b&w folder, it got desaturated, and the same if it failed in color but was viewable in black and white; this particularly related to photos with mixed color source lighting of various color temperatures, as well as other things.

2.  If the photo was so full of color and the color was important to the capture, then it got posted as color; r.g, the color dependent photo.

3.  If the photo was 'strong' compositionally, and could be posted as color or black and white, dealer's choice, and I was the  dealer.

I usually chose both what I needed, and what I thought looked best, but sometimes both color and black and white were good, and often in different ways.

I took to posting some color or B&W on this forum and others in the other way, on another.

I still do.

This photo's colors were outstanding.  I decideded they were complementary, and fortunate, so I posted as color, and I'm glad I did, but this is not a color dependent photo.

It belongs in category 3, above, as it is strong in color and b&W.

Some day, maybe on another service, you'll see the b&w posted.

So, if a photo is ONLY color, it gets treated and posted as color.

If a photo does best as black and white, it goes to the B&W folders.

If it's dual capable, then it's dealer's choice, but I try to choose the strongest for first post, or sometimes what I feel I haven't posted for a long time.

I seldom post two of the same capture, and when I do, it's a long time between captures and they're separated by much space in my portfolio.  (dual posting may indicate paucity of material, which is not an issue with me.)

About the 'looks'.

You are right about sometimes looks being distracting and other times indicating 'confidence' and this time it was confidence.

Also, in order to compliment the guy in the wheelchair and give depth to my photo, I wanted to include onlookers, including wheelchair guy (and others) were who viewed this as fun.

I think you're right, it greatly adds to the photo (see 'Bike Trick', also in which an onlooker adds greatly - man doing trick on bike with laughing onlooker, doubled over).

As to revealing my subsconscious - no way. I'm an opportunist photographically, and this was just a great opportunity I could not pass up, there's nothing from my subsconscious that flavored this, other than my continuing intent to make interesting photos.

My very best.

I'm pleased to answer your questions,and  in doing so, I teach myself how to explain myself, and hope I can explain well enough some time to publish, and these snippets can be cut and pasted together, rewritten and made into a book.  For now it's free, on PN, for those who will look (and many do).

Thankfully, or I wouldn't bother.

Best to you, Samrat; great questions.

john

John (Crosley)

Thank you.

I do capture a different part of 'your fair city' -- Kyiv, than almost anybody I think you can name ever has before. I know of no such person.

If you know of someone with similar work, please let me know his/her name, so I can introduce myself -- I'm sure we would have great fun getting to know one another and comparing captures - tricks and tips also.

Also, it's time you and I met; I think I saw you one time at Maidan photographing, but wasn't sure, and believed your English and my Russian/Ukrainian might not be an easy match without a perevodchik.

Best of wishes this New Year.

Snovum Goda.

john

John (Crosley)

Unbelievable, what a shot..!!! No words.., it's complete your story Sir John..! Phoe..! Congratulations brave man. One (you) can shoot winners, this is a winner's winner. Scene, atmosphere and colors are totally unbeatable..! I don't like this kind of talk, however by your brave percisting you are giving birth to the "impossible". Hat off, Olaf.

I have learned over years both to understand and heed you.

Thank you for a wonderful  critique -- it almost brings tears.

The fact is, that however, strangely, I 'see' things, and 'capture' them in ways that often almost baffle me, but are totally explainable, and sometimes it is a wonder to me, the unusual and interesting captures I come home with; pardon me if I am too proud -- I truly mean to tutor those who wish to learn this craft of shooting 'street'. 

Too many write or come to me and say 'I love your work, but I'm afraid someone will observe me taking their photo, and don't know what to do'.

My words are aimed, more often than not, at those souls who need a lesson in forthrightness, whose photography skills are not yet so developed that they can justify (as I do), interfering with others' lives for the value of the photographic product they capture, hence their timidity at shooting 'street'.  I try to take the 'mystery' out of the process by writing thus.

It is those I seek to help more than anyone, and am essentially writing a book on the process of shooting 'street' just for help in teaching what I think some people think is the unteachable. -- shooting candidly and openly in public -- a process some people regard as 'street photography'.

And thank you so much both for viewership and also for support that I can trust.  You have earned that place of trust over time.

john

John (Crosley)

That post is part of a continuing dialog between me and Mr. Bose, regarding how street photos are born.

While certainly few on this service have any interest in the details of 'how' this photo came about in such excruciating detail, it appears Mr. Bose, who seeks to become an accomplished 'street' photographer, indeed does just that, for he has inquired specifically about many of my shots, and specifically had questions about this shot.

Some of my answers are more brief, but this one called for a more in detail answer, given that the circumstances are somewhat extraordinary - they are not  just 'I stood on the sidewalk, surveyed the scene, and spotted and interesting juxtaposition, or situation'.  This was one extremely dynamic scene that 'worked out'.

For those with less interest, it takes no effort not to read, specifically when an answer is directed (as this was) to Mr. Bose himself.

john

John (Crosley)

Dear John,

most of the photographers, at times have lucky moments, and yes luck brought you to this subject (lets say), but the way you handled this polymorphic group of people and the unfavorable (lighting etc) conditions, is a very nice example of creativity and photographic character.

I would try BnW to point out the surreal of the moment,  but on the other hand, I don't thing I could handle that well a photo like that, so, congrats :)

I had training in riots, war and news conference plus sports and other events where conditions were 'difficult' to say the least.

That was good training.

The purpose is to 'get the photo', not make excuses.

So, I just bear in there and despite advancing age, move about, however slowly, and get into the thick of things, and am deterred by little.

People seem mostly to accept this, fortunately.

I'm grateful for your assessment; it's very heartening, and I do so with great thanks and warmth.

I posted this in color for two reasons:  (1) color is somewhat stronger -- the mask's green goes well with the color of the floor and walls especially, and (2) I needed to post a good color photo, since I haven't posted a good one for a while.  

Unlike many photographers, I post color AND black and white, often by desaturating my color captures, so the process of just checking to see what a B&W version will look like often involves checking a box (desaturate) in Photoshop raw converter for a looksee and making a decision.  Sometimes I work up both versions, as here.

This was postable either in color or black and white, and if you watch this or 'another service' at a different time, I think you will find the B&W version posted, as it is pretty satisfactory (to me), also.

At the same time, as a youth in my early '20s but with modern DSLR equipment, this might have been within my capacity.  (I had a hiatus of almost 35 years or so, taking photos only maybe once or twice a decade in the interim, often just to say "I still had it'"

Again, I am most grateful for your assessment.

john

John (Crosley)

I posted this photo basically adjusting contrast, brightness and a little sharpness with one selection, but otherwise left it untouched despite some obvious areas that some may see as detracting.  In fact its early raters had it scoring well below a 4 in ratings I think primarily because they were heavily into 'subtracting' rather than judging the photo on its impact.

The question is not only (1) should I clean it up (or have it cleaned up for exhibition or otherwise by a skilled photoshopper) and if so (2)  to what extent?

I invite feedback on that subject, especially.

john

John (Crosley)

Aaron Siskind Foundation has this year a continuing yearly (when money is available) photographer grant competition.

They ask for ten photos.

This is one of ten photos I submitted to them in 2013 as part of my 'recent' (Ukrainian--US) work, to show my photographic skills.

I cleaned it up (without removing the background blurs one whit, saturated it more, sharpened it more, and it proved (to me) stunning.

I regard it as one of my twenty all-time best color photos.  I have tons of black and white photos that I rank very highly, and it's also desaturated and posted as a black and white, and also holds its own as a black and white capture.

Sometimes it's best to 'look back' and see things in life's rearview mirror.

Then reassess.

This is one that has succeeded, aided by a little more work.

john

John (Crosley)