'Exhaling Hard -- Something Nearby to Inhale Later'

This street jazz band's eyes bulge as he blows a note hard on his tuba

with his reward between songs: his cigrette stuck in a narrow spot

between his air tube and the bell of the instrument. Your ratings,

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

very critically, or just wish to make a remark, please submit a helpful

and constructive remark. Please share your photographic knowledge to

help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! john

Incredible shot!

I can take 'em serious.

And not so serious.

Thanks sooo much!

My mantra is to take 'interesting photos'.

I don't always succeed, but I got some more -- all different!  Each day brings new stuff, and I keep mining my more than half million old photos too and keep finding also wonderful, overlooked photos I 'meant to post' but forgot.

Keep watching.

You never know what you'll see here.

;~))))

john

John (Crosley)

After five ratings the ratings for this stood at 5.4.

Then with a sixth rater, they dropped to 4.67.

There is an anti-smoker activist element which downrates photos because they don't want to see a cigarette depicted and downrate just for that or downrate for other reasons, almost always forbidden ones. 

To skew the rate down so much five rates, that one new rate must have been a record low rate, and inspired NOT by the photo's worth as a photo, but by ideology (or other forbidden purpose) -- almost certainly not the photo's merit.  

Almost no one can be more anti-smoking than I. 

Some raters' values are all screwed up; this is 'rate the photo' and the photo's worth, not a plebescite on whether or not you like the depiction.

john

John (Crosley)

Excellent street portrait!

Yes, someone sometimes give very low ratings, today I had a rating of "1" :-)

Thank you for your very nice comment.

Thank you also for the information about the 'low rater'.

The 'main page' does not yet show the effects of the low rater, but my personal page does, and in actuality the rate on the main page has climbed with one more rate (yours?) (please do not answer).

I have not seen one photo by YOU or possibly ANY Photo.netter that deserved a rating of '1'.

A '1' rating suggests a black cat at night in a coal mine with malfunctioning equipment, maybe underexposed ;~)) in other words -- the worst of the worst.

You, Svetlana, take wonderful photos and they keep getting better.

Me, I try, and some new plug-ins and a little work with Photoshop has helped.  But the main thing is just 'plug away and shoot regularly' - sooner or later, you'll see and capture something interesting.

Lately, I have been meeting people whose photos I took 6 months to two years, ago.

I introduce myself saying 'my name is John' and they say 'I know, John Crosley'. 

And it can happen anywhere, and not just in Kyiv but also in Dnipropetrovsk . . .  maybe if I go back also to Odessa, the same?

It's pretty wonderful considering Ukraine is the most populous country in Europe and Kyiv has 3.2 million citizens.

The other day an old baba (babushka or 'grandmother') literally started shouting horrible things when she spied me at a bazaar with my photo equipment, as many bazaar people tend to want to do; being afraid, as they often are, of the unknown and intruders -- especially wary these days of spies for potential 'tax police'.

A second bazaar, seller, a woman I had met only once before, clutched me to her bosom, literally, and shouted I was a 'friend' and that the woman had not ought to shout such things at a 'friend' like me.

It was very nice.

Sometimes on the street, it is not always the best to be anonymous (not always, but sometimes).

I have a 'street following' -- people who stop me to view my 'screen' as I move around those days I can, and engage me in converation, to ask (often a repeat) for a web reference to my photos, to ask about posting of a photo they're interested in, or just to view the new photos from that day -- they're seldom disapppointed.)

It's good to make it 'fun' to meet the photographer, and greatly clears the path for the next photo, like the one above, which had its start just as described above.

How else does an erstwhile stranger get in so close?

Svetlana, it's abuse to give any photo of yours a '1' or even less than a '4' even if it's your worst, and almost all of yours are worth much, much higher rates.

Some, even the highest -- 7s.

john

John (Crosley)

:) This is beating all..! With so "few" so Much..! Haha, this shot being literally loaded  with humor does remind me of the laughing guy of The Bike Trick. John, I do stop and don't go with you and even better: I even didn't before, I do stop comparing the images with different photographers. John Crosley, sofar in this age simply is unique and so are simply the others from different ages. John, you are giving us - the on this aspect not being blind ones - so us, this fresh pleasure NOW..! Now, and it's not spoiled yet by any kind of words of knowing it better. Thanks..! Great Artist..! :) 

Really, blushing.

This is just a 'trifle' that worked out.

I saw the guy yesterday and told him the same. I take in any given day I'm shooting from 200 to 1,000 photos and most of them are horrible, but in a few of them, there's 'something'.

I did like 'The Bike Trick'; it's one of my favorites - I'm glad to hear you remember it.

You never know, as photographer, what people will like, when shooting street.

Someone else, I think, just before you, (estimating averages) gave this a 1 or a 2, and Svetlana K. above, complains of the same thing on a photo of hers --the temerity (or stupidity with regards to her low rater).

Ah, well, to get a verbal belly laugh from you, Olaf, keeps me working harder and harder to get another.

You, after all, are a great picker of photos -- in essence a wonderful critic of the best -- you haven't chosen one that I disagree with, ever.

Best to you.

(now I gotta to go out and try to do even better!  But far different of course.  I gotta earn those verbal belly laughs, and you're no sycophant --pushover -- despite those kind words.)

john

John (Crosley)

Although all the other image editing global adjustments worked wonderfully, that damned cigarette just showed no detail.

I had to 'work on it' a little to reveal what I had seen 'in person' to convey the true image I had seen, otherwise it would have been a too bright cigarette outline.

I think that would have ruined the photo, so I spent some time working just on the cigarette which proved troublesome, but I think this image is a good reward. 

Sometimes it's just the littlist thing, really, that can make or break a photo, in my opinion.  If you could see this image but with a 'blown' or 'semi-blown' cigarette, you'd understand.  I won't post that, so you'll only be left with guesswork.

john

John (Crosley)

(if it says 'unmanipulated' please make a mental adjustment for this new information).

jc

How many curves (curvatures) do you see in this photo, whole or partial? 

Do they help the composition? 

Would it have been better (do you theorize) if I had not cut off his knit hat, or if I had shot it 'as is', hat cut off.

Our mind's eye completes figures that we recognize, after all, which are 'cut off' just so long as our mind gets enough clues to put thigns together.

Agree?  Or disagree?

Extra credit for trying.

john

John (Crosley)

This photo is seen by most who have viewed and commented as being 'successful'.

The question is why?

Is it just from the view that the guy has bulging eyes, and cigarette parked in an unusual spot, or is it more?

Anyone care to attempt a compositional analysis of this photo, to tell me whether they think its composition adds to or detracts from its appeal, and if so, how?

I'm open to suggestions.

Naturally, I have thoughts, mostly acquired after viewing this image and finding most like it, but taking these photos like this is pretty inchoate (natural) to me, even though I work at it considerably because it takes practice and much, much effort -- however enjoyable.

I'm interested in someone's views who is interested in dissecting the elements of this photo to make it whatever it is that it is.

Anyone care to try?

I think it might be an interesting task with this photo; it's more complex than many of mine, compositionally, if not from subject presentation.

john

John (Crosley)

The cutting off has to do with the proportions in getting his eye accentuated. The eye is accentuating the pressure of the pumping. By that he even isn't able to watch the cigarette or even to think about it. However, at the same time the line in getting the relation between ex and inhaling, and so visualy the cigarette significantly is shorter. By that the visual effect is stronger.

However, we shouldn't forget that by first reading the title and next watching the image in fact the viewer by the photographer, being the writer as well (!) is forced (!) in making an intelectual  detour.

The image, being a sort of cartoon, in fact also has to be read visually on it's own. In that case, the eye being not so close, wouldn't be a problem at all. It even would, as an own discovery of the viewer, probably being stronger. For, when I discovered the cigarette, the whole story of the writer had gone. I can't even remember if I actually did read it (first). Don't forget, Im not native speaking English and many of the viewers aren't. So, thats in fact another detour. Yes, in fractions of seconds, however it's all lowering the speed in getting the point, in fact your point.

Yes, cartoons are with and without titles. Being to the point both possiblities are aqually strong.  However, we are so spoiled by titles, that even watching the most simple images in forinstance a magazine we often feel helpless if even the visual watching of a cow isn't confirmed by the word "cow" beneath it.  Every body does know what I mean. We often first look for a title.

Ending where it did start. Visually for me the feast was the discovering of the cigarette being parked in such a humoristic and clever (!) way. Yes, while his eye (!) was pumping. In fact, in my memory, the title didn't add much. The innerly laughing, the most important here, already had been started. Yes, I do have visual talents, so can also imagine a different gifted viewer will appreciate lots of "detours", however probably not experienced in that way or even maby just being welcomed and loved. 

However often: the more talk about an image, the more also the floating is getting started. Haha, if the murderer got shot in front of a bookstore, the photographer even is getting praised about the lovely details in the shop..! Afterwards analysing the essense in minutes doesn't say anything on itself. Having a talent for that, it's easy. The essence getting on the spot by shooting and even often being surprised by small extra's, is the cream we are hunting for. And John, I'm very pleased you are just hunting overthere..! 

And, taking care for your belly, every photographer is unique, however in this* genre (!) in fact you are now the King. First by the results..! Next especially by the enormous amount of energy putting in it, the practical use of your instruments and the hardly "manipulating" cq processing of your images. I'ts really a bunch (?) of honest (hard) work..!

*Not "only" street, however noticing and catching subjects, connections and direct layers in a strong recognizable, strong human, strong emotional  and always very strong, nearly grafical and sober visual way being  the essence and that by mostly using the viewer as the instrument of cropping and composing the reallity. Hat off..! Haha, I do only have a cap..! And I refused counting your curves..!                   

Very  nice street photo. very good expression, composition and light. good job. great.

"The eye being not so close probably would be stronger.." is wrong. The short visual connection between the pressuring eye and the cigarette is needed at his utmost. Nothing also being essential and needed is shown or shot, so this crop is the ultimate way in getting the cigarette as fast as possible in focus, after - I supose for most of the viewers - the expressive eye. The connection couldn't be better. Simply, if not you wouldn't have posted this crop. By clearly showing the essence one prevents any kind of misunderstanding or not really or too late getting it.     

It's going to take me a day or so to digest what you wrote.  You put a lot of work into it, and I want to address the points you made intelligently and not 'off the cuff'.

Thank you for what obviously is an intelligent analysis of the subject as it relates to the composition.

john

John (Crosley)

By my count you put six separate (complimentary) thoughts into a single line. 

Wow! 

Thanks.

john

John (Crosley)