black and white: then to now 'The Pleasure Meister Delivers On Her Message of 'Love'"

The very young but mature woman, right has organized what amounts to

a public 'love fest' (within tasteful bounds) at a country's most public

place. The results are shown behind her. Your ratings, critiques and

remarks are invited and are most welcome. If you rate critically, critique

very harshly, or just wish to submit a remark, please submit a helpful

and constructive comment; please share your photographic knowledge

to help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

great impression - it's like watching old bw movie!

This was hardly predictable.

It results from an effort to follow my credo.

1.  Try to create interesting photos.

2.  Try to keep all the interesting stuff inside the frame.

3.  Try to keep all the uninteresting (and unnecessary) stuff outside the frame.

I think it works; apparently you do too, with a special perspective.  I don't plan these things, so I guess I'd never make a good movie director -- I couldn't make a storyboard to save my soul, nor handle the cinematography -- I'd always be experimenting for a 'better way' rather than what was storyboarded.

In any case, it tends to lead to photos I could never imagine moments prior to taking them -- I work well entirely extemporaneously.

Thanks for a helpful and useful comment.

john

John (Crosley)

you are much better photographer than me myself, but I will take the liberty to leave one good advice..

I will surely move camera 1-2 cm to the left. arguments.

1. her nose is spoiling this

2. cut to the eye will bring more tension in

3. her head is too dominant (but just visually)

4. I miss a little bit space and context on left side

BB

You are a man of strong opinions.

I generally shoot in one or a combination of two ways.

1.  Any way that will get into the frame the elements of the shot I hope to get, especially where the actors are moving fast and/or unpredictably -- the football equivalent (repeated consistently) or a 'hail mary' pass.  There are  football play books that describe how to make such plays, so they are not just chance.  This might be considered once such shot, as it's not posed and I caught her in this position -- there would be no redo ever as it's entirely spontaneous.

2.  I would have liked a little more room to the left, but I think the rest of the arguments are your preferences, but I am not sure they would add to the strength of the photo.  For a 'street' shot, it currently has '6's which is unheard of, which means some felt I got it right. 

Your criticisms and comments of critique are most helpful, as they start me to analyzing in words what I post visually -- and I find it a valuable adjunct.

Whether I accept or reject a particular comment and/or element of that comment, I always am forced to think, which I think is a good thing.

Thank you for that.

john

John (Crosley)

I remember times when we two were fighting verbally over quality of your Work. now, I believe, and see, that you are returning to your old time q., 70-80s.. (nixon, e.g.). may be I will never take a picture of that quality, but to help with my small to zerro addition somebody else to take it - is still GOOD.

BB

The shot as it is, in fact is making the lady and her eye the most important and interesting subject, She is in focus, the place of the eye is perfect and indeed, it's suggesting the lady did notice the couple and - while looking at the photographer -  now is making the photographer aware of it.  Yes, cosmaticly the one cm. suggested crop would improve the side on the right plus the top (!) of the image.

However, at the same time it would degrade the lady only being a rather forced eye-opener. Next the viewer will feel like being squinting because of the disturbed total balance. The crop would shorten the feeling of dept and maybe urge a sharp being in focus of the couple. 

Inspite of the "unlucky" top etc., the total balance visually and symbolicly IMHO is the best as it is. John's goal in getting the interesting in and keeping the distracting out has been reached here. Next, only perfect balanced crops out of the visual life are just a part of the reallity.

Daring to show the on the spot (!) composed original with at the same time some "imperfections"  in fact is witnessing the being grown up of the photographer. Our watching as viewer at the same time should demand a view on his "position" and the reallity at the moment of shooting. Darkroom, postprocessing and cropping in getting a substitution of Paradise in fact are immature.

That's the same as making concerts, written as just relaxing music "on the foreground and functioning like being the background", a kind of holy events where coughing, talking and breathing not is allowed.   

Having shot Nixon doesn't say anything about the quality of the image, the fact the photographer did raise his arms, pressed the button and got lucky bij the results is worth a nice memory and some flowers. The Nixons hiding in the portfolio and having been created by the eye (!) just are far more valuable..!  

I don't recall ever having written a comment to two contributors at once -- maybe so, but I don't recall it.

Both of you have had a lively discussion in my brief absence from this photo and page today (while I was out shooting and having otherwise a very big disappointment).

But I got one wonderful photo and that always brightens my day.

I want to thank you both for your contributions; both are valued; colloquy is the stuff of life and this photo is a surprise winner for me, whether or not it 'needs improvement'.

Thank you both so very much.

john

John (Crosley)

I am not afraid of critical attention to my photographs.  Sometimes I learn a great deal, and even if I learn one small thing, I may incorporate that into exposure, stance, composition or other nicetieis the next time I'm out shooting and maybe not even recognize it.

I pay careful  attention to these contributins; sometimes in them there are small flecks of gold or larger nuggets (sometimes only iron pyrite).

Thanks again, Boris.

john

John (Crosley)

You humble me.

I quote you:

Daring to show the on the spot (!) composed original with at the same time some "imperfections"  in fact is witnessing the being grown up of the photographer. Our watching as viewer at the same time should demand a view on his "position" and the reallity at the moment of shooting. Darkroom, postprocessing and cropping in getting a substitution of Paradise in fact are immature.'

This is one of the most important tributes to me that I have received; thank you so much for reducing it onto the words I never could have thought of.

john

John (Crosley)

On Nixon:  part luck and part great skill.

The skill came from being at campus riots, police sweeps and in Viet Nam with a camera.  I learned those skills there, so the 'lucky shot' that is referred to, was indeed lucky, but 'luck favors the well prepared.'

I have re-introduced myself to photography as a considerably more mature individual and had to reteach or relearn those skills which I thrust upon myself from the early days but without all the drama of assassinations, riots, etc., and have had to 'make do' with things considerably more 'minor' from a newsworthy standpoint but with a developed and developing eye for detail, for even the smallest moment.

You are right; the Nixon shot was 'luck' but I was very well prepared for it by chasing and being chased by cops and rioters, campus occupiers and Viet Cong, so I knew how to hold that camera overhead and get the shot.

Actually getting THAT shot however,  was pure luck as you have noted, and I think as you say, my skills at making the major from the minor are improving. 

Thank you for your fine accolade above. 

Double thanks and more.

john

John (Crosley)

This young woman, foreground, with her friends, was promoting a time of 'hoogs' which I found out soon enough was 'hugs' but prounounced as an Eastern European thinks it should be; they are not aware of the idiosyncraciees of English and its pronunciation which can be so confounding.

So, as she looked at me, and I was to take her photo, two cohorts, practiced what she preached, left and background.

I did not participate.

They were underage.

john

John (Crosley)

I already had been reading your sketch above your Nixon quality shot. Yes, shooting that one should feel comfortable like being at home. Your home in fact already had gotten the street. That, plus the develloped skills made you were tension resistant. Even extra, for having such a change one often gets just once in a street life time..! Putting down the shot as just a lucky goal in fact was ment to be a kwink, yes do call it humor on the stage. :)  

.

Another excellent original street portrait!

I know you have a fabulous sense of humor; but sometimes in the past I did not always 'get' it when your references were translated into English because I think of a language/cultural barrier.

I know the Dutch, being next door to the historically bellicose Germans and having twice been occupied, (and also being physically small), have a special, wry, well-developed sense of humor that is often very subtle -- how else could one maintian one's sanity, speak to German/Nazi occupiers, yet while making jokers of simple conversation, also criticize them roundly without their knowing it?

In any case, I am glad to learn the word kwink and to learn (as I thought) that you were kwinking me.

I accept it in good humor; I find your criticisms devoid of harshness and almost always -- perhaps always -- well thought out and constructed.

And I don't mind a kwink from time to time; it's good for the soul.

Oh, interesting caption, fun and flattering caption for YOUR photo (which you attached) in-line (in case others are confused).

Thanks, Olaf,

john

John (Crosley)

Thank you for the kind words.  I feared that nobody would 'get' this photo; but I think an explanatory caption helped very much, less others would be very confused.

Thanks again, and good health (from the USA).

I will write you when I return why your e-mail was never returned, or no call -- there were good reasons, not pertinent here, and it's not a 'dead letter', but something I wish to act on when I return to your land.

Please do not confuse lack of contact with disrespect, as that would be a completely erroneous concluson as you will see.

john

John (Crosley)

John, this is perhaps your BEST caption!  In 9 words you have managed to evoke the essence of this fantastic photograph.  You have really impressed me with your writing creativity.  Needless to say, the picture is a keeper as well.  The depth of field is perfect and I love what appears to the be the fleeting movement of the woman in the foreground, i.e. The Pleasure Meister.  Real winner here John, in all aspects.

Jason

There's a lot going on here without the image feeling cluttered, the image is nicely viewed and absorbed with one glance, wide-angle lens is well used to merge both what's going on in the forground and what's going on in the background, nice shot!

Some photos don't need captions; they are self explanatory.  Most landscapes fall into this category, product shots too, as well as most portraits, etc.  Even nudes.  You get the idea.

Some photos look very well without captions, but remain somewhat mysterious without some pointer.

I think this is one of them.  It has a good 'look' to it, but the caption really seemed required for anyone to understand why the woman, right foreground, is looking at us and why the couple in the background 'hooging' is significant.

So, I wrote a caption.

I once did that as part of my living for Associated Press photos, NYC world headquarters.  I was a 'writer' (hired as a photographer but saw the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and decided not to be presumptuous about my 'talents') and 'quit' the photographer's job almost before I started.  Cartier-Bresson, whom I had just briefly met, had done it all.  The world didn't need my photographs, I reasoned.  I switched to writing, for which I had absolutely no training-- same as photography.

But as a writer, I ended up supervising AP world photos during certain times from world headquarters, and a significant part of that was caption writing, both titles and entire captions (stories that went with captions).

That's where I got the skill; or better, I had the skill, and AP paid me (not well) to use it for their behalf and they never regretted it. 

When I captioned a photo, foreign newspapers often printed the caption and even my caption information (taken from the story) instead of the story itself!

It's a personal pride of mine (pride go before the fall?)

Thanks Jason, glad you like this one.  It might be mysterious, very mysterious, without the caption.

john

John (Crosley)

Your nice analysis is so complete there is little I can add; I just hope that viewers will read it and understand that you have understood my photo entirely.

Frankly, I sat on it for a very long time, unsure of whether viewers would even care a little for it.  It appears my uncertainty was misplaced, OR I just needed to write the correct caption, which I did in a rush just as I posted -- it seems to have worked out well.

Thanks Steve (sorry about no accent marks on my English keyboard.)

john

John (Crosley)