Strolling San Pietro

Apologies to the lovely lady who stole this scene, but the human element

usually dominates. Comments and critique welcome

My apology to the lovely lady who stole this scene.  I was so intent on not invading the privacy of people while in Italy, but minimizing the power of the human element in my images was nearly impossible.  As every artist learns people in any image can become its most interesting element.

Wayne,

  Beautiful image with wonderful details & composition.  Of course a pretty lady would capture your attention!!!  Great work.  Take care, Patsy

I would ask for your purpose when composing this picture.

I note that almost every element is either too tiny (also the women on the bottom right, which might be of some interest) or cut.

The lamp post, even if cut, is quite perfectly centred, but there is the disturbing tent in the back.

The majestic basilica is just some background to an unclearly presented foreground scene.

My suggestion would be to choose the element, or the story, you want to show and try to compose accordingly.

Just some ideas for thought.

L.

Thanks,Patsy and Luca.  Excellent points.  This particular version was composed for the purpose of portraying the character of street scenes – the often discordant elements at a  particular time and place, and how they come together to form a coherent statement.  Often that meaning/coherency is only in the mind of the viewer. This particular composition allowed the lamp post to be centered  but not take center stage.  All the other elements – the cacophony of people, the basilica, the lines and pavement of the piazza were allowed to have equal prominence relative to space and weight allowing the composition and the viewer to experience where their attention gravitates.  I may have failed at this, but the white outfit and woman to the right greatly influenced my attention and how the composition was arranged. 

in fact the placement of the lamp post was too careful to be by chance.

Then, why not try it in black and white? and at a different time of the day? The sun rises in front of the basilica and sets behind it. A more direct, and strong illumination from the upper left might be interesting.

L.

Thanks, Luca, for your analysis.  Black & white may go a long way to unifying the composition.  I think this has potential too, but needs work.  I appreciate your knowledge and willingness to critique honestly.  Thanks for checking out my work.

Love street shots - so much to appreciate.

Since everyone was talking about B&W, I gave it a quick try and i used Capture NX V1.3 to do the conversion. I hope you don't mind but if you do just drop me a quick note.

Yeah, I kind of like the b&w too.  No problem, your input is always respected and appreciated, Tony.