'Beer, Beer, Beer, Beer'

This is a photo about beer barrels, a little action action, and lots of

composition. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited and

most welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or wish to make a

remark, please submit a helpful and constructive comment; please

share your photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

The title lacks exclamation sign, but good capture anyway! Though I am not sure about that round forn at the left side...

The missing exclamation points are in my mind -- I took over 400 photos today and this was the best by far, and I am convinced it will stay one of my best or a long time.

Frankly, there were LOTS of very good photos, including some I might put in a folder 'lifetime best', but this rose to the top.

It has many things going for it -- especially tonality, composition, form, and a geometric figure where the fourth figure is in motion as it's picked up by the workman.

Even the male figure is in action, with his feet and leg motion adding to the composition's dynamics.

I purposely darkened this photo and increased contrast (not manipulations under the rules) in order to bring out the tonalities and emphasize the center of interest -- the beer barrels.

Note, almost all lines lead to the barrels -- so the geometry (composition, as the term is used by the French) is to die for -- at least in my mind -- and seldom seen on the street in a fast-moving capture. 

This is a fast-mover, impossible to replicate at all, or even to predict or even previsualize exactly.

One can previsualize the beer barrels, and even four of them, but having one be picked up and be airborn in the precise location to complete the geometric  shape and be on its side to create an exception to the regularity of the three that are upright, is my kind of happenstance.

This photo has so much going for it -- it's really mostly an abstract, but not quite.

I'm proud of this one; I'm not proud of them all, even ones that people seem to love and some which they rate very highly.

I'd exhibit it.

Thanks for the comment vlad, it's appreciated.

Shape at the side?

It's not perfect, and I almost never clone.

john

John (Crosley)

 can even go brighter than this

"7" Excellent street composition.

A very nicely composed beautiful shot, John!

With best regards,

Ruud.

Interesting scene, an interesting moment of movement and a good shot!

Meir, I had many thoughts about your observations about tonality as I processed this photo, and to tell you the truth, they have influenced me heavily in my understanding of the use of tonality.

Frankly your reworked rendition looks very much like what came out of my camera before I darkened it and increased contrast to emphasize the beer barrels and their composition as a 'diamond' shape with one 'crosswise' to break the pattern, and also 'in motion'.

After all, this is a photo about the tonalities primarily of the beer kegs, and I processed almost exclusively for the tonalities of the kegs and all the rest be damned and darkened to put emphasis on the kegs.

Part of understanding the use of tonalities and the entire gray scale (a la Ansel Adams) especially in 'street' is knowing when to override it, and when to let the blacks lump up as in the man's clothing. 

The man is a mass -- a form -- and nothing more than a shadow or silhouette with action, and that is what I wanted him to be, and I did not want the patterns of the paving stones and curb stones to interfere any more and my goal was to have the beer kegs 'jump out' at the viewer, with their pattern, which I found most fortuitous.

I did absorb the lessons you have helped teach me and those photos with full gray scale you shared with me, but in this instance, I ditched them because it was my view as an artist that I wanted something different, and the comments and my present view bear me out.  It is what I wanted it to look like.

It has the form, shape and dynamism I sought and nothing distracting (except those missing tonalities I was sure would disturb you), but I meant nothing harmful knowing your aesthetics about tonalities might be disturbed; it was purely artist's choice. 

In my mind, I succeeded, but did know how to render it full gray scale as you propose.

Thanks for your help; I'm marking your comment very helpful.

john

John (Crosley)

Your assessment entirely agrees with my own; it's one of my favorite works, in part because it is entirely impromptu.

See barrels, see man approach and pick up barrel, snap photos as he is working, and choose best of three (all three are good).

Life's like that; a very good photo can arise suddenly, so long as you're out shooting and not sitting home trying to photoshop some piece of crap sow's ear into a silk purse.

I'd rather be out there hunting silk purses, such as this.

They are out there for us truffle hunters to find all the time; we just have to be there and use our eyesight, instincts and be bold enough to overcome our fears of 'getting in people's way' or being seen as a nuisance.

My excuse is that occasionally when a nuisance, I create some worthy 'art' and that justifies the rest of it. 

What's yours?

;~))

john

John (Crosley)

You seem to find all my good ones; I hardly ever remember your passing over a fine shot.

Thanks so much.

john

John (Crosley)

I didn't say where this was taken, as this might have been taken anywhere in the Caucasian world, northern or southern hemispheres - it's not specific to any city, country or even northern or southern hemisphere.

It's part abstract and part 'man at work'.

I like it, and I'm very pleased you do to.

(Boksal -- Celentano)

john

John (Crosley)

Not in Iran. Not even the Ireland Embassy!

Don't get your underwear in a bunch.

There's drinking I'm sure in Iran, too, but just not out in the open, with the huge penalties (one's life perhaps?).

I suppose then perhaps Saudi Arabia might also be called the Caucasian world (they're part of the twelve tribes, aren't they or their descendants, and after all we find they just killed a woman for practicing 'witchcraft'! -- one of the throwback tribes, perhaps?)

On the other hand, I've known personally a Saudi Prince or two, as they were foreign students going through school, one had a babysitter of my children as his live-in mistress.   He went back and became a follower of strict shariah law - chief hypocrite, I think, and I recall him as being a rather nice guy to relate to. She was strict Catholic; he strict Muslim and they slept together nightly, and he put her through school, until school ended, then they went their separate ways, an 'arrangement' and he ended by reverting to strict shariah law, I am told.

Another was a huge beer swiller, In the USA, but not when he returned to Saudi and became a member of their secret police, or did he just drink secretly with his fellow secret policemen?

I've been around.

The most outrageous sight I ever saw arising from Caucasian 'tribesmen" was in London at an International arrival hall at Heathrow.

A Saudi family was arriving with its checked baggage.

It was enough baggage to fill a semi-tractor-trailer combination. '

It filled a whole train (actually several) of luggage carts, filled to the ceiling and overcrowding the entire baggage hall.  Each train was 20 or so huge carts (each carrying 15-20 valises) long.  Such a sight, and all for one small group of passengers. 

It made me want to swear off driving, but then there were no choices, as it was a while ago.

It seems that they also were traveling 'light' as it was a 'short stay' envisioned' but they had to have their 'creature comforts' - essentially everything that filled one part of some small palace someplace.

And to think that Saudi is filled with royalty . . . . all fed by our driving habits.

And that it was Saudis who were in those planes on 9-11 primarily, but who got attacked by Bush and the US forces? 

Iraq of course, because Saudi and its oil was threatened by Saddam.

This is a through the looking glass world.

I am sure that most Saudis who live abroad do so because they can drink and whoor around and then go home to Saudi, and pretend that women should not be schooled, should not go out alone, should hot be seen with a man not their husband or relative, should not drive a car, and so forth.

But abroad, those same guys are sharing beds with independent business women of the world's oldest profession, who wear makeup, drink, drive, are educated (often highly) and are entirely Western.

If given a chance against the repressive regime in Iran, I am sure a substantial portion of the population would not mind quaffing one or two, do you agree?

Christian Amanpour, the CNN Correspondent at the time went home to her family in Iran and showed them and their 'newfound freedom' and showed that the Persian people can think for themselves and be enlightened -- it was a most edifying hour of television.

Persia is populated more and more by young people, and sooner or later, they will get control, and then you can breathe a sigh of relief in your little flat there in Israel, I hope.

Because the young people seem to want freedom, I-Pods, twitter accounts, short skirts for the women (with head scarves for many I am sure), and not to send nuclear missiles to Tel Aviv, which would certainly guarantee that Israel would annihilate all of Iran, making it Afghanistan's twin.

I pray you see the day that repression ends in Iran, for then you get more freedom at home, Meir.

Mazeltov.

john

John (Crosley)

(they could use a good bier, maybe?, perhaps something in a 3.2%?, and call it Muslim light?)

;~))

Very good composition

Best regards

Xavier Corcobado

xcorcobado.blogspot.com

Thank you for the kind comment (and the rating which I have figured out ;~)).

Such compositions are hard to capture 'on the fly' and often only can be seen afterward, but they only happen if you're there and photographing already, having seen the potential.

Best wishes.

john

John (Crosley)

Only twelve tribes? I think John, that you are off almost an order of magnitude. Let's see. The Blackfeet, Apache, Navajo, Hopi. What was Magua? Oh Yes he was Huran (and a drunk) and then there are the Iroquois (or are they Huran too). Cherokee, Sioux, Aztec and all those other guys down South; and don't forget the Eskimos. Oh, '"last" but not least the Mohicans but they are all gone now according to Cooper. That is 11 but there are many more. I do not recall any that crossed back over the Bering Strait and returned home so I think the Saudis are not decended. The only connection between them that I can think of is that neither the Tribes nor the Saudis have a tolerance for Beer.

Thanks for the laugh.

(By the way, the politically correct way to describe 'Eskimo' now is not 'meat eater' as it translates but 'Inuit'.  No big deal to me, but to them, a huge issue.)

john

John (Crosley)