'The Pause That Refreshes' (B&W ed.)

Newfound friend Dasha unwittingly empties a Coke in front of a Coca

Cola poster deep inside Ukraine. 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

I met Dasha in a fast food restaurant.

It turned into a long term friendship (non sexual).

She has a folder here in my portfolio.  You might look it up; its photos have tens of thousands of views.

john

John (Crosley)

John, this is the type of street photo that made me first notice your work here on p.net. You have a variety of interesting photos of course, but your use of environment to make your point has always captured my attention. Was this shot set up or was it happy chance? Either way, I love it!

I saw the billboard and was walking with the young woman, Dasha, after just meeting her.

She had not seen the billboard.

I had an opened bottle of Coke in my back pocket, partially full, and offered it to her, then just stood back as she started to upend it and made my capture.

She was completely unaware of what was happening except that I was taking her photo, and was absolutely surprised at her part in a larger photo. (Color photo is stunning and posted).

For these kinds of photos, they are entirely ad hoc, and involve no posturing or posing.  I take 'em as I see 'em and am not a 'stage director' -- it would involve too much imagination. 

Cartier-Bresson thought the logical progression for his talents would be movie director so he wangled a job as assistant director under famed director Jean Renoir for three or four movies and was invaluable in arranging things for filming but proved a dud at using imagination -- he had none for seeing things in his 'mind's eye' other than what he just came upon.

I share that trait with him, I think -- lack of fictional imagination - but work well when building blocks are present, then flesh them out.

Fair and satisfying answer?

Thanks for asking.

And thanks for the lovely compliment!

john

John (Crosley)

Forgive me for misspelling your last name in the comment next above.  The editing window closed too soon for a correction.

john

John (Crosley)

I enjoy your street photography John.  This is excellent.

Thank you so much.

john

John (Crosley)

Refreshing. I have just one query: why did you leave out her feet?

Good question.

This is roughly a 2:3 aspect ratio photo, and to keep it such, and to keep from elongating it to keep with my no or minimal crop rule, I felt it necessary to keep the horizontal just long enough to include the car's license, left, and the background (just barely), right, but no more, just to show it's 'street' not 'studio'.

Secondarily, she's extremely poor.  As an example, the sweater she's wearing on a hot day was shared with momma; a common practice among pretty but poor Ukrainian young women.  Her footwear was rudimentary and not for showing off.

Small loss unless you're a foot fetishist or otherwise inordinately interested in women's foot fashionwear, of which these two shoes decidedly were not.

Her beauty more than compensated in my view, and her shoes would have detracted.

Good enough reasons?  They're mine, and I'd do the same again and again and again.

But wonderful question, and your decision might have been different if you were the photographer.

I'm happy to respond to a very good question.

Best wishes and thanks.

john

John (Crosley)

Wow, great photo John.

Big thanks!

john

John (Crosley)

No foot fetish behind my query, John. Just mulling alternative compositions. Perhaps moving a little back you could have got her feet fully in the frame -and not left us with just the wispy bit of ground ahead of the billboard, thus certainly enhancing the street flavor...

I stand by my original crop decision, Rajat, in part based on not embarrassing poor Dasha for shoddy footwear, best she could afford and to showcase her assets -- her wonderful good looks -- and not give anybody anything to focus on negatively, which showing the footwear possibly would have. I stick by the cropping decision, but thank you for your attempts at help knowing they are well meaning in the finest sense. In the future, I'll keep every suggestion you make well in mind. Thank you for contributing and this colloquy, which I always do enjoy with you.

john

John (Crosley)