Couples Dining at an Osaka Taqueria

Nice dinning ambience especially with good company. Nice capture Jack. :)

Nice atmosphere ... Love the decoration, shades and light.

Very interesting. In terms of composition and crop, this reminded a little bit of Lannie's photo of his mother and her male friend, about which I made a somewhat critical comment. So I'm thinking about why this photo is so much more successful. It's because the framing, while a little different in having the heads so close to the edge and the bodies cut off, feels unique without feeling awkward. It's also because it's one set of people framed tightly only toward one edge of the frame, so it doesn't feel as forced as Lannie's, where both people were framed equally tightly. That means, the negative space, which I take to be the space between the couples and the space between the foursome and the hanging decorations, seems just to happen rather than be created by the framing, even though I know otherwise. More importantly than this compositional stuff (which I often think of as supportive, especially when people are involved) is the way the one guy's "V" gesture works with the great look in his eyes, even while he's chewing (chewing so often ruins a photo where here it helps it). And then the woman he's with is acknowledging with her face that same sort of expressiveness. That creates a great dynamic, all happening in one corner of the photo, emanating around the photo and, for me, really relating to the light of the bare bulbs, which have high octane as well. Three bulbs, not four, create more dynamics, in a triangular pattern, especially as the triangle of bulbs works against the triangle you've created out of the corner of the ceiling. Of course, the color play helps with the energy of the shot.

Did you think about all or any of this when you were shooting? I doubt it. Am I imposing it on your shot? No. It's there. That's what happens in photography. Accident? Intentional? Sometimes unreasonable questions to ponder. My answer . . . it is what it is. How it gets there is a combination of skill, luck, experience, gut, and visual acuity. Also a bit of visual cleverness, which you are always prone to. 

It's not about interpreting what it all means, for me. It's about a visual feast almost as delightful as the hearty Mexican dinner they were likely enjoying.

I see what I’m seeing, and where I'm seeing it, yet I could just as easily have stepped into any taco joint in Tijuana

Wel done !!

Regards,

Mário

Even  for your very good street works, this 'cut' is unusual . Interesting timing, because they were aware of your camera...) his V is a good evidence...;-))

You break all the so called rules and it works perfectly. The lights and decorative shades? hanging above the people is most interesting, but the expressions of the people is so genuine it makes this image stick in my head.

Sincerely,

Holger

Reminds me of the dives I used to haunt in San Antonio during my lunch hour.  I like the expressions--very haphazardly captured or it would seem.

Thanks. I apreciate your comments on this picture. I'm glad the authenticity of this place came through (Carlos, Jeff). Although there are innumerable Japanese restaurants and bars that drip with atmosphere, it's rare to be find an "ethnic" restaurant (that's what they call them here) that gets the ambiance right. I had the same feeling you did, that I had just stepped into some little out of the way taqueria in the Mission District of San Francisco. Since I first dicovered it a while ago, I've been back several times.

As for the photo itself, as Holger and Pnina noted, the picture doesn't abide by the usually prescribed rules for good composition and in this case is probably better off for it. I do think somehow it manages to captures the off-hand charm of the place and the oddly disorienting feeling that, despite the fact that you assemble your tacos with chopsticks (true), you feel like you're doing so in some little dive on a sidestreet in Tiajuana. Somehow they got the whole thing right, which is pretty rare in this country where foreign restaurants (except for Indian and some Chinese and Korean restaurants)) are mostly owned by Japanese and seem to borrow every tired Disneyland cliche to establish mood but with little understanding or appreciation of the ethnic reality that underlies the food.

Finally, damn it Fred, I knew you would do this to me. When you come up with one of your usual, absolutely spot-on critiques, I know it's going to cost me a lot of time responding in kind. Your perception of the genesis of this picture is amazingly accurate. You're right, this photo was largely an accident. The last time I had eaten here I was fascinated by the shadows from the wall hangings but I didn't have my camera with me. This time I remembered to bring my camera but customers were eating at the table just below where the cut outs were hanging. I didn't want to be too intrusive so I took several pictures from about 6 or 7 feet away. First I took a couple of not very good establishing shots of the diners and the wall behind them but my main interest was the paper hangings and the intriguing shadows that resulted from the bright light of the three bare bulbs. I took four or five quick and hopefully unobtrusive shots - after all, I didn't want to make a nuisance of myself - and didn't really pay much attention to the two couples. As I said, my focus was the hangings and the shadows. When I saw the pictures later, on my monitor, this was the only one where I had inadvertantly included the diners but it was the one picture that stood out from all the rest. Obviously I hadn't been quite the shadow photographer (in more ways than one) that I thought. The couples were more aware of me than I was of them and became active players in the photograph. It is a classic example of the happy accident. Kudos to you for picking up on that and for understanding that it in no way diminishes the value of the photograph.

I like the atmosphere, the red colour gives a warm feeling. An original crop makes the photo original and different. Very good work, Jack!

I really like this one Jack! What stood out to me first were the friendly faces and attitudes of the patrons; they welcome you and greet you as if inviting you to share in their meal. Sadly, I think that is very uncommon! This scene also reminds me of a little Mexican family style restaurant just a few blocks from my house which seems to be frequented by others, who like me, accidentally stumbled upon it and it turned into their favorite and familiar place to share good meals and good times. I really like the atmosphere here and that warm welcoming light. Thank you for sharing. :)