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© © 2014, John Crosley/Crosley Trust, All rights reserved, No reproduction or other use without express prior written permission from copyright holder

'Protest Cook'


johncrosley

Artist: © 2014 John Crosley/Crosley Trust; Copyright: © 2014 John Crosley/Crosley Trust, all rights reserved, No reproduction or other use without express prior permission of copyright holder;Software: Adobe Photoshop CC (Windows);

Copyright

© © 2014, John Crosley/Crosley Trust, All rights reserved, No reproduction or other use without express prior written permission from copyright holder

From the category:

Street

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  • 124,944 images
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As pro-Ukrainian protestors camped out for long, cold, winter months

in Kyiv's Maidan (Independence) Square, they had to eat, and many

of them were fed by this man who prepared their meals from a wood-

fired mobile military stove in front of protest headquarters, both

during the long, lonely, protest days and the very few days of activity

and violence that resulted in the fleeing of the elected Ukrainian

president, and his replacement by a vote of the elected Ukrainian

Parliament (Rada). Your ratings, critiques, and observations are

invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or you

wish to make a remark, please submit a helpful and constructive

comment; please share your photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography. (I remain then as now neutral -- and am a

photographer and take no sides.)

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I felt very strongly about this, but wondered how it would be received, especially so long after the fact, though I think he's still there, cooking.

 

Events have shifted East, but the tents remain in Kyiv.

 

Thanks for the kind remark.

 

Best to you, Timothy.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

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This an absolutelly powerfull scene. Everything works well together, the monochrome tones the worn, weathered faces the worried/suspicious look, the person in the back sipping the food. And yes the suggested grime and cold and determination to stand your ground coming thru clearly.

These men could be on either side of the barricade and that thought shows the fragility of our word. Persons like yourself opens the eyes for the rest of us to see how ordinary people could still maintain their dignity and good heart even in the deepest turmoil and adversitiy.

Thank you for sharing.

Andy

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Unlike many of my powerful photos, I worked hard for this one, but the fellow was most cooperative, and I had more than one chance with him.  We became nodding acquaintances, but this was by far the best.

 

Thank you for the accolade.

 

In spite of my 'hard work' for this, it frankly didn't take much time at all; I just had to wait a little for the background fellow to align himself and for me to align myself then wait for background guy's fingers (see them overlap) to place themselves 'just so' for maximum effect, then make sure the eyes of the cook were bright (they are blue, as are many Ukrainian eyes) and wide open for best effect.

 

Sounds like a tall order, but frankly it's just one of many, many, images that day and when you take so many, it can be hard to separate wheat from chaff.

 

Thanks for helping me in that task.

 

Best wishes and thanks for the caring and careful review.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

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You know the man's food or drink is hot.

 

Just look at his fingers.


He's avoiding contact with the cup that's holding it, because it's so hot -- all on a cold day.

 

There's a small story just in the placement of those fingers, and aside from the food and the man's fingers and face, that's the main part of what you can see in the left, giving it emphasis; that's why this photo was taken in part and why it was posted.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

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Excellent documentary. I like how it's presented. The subject is very tense, he doesn't trust you, he is not sure in protests' future and results at all, but he's made his decision and he'll be there to the very end. A lot of stuff to talk about. Thanks for sharing, Vlad

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I like how you've seen a moment become a narrative.

 

That was my intention, of course.

 

It's gratifying that I managed to convey it to you, though the story of course is far more complex, as I'm sure you understand.

 

Best to you, and thanks for a well thought out critique.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

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I like the word 'powerful'.  It's something as a photographer I often try for but seldom achieve.

 

Thanks so much for your analysis.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

 

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A positive comment from you means very much to me, especially since you have exactly as much access and opportunity to take each and almost every Kyiv photo I take as I do, since I must pass near where I think you live to get to where I take photos usually.

 

I am sure you have seen or at least passed this man who stood in this spot cooking for legions of out-of-town orotesters three and a half months and may even be there now; his military cook stove is there still today (I saw it), but as of today, he was absent, maybe lured away by the Easter holiday (civil holiday, Monday in Ukraine) possibly to return.

 

Best wishes Svetlana, and thank you very much for the kind remark about this photo; it means a great deal to me.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

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Those two guys should be playing with their grand-children or playing chess in a local club. They have spent their lives working hard. Somewhere, there are two guys about the same age as those on your image that have masterminded this conflict and I can see them being proud of their achievement. If they have seen your photo, if they have crossed their eyes with a man on you image , I hope it has produced a cold shadow on their faces. Excellent work John. 

 

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I'm a little mystified by what you're trying to say, frankly, but one word comes through clearly -- 'excellent', and I clearly know what that means.

 

Thank you for what I know is a sincere compliment.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

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Guest Guest

Posted

John has a substantial and memorable portfolio. His content is generally very compelling as it is here, though this shot is somewhat claustrophobic in composition. Overall, when John gets into processing, there's trouble as there is here to my eye. Inadvertently, I believe, there's a harshness and unreality to the processing which is unfortunate, often making older people's wrinkles caricatures and tough guys or street people cartoonish, as I experience it here. There's a difference between conveying or expressing the harshness of people or a scene and making an unnaturally and non-photogenically harsh photo. This photo has become too much the latter. The skin takes on a metallic leathery quality, and rather than true highlights the face has that over-processed digital grayness about it. There's a lack of visual subtlety here in the finished product that runs counter to the intimacy and expression caught by the shot itself.

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Guest Guest

Posted

The viewer understands that the situation is/was a harsh one. But the photographer takes that natural harshness, overprocesses it way too much, and just sort of beats the viewer over the head with it. The processing seems to fade as the viewer's eyes venture into the background, making the foreground figure even more unnatural looking...as if every line in his face has been outlined in black or dark gray.


Reality usually works better than Photoshop, Lightroom, or mega-HDR.


Because of this overprocessing, the photograph misses the mark of being a really good documentary photograph for me, and just turns it into a demo of "look what I can do with my imaging software."

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I'm a great admirer of John's photographical work. Many, many very good shots. This is not one of them, in my eyes, due to the over-processed contrasts.
A pity, but anyway, John: congratulations with the POW!

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There's a difference between conveying or expressing the harshness of people or a scene and making an unnaturally and non-photogenically harsh photo. This photo has become too much the latter.

Fred posted an excellent critique (as usual), but I feel like I am on the other side. This photograph is truly overprocessed (if not badly processed). The tones are not balanced, the graphics and harshness is exagerrated. It's like a knife into the eye of the competent viewer. And this, in my eyes, adds to the photograph, this is pehaps what John strived to achieve. Nothing is natural when people are dying, when future is quite blurred, when families are in trouble. For me it looks like X-ray and it works like x-ray. I am raising my thumb up.

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I much concur with what Fred said, but I am a bit on the fence as well whether the processing has gone too far. Yes, it's underlining the very obvious, edging towards a caricature. On the other hand, it also manages to grab immediate attention and it's (in my view) completely unambiguous in its meaning. There is a certain shallowness to that attention - headlines in a newspaper. Yet, also a well-written good analysis needs a headline every now and then to capture a substantial audience.

Either way, the processing to me isn't a random choice (there are sufficient photos in John's portofolio that show restraint as well), and I can see the choice as part of the photos intent. In that respect, it succeeds.
And at the same time, it doesn't. In becoming a headline, it lost the depth of its story, and its ability to last a bit more. So personally, I would have prefered a lighter touch, and at the same time I can get the choice made, and respect it as a communication device.

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I know John's work for many years. He is a real good photographer, with the right eye to understand a situation and give it the artistic and/or documentation form.
I think as other in this POW, that it is over processed, and as such is losing the natural portriture.

John is a very active member at PN, and it is quite easy to ask him if he had a reason to overprocesse that situation.

Another question to Cara, is PN administration let the chosen work of a member's file, known to him/her. ?
Thanks for answeing this question.

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Good portrait but with a big negative mark due to the excessive contrast and, in particular, the coarsening of detail. I may be wrong, but wonder whether this is because it is not carefully scanned, or perhaps it's a poorly scanned print, rather than because the photographer actually wanted it that way? The framing is indeed very tight, and think a little more room around the face might be beneficial.

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