Why so sad! - straightened

This is a straightened version of the previous image, where I had to

apply some quick and dirty cloning brush in Photoshop to cover the

corners.

While I am not a big fan of image manipulation, I could not resist the

temptation to see this image in an aesthetically pleasing way. So here it

is.

The original image was off level, because at that time capturing the

candid moment at the right time seemed more important, and also I

wanted to include the street musicians in the scene to create the right

atmosphere. Perhaps my reflex was too slow for all that and the leveling

to happen quickly.

Anyway, here is the scene in all it's glory the way I "envisioned" it, but

perhaps could not quite capture. Your comments and suggestions are

welcome.

It's an endearing moment captured and the composition helps tell the story. I like the inclusion of the musicians. I'd have to see it before it was leveled to know how off kilter it was or if it worked the way it was shot. Sometimes a bit of off level can give a photo a spontaneous feeling and a slight skew can help the energy of a photo quite a bit. I wouldn't necessarily want to level all street shots, but I don't know having not seen the original. The color work doesn't seem fitting to the content. It's a little too saturated, especially her hair. So, though the scene is a very down-to-earth and real moment, the colorization doesn't seem to harmonize with what's going on.

Thank you, Fred. I did experiment with the black and white version of this image and would prefer that over the color. My only concern with the B/W is that the musicians tend to get a little less prominent, which in my opinion are the balancing elements of this image and adding to the mood.

Since then, I have also uploaded the B/W version here for comparison.