Sweat Shop Girl

Sweat Shop Girl. From Chinatown within sight of the TransAmerica

Pyramid, San Francisco more than a few years ago. From my B&W

Portfolio II. You almost might want to browse my B&W I portfolio as

well as my other B&W photos for same vintage photos. Your ratings

and critiques are most welcome. (If you rate harshly or negatively,

please submit a constructive and helpful comment/Please share your

superior knowledge to help improve my photography) Thanks. Enjoy.

John.

excellent!

Thanks. Somehow this is another one that escaped me; I never showed it to anyone -- even my friends, or I denigrated it or passed it off quickly as "just another attempt." Looking at it now, with my newfound eye, it clearly means more. John

it's like she's looking awy from her almost-inevitable future...the hands "bound" behind her - the angle from above. How different this shot would have been shot from below her so much more optimistic! A great example of how angle affects tha meaning of the image!

Not that it isn't also on me. The Chinese immigrants (including possibly her) have lifted themselves up by their bootstraps and have taken a commanding lead in education in California, such that there is resentment among Caucasions (whites) and Hispanics as well as Blacks for the overwhelming numbers that have gained admission to the University of California's top campuses. And, moveover, the Chinese in San Francisco, as a group, have become very prosperous, and have taken control of a very wonderful electoral district with much wealth -- the Sunset, a high-priced area, while housing prices in San Francisco are highest in the nation and rival those of New York's Manhattan. At one time it was written into land deeds that it was illegal to sell not only to Blacks (Negroes) but also to Chinese, and the Chinese were required to live in their Chinatowns. This sweatshop, although in the financial district of San Francisco, was on the border of Chinatown. (Amy Tan's mother probably lived nearby -- who knows, this may be Amy Tan or a friend.) John

I was out shooting for the 24 hours ending at 6 p.m. yesterday and have posted 27 photos from my efforts Lee; you might glance at it. John.

Probably not tonite as i want to be able to devote my full attention to them! Congrats on the self-assignment, John!

Were necessary in order to keep the child in view with the sweatshop mothers working in view in the background and to keep them all in frame and to place them in context -- after all this was the child's 'backyard' and place for amusement while mom worked away assembling garments. This was a comment on that, and without showing all, there was no comment to make. (If I could have shown a reflection of the TransAmerica tower or Bank of America building, I would have -- the tower was behind the sweatshop, not across the street, or behind me, and the B of A skyscraper -- where they filmed 'The Towering Inferno' -- was blocked by buildings.)

This photo today 10-22-04 has over 12,000 views yet only 10 ratings--making it third most viewed in my B&W portfolio and still not having the 11 ratings necessary for my 'top rated photos'. Anybody for an 11th rating? John

There ya go, bud!

I thought you were busy mutating in your chrysalis. Welcome back!

on whether i will be a moth or a butterfly....Not really out, but seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.Thanks, friend!

But they often are drawn to the flame, which can be fatal (if there is a flame -- rare in nature). Butterflies are beautiful many times, and can fly long distances -- say from Minnesota to a mountain in Mexico just to reproduce. (I've been known to fly even farther, however ;~) ) Maybe there's some 'mutation' or reconciliation between the two -- a late night beauty with the endurance of a butterfly and its beauty, a little fuzziness, but NOT drawn to the flame. (Can you believe when I started out that sentence I didn't know how it would end?) So happy to see your chrysalis may have served its purpose -- protecting you as you mutate (reference your bio photo) -- and awaiting the wonder of what you will become, knowing already the power of what you have been. With enormous respect. John

i like this, John.

Thanks,

You keep 'sneaking' your little comments in on me -- somehow they often don't show up on my 'recent comments' list -- or I have so many, they are buried, and I only find them later. Your comments mean so much to me; as I consider the source. John.

I think Lee said it best. Very nice work John.

Thank you so much. This photo didn't pull so many or such high ratings, but the number of 'views' just grew like 'topsy' --- how interesting.

Between Doisneau and HCB, we can find John Crosley... Thanks for sharing,,A6/O7...coz I thnik the scan can be imporved.... ;)

Oh, how I wish I truly were worthy of the comparison. Maybe in my heart of hearts I think maybe I am and need some further encouragement, so I won't argue, but I have a small body of work, instead of those giants, just as it was when I was 23 and H C-B's images chased me from the field of photography (and I had never heard of Doisneau!!!)

 

But on further recollection, all my life I know my family subscribed to LIFE MAGAZINE, so I must have been exposed to the images of those and other greats on a weekly basis as LIFE was like Paris Match which had Cartier-Bresson and Doisneau as regular contributors (and Erwitt also, I think), and so I probably grew up with their images, absorbing them subliminally, and they are part of my (sub)consciousness.

 

Funny how that idea just popped into my head fully formed today.

 

And thanks for the highest of compliments. I truly am humbled.

 

John

This photo has piled up over 20,000 'views' as of this writing, despite ratings of just over 5.00 for both aesthetics and originality.

 

It just goes to show that ratings do NOT mean viewability or viewer interest.

 

This is like other photos that are in my portfolio and various folders that have been rated fairly low, but have amassed a very respectable number of views.

 

Rather than tumble off into obscurity, as low-rated photos should, some of these low or middle-rated photos seem to amass a highly respectable number of rates at a rate much faster than photos much more highly rated.

 

Part of this photo's views may stem from its inability to be viewed completely in 'thumbnail' -- one has to click on it to 'view' the interior.

 

But as Admiistration as explained it, it gets a credit for a 'view' whether or not it's 'clicked on' or not, so one is left wondering.

 

See also, 'Girl in the Next Booth' in my single photo folder, which was fairly low-rated and amassed a very large number of ratings, but was a very ordinary photo.

 

Also, in a recent folder, a photo showing a woman holding a bowling ball in front of a blue door with the question 'Who Left This Bowling Ball In The Derelict Boat in the Front Yard?' already in a few months has amassed over 15,000 views, despite getting ratings in the middle 4s.

 

What's the value of rating?

 

It appears that sometimes it measures viewability.

 

Other times, it does not.

 

John

 

 

It was not the 'scan' that was the problem. This is the best photo that could be printed from the negative. What the problem was, was the great tonal range from the bright sun on the front of the building and still keeping the detail in the interior of the building -- a darkroom worker's nightmare from a print that was printed before Photoshop was developed and in use, I think. This IS a show quality print.

 

However, I have an archival quality scan and an archival quality scanner and may use such a scan to use my rudimentary Photoshop skills to work with a little sharpening and contrast adjustment -- not much, to make this work a little better, and then exchange the posts.

 

(I would save the original and post it as a link, for comparison, as I think it's necessary to give your post relevance.)

 

An aside: Frederic, after studying H C-B's photos a little, I now understand better your comparison with H C-B. He used a subject, together with the background. In other words, he integrated the subject with the background and worked them into one totality, which is what this photo has done -- and may account for its popularity. It's a style I'm working to revive -- it did not comprise the totality of my many styles, but such works commonly occur when one uses a 50 mm lens or a 35 mm lens, or even a wider angle such as the 28 mm this was taken with, and one captures the 'entire scene' without severe cropping, as I sometimes do.

 

Often H C-B would capture his subject, the ancillary subjects, the buildings around them and even the horizon or background, or a 'totality' rather than picking out minutiae -- except many of his portraits. But in his portraits, he even sought to place his subjects in their environment. (Sigh, such genius.)

 

John

You do realize..don t you,,,that the belly of the girl, (exactly: the left hip), is at the Gold Number position.... some thing else from HCB... ;)

(sqrt(5)+1)/2= The Gold Number

I've heard of Oriental Golden Girls, women so fabulously beautiful they can write their own ticket, even in a world predominantly male-oriented.

 

But the gold position is something I never head of, much less could have though of or comprehended as I composed this photo, as everything I saw was 'proportions' perceived optically and processed in my brain in second fractions before quickly moving on, as is my wont.

 

I still do that, and am interestee in further and more complete explanation of that, as whatever can help a good photo be replicated in other circumstances will help me be a better, more thoughtful photographer, instead of just an inchoate, and completely 'natural' one who goes on grit and instinct alone.

 

Bless you for thinking of me.

 

John

you can find a lot of explanation on the web....but you don t need..you got it...

I suppose since I got it 35 years ago, one could presume I still 'got it' but regrettably, it's all inchoate, and especially so then. I just had a good sense of proportion.

 

I'll be looking on the web.

 

This photo was a surprise hit, but for reasons I now understand and which photos of Miles Morgan which were successful have helped me understand.

 

People like a photo in which a story is told in two or more planes, leading from foreground to background.

 

If ever there's anything I can do to help you, please do not hesitate to contact me (and you know how).

 

John