Seaside Symmetry With Pedestrians II (Color)**

This photo is a 'street' photo, taken at harborside, Odessa,

Ukraine, and is one of two on display, the other in Black and White

from a different perspective. Let me know what you think. It is

taken after sundown and intended to show a certain symmetry with the

pedestrians and watercraft. (If you rate harshly or very

negatively, please submit a helpful and constructive comment/Please

share your superior knowledge to help improve my photography)

Thanks! Enjoy! John

After five ratings, the total of which is below 4/4 on the rating scale, someone suggested that should tell me this photo should be pulled and that I should learn that this is not a 'worthy' photo.

To the contrary, however, I saw something when I pressed the shutter that was more than fully realized when I developed the film, and I am proud to display this photo among my best color works (and a cousin in the B & W works).

This photo is extremely subtle, lacking as it does, a central 'subject' and being a study in symmetry and mood, with the pedestrians being 'caught' equidistant from the watercraft each is approaching -- a rare occurrence. The watercraft in the back makes for three watercraft in all, almost neatly spaced with blue dominating both the foreground water and the distant blue sky with only the breakwater (and the distant ship almost part of the breakwater) barely breaking the sky/water continuum.

I like this photo, and if the raters don't like it, and even if the Photo.net audience doesn't like it, I think I'll continue to display it until somebody gives me a cogent explanation of why it is a 'bad' photo and not worthy.

I note the continual discussion recently on the 'Feedback Forum' about highly-rated photos not being necessarily 'good photos' and even highly-rated photographers refusing to post their best work for fear it will get low ratings.

Well, not being a rating slave from early on, and having millions of 'views' anyway in my various folders gives me the freedom to post some of the work I like.

Critiques are invited, whether you rate this high or low. Maybe you can open my eyes.

John

I think his name was Mike - a highly-educated photo enthusiast who works at a New York City photo store that rents equipment to professional photographers as a major part of its business -- Mike picked this low-rated, monochromatic photo as an 'instant pick' when he viewed my galleries.

Photo.netters should take heart that he and his two colleagues seemed to agree, avid amateurs in most cases who have high skills can and usually do produce better photographs than the majority of 'professionals' these New York Camera store regulars came into contact with. I'm not naming the well-known camera store, but it's in the heart of New York's publishing and advertising district and 'around the corner' from some of the biggest photo retailers in the world, which don't do such a business in rentals to professionals (I gather). Thanks Mike for the accolade.

(I reminded him that I once worked editing photographs of greats such as Eddie Adams, Horst Faas, and had a nice (if brief) friendship with Sal Vader -- all AP photographers whose work 'Mike' knew, and photographers who now only won Pulitzers, butwhose other work was known worldwide.

'Well', Mike said 'We'll make an exception for the cream of the cream -- the top 10%'.

Otherwise skilled, dedicated amateurs seem to come out on top most of the time (paraphrased), he and his colleagues agreed, to my amazement.

John