Holiday Disequilibrium

Holiday Disequilibrium is a B&W conversion from a color photo taken

at high ISO, and is a crop. Desaturation using channel mixer. Your

ratings and comments are invited and most welcome. (If you rate

harshly or very negatively, please submit a helpful and constructive

comment/Please share your superior photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography.) Thanks! Enjoy! John

This photo was taken in California and is testament to the racial/ethnic diversity found in the state. How many races/ethnicities can you find in this photo? In spite of the diversity of race and ethnicity, doesn't it seem that there is a homogeneity of expression?

John

This carnival ride may cause 'disequilibrium' but in its fun, it's a great equalizer, isn't it?

I'm glad you like it; it's infectious, isn't it?

It's a surprise success; I have continual difficulty judging PN tastes in ratings on Rate Recent. (I note you came in outside of Rate Recent and thank you for your rating).

John

I have no idea how that rate recent goes and cat figure it out,but who cares.

I love this one -so many faces and expressions and a very nice B&W.Regards,Judy

I agree that this is a great image, and as you pointed out, it does tell a sort of socio-political story - one of happiness and amity. It is refreshing to see such an image in light of recent global events that have no doubt worsened, in some areas, if only temporarily, racial and/or religious stereotyping and segregation. One might also ask, "How many differing religious beliefs might represented in this photograph?" Perhaps in reality, there isn't as many as one might imagine, but the image certainly inspires one to question... and wonder... why, despite our observable similarities and almost innate solidarity, shown here in the carefree setting of a theme park, human beings often 'choose' not to get along. I guess our behaviour towards each other is in fact directly linked, and changes accordingly, to the type of environment in which we interact.

I think Einstein put it best:

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Clearly, a thrill ride is one good way to "free" oneself and have some genuine fun. :-)

Interesting image. Regards,

Matt,

Your comment is one of the best of the group of nearly 1,000 comments by others in just over a year -- and you've really made me think.

Maybe I'll reply more later when I've had some time to cogitate on your and Einstein's pithy observations.

Regards (and welcome back)

John

When viewing this photo I was thinking all kinds of things, diversity, depth of fear/excitement, certain things being like you said, an equalizer, etc...but as I read through the comments, i noticed I could not say it better than it has already been said, so i'll just say,

'jolly good picture john.'

cg

One thing about this photo. I just took a photo, and aimed for something that was expressive. I could not possibly have determined beforehand or visualized that it would be so expressive or have such 'meaning'.

The richness of this photo became apparent on review, which is part of the reason that a 'shooter' should just keep on shooting, because on review, you never know what you'll find.

If you aim for good composition and good expression, as I did, guess what else you might find? -- a group as diverse as this, and that exemplifies something far more universal than just an amusement park ride with a bunch of people having fun but something far more universal.

Who'd a thunk?

That's why you push the shutter button and don't (as one good photographer I know who views his photos on his screen) 'shoot and delete', shoot and delete, shoot and delete, until there's been a careful, in-depth consideration of each photo -- especially when the photo has considerable detail -- as this one.

It seems there's lessons to be learned almost everywhere.

This one I learned from a naturalist photographer who was in Yellowstone with a 600 mm f4 lens he won in a contest, who was short on memory and he was 'shooting and deleting' to save his media rather than springing for more gigabytes.

He was holding out for an award winning shot for the cover of some wildlife magazine, but in the process was not taking any chances and not perusing his 'lesser' images (and not even trying for lesser images), so that there was no chance of taking anything less than something he visualized -- magazine cover stuff. He could not have taken something I have taken -- say three romping young elk in a meadow, or another young romping elk, or a variety of other subjects.

It's fine to specialize, but as 'the chameleon of Photo.net' as I like to think of myself, I like to be open to any subject that presents itself.

I never previously took an amusement park photo before, and may never take another one again -- and will leave that to Wilson Tsoi, who is a champion.

I'd rather just take one emblematic photo, such as this, and move on to something different -- just point my camera and shoot something . . . anything that catches my fancy and makes a good, interesting photo and . . . if it happens to be emblematic of something . . . anything . . . so much the better.

(Matt: Still cogitating over your and Einstein's thoughts)

;-))

John

Thanks for your responses John, and I am flattered (to say the least). I would just like to highlight how photography is so open to interpretation, and that any image can 'mean' one thing to a viewer, and something entirely different to another. This I have learned, not only through discussing your images with you, but also, through my own work. Some of my own images really don't appeal to me all that much, but someone will come along and tell me a certain image is their favourite - and sometimes it is an image I have completely neglected. It is even more enlightening sometimes to hear their reasons for choosing it as a favourite, or learning what they "see" in that particular image.

It seems your images always speak to me in one way or another, perhaps in ways that you would not understand every now and then, but I am glad to hear I hit the mark this time :) You see, this is one of the greatest things about photography in my opinion... they way a photograph can speak to different viewers in so many different ways.

It is always special commenting on your images, John, because for some reason I feel so welcome to just open up and share my interpretation of your work. I almost feel challenged to be as articulate as possible... and it is a good thing. It is fun, and my writing and critiquing skills have improved considerably just from commenting on PN - especially here in your portfolio.

Until next [image],

Matt.

I think that's why when I last counted, I had almost 1900 comments (or more) on my photos (exclusive of my portfolio, which has a large number), although a large number, perhaps half, are mine in response, as I believe in keeping a dialog with my commentators.

After all, what's the fun of just being a recipient of remarks and not knowing whether you accept or reject the remarks, and when the remarks range afield into poetry, politics, or even philosophy, as some photographs (this in our case) prompt, that suggests a photo is emblematic of something, and why not then carry the discussion out, just as one would in a classroom, seminar or adult discussion group.

I think it's the highest point of the art, other than the sheer beauty of taking the finest photos one can take.

John

Timing is everything and this proves the point. Reading the comments above I'd like to add that many photographers shoot instinctively, especially you John, keeping a mind's eye for composition and the moment but in in a subconscious and automatic way as there's not always time to think things out. You can plan things up to a point but always be ready for the extraordinary. You can just "feel" something good can be captured at a moment which is why it is always great to find wonderful images such as this when you get the "film" back. You are right, it is rather infectious this one, a beautiful moment with a simple universal message. It is good to see equilibrium amongst these people in a disequilibrious situation in these times of disequilibrium. Well done John, this is artful.

Cheers, Miles.

As possibly the only (non-relative) Photo.netter who has seen me and shot with me, you know my shooting style and instincts well. I'm always open to the odd or 'one-off' shot. In fact, my portfolios are full of what one could only call 'one-off' shots, as few seem to repeat themselves or even a theme, except perhaps the double portraits which I am working on, and then see the oddball portrait taken in a bar of Miss Apple Valley and a young man in front of her, his mouth glibly open -- a double portrait in itself which I am very proud of (but which got slammed in the ratings). Oh well . . .

You probably have noticed that even if I shoot a roll of similar photos, I'll only post one good one (maybe six months later, a markedly different one from the same shooting, if it's exceptional, or a conversion into black and white), because I think the idea of a Photo.net folder and portfolio is to be diverse, and I always embraced the ideal of the Renaissance man.

As I explained in prior comments some time ago, I get tired or returning to portfolios all of the same subject, all taken in the same style. No matter how wonderful they are, they wear out.

I hope that my folder here and my portfolio don't wear out.

I think the number of commentators who keep coming back, including commentator Matt Vardy, a prominent PN member, and yourself (an up and coming prominent PN member with a very good portfolio) is a sign that I'm still fresh, and I intend to stay that way.

(Who wants to be like a Vegas lounge singer or an aging rock star, forever reprising the oldie but goodies . . . wondering why you can't come up with new, good stuff that'll stun the audience. Paul McCartney, Paul Simon and Sting have managed to cut themselves out of the herd, particularly Paul Simon and Sting, and I'd like to be like that in photography. (no grandiosity intended, however.)

Best wishes, and be careful on the tube.

John

When I go out photographing, much of what I see depends on what lens is on my camera, or how fast I can switch lense (or whether I am carrying two different cameras). I am limited by what I can capture by what my equipment is capable of capturing. Formerly I often would place the viewfinder to my eye to 'see' things through the lens, and be astonished at how the 'magic' of the lens transformed simple scenes into compositions. Increasingly, I am getting a feeling of being able to do that again without placing camera to eye, but 'knowing' what a scene will look like without viewing it through the viewfinder . . . and 'knowing' how it will visualize through various lenses . . . but still limited to the lens I have available to me for the split-second capture, a large-range zoom being desirable for obvious reasons.

This photograph is emblematic of much of my 'style', if there is one, which is to create a composition that captures a moment.

In looking through my various folders, I notice how so few photos depend on on the sheer beauty of the setting, as do so many landscapes and scenics (although I have a few of those), but on the exact placement of the figures within the composition and their expressions, and the captured moment - the camera's ability to 'freeze' them in time and space, as in this photograph.

In some sense, there is a certain captured 'warmth', as here, and at the same time, it contrasts with the starkness of the capture with gives each capture a certain anomie, and thus each capture has a certain haunting 'something' about it when my portfolio is viewed as a whole.

Maybe it shows my love of humanity, as here, and my view that all is both eternal and fleeting at the same moment.

It is my shutter which captures that moment and freezes it for all time.

I hope some of my photos are timeless.

John

Thanks Curtis!

John

6 from Jerusalem.

????????

john

John (Crosley)

Your '6' is a rating, (not the number of people from Jerusalem).  My initial puzzlement gave me a chance to read all the wonderful comments above again.

Mazeltov.

Thanks.

john

John (Crosley)