Buddy, Got a Light?

'Buddy, Got a Light?' is a 'street' photograph from San Francisco.

Notice the steps in the middle of the 'street' because it is so

steep. Photo taken off 'Broadway' -- scene then of 'topless'

nightclubs and now not only of 'topless' nightclubs but now of

innumerable 'lapdance' parlors where dancers 'sit and squirm' on

customers' laps exercising their 'freedom of association', for a fee

of course. Your ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome.

(If you rate harshly or very critically, please submit a helpful and

constructive comment/Please share your superior knowledge to help

improve my photography) Thanks! Enjoy! John

The area currently is populated with lapdance parlors as well as topless or nude nightclubs, and in the lapdance parlors, the 'dancers' 'sit and squirm' on customers' laps using 'freedom of ASSociation'.

 

Yes, it's crude, but it's also very much a fact of life in San Francisco.

 

John

This is a great shot. I love the composition, the fortuitous grafitti, the horizontal clapboards and diagonal stairs. These characters look timeless, though by their dress this pic could be from 1958.

You're a decade and a year or two ahead of the times. This is from about 1969 when I was prowling the streets of San Fransisco. I posted this at about 2:00 a.m. Monday, and it got seen by almost no one on 'rate recent', probably accounting for low initial views. I think it is a fine view, personally, and, as you say, timeless.

 

Your critique is 'a pro pos' -- on the mark.

 

John

I took another shot of these two men that was about of equal caliber, but somehow this moment, two smokers sharing a light -- a very common moment among smokers in times past or in other countries -- struck me for its universality, especially with the very low light and the very low shutter speed (note the glow of the lighter on the man's face but the high depth of field -- probably f8 or more, for about 1/4 sec shutter speeed and rock solid hand held shot. I always could hold a camera rock solid -- even now despite numerous impairments -- a true miracle. This photo in shadow after sunset in the early evening glow.

 

John

provocative BW Photo..

thinks to feel deeply

This is a very old photo, but it could have been taken a day or so ago.

 

Those steps are still there, although now I'm older than these men I once thought of as 'old men'.

 

This was taken during a brief period when I was in my early '20s, and photographing continually (but sparsely or sparely as film was scarce and my eye was very untrained). I took a lot of photos then and was very select in what I took -- one camera for color and one for black and white -- much of the very good color got converted to B&W if it had good elements to it.

 

Under conventional methods under then extant processing, this photo could not be shown as good as it is here; the light from the lighter blew out the face of the guy with the cigarettte, right, but with digital processing, it was easy to hold back the light somewhat and burn in his face for a twice as nice photo -- one that has reached its potential (and it's from a B&W exhibition quality photo taken from an internegative on a world class quality scanner, which took in so much detail that further enhancement from a scanned print was better than the print itself. Can you imagine that?

 

Sometimes digital processing has its wonders and this photo's resurrection is one of them.

 

One of my very best photos (a bunch of old people in a hotel lobby showing various awareness of me as a photographer, needed manipulation which was not available in a traditional darkroom but which in Photoshop could easily be done in 5 ~ 10 minutes, and what was unviewable became a showstopper for one of my highest-rated images after some dodging and a little judicious sharpening.

 

I have nothing against 'manipulation' to 'rescue' a problem in an image; I just think that if you're spending all your time doing photoshopping, either you're working for an advertising agency, or you should be going out and shooting a lot more photos with better aim and focus or a little more creativity before you press the shutter (or classify yourself a 'digital artist' which is not a derogation -- it's just different from being a photographer.

 

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. (I actually remember every moment of taking this photo, and the moments before and after.)

 

John (Crosley)