Riding the 'Sausage' (Hitching a Ride on a Tram) -- Twenty-four Hours in Spring

A small boy without money rides the coupler of a tram in

Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine -- a practice known in the vernacular

as 'riding the sausage'. Note how his body takes an 'S' shape. He

runs a great risk of being bumped off as the tram travels at 25 - 35

mph along its tracks, operator oblivious of his presence. Your

ratings and critiques for this 'street' photo 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 frame has too much information - only after seeing all the wires my sight landed on boy. Try cropping. Keep up, you have an eye!

Well, I'm just a beginner, I can still learn.

 

This is a crop, as the boy and the street car were very distant. The street car had passed me with the boy riding the 'sausage' when I noticed him on the rear and I raised my camera as it raced by at 35 miles per hour, framed this shot including much more (for context).

 

My regret is that I didn't lower my camera a tad to include more of the coupler (the sausage) on which his feet rested.

 

This is a very prized shot of mine, almost guaranteed not to get high ratings, and nevertheless highly prized by me - if only for his 'S' shaped body, a real treat to find when I viewed this image.

 

I do think that the eye should sometimes 'work' in 'street' photos, and should have to examine a work.

 

It's hard when first presentation is in thumbnail and the 'detail' is very small, but if this were blown up to 16 x 20 in a gallery, I think you might have a different comment if you had been walking by . . . don't you think on reflection? (rhetorical).

 

I'm happy just to have an introspective and a pro pos comment on this little photo.

 

Thanks.

 

John

There is a little portion missing at the bottom. But nevertheless this picture is worth enlarging and exhibiting to me. But in colour. The desaturated does not have the same expressive power. Also the slightly blurred face of the boy gives the picture a slight surrealistic flavour. A pity that the lower part of the tram is cropped out.

 

Best,

 

Luca

I'm interested that you like this one in color; I'm divided now, but the 'surrealistic' look on the boy's face is caused by 'compression artifacts' rather than anything else, and does not belong there naturally and really is an uninvited 'manipulationn and as such would not be there on a rework unless allowed to happen 'again by accident'.

 

The red/dark contrast of boy to tram does emphasize the boy very much, doesn't it? This photo is after his legs were 'enhanced' using 'shadow/highlight filter and 'selecting' him - before that it wsn't nearly the same photo.

 

Thanks for letting me know your view.

 

I'm pretty much undecided: color or black & white, but think both are good renditions of a good capture -- one I'm proud to have made (in an ultra-short time).

 

Please come by any time and feel free to comment.

 

John (Crosley)

This photo, desaturated, has been placed in the B&W From Then to Now folder, under the title 'No Fare' where it has met with great ratings success.

 

I often felt this, a favorite of mine, was greatly overlooked by raters, and the B&W raters have proved me correct.

 

John (Crosley)