Cima

A street scene from my vacation in Cima, Italy

Thank you for comments or critique !

Carsten, very interesting street scene and in my opinion a perfect B&W conversion. This photo has a nice tonality that has brought old masters' photographies to my mind. I would like to see the whole bicycle on the left but I know that if you had tried to capture it you would have lost the balance of the whole composition. Now the lady in the window is placed in the hot spot of this image and the building creates a three-dimensional form that organizes the whole space shown here. We see just enough of the street leading up - the scene has its context but at the same time our attention is not distracted by the lines leading our eyes away from it. So I find this vertical format appropriate here, although I think that a square format would work here too (Giuseppe Miriello is a great fan of this format, look at his similar recent work here).

 

I really like your recent street shots. Regards, Michal.

Thank you very much for your detailed analysis and comment, Michal. This means a lot to me since I am not very firm with street shots, I do them only occasionally. The grandma and these kids growing up in such a beautiful little town, protected and embedded in the bosom of a large family fascinated me. Thanks that you mention B&W, it was indeed a lot of try and error with channels and calculations before I arrived here. The color version is also nice to see but somehow the colors (of the childrens clothes, especially) are more distracting than helpful.

And thanks for the hint, I will have a close look

Lovely shot!

Michal's comment says it all. You cpuld have moved a step to your left to incude the girl and her bycicle but... Would you have lost the moment in doing so? Would you have lost the perspective of the street and railing in doing so?

In street photography you have two options: the usual one is to shoot fast at what you see in order not to miss the moment. The second one, only possible in rare occsions, is to have the chance to anticipate the movement of the people, prepare the camera, and shoot when they come to the spot you antcipated (provided nothing messed in in the meantime -seconds-)

Interesting to read the previous sayings.I think the picture has the italien charm.the calm slow going exchange between lady and the children.I like you leave generous space arround the building with the balcony and arch, and how you caught so well the details of the wall.Stimulating picture.

As Michal has already reffered thoroughly and said it all of the techincal side, I will reffer to the special human moment captured here.First for seizing the situation where all of the children's heads are directed to the older woman, and seen from the back in concentration to her speaking, and where only her figure and face are seen in front, and second , pointing the camera so that all the children are well positioned in the frame, (a bit diagonaly,) connecting in harmony to the diagonal lines of construction. The cut biks does not disturb me as the child's main figure is well positiond with the others in composition, so the crop is logic. Well seen and executed street composition.

 

Carsten, I never shoot these types of shots, but I'm always intirgued by them from others who do shoot them. What really impresses me aboyt this photo is your B&W conversion. It looks flawless. I actually looks like it came from a B&W film camera. Do you use the channel mixer for your conversion process?

Will, great compliment, thank you ! The B&W conversion that works best for me at the moment is the image>calculations tool of PS. Based on a greyscale with different channels (R, G, B; C, M, Y, K; LAB lightness, a, b; greyscale), in a fly generated by an action called TLR split channels, from thelightsrightstudio.com. Sounds complicated, but is quicker than messing around with channel mixer IMO. This photo was from red and LAB lightness and CMYK black channel, masked, overlay blend mode, if I recall it correctly.

A street shot that very much betrays your inner landscapist Carsten. It is very effective as a street shot however and the B&W conversion is excellent. I would also have liked to see a more intimate zoomed in version to give another perspective which would have given this scene a totally different feel.

great every day life scene excellently captured. funny how they're all looking at the woman in the window. just wonder whether she's telling them a story or asking them to calm down a bit. very nice tones as well.

I agree with Pnina's analysis : the dynamic of the shot is the turning of the children to the woman and the cropped bike does not affect that.Nice bit of street photography with lots of energy and interest.

Maybe because I am here, in Italy, but this shot does look Italian.I love the younger generation turning to the old one for whatever it is they want. Itis a great moment you captured and the B&W is perfect.

Very lively street scene.

Agree with Calon Carron.

Carsten, This one takes me back 43 years to a similar scene I spotted in the streets of Wetzlar, Germany in Nov., 1963. I think that B&W was the way to go here as the shapes, tones, & textures are all important. Colour would add little & perhaps even be a distraction. I, also, favour a square crop from the bottom to keep the eye from wandering out the frame at the top, away from the important human elements. I offer a slice of time for comparison from my "Leica School" folder. Best, LM.

Len, thank you for beaming me back into my early days :-) Those kids are quite the same age-group like me... I will visit your Leica folder !

I like this spontaneous street scene that has the lively & warm feel.

All has been said before and my limitations would only be redundant. This image brings back the meories of my infancy in Italy wher I was born. Great capture of images that, especially in So California are so unknown.

 

Great shot and great B & W conversion.

 

Complimenti.

Thank you Cherlyn and Marco, for stopping by. A great compliment, Marco - I envy those kids for their growing up in such a surrounding, young and old together.

Nice to see you make street photos :-). B&W is a good choice here, and the tones are appealing, but the blacks look a bit (well how to say) black here :-), bit on the edge.

Hi Hans, nice to hear from you. Alas, in my little podunk here there is not much opportunity for street... Have to wait for my next holiday for that. Well, the blacks. My monitor is quite bright, and I see enough shadow detail but you may be right. However, I found the kind of graphic contrast nice for this motif

A refreshing change! Street photography.

 

I love this image, very playful and dynamic. I am also intrigued by the contrasts: one girl too small for a big bike next to the other girl who is too big for a small bike; activity to the left, static on the right, old and young. It's a very interesting snapshot of a frozen moment. Very "Cartier Bresson-esque."

 

Cheers from Boston,

Bill

Bill beat me to it Carsten. I was thinking Bresson as well, and a few of de Diennes. Excellent tonal range with this great subject material.

I too think I'd have cropped it differently, but that's what makes life interesting.

Really enjoyed your work on the other site.Particularly Sunset after a Thunder shower.