unexpected cultural exchange in trafalgar square

I am interested in your comments and suggestions. Thank you for your time. Dan

 

P.S. It was a rather strange and surreal moment for me.

Very cool moment! And the composition works wonderfully, I think.

Punk will never die! really cool and intriguing shot great DOF and the way hes leaning away from the fountain is a nice touch too cheers Craig

I second that with the DOF. That really make the shot work.

Thank you for the comments. It all happened so fast... I did try to work the position of the fountain and statue in. He ran, literally ran, up to me and started giving me a little grief. He wasn't serious and I could tell. Anyway, after a couple of minutes of talking, he said "want to see something cool." I sputtered sure... The response to this photo is interesting. Based on ratings, it is clear that some people really don't like it. If we all liked the same thing, the world would be a boring place. I am glad you enjoyed it.

 

Thanks for looking,

Dan

Dan, I understand that getting 3s and even 4s on this one may be quite disappointing. What could possibly make this a 3 really isn't easy to understand. Well, well, there's always a few....

 

But never mind. You got some positive comments. For me, that's always a lot more important.

 

Cheers

Arnulf

Technically very strong (tones, dof). Nice story as well, although I would have come closer myself.

Arnulf, I agree comments are more important than ratings, and I really appreciate everyone's comments.

 

Karina, yeah, in retrospect I would have shot another one closer in. Closer is almost always stronger, but I did want to get the whole body and the background. One advantage of shooting in medium format is that I can crop a lot and still have good image quality. Of course, it is not the same as moving close, but if you have a different cropping suggestion I can definitely try it.

 

Once again, thank you everyone for your comments.

Dan

The more I look at this, the more I like it. I like the story, not just the story of the taking of this picture but the story the picture tells. I disagree with the suggestion that a closer shot/crop would improve this picture. For me the real interest is in the reactionary nature of this image; the art that he's showing you is, in many ways, a rejection of the art represented by the sculptures, just as punk, itself, is similarly a reaction to the history and values represented by everything behind this character. This a fine picture.

Dan, I definitely agree with the comment above...the classical art in the background muted and "pushed" away to give room to his vibrant and "in-your-face" vision of art. I just love that he ran you down and eagerly showed you this. The crop is just as it should be. I wouldn't change a thing. Very nicely done. One more thing...I really like that you chose B&W for this image...I think that it would have been too busy in color and the B&W gives it a timeless quality. Very nice.

 

Leslie

I read all the comments that this picture received, I looked at it...finally I saw and felt exactly the way Bill Tootell felt and expressed so eloquently. I will disagree though with the final statement that he made. He said that this is a fine picture.. well I found this a little bit of an understatement. This is a fantastic picture! So are most of your other pictures. My sincere congratulations! As far as rates are concerned, think of what Christ said on the cross, 'father forgive them, they don't know what they are doing'....:). Best wishes.

 

 

Bill, Leslie, and Dimitris, thank you for your kind and supportive comments. Dan