'I'd Rather Be in the Crowd'

This fledgling policeman was assigned to guard the stage at a rock

concert held outdoors in Ukraine, and was surrounded by some of the

world's prettiest young women. I think his look tells where he'd

rather be. 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 photographic

knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

I see that you stopped by to rate.

Thank you.

Not for a high rate; you can rate as you see fit and no recriminations from me.

But for taking the time to take a look at this.

I know your tastes and that you appreciate the 'street' genre, and when you take the time to rate, as here, I know I am succeeding.

Thanks again.

John (crosley)

I have been fairly busy and trying to keep my life under some what a tight rap but THIS is by far one of your BEST color pictures to date since I have seen you on PN. Or rather since I have been on PN.

I expect THIS on your FRONT PAGE. YES!!!! (there I put them there since I can't put them on the forum)

I love how they all stand in line like they are supposed to and then HE this cute guy is looking over his shoulder with that GREAT grin and obviously giving a smirk to someone.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the dof on this. It is what makes this picture as well as the color.

That and the HAT being pulled up off his head just a bit. You couldn't direct this picture any better. His eyes and eyebrows are amazing as if he says "who knows WHEN I will be off, I'll try and call you later if you give me your number". HA

Love it!! ~ micki

I had this guy in my focus for quite a long time, and his expressions varied, but nearly all were of a similar expression -- he was just a 'joker' and a 'flirt' or maybe just wishing he were with the rock concert crowd instead of guarding against it.

The depth of field was necessary because the sun already had gone down, or the area was in deep shade (or both), and I could only get selective depth of field with my shutter speed (slow anyway). But then again, I would have chosen a narrow depth of field in any case, because that's what the scene calls for.

Narrow depth of field creates the 'illusion' of sharpness by intensifying focus on a particular area of a photo -- here in the right one-quarter to one-third, but in the center from the top to bottom range. Notice how others of the five (there are five -- see 'em) officers just go to the center of the photo and just cross it -- creating just a little bit of tension, because this photo is NOT about symmetry and cutting them off at 1/2 way across or even using the rule of thirds (crossways) would have created symmetry, which here is unwelcome.

And the officers are NOT lined up in a row -- there are four back there, but it's a group of blue with two blue uniforms clearly showing, but for interest, there are more.

Of course, it's the face in the end.

A kind of smirky, smarmy face with 'just that look'.

If you look in my folder you'll find one face with even more expression -- that of a boatyard worker in a boatyard, wearing a billed (baseball type) cap in mixed lighting. It got fabulous ratings though nothing about it followed any rules. I learned from that posting that if there's a wonderful expression (especially on a guy) that reveals his 'guyness' (I'm coining that word), then that look alone will carry a photo.

I stood behind a line of girls and other bystanders behind a cyclone type of fence (waist high), that had me peeking through the crowd at this guy, and I moved about, framing him 'just right' and varying my angle of view.

This is the best of the bunch, but the others could have been showstoppers also; sometimes one gets lots of good photos of the same subject, but only one is necessary for or able to be posted.

I had an advantage in that I saw this guy's 'number' on his face early on, and continued until I got 'the photo'.

Thanks for your nice response. Can you find the other photo? It's a photo of a single head, but also isolated with depth of field and with a s*it-eating-grin on his face -- a real piece of Americana, too. You might like it also.

I'm very grateful not only for this critique, but also for your continuing contributions to my photo critiques -- they're invaluable.

John (Crosley)

I got criticized deeply by a fellow photographer (who takes very good photos) for taking multiple exposures of somewhat fixed subjects -- the intimation was that I was a poor photographer since I couldn't catch something in three or four shutter releases.

Well, an expression like this is fleeting; it is not predictable when a guy like this will make an expression like this, but there are 'tells' (like in poker). If you see something similar earlier, then that's the time to move into position -- he might do it again, and with luck, maybe even more clearly and if the photographer is in the right position, great!

Well, I took a variety of photos of this guy, looking at exposures on my digital screen to ensure the exposure was best (Nikon Matrix Metering 'blow out' highlights in photos taken after dark or in the evening gloaming, unless one makes an 'easy exposure' adjustment maybe one-third to two-thirds of a stop darker. I think I did that on this photo (haven't looked at the EXIF info just yet, but I will to confirm.)

And there are varying angles at which one could capture such a shot; not just one. This is NOT a snapshot. It's a deliberately composed photo just as though he were in a studio, but actually was unaware he was there. So, I was the prisoner of his expression -- I had to be there when (and if) he made such an expression. So, moving through the crowd, sometimes peeking from heads that were bobbing to the music -- shoving a little here and excusing myself there (izvenitia -- meaning 'I'm sorry' -- excuse me) until I could work into place.

Then it was a matter of focusing and waiting. Sometimes he looked elsewhere, away or down and the capture was not possible. It had to be that smirk -- that smarmy or 'cute' expression.

So, I took lots of shots, and in the view of my critique, therefore I am a poor photographer.

I bet to differ.

If I tried to cut myself to three or four exposures, I'd have been out of luck. I could never have caught this expression.

I think the ultimate test of a photographer is whether or not he/she can produce good results consistently and not on how many frames one exposes (unless, of course, on is simply shooting so many frames that it's a movie and one is simply choosing a still from the 'movie' frames).

But even then, of course, the framing must be right.

Here it was right AND he made that expression, while facing JUST the right direction.

Bingo.

Lawyer Louis Nizer was told by a woman (slightly tipsy) at a celebrity party at how 'lucky' he was in winning so many large and important cases, often by a whisker or a small fact here or there which swayed a jury.

'Lady', he replied, 'I get my luck in my law library most often at 3 or 4 in the morning.' His message was that preparation was what produced results.

One famous actor of the '30s -- a screen idol known for his drunken debauchery at night before filming was observed after a day's shooting. He was walking the set with a script and he did so for a long time. He was rehearsing and learning his lines. Then he went out, got drunk and debauched and the next morning just appeared to glide into his role, and people were sure he was the world's most fantastic extemporaneous actor who performed magic because he surely had been too drunk the previous night to stay up and learn lines.

Well, he learned his lines first. He knew where the bread was buttered.

In the end, the same applies to photography.

Preparation pays off. With digital equipment one has the additional luxury of seeing exposures before hours or days have passed so one can make adjustments in composition and exposure. I did that here. That was my 'learning lines' or my 3 or 4 a.m. in the law library, if you get the metaphor.

In the end, only the image counts (unless you're teaching, but then the old adage is that 'those who can do; those that can't teach ;~)

I waited over a month to post this and was rewarded with a bot's 3s and 4s, but they went away thankfully, thanks to Bob Adkins and a complaint from a member.

I am convinced that one good expression can make a photo, and this is exhibit 1.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.

John (Crosley)

If one looks even casually, one can see that this man has an interesting expression.

If one looks more carefully, three sides of his face and expression are repeated by 'expression lines'.

His forehead has several furrows.

His left eye (as he views us) has another wrinkle above and to the side of it.

His mouth is twisted left (again, as he views us), and then other lines run from his jaw to the side of his mouth.

In other words, in the direction this guy is looking, he's framed by 'expression lines'. Perhaps it's no wonder when I first saw him look askance that I pointed my lens at him, then moved around, waiting and firing.

If ever I were to judge a person likely to be a comedian, this is the guy. I'd also bet he's the youngest child in his family (they're always the comics, as it's a device to fend off attacks from siblings and endear themselves with frazzled parents.)

;~)

John (Crosley)