'The Hard Way and the Easier Way'

The 'Hard Way and the Easier Way' is a reflection on art and civilization

designed for commuters on one of the world's most quiet and civilized

Metros -- the Paris Metro -- shown here at a major connection between

major major lines at the Montparnasse station(s). 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 (lost photo finally found) John

I like the composition very much. It truly instills the mood you want to convey. And the total presentation is like a choreography ..... may be I would wish to see a bit more space between the two rightmost figures, pushing the man slightly behind.... wonderful work. Best regards.

Hey John, I think this is a great photo but there are a couple of things that detract in my mind. I can't help but agree with the last poster that perhaps a little more balance between the lower figures would help (more space to the left) and there also appears to be some slight haloing and compression artifacts around the lower figures heads. The artifacts are probably just on the web version so that's not a big deal but haloing always catches my eye. The other thing I'd suggest is perhaps cropping some of the empty space at the top of the frame to give a ceiling for the crouching figures. I just think it would add more drama to their plight and make their way appear a little "harder". Of course cropping is always a subjective matter and it works either way. Kudos regardless on seeing this opportunity, I wish I had that sort of an eye when roaming.

I am one of the most profligate shooters you could ever hope to encounter and I simply go wild when I encounter the Paris Metro. I shoot, shoot, and shoot, and sometimes it's wonderful capture, after wonderful capture and so on, all day long and night too. Sometimes I can shoot for 90 minutes and get lifetime bests in the course of a Metro Ride from one end of a line to another, getting off one train then picking up my ride on the following train.

 

Here, I always MEANT to post a photo from this group of captures, as I always knew this scene had great potential, but sometimes I will take only one scene or photo from a download, post it, get good reviews, and move on; that's what happened here.

 

Although archived, I had not reviewed this in over a year and a half. I need a full-time archivist. I found a copy of this download on an old laptop hard drive in a hard drive enclosure and said 'aha' as I slapped my forehead. I studied a few, and settled on this one (others might have been better).

 

I did correct the aspect ratio by lowering the top, but others would have preferred I lower it more; that's OK. Once cropped, it cannot be restored for viewers to critique, so I crop initially very minimally before critique and a crop from me of this sort is very rare.

 

I would have preferred somewhat different spacing but did like that all faced the same direction - but this did not meet my perfectionist desires. I would have liked to have spent four or five hours with this scene waiting for the 'perfect' capture, and it might have been museum or gallery worthy, even though it is good enough.

 

It might, in Brando's words, have had the capacity to 'be a contenduh'.

 

But I had other things to shoot and precious little time to dwell on this scene, and shot what I could given the crowds and time of day.

 

I think on re-processing, I would lower the top, as suggested. I cannot control the spacing of standee's on this moving sidewalk other than to wait, wait and wait.

 

I am glad you enjoyed this photo; it deserved to be posted (and I am very happy with at least one of the two scores.)

 

Thank you for taking time to critique it for me; it's very helpful.

 

John (Crosley)

Ryan,

 

I kept your comment in mind when replying to the comment above. About the haloing, I cannot do much about that; it is a Photo.net 'issue' = problem, and something I have no control over and results from compression.

 

You are right about cropping at the top, although I seldom do that, but this particular photo, on review, does call for slight additional cropping; I'd do that on a rework.

 

Thanks for the kudos; this kind of photo is almost impossible for me NOT to spot. It looms large when I simple meander through a place even as large as the Paris Metro, especially the tunnels and passageways connecting tubes, such as here under Montparnasse.

 

My best wishes and thanks.

 

John (Crosley)

Good gray scale on this one. The guy on the left looks like O.J. -perhaps doing and Avis commercial.

Hi John

I have been wandering again through your sacred halls and getting lost in your wonderful and sometime wacky world of incredible images. You do inspire me sooooo much. I would really like to join forces with you sometime and discuss doing something together..strolling the Hollywood Blvd.. or creating a book or something. I think out of all the street photogs out there you are one of my best all time favorites. Love you images like crazy!.

I spent the last 4 days in LA shooting in the museums and on the street and Love that place. Almost as much as Paris. Anyway just wanted to touch base and say hi, and tip my hat to a master of timing and wit.

Cheers

Lee

I'm incapacitated right now-- total bed rest and confined to quarters for two weeks solid and passing a kidney stone -- no end in sight but would love to hear from you.

 

Please write me.

 

Use my PN address on my bio page and say it's from Lee,and also give me your phone number and I'll call you (but also give me your private e-mail). I'm in the LA area -- SFV.

 

I'm been wanting to connect personally with you for some time, and probably now is the time.

 

We are a mutual admiration society.

 

You are one of my favorite street shooters, too (another is Giuseppe Pasquali of Rome whose work I invite you to look at, who is simply unsurpassed -- one of today's geniuses whose work will be heralded far into the future and appear in textbooks in the next milennium, I think).

 

I hope I hear from you soon.

 

john

 

John (Crosley)

Intriguing picture.