The Pharmaceutical Consult

When this pharmacist finished answering my legal questions about

dispensing medications, he asked about my equipment, and I decided

rather than to use words, to demonstrate with a photo. This is that

photo, composed 'on the fly' in less than one second, but genuinely

composed, and not a 'snapshot'. 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 photographic

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

[taken like most of my photos, as I go through my day, this time some

small 'shopping']

I think the composition is good, a little bright, but I like the contrast. I think the woman in the middle was not participating in this photo and is the victim of a drive by photo shooting. lol. Would be better if she tried to look like she was doing some pharmacy thing other than just being there looking tired. The guy in the back looks busy and it works. Angles are good, they make your eye flow, as I said good composition. You did pretty good for what you had to work with spur of the moment.

I understand your comment and solves somewhat a mystery I have been experiencing all day since I posted this.

 

Pharmacies are about health, antisepsis is generally associated with white,so pharmacies and pharmacy clothes often are depicted as 'white' in keeping with the association with 'good, antiseptic health; hence the somewhat 'high key' rendition here.

 

The woman's face was very dark and I dislike manipulating such as 'dodging' a black face,so to see her features, I also kept it lighter. It's my idiosyncrasy and a somewhat 'purist' or 'minimalist' approach I favor. Later if some other view is desired, then one can genuinely manipulate.

 

I see now your view that the woman is 'static' and may look like she's just standing there. In fact, she's rushing by, and I caught her at the moment where her size, shape and mass helped create and 'make' the composition as she scurried past in the middle background. It's part of making an an 'instant' into an eternity, and I was proud of it,but see now that she shows no artifact of her great movement. Ah, well, for me this photo has greater meaning than most viewers who will see her as static rather than rushing. That's the risk of taking photos where a 'frozen' moment means more than the 'truth' to viewers, and such 'frozen moments' have their own 'truth' I guess.

 

Usually I take advantage of that, but not here, I guess.

 

I was taken aback when this photo, for its composition, did not resonate, and you have shown me why. I accept that and understand that's why I put them up for critique -- to learn things that are not obvious easily to me.

 

Thank you for an intelligent, critical analysis, and good humors.

 

It's a very respectful and correct critique that opened my eyes a little and has surprised me also.

 

John (Crosley)

I think the composition works, from the the foreground you progress through the image one person to the next. The attitude of the people include are genuine, and real. The sympathetic pharmacist in the foreground pulls you into the story.

That is as good an explanation (critique) of the compositional elements of this photo as I could write, so I just would refer anyone looking for an explantion to your critique.

 

It's 'right on' -- comletely accurate from my viewpoint.

 

Thanks for taking the effort to analyze and share.

 

John (Crosley)

Very good. I love this shot.

I have devoted a substantial part of my recent life to determining and analyzing WHY people love certain shots (especially those I take).

 

I am very glad they DO love certain shots, or I would probably be trying to splash paint on giant canvases or simply watching the wheat or soybeans grow and move to the Midwest.

 

Instead, I just go around my rounds (not always daily) from time to time, always (almost) with a camera or two, and try to take wonderful shots as I go.

 

Yesterdays and today were about as good as I can get with minimal shooting; I'm 'In the groove', I feel, and for some reason, what feels like really good images are jumping literally leaping into my sensor, yet at the same time, views are declining (portfolio got removed from yearly views for this year).

 

The front to back orientation of this shot draws one's eye into it and the varying level of attention that the subjects are paying, from the pharmacist looking at us benevolently, to the black woman worker walking by (appearing to be standing but she's really scurrying),and the person in back buried in work as he searches shelves for pharmaceuticals, all handily presented in more or less a triangular arrangement all help suck you in, I think.

 

A lot of my shots end up these days with either good expressions or good design (and sometimes, rarely, both).

 

This got no attention at first, yet it grows on people, as have a substantial number of recent shots,with one getting one anonymous rate (indicating it had no 'draw' among ordinary viewers, yet getting eight or nine raters who came by and dropped -- rather high -- rates,and most were long-time members and steady and trusted members (NOT friends and I do not rate, so no mate-rating -- when I rate, I rate on merit only, too,and everybody ever rated by me or who has been rated by me knows that, I think.

 

Same with almost all who rate me; they expect nothing in return, which makes me proud.

 

David, I'm glad this has grown on you; it always has been a photo I have held in high estimation, from the moment I took it (and showed it to the pharmacist as an example of how I take fast photos 'fast').

 

(less than one second, here)

 

I'm also a very good editor, I think (not always but learning well and tutored by a world master, a year and a fraction ago as a gift from him to me).

 

He helped me hone my skills as has the Photo.net audience with sometimes world class critiques.

 

And that has helped improve the quality of my posted work (both things, the posting critiques and my sometimes mentor with the highest credentials).

 

David, you may be able to hone your skills as I have here, too, as I have carefully studied what has worked and what has not in an incessant, critical of both my photos and their reception here.

 

Thanks for sharing your view and the nice compliment.

 

Please feel free to come back, browse to your heart's content, and comment as you wish.

 

John (Crosley)

The man, front is paying close attention to me and interacting with me.

 

The woman, center, obviously has seen me, but ignores me.

 

The man, background, may have seen me, but obviously if he has, it is not important to him -- he has 'work' to do.

 

(Compare this, if you will, to a photo in my 'Black and White, Then to Now', folder, taken a long time ago of a lobby of a single room occupancy hotel in San Francisco with three residents also showing 'Three States of Awareness' one of my ten most viewed photos. Same theme, same number of subjects, different design, but still, same message I've just mentioned.)

 

This photo is more than just a guy looking into the camera; and it may take a while to figure out WHY you like it; that's why I spend so much time analyzing these things.

 

I find these type of themes tend to repeat, though I do NOT plan them.

 

John (Crosley)

 

If you want people to look at a photo in "Then to Now'", folder then you can help them by including the link.

Meir,

 

I don't know how to 'link' though in some cases just copying a URL becomes a link automatically.

 

But I prefer not to do so, generally, because it reserves the exercise for those who are most interested, and gives them a chance to do some 'optional' browsing.

 

There's a lot to look at there, and even I spend some substantial time there, studying what 'works' and what 'works' less well, trying to zero in on the elements of success in photography - my idea of self-study if you will without being onanistic, I hope.

 

The idea is to learn, and I'm not immune from learning from studying my own images - every once in a while, I have a light bulb in a balloon (like in cartoon characters having a bright idea) above my own head when I look at a photo of mine, like the recent photo in More, More, n More, folder, which shows the bum reclining and the advertisement at the back.

 

Well, I finally noted he was reclining at the same angle (and parallel to) the Chase glasses illustration, but did NOT note that his legs were straight down, just as the edge of the bus stop frame ended the illustration and also formed a straight line DOWN, making the mirroring that much more complete.

 

I saw that (recognized that) for the first time this morning.

 

I had wondered why that photo got such high rates; it was good enough in spite of bad tones caused by an overexposed background, but the extra aspect to the mirroring surprised me (but maybe not the raters).

 

I can learn sometimes from raters . . . well, many of them.

 

Thanks for offering your opinion. Sorry, I can't always oblige with links.

 

You can decide for yourself whether or not to 'browse'.

 

John (Crosley)

HAHA - hey John - I am a pharmacist so I appreciated your inclusion of my profession in your portfolio - you "snapshot" is a wonderful shot of typical retail pharmacy - its very busy - the pharmacist is there helping you with your questions, and the technician (overworked proly) is proly feeling like "what time is it, gott get out of here" - I enjoyed it, take care!

That's Brian the pharmacist, whose whereabouts shall remain unknown, and whose company I disavow knowledge of, as I sprung this photo on him when he was unawares.

Sometimes I may do such things (keeps people from getting fired.

Notice the distribution of people throughout this shot -- I think I rushed it JUST A LITTLE with the woman, middle ground -- if I had waited 1/20th of a second . . . she might have been just a little father along, but oh well.

this is in a secondary folder because not enough people showed interest, but I like it very much; the pharmacy is a chain, accounting for the 'look' which 'looks very familiar'.

Thanks for stopping by and commenting; this is a favorite of mine just for the composition.

john

John (Crosley)

I love this; a very well done and natural photo! I love the difference in body language and expressions; the young man in front looks as if he is friendly and wanting to be of service, the girl in the middle looks tired and ready to go home, the man in the background is going about his business, working hard and unaware of anything going on around him. The lighting is harsh and unkind; everything about this photo is exactly what one would experience and that is why it works so well! Great job! Thank you for sharing. :)

What an unexpected delight to find your comment this early December 2011.

I won't comment much except to say that this photo required a lot of careful timing while engaging this pharmacist (name withheld to protect his job and whereabouts for same reason), in conversation, watching the background, having a camera ready with wide enough angle lens at the ready and when everything moved into place, 'snap' - unflattering as it all is.

I think it is the exact perfect moment, as imperfect as it may be (or as unflattering, except I think they all really look very professional and like they're doing their jobs very professionally and attentively . . . . agree?)

Thanks Trish J-A.  I enjoyed your comment.

john

John (Crosley)