fotografz

Dave, since you repeatedly have said "washed out" on image after image, and everyone else seems to think differently, including me, I think perhaps your monitor is not calibrated correctly. 

I like it, and wouldn't change anything.

-Marc

The image was not posed, it was part of a candid coverage of a reception ... so positioning anything like an arm/hand wouldn't happen during a spontaneous display of emotion. You take what you see.

The cropping was indeed done as part of an over-all story line involving a number of images on one page. Some wedding images stand alone, and some play a supporting role in the emotional storyline.

Thanks for the comments ... all of them.

My favorite little secret of this image showing a digital shot on the computer screen ... is that it was shot on film with a Hasselblad 503CW and fill flash. Old tech meets new tech : -)

-Marc

Thanks.

One of my personal favorites also. The sort of thing I'd expect if Diane Arbus ever shot a wedding ... LOL!

-Marc

It was shot with a Medium Format digital camera that uses a large CCD sensor with very little AA filtration ... so the dynamic range response is more film like.

-Marc

She was squatting down to change film in her Medium format camera.

The hidden beer bottles cracked me up.

-Marc

That was deliberate. I had shots without the woman ... but I like the viewer tension that her cryptic stare creates ... part of the hectic pre-ceremony emotional atmosphere. Otherwise it would just be another getting ready shot.

-Marc

Sonia, the shot is completely candid. They didn't even know I was there.

BTW, my name is Marc, I live in Franklin, a small town in Michigan : -)

I don't know if it's allowed to sum up what one learns from POW. I don't look at the POW,

so I don't know protocal. But here's my take...

I found many insightful and something to apply to making

images or editing images in future ... which is the value of critiques that offer an

intelligent review. If fact, I shot a lot this weekend in NYC, visited the Arbus show, and

tried to keep many of the thoughts shared here in mind while shooting. On the other

hand, some pronouncements and declarations, no matter how long winded,

were simply that IMO, and basically useless in terms of gleaning anything constructive...

for me or anyone else looking to improve. One does have to be discriminating in who one

listens to, including both positive and negative feedback.

If we had the opportunity to submit what was to be considered for POW, I'm not sure this

would have been one I would have selected myself. But someone else saw merit in it. Some

people saw it is a similar way that I did. Strangely sad, perhaps made more so by

emphasizing the frailness and vulnerabilities of age. Sad is not bad IMO. Humor is not bad,

if that's how some took it. Feisty to some degree is exactly how this woman seemed to me.

Others simply didn't see any of that, or if they did, it meant nothing to them. I do not find

that bad either... just indicative of different ways of looking (not rendering judgement on

the differences in the process, but instead just listening ) ... leading to the polarization of

opinion ... which isn't bad either, IMO.

In the end, it has been a valuable experience. Thank you all.

Maria, don't confuse an explanation of how a image was taken as being an excuse. It was

others who used the word "excuse", not me.

Seeing situational details as being an excuse requires the assumption on the part of

the reviewer that it is a bad photograph in the first place. In the end I kept the photo and

chose to display it ... because I do like it and make no apologies.

Whether or not it succeeds in tweaking conventional sensibilities is in the eye of the

beholder. With some it seems to have succeeded, with others not ... and yet with others a

Shakespeare quote from King Richard (having been spit upon), comes to mind ... " Me

thinks thou protesth to much" ; -)

Nothing implied by it Siddhartha. Just an observation on the variety of what people desire

to accomplish when making photos. It is my inclination to look at the work of those that

post, both critically and glowingly. It's like a bibliography so to speak.

But in retrospect, I'd have to agree with you, and keep those observations to myself, just

as I would want when offering an opinion of my own.

Oops wrong redo, that one above is the original. Here's the adjusted one. Need more

coffee ; -)

Thanks Peter. Are you saying that images in the portfolio section can be larger than what

can be posted in the forum threads? If so, I did not know that.

A few additional observations of my own. While I often carefully compose images through

the viewfinder, this is not one of those images. The camera was chest high around my

neck and was a "Hail Mary" shot. I took it when I wanted, but the timing was more centered

around her action, as opposed to what was going on around her. To wait for perfect

conditions would have been to miss her specific expression and gesture with the shoe.

This wasn't a studio session or a posed static subject, but instead a fluid personal

encounter.

I also find it interesting that some (not all) seeking perfect alignment of all factors often

feature primarily inanimate objects or landscapes in their own portfolios. In fact, some

have no people in them at all. Not that they don't photograph people, just that they seem

to gravitate toward highly structured and controlled images. This may well be a

generalization, but it's an observation none the less.

Another thing I find is that women often respond well to this image. Prints of this specific

photo have been purchased by a couple of collectors, and a few other people ... all of

which were women. I have offered it at charity auctions twice, and in both cases it went to

women. Just sharing an observation based on what has actually happened ... which has

been somewhat reinforced here.

A final note. Those who find the title demeaning assume that I authored it. Actually, it's a

paraphrased quote from the subject herself. That was the upshot of her conversation with

me. Everything she was wearing was purchased second hand. She was proud of that fact,

and that she exhibited classic taste on a limited "flea market" budget. The shoes she had

found, and was showing me, were Bruno Magli Alligator for $10.

Thanks for the comments so far, both negative and positive. It indeed is a grab shot of

opportunity, shot from chest height using a 21mm with lots of DOF due to hyper-focal

distance being used. Unfortunately, the scan is less than ideal and I really should hunt

down the neg. to improve the tonal depth with the better scanner I now have.

The subject interested me. According to surrounding merchants, she is an "institution"

around that part of Miami. She was literally a foot away from the camera, and we were

talking. Her conversation was as interesting to me as taking the photo was. It's a record of

our meeting nothing more, unless you wish to read more into it.

Basically, she was proud of her prowess as a flea market shopper with taste, who dressed

herself in what appeared to be second hand classic type clothes. The shoe she was holding

was a brand that cost hundreds new and pennies there. Diminished income, without

diminished tastes is a specter many of us face. It was interesting, for that brief encounter

to hear and see her answer to that.

It was shot in B&W because that was what was in the camera upon meeting her. It was wide

angle because that what was on the camera. The meeting was more important than then

the photo. I learned something from her.

Best of the current portfolio IMO.

I like the dramatic look of the lighting and graphic feel.

I'd consider just the slightest crop off the right side to set her off center just a tad more.

Adding to the right side, would only serve to make it more conventional and ordinary like work in the folder of the commenter/critic above.

This crop is dynamic. It places the isolated strong yellow in tension with blacks, and creates a sense of mystery as to who is being read to.