View Full Version : Critique #82 *Street Photography* 5 Participants
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How do you look at photos (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26459)
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Critique Feedback Thread (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26611)
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This thread is now active, please follow the guidelines if you'd like to participate! Have Fun!
infrequent
12-03-2007, 18:03
in for sure.
I'm in, w/ fear and trepidation.
pellothed1
12-03-2007, 19:44
I'm in it.
infrequent
12-03-2007, 19:55
that makes five...i will go first...
pellothed1
12-03-2007, 20:13
Here's mine
Mine is attached.
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Infrequent:
Well, it’s color for starters. That’s a refreshing change from the expected black and white street photography. I’ve tried color myself a couple of times but never seem pleased with the results. I think the boldness of color works in this shot.
I’m not sure what the image conveys though. Maybe that these are some funky shoes deserving of attention? Hmm…
Pellothed1:
Good shot of an interesting looking fellow. I really love the swirls/curls of the pavers.
I wish there was a bit more going on in the photo though. Maybe if he wasn’t centered there would be something interesting of to the side? Of course, not being there, I really don’t know.
Ray:
Nice tones. This has a real classic feel to it which you seem to be good at. I really like the reflection and shadow of the woman and the peek into the doorway on the right is interesting to.
If I could meddle with reality, I’d remove the bit of car that doesn’t fit the image at all, and I’d have the woman walking into the frame, rather than out. Maybe she could have her head turned towards the window so that you could only see her face as a reflection.
Bingley:
Lots to look at here. All four people have interesting expressions and I particularly like the boy with the long hair, left of center. I’d like to know what each of them is looking at. Love the VILLANS sign too.
I think my only suggestion would be to have stepped back ever so slightly or shot with a lens that was just a bit wider. If this was shot with a 35, I think a 28 could be better. I’d like just a little bit more room on the sides and missing the top of the bald guy’s head bothers me.
pellothed1
12-04-2007, 07:39
Ok I'll go.
infrequent - My eye is immediately drawn to the shoes, which was obviously your intent, learning to lead the eye of the viewer with color and DOF is really important. But as a street photograph this looks more like a product shot. I think that this shot would have been completely unsuccessful in black and white, but the way you've done it at least grabs the viewers attention. If you want to do street photography along these lines, look at William Eggleston or Stephen Shore's work. Here's where things get a little personal (strictly opinion). I don't like street photography with narrow DOF. I think it lends a softness to the scene that is more suitable to portrait photography than the real world. I'm not sure who said it, but one of the famous photographers said that he used black and white film because when you look at color pictures, you notice clothes, when you look at a black and white picture you look at faces. This picture seems to fit that bill exactly, I'm not sure if you intentionally did that or not. But overall, I'm in the same mindset of Scott, I'm just not sure of your intentions and can't help but wonder if this isn't directly removed from a series of shots.
RayPa - My eye is immediately drawn to the open doorway, away from the girl, it takes a minute or two of looking over the whole picture to take it in. This is something I look for in my own pictures...not being able to sum them up immediately. I would personally like to see more people in this type of shot or none at all, while the girl and the window is great, she's so far away that we can't really see her, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't. I think without her the picture would look more surreal.
Bingley - That looks like Joel Meyerowitz in the picture. This picture took a minute to examine. I personally tend to really like photos with some sort of strange action or gesture, or something really simple. The kid on the left with his mouth open really made it for me. I only wish he was within the DOF of your lens. This is something I'm picky about. I just prefer to see everything in focus in a picture (as much as possible), I realize the Meyerowitz look-a-like is probably too close even if this was shot at f16. I like that you've used the signage in the background to apply to those two in the foreground, villains or not, you've made them into that by taking the picture at that point in time. I think this is an interesting photo. The only "problem" per se, that I have with it, is I really wish it had more DOF and a little wider.
sbug - Everyone seems to be looking at the guy in the center, which is thought prevoking. It makes the viewer wonder why, has he done something wrong, did he just yell, because the girl at the top of the photo carrying the box looks to be turning to see him as well, maybe he's yelling at her. It's interesting that we can ask all these questions, but the picture can't tell us any answers. I usually really dislike photos taken from above and there seem to be alot of them on RFF and Pnet because I think they are a cop-out, but I think this one really works because the people in the periphery. They make us ask the questions. As for critiques I really have none, this is about the best of this type of picture that I've seen.
infrequent -- while probably not "technically" a street photo, the good thing about the genre is that it is wide-open. + This is a beautiful image to look at. The color is refreshing, as is the subtle use of DoF. It makes the front shoe pop out. At first look, the image could be viewed simply as a "fashion" photo, but I really like the little scuff on the heel and the slight wear on the shoe. It gives the image the impromptu unplanned snapshot/street feel. It also provides a little bit of the hallmark twist you sometimes find in street photography. -- However, it would have been nice to have seen a little more, a little more of the depth that you find by providing more context. I know that's tough when photographing shoes, and you can tell a lot by the shoes someone wears. The little bit of information that image provides tells me that she is most likely caucasion and is wearing "new" jeans and "new" nice shoes. It's the wear, the little scuff, that has me wanting to know more.
pellothed -- Tony, + this is an interesting image, one that feels like it belongs to a set of images. it reminds me of Koudelka (I hope you don't mind me referencing other photographers. It's a good thing, btw!). This is obviously a public place. I'm not sure of the relation of the person in the image to the place. At first, I thought that he might be a worker. He seems at home or familiar with the location. His glance into the camera seems a little aggressive or cocky. I don't mind the central placement of the figure (this is why it reminds of Koudelka--he's the master of it). It's a confident gesture by the photographer that adds prominence to the subject. The subject seems up to it!! -- not much on the negative side. I'd like to know/see more (back story?/caption?), particularly if this is part of set of images. the partial figure on the left edge and the shadows are a bit distracting. This is a good image that shows the confidence of the photographer shooting on the street. Good job.
bingley - Steve, + this is really an up-front, in your face street shot. I really like the arrangement of the people in the image. My focus goes to the younger individual with the long hair. I think the focus is sharpest on this individual. I also begin to wonder about the relationship between this individual and the bald-headed man. They seem to be a pair. The placement of both and their off screen glance originally made me think that they are engaged in some discussion, something of prominence, but the gesture of the man, holding his coat makes me think that they are just passing by. But still your closeness to the whole scene is where I find this image's power. The kid in the background, the woman on the right, and the Villan sign add nicely to the street "feel" of the image. -- my only issue with the image is a lack of DoF. I think for street shooting, you have to stop-down in order to get as much information as possible. Having that kid in the background in sharp focus would have really added a lot to this already really good street photo. nice work.
sbug -- Scott this is really good street shot. + It's less a PJ style photograph and more a stylistic photograph that works all the elements into the whole image. It's the type of photo that always elicits the standard "great catch" comment. It is a well-seen and well-caught moment. There's nice balance and sense of space. There's a strong sense of something happening, especially with the crowd of folks in the top left. They appear to be watching this one individual (who reads to be a photographer with his man-purse!). This could all be a fiction, but that's one of the things that makes good a street photo, working meaning and structure from the real-time real-world as it's happening. -- about the only thing I would add here is that there is a little bit of looseness in the image on the left, right, and bottom. I'm not sure how you stand on cropping, but keeping the aspect ration and trimming these edges would tighten up the composition. It's a great shot! Great catch! ;)
Great street shots here. Thanks for sharing everyone.
.
Taken together, the four photos I'm commenting on present a really interesting commentary on what street photograph is these days. This is my first participation in this kind of a thread here, so I'm going to keep my remarks brief, but I enjoyed looking at and thinking about what each photography was attempting to convey. I have purposely NOT read any of the comments by others before writing mine:
Infrequent: I love the color on the shoes. The green just pops out. The shot presents an interesting contrast between the formality of the shoes and the informality of the jeans that the subject is wearing. The pose suggests an attitude, but I'm not quite sure what kind of attitude. Perhaps this is a commentary on how little of a person must be in a scene to make it a "street photograph." Alternatively, one might view the image as a kind of still life. Really nice contrast, too, between the in focus and out of focus shoes.
This is a picture that might be stronger if it were juxtaposed with other images of similar character or attitude, or made part of a set (I know these aren't the rules for this thread, though). Also, I think it might be interesting to seek out a scene involving more than one pair of legs/feet/shoes, a scene that might suggest a conversation going on but conveyed as a reflection of body language literally at street level.
pellothed1: I am not a bw expert by any means, but this shot strikes me as excellent in terms of exposure, focus, tones. The subject appears to be walking through a public place, but no one else is there. He does not appear to be making eye contact w/ the photographer either, but glancing off to the left instead. What does he see? Another person, or object? There's an element of mystery here which is fascinating.
I wonder whether cropping along the left side, to eliminate what might be a foot as well as the figure in the booth, might accentuate the isolation of the subject in a public space. Also, did you make any other images of this figure, either w/ eye contact or w/ other people? Finally, I'm not sure that centering the figure works for me. It draws attention to the figure, but raises a question in my mind about what you're trying to convey regarding the relationship of the figure to the space around him. Still, I like this shot a lot.
RayPa: I think this is a really lovely exposure, w/ sharpness and a kind of glow from the gray stone of the building while capturing its texture. The reflection in the window appears to be balanced by the figure on the left and the open door on the right. The reflected image appears as a kind trailing image to the figure who is leaving the scene (did she walk out the open door and down the street?), but you've more or less centered the reflected image in the scene. Interesting!
Placing the reflected image more towards the center of the scene, however, introduces a tension w/ the figure on the far left that I'm still wondering about. I thought about what a crop would look like that removed the figure and just left the reflection, but I'm not sure that improves the image any. The only thing that I find problematic w/ this image is the rear of the car in the lower left corner: I think this might have been an even more interesting picture if your position had been a little closer to facing the window, and if you had captured the figure as she walked by a moment earlier in time. But street photography (to me, at least) is at least partly about making the best of a fleeting scene, and I certainly like what you've done here.
sbug: Now this is an interesting take on "street photography"! The Lone Ranger strides down the middle of an (almost) empty Bourbon Street, while a crowd of casually dressed onlookers watches from a sidestreet. The two figures in the upper right appear to carry cue cards, suggesting that this is a film or t.v. shoot. Regardless, the placement of figures is really interesting, particularly the space between the man in the hat and the small crowd. Also, technically speaking, this is excellent.
I'm not sure what I would have done differently here, or what you might change. Perhaps a crop along the bottom and the right side would emphasize the relationship of the three "sets" of figures (the lone man w/ hat, the crowd, and the two men w/ cue cards), although you'd obviously lose some of the sense of isolation of the man w/ the hat from the other figures. I just find this a really interesting shot.
OK, enough ramblings from me. This is all great work!
Gabriel M.A.
12-04-2007, 13:35
Let me add my twopence just to say that everybody did a great job; good to see the true spirit of photo critique; the commitment was already evident by the entries.
Two thumbs up.
Let me add my twopence just to say that everybody did a great job; good to see the true spirit of photo critique; the commitment was already evident by the entries.
Two thumbs up.
I second that. Thanks very much, everybody. It would be nice if
one of the participants in this thread (Ray excluded, he has started so
many of these threads) would start the next critique thread. Or you
Gabriel ;)
Technically it's easy: quote the first post, remove the html quote marks,
copy what you have in your editor, and paste into a new thread labeled
appropriately.
Thanks again,
Roland.
I think we're missing a commentary/critique from Infrequent.
Also, after Infrequent weighs in, I hope each of us will post a response to the comments on his/her contribution.
Sorry Steve/Infrequent. Please do remember my request though when you guys are done.
Thanks.
I think we're missing a commentary/critique from Infrequent.
Also, after Infrequent weighs in, I hope each of us will post a response to the comments on his/her contribution.
I'll be here. I'm looking forward to the next stage.
.
infrequent
12-05-2007, 11:26
sorry guys...i couldn't reply earlier..
@pellothed1 - excellent shot. there is certainly an element of mystery in this which puts me at unease. the ciggy to one side of the mouth really draws my attention. the brilliant blacks further proof that b+w film can't be matched by digital conversions.
@raypa - the opened door clearly is the subject here but even it speaks volumes. what's in there that has prompted the girl to smile? the girl could have been a bit more in the frame but i am being nitpicky.
@bingley - kudos on this shot because i would never be able to take that. it almost has a paparazzi feel to it. there is also an ominous feel to the scene which is not helped by the prominent "villains" sign in the background.
@sbug - a brilliant shot this. almost cinematic as how the man walks alone without giving a damn while drawing everyone's attention from the edges.
it was definitely my idea to throw you guys a curve ball! i looked at my more conventional street shots but went along with this because it was different. in hindsight i probably shouldn't have done because it almost seems a different theme altogether. you guys are right...i should have included more than the shoes. but i have a hard time actually pointing the camera towards strangers. a dslr doesn't help either! you guys have to take my word that the shoes were the most interesting bit in this scene and so i concentrated on that. i agree that its a beautiful capture but is missing that certain je ne sais quois.
i would be happy to host the next one if its okay. cheers!
OK, we've all commented on each other's photos. I'll take the lead in posting a response on mine.
First, THANK YOU all for your kind words and constructive comments on my street shot. A couple of you (at least) suggested shooting w/ greater DOF, and I accept that point. As I recall, this shot was taken at about f5.6. More on this in a moment.
Second, I posted this particular photo in part b/c of the mood it I thought it conveyed, and I'm happy that you picked up on this. I also posted it, however, b/c taking it took me outside my comfort zone in a couple of respects: it's bw, and I shoot mainly in color; and I was indeed pretty close to the subjects, and I don't usually get so close to a complete stranger (although I would have been even closer had I been using a 35). I feel that I'm still trying to get a handle on shooting bw, both for street and landscapes, but I was pretty pleased w/ how this particular shot turned out.
Third. This shot was taken a couple of weeks ago, on my first outing w/ a lens that I'd recently purchased: a Canon 50/1.5. I was shooting both bw and color, and wanted to see how the lens performed at different f-stops, so I was intentionally making some shots at wider apertures than I normally would for street shooting purposes. The scene captured in this photograph came together very quickly; I had pre-set the focus and aperture. I simply raised the camera, pressed the shutter, and kept walking. Had I been more familiar w/ this lens, I think I would have been shooting more consistently at f8. Your comments regarding DOF are well taken. Thanks again.
Any comments from others?
pellothed1
12-05-2007, 14:59
I suppose I'll comment on my own photo, but first I'd also like to say thank you to everyone for the kind words and critique if any. I'll first respond to those that suggested cropping and I understand your point of view, but for me cropping out the foot or the guy in the booth in the back would really only leave me with the main subject and I prefer to hint at the answer then completely remove it. Who's the guy looking at? Maybe one of the other characters that we partially see, not at the viewer anyway. Why isn't he looking at the camera? This can be a little hard to answer.
When I'm taking pictures, things hit me so quickly that I rarely remember taking the pictures, even when I look at them. But I almost always make eye contact with the central figure and there is almost always a single person or two that stands out among the rest in my photos. I suppose it is because I'm looking for some sort of connection between myself and whoever it is I see on the street. I never hide that I'm taking pictures, though I'm quite fast at it, it's always obvious and people tend to look at me. I always make eye contact, because I like eye contact in my pictures, I can't simply blend in, I'm just as much a part of the world and involved in it as everyone else is and I don't want to make my pictures look like I was standing in the shadows. Sometimes I'll see them look and feel I'm overbearing and look away when in fact I'm not looking at them in an interested way but summing up the scene as a whole, making a quick judgement. My style tends to single people out from the group, I don't know why, that's just the way I do it. The picture above was taken in Heidelberg Germany during a local festival and was shoulder to shoulder people. It's strange that I isolate people like that, maybe it's my own feelings of insignificance and isolation showing through in the way I take pictures, but this is something that is pretty abundant in alot of my pictures.
The rest of the pictures from Germany and one from Vienna can be seen in a password protected gallery on my site, I don't like to make them public because I haven't registered them, which I only do twice a year:
http://www.tonyedwardsphotography.com/gallery/3717462
the password is: Pete
Feel free to look, I still need to remove a few that I'm not totally happy with. I've also got some from New Orleans that I haven't added yet, probably won't until after the first of the year when I copyright everything, then they'll all go into the Personal link at the top of the site.
I'll also comment on the centering. I think that's just the way I do it. I've noticed this in my street photography over the years and tried to adjust, but it's just become part of my style. It's something that I tend to like when looking at my pictures because it's so anti-photography and against the rules that it makes people a little nervous.
I'd also like to comment on the critique as a whole:
Can truly great pictures exist on their own? Yes. But there are really great pictures that would look really terrible when removed from their context. I think you have to become familiar with one persons style before you can judge any of their work as a whole or individually. Take infrequent's shoes. If that picture was side by side with pictures of other shoes with the same tones and compositional elements, our opinions of the individual photograph may skew slightly. What does everyone else think?
I really enjoyed this critique so thank you to all that participated. Here's a little more info on the photo I posted: I shot this in New Orleans this summer. It was a hot late afternoon and I was on an outside balcony at the Cat's Meow (or something like that) and really enjoying the people watching. Suddenly I see this guy walking right down the center of Bourbon Street, dressed as a cowboy and completely painted in silver (clothes and body). I could hardly get the camera to my eye fast enough but this was the only shot I took.
When I took this shot I figured it would be be better if I had shot it in color. I now believe it is better in black and white. Based on the critiques, I think I would like to crop ever so slightly to remove the people that just barely encroach on the upper right of the frame. Otherwise, I'm honestly really happy with the shot. Funny thing is, as positive as the four of you were in the critique, I posted it in my gallery at RFF and got not one comment. Amusing. :)
I also think Tony has brought up a great point about viewing photos in context. I have recently begun to reorganize my photos on flicker into better sets that work well together. I really prefer to view photos that way. I plan to do the same thing with my RFF gallery when I get a chance. If you want to read some other thoughts about photo organization, read this interview with Joel Meyerowitz: http://2point8.whileseated.org/?p=284 It's good stuff.
I'm lucky enough to have an opportunity to have some of my work in a gallery this spring and I am going to print my likely options out as 4x6's and work with them for a while to determine the order I want to present them, much like Meyerowitz did. If it works for him, it can certainly help me.
I'll comment on my image and then go back over what others have posted about their images.
I shot this about three months ago. What intrigued me about the scene was the open door. The stuff inside the door was some sort of gold and burgundy Asian artifact. The color attracted me; unfortunately I was shooting b&w. However there was still quite a bit of what I thought would render. I think it didn't render as much as I thought it would. I didn't get as much as I wanted from the artifacts. The woman had just exited the building through the door, and I waited for her to get to the other side of the frame. I was walking toward the scene. I saw the car and didn't like it, but I couldn't get it out of the frame. So, I shot anyway because and the woman was leaving the frame.
It was really bright out, but I got what I thought was a pretty good exposure. The neg scanned well. I really like the artwork on the glass and how it kind of leads the eye along an arc to the girl. I hadn't done much with the image until recently, when I cropped the left side to exclude the girl and the car, leaving the shadow and the reflection. Which I think Steve mentioned. It's a different image. Normally, I have no qualms about cropping, but I really like the left side, so I'm indecisive right now.
Thanks to the participants for taking the time to look at it critically and offering up their thoughts and suggestions. From all of your comments it seems like the left side is the issue with this image. I'll try some crops an post a result to the gallery.
Thanks All!!
.
I suppose I'll comment on my own photo, but first I'd also like to say thank you to everyone for the kind words and critique if any. I'll first respond to those that suggested cropping and I understand your point of view, but for me cropping out the foot or the guy in the booth in the back would really only leave me with the main subject and I prefer to hint at the answer then completely remove it. Who's the guy looking at? Maybe one of the other characters that we partially see, not at the viewer anyway. Why isn't he looking at the camera? This can be a little hard to answer.
When I'm taking pictures, things hit me so quickly that I rarely remember taking the pictures, even when I look at them. But I almost always make eye contact with the central figure and there is almost always a single person or two that stands out among the rest in my photos. I suppose it is because I'm looking for some sort of connection between myself and whoever it is I see on the street. I never hide that I'm taking pictures, though I'm quite fast at it, it's always obvious and people tend to look at me. I always make eye contact, because I like eye contact in my pictures, I can't simply blend in, I'm just as much a part of the world and involved in it as everyone else is and I don't want to make my pictures look like I was standing in the shadows. Sometimes I'll see them look and feel I'm overbearing and look away when in fact I'm not looking at them in an interested way but summing up the scene as a whole, making a quick judgement. My style tends to single people out from the group, I don't know why, that's just the way I do it. The picture above was taken in Heidelberg Germany during a local festival and was shoulder to shoulder people. It's strange that I isolate people like that, maybe it's my own feelings of insignificance and isolation showing through in the way I take pictures, but this is something that is pretty abundant in alot of my pictures.
The rest of the pictures from Germany and one from Vienna can be seen in a password protected gallery on my site, I don't like to make them public because I haven't registered them, which I only do twice a year:
http://www.tonyedwardsphotography.com/gallery/3717462
the password is: Pete
Feel free to look, I still need to remove a few that I'm not totally happy with. I've also got some from New Orleans that I haven't added yet, probably won't until after the first of the year when I copyright everything, then they'll all go into the Personal link at the top of the site.
I'll also comment on the centering. I think that's just the way I do it. I've noticed this in my street photography over the years and tried to adjust, but it's just become part of my style. It's something that I tend to like when looking at my pictures because it's so anti-photography and against the rules that it makes people a little nervous.
I'd also like to comment on the critique as a whole:
Can truly great pictures exist on their own? Yes. But there are really great pictures that would look really terrible when removed from their context. I think you have to become familiar with one persons style before you can judge any of their work as a whole or individually. Take infrequent's shoes. If that picture was side by side with pictures of other shoes with the same tones and compositional elements, our opinions of the individual photograph may skew slightly. What does everyone else think?
Tony, you make some really good points. I think the one common thing that we all can agree on is how quickly situations evolve on the street. I'm like you in that I shoot very quickly. I'm unlike you in that I don't mind not being seen, and I don't mind blending in and becoming invisible. I've found that the more I've do this, the more comfortable I become, the more I blend in, and the more it seems people see me less, or simply don't care. I prefer not to be seen, because I think as soon as the camera is noticed the situation is changed. I like capturing situations as they occur, and as they would have occurred. However, that said I don't mind being seen. I don't mind people looking directly into the camera. I just like getting shots that interest me, and that I find interesting.
.
My approach to street photography (and I hasten to add that I'm new at it) is similar to Ray's. I am interested in capturing a scene w/out necessarily becoming a participant or noticed, although that too happens from time to time. Personally, I think good street photography is really hard, in large part b/c scenes come together so quickly. One must manage the technical aspects of the shot, focus, and frame often in a split second. There is also an interesting tension between the art and the reportage aspects of street photography (and I'm not implying that one is superior to the other). I grew up on Life magazine, and was continually impressed by the power of the visual image produced by PJs of the 50s and 60s. I certainly agree w/ a number of comments above that context is an essential part of the shot (although context can be displayed in different ways).
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