Jay Walker
- Thread starter plastic
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goodness, the overwhelming amount of 'nice shot' comments just make me want to rant. thanks, you nice members!
why portrait format? wouldn't landscape show more road, more danger, more space for the viewer to help look for vehicles? were you more intent on capturing the entire height of the double-decker than composition of the subject? i really don't like the central placement, very dull. snapshot-ish.
the fact that he's facing you doesn't convey 'jay walker'. I can't actually see his eyeballs to confirm he's looking at you but the assumption at first glance is enough. I don't register the traffic around him, I just look to him as a person and question about him.
When all he is is a jaywalker to you, don't humanise him by capturing eye contact.
not to mention, he's just standing there....
why portrait format? wouldn't landscape show more road, more danger, more space for the viewer to help look for vehicles? were you more intent on capturing the entire height of the double-decker than composition of the subject? i really don't like the central placement, very dull. snapshot-ish.
the fact that he's facing you doesn't convey 'jay walker'. I can't actually see his eyeballs to confirm he's looking at you but the assumption at first glance is enough. I don't register the traffic around him, I just look to him as a person and question about him.
When all he is is a jaywalker to you, don't humanise him by capturing eye contact.
not to mention, he's just standing there....
foxtwo, maybe you've placed too much premium on the accuracy of the caption/title to the photo. I suspect the majority of us are just happy to see a shot well executed. Its likely most of us respect that this is not an easy capture so we give our comments accordingly. At least for me, its picture first and caption/title second. If they go perfectly together, that's perfection but a good photo without one is still a good photo. Just my 2 cents.
eel said:
since it's in this forum it's up for fire, no?
the issue with titling concerns the thought, intention, planning & composition put into a picture.
Thought: the scene would spark a murky "that's looks interesting".
Intention: i want to shoot that, because it shows "aaa". it has potential for a picture.
Planning: light's coming this direction; movement there; how much time i have; etc
Composition: 1/3 rule/central placement; lines; patterns; shape; etc
"aaa" refers to title/intention/subject/story/etc.
if you give a title which does not fit the picture, then
1) it just shows you have no idea what you're shooting. And the intention was given only after the shot.
Or 2) you missed the moment and got a bad shot, failing to meet the intention.
titling heightens the expectation of a picture. give a poor title and end up misleading the viewer. that's doesn't make a good photo, titles are straightforward. not something that every viewer has to go "huh" on the image. there's always the option of not titling, nothing in CS that says all pictures should be titled.
a technically well executed shot does not make a good photo. why let the photographer settle on "I suspect the majority of us are just happy to see a shot well executed. Its likely most of us respect that this is not an easy capture so we give our comments accordingly."??? goad him on! push him further! ask questions! this is critique corner, he's asking for it. telling someone 'nice shot' just encourages him/her to take more of the same. very few take the personal challenge to go further.
plastic said:
For your comments on the image. Handheld shot.
Hi plastic,
I rather like the photo. Please don't ask me to explain other than "sharp, good colours, good capture"
I also like the title.
An alternative title I was thinking is "Teleporting can be dangerous" :bsmilie:
Cheers and thank you for sharing a great photo.
foxtwo said:
Sweet... that is what I like...
That is definitely a snapshot. Like those protest pictures you have taken yourself... all are fast snaps... you wouldn't have paid all those fellas and cops to pose for you right? Neither would I risk a model's life standing between electric tram tracks and traffic just to get this shot. I was shooting people rushing across roads when this one turned up the way I hoped... so I got lucky... but so did a few hundred thousand other photojournalists featured in Life magazine... that moment...
I like to record life and people watch, and therefore you hardly see me post or done any studio work... I find that boring (no offense to those who are into studio work)... I just think that for now, I am happy to be able to capture time and freeze it... it makes me happy... that's why I shoot... I am not a professional, so shooting makes me feel relaxed and help me pass time...
I kind of like that framing (smack in the centre with the passing tram behind him), but will take your suggestions in mind the next time I frame a subject in my viewfinder. It was a handheld shot, and a million things were running through my mind while trying to hold a 300mm lens steady at night. Maybe I just need to think even faster the next time.
I appreciate the challenge and suggestions. Its good food for the mind. Thanks to "eel" who have "come to my rescue"... appreciate that.
And thanks to all the encouraging "thumbs up" I got for this shot. Appreciate that.
foxtwo said:
This is Plastic's thread so I do not want to turn this into a long discussion and go OT. In summary, I think your points are valid and valuable. And I'm glad you take the effort and have the noble intention to push photographers to grow in their thinking. At the same time, I believe there are shots that go into the realm of instinct. No time for thought, just a snapshot. There's an idea there a moment before it happens and then CLICK. A title may come in later but it may never fully capture the essence of the moment. So I feel the criteria you've listed may not always apply. There are photos that require technical skill and there are photos that are pure instinct. Possibly for those who are have been on the photographic journey long enough, there are photos which are both. I think there's a place for all of these and I celebrate this one, not for the title, but for the moment it captures.
The moment has been captured. it cannot be changed but the title can. So maybe criticism of the shot may not be so relevant but rather, the title itself.
eel said:
if we were to disregard the title for a bit, what does the image say? what does the moment represent?
a man standing on a road facing the photographer with a moving bus behind.
what is so special about this captured moment?
what are you celebrating on that makes this image 'nice'? see, that's what i can't wrap my thick head around.
yes there are photos that are pure instinct, several fantastic photographers past & present had/have the skill. but we are talking about this picture up in this forum, i can't go around thinking, "yup he's done what he can the best he can. it's a nice shot."
outside of this forum, i regard most photographers know what he/she is doing or has done so i don't bother to burst brain cells.
i strongly believe plastic missed the better 'moment' and it is not as i quote 'nice' as many of you have put it.
are people in this forum here to seek c&c on 'what this is?' or 'what it could have been?', it's entirely up to them. if it's the former then they can ignore me.
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and for pete's sake, there are reasons why this forum was set up dear members. at the very least go through some minute amount of analysis on why you like a picture before taking the lazy simplistic way out of saying 'nice shot'. <- now this is OT, but feel free to take it up at http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=178245
plastic said:
no. they were not fast snaps nor paid models. they were thought out compositions, perhaps not the best photos, but planning, stalking, waiting was taken. more than a few times i dithered too long on the technical aspects or just wasn't fast enough and the moments were lost.
oooh, i shouldn't be here talking about me... heheh. back to you.
foxtwo said:
Ah... so you see, a different method of shooting altogether. Its really nothing new. It was planning for me as well. And was there shooting a series of "rushing people". I guess in my case I reacted enough to get that shot. I guess we come from different school of thought.
foxtwo said:
Ok last post on this. Sorry Plastic.
I like this discussion. It has set off some new thoughts. I may not agree with you fully but I do value your thoughtful input. Its true this is a section for critiques and its true pictures can almost always be improved. Its also true that "nice" may not help people improve much. But 'nice' does encourage people still and give feedback that people are heading the right track in their journey.
Some of us take our photography more seriously than others and some of us just like shoot and express what we see. Again different viewpoints here but let's agree to disagree.
foxtwo said:
Why not? Parents would not rename their babies just because someone else don't feel that the name suit their kids.
Guess its just our difference in the way we approach photography.
Different artists has different ways of approaching our craft. Take music composition for example, some start with melodies first, some lyrics first, some arranged music and then start thinking about the melodies and lyrics. Who is right and wrong?
That is the wonderful aspect of photography... or painting... or song writing... in art, there is no right or wrong, agree? Its just a matter of how it makes people feel...
Personally I felt the colours weren't that great, and there was camera shake, and the top left hand neon sign was a little distracting. But I was looking for other little mistakes that I might have missed. So that when I frame and shoot the next time, I will consider these things.
Feel free to shred, foxtwo. You opinions are interesting, and at least it gives me a different perspective to think.
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