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Author Topic: More Street  (Read 1510 times)

RSL

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More Street
« on: October 14, 2009, 10:00:01 pm »

I had time to walk in downtown Manitou Springs for an hour or so today. Less tourists around now that the weather has changed, but still enough to make the hour worthwhile. The folks in the car are tourists from the midwest -- Iowa I think. The other group is made up mostly of drifters passing through. It was hard to decide between color and B&W for the tourists, but B&W won out. Had to keep the guy's red pants red in the other one though.

[attachment=17206:Lunch.jpg] [attachment=17205:Card_Gam...nd_Lunch.jpg]
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AndrewKulin

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« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2009, 10:34:18 pm »

Russ - I don't comment much on the street photography, mainly because I am unfamiliar with the genre, and not sure of what constitutes great or poor street photography.  So with that in mind ...

Tourists:  I expect one of the things about street photography is to catch a snippet of life.  I see this as three guys waiting in the van for the driver to come back from whatever it is he/she is doing (paying for gas, bathroom break, buying souvenirs, etc.).  They look bored so they've probably been waiting a while.  Too bad the young guy at the back is looking back at you while you made the shot, that takes something away from the overall atmosphere of the shot, though I suppose you standing there with a camera pointing at them made for a momentary pause in the tedium.

Drifters:  This is better in that no one is paying attention - 4 guys playing cards for deli sandwhiches (?).  Quite the crew.  You're right about the guy with the red long-johns under what used to be a pair of jeans, B & W would have lost the impact.  And I love the facial expression you got on Henry Winkler at the far right.  Only thing that detracts for me is the dog/tail in the background behind the guy at the left.

That's my attempt at comment.

Andrew
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deeyas

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« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2009, 11:29:57 pm »

Russ,
I agree with Andrew. Of the two photos posted, the one about the drifters seems better.
But neither one (to me) seems interesting in terms of composition or processing.
I've looked at the BW a few times, but cannot see what may have attracted you to this. It seems like a family vacation shot converted to BW. I also find the framing a bit unsettling. Was this a result of using a prime lens on the street?
« Last Edit: October 15, 2009, 12:01:55 am by deeyas »
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walter.sk

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« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2009, 10:15:20 am »

Quote from: RSL
I had time to walk in downtown Manitou Springs for an hour or so today. Less tourists around now that the weather has changed, but still enough to make the hour worthwhile. The folks in the car are tourists from the midwest -- Iowa I think. The other group is made up mostly of drifters passing through. It was hard to decide between color and B&W for the tourists, but B&W won out. Had to keep the guy's red pants red in the other one though.

[attachment=17206:Lunch.jpg] [attachment=17205:Card_Gam...nd_Lunch.jpg]
While I like both, the guys in the van seem to say something to me.  The older man looks like one tough cookie, and the one with the mouthful of food looks (to me) like somebody who would jump into a fight if he got the nod from the older man.  The person in the back looking at you through the shades would probably join in the fray.  The last time I shot a group of guys like that one of them said "Get that f*n camera out of here or I'll wrap it around your head!"  I didn't stick around to argue that we were all in a public place and it was my right!
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RSL

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More Street
« Reply #4 on: October 15, 2009, 12:19:00 pm »

Quote from: AndrewKulin
Russ - I don't comment much on the street photography, mainly because I am unfamiliar with the genre, and not sure of what constitutes great or poor street photography.

Andrew. I think that's true of any genre in photography. You need to be thoroughly familiar with it in order to understand what's intended in the pictures you look at.

Quote from: deeyas
But neither one (to me) seems interesting in terms of composition or processing.
I've looked at the BW a few times, but cannot see what may have attracted you to this. It seems like a family vacation shot converted to BW.

Sayeed, I'm not sure what you mean when you use the combination "interesting" and "processing." Maybe you mean you'd have gone with the color version. I know you're not familiar with street photography -- yet, though I'd love to see you keep after it and perfect your approach. You've made some brave attempts at it. Keep it up. Absorb the work of masters like HCB, Walker Evans, Robert Frank, Garry Winogrand, etc., and, above all, keep shooting. Many people are afraid of street photography. You're not.

As I've said many times before on LL, I find people infinitely more interesting than birds, flowers, landscapes, etc. Considering what goes up in museum shows, I'd suggest I'm not the only one who feels that way. But let me explain what attracted me to this scene: All three people in this picture are displaying an almost terrifying degree of indifference. I probably ought to title this picture "Whatever..." Andrew thinks that the gaze of the kid in the back seat detracts from the picture, but I think it emphasizes the point. There's a guy roughly ten feet away pointing a large DSLR at him and instead of curiosity his reaction is... "whatever..."

Quote from: walter.sk
The last time I shot a group of guys like that one of them said "Get that f*n camera out of here or I'll wrap it around your head!"  I didn't stick around to argue that we were all in a public place and it was my right!

Walter, That was the right reaction, especially if you already had your picture. The only time I've had that kind of response has been with hobos who, obviously, have wants out on them. Even though they look like tough cookies, considering the indifference of the dad and boys in the car, I suspect even shouting would have constituted too much involvement in their environment.
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