A simple street shot

[michswiss]

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Actually its not so simple:
The girls chases the pigeon, the other girl watches it, the grown-ups watch the kids:
The woman looks to the chasing kid, the man to the watching kid.
All 4 persones are involved in a bit different ways just by one bird.
Very nice scene.
I like the low camera perspective = childs view ....
Well done ...

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

What Christoph said. A magic moment.

Eric

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

I like the low angle that you have used to bring the little girl into shot straight on and at her height, that is really excellent. I am afraid I don't like the blown out sky or the large area of nothing interesting (tarmac path) that seems to take up way too much of the shot at the right of the scene - although the pigeon helps a little, but not enough IMO. Also I would have like to have seen more of the child’s face.

But having said that, it does tell a story and in a journalistic sort of way it is a good image, but the blown out sky and other parts of the image (girls stockings etc) as well as the empty spaces on the right are a little bit too much for me I am afraid.

Can I ask, are you using manual or automatic settings? Because if you are using auto, then try manual instead or exposure compensation - yes I know you have to pre-think the shot (which is what we all need to do all the time even when just walking down the street with nothing apparently happening in front of us - but just in case), but that is what you have to do and get used to doing before you can nail this type of shot.

Photobloke

[RSL]

Jennifer, It was a great try. The action is excellent and the interplay between the people in the picture makes it interesting. But I have to agree with Bloke to a point. It's unfortunate that the kid had on a white dress against a bright background. The background isn't quite blown, and a quick touchup with Viveza, as I've done here, can bring it back indside bounds, though the contrast between the girl and the background doesn't improve when you do that. The empty space in the lower right doesn't help either, but there's not much to be done about that. What does the color version look like?

[Rob C]

Why not just accept it's not one of her usual greats?

Rob C

[stamper]

Rob, I think she asked for opinions? I think the balance of the image isn't quite right. In a perfect world there should have been more separation between the girl and the others in the background. Too much happening on the left rather on the right hand side of the image. A good idea which didn't really work because your eye is more attracted to the distractions in the image rather than the focal points of the girl and the pigeon.

[Christoph C. Feldhaim]

Actually that is what Rob said - its not one of her usual greats ...

After watching the replies to this thread  and downloading the image and trying some crop variants and other stuff I have to admit, yes, there are weaknesses and an imbalance which most likely can't be fixed ... still I like this image and think its a great shot ...

[michswiss]

You guys are cool.  I wouldn't put a shot up without expecting forthright comments.  I might share an alternative version in a day or so that eliminates the tight crop I used in this version. It'll be in the website in any instance.  It adds another aspect that probably belongs while potentially changing the story and visual balance at the same time.  An argument to let shots age for a while before putting them out there.

[RSL]

Jennifer, You can't win 'em all, and you're right, letting it sit for a while is a good idea. But, let's face it, that goes against human nature. Your most recent thing always is the best -- until later when you see it isn't. Here's one that's been sitting since 2002. The action isn't as good as the action in yours, but simplification sometimes has its own reward.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Yours is a nice shot, Russ, but I still like Jennifer's better.
I find the quirky unbalance of her image adds to the mood rather than subtracting. The too vast empty space in the lower right almost forces the viewer to look elsewhere for something of interest, and without that unbalance I might never have noticed the directional gazes of the two adults in the background.

This is a keeper just the way it is, IMHO!

Eric

[RSL]

Eric, I agree that Jennifer's shot has much more interesting action than my rather dull shot has, and the inclusion of the other people watching the action makes it a potentially excellent picture. But I don't agree about the empty space in the lower right, and I have a problem with the low contrast between the girl's bright dress and the high toned background, which is why I wondered whether or not the color version would improve the separation. I think the potential is there but it didn't quite come off. The interesting thing to me is that Jennifer was looking, she saw the event about to happen, and she lifted her camera and shot. That tells me she's a real street photographer, which is very different from the kind of photographer who photographs static scenes and has to set everything up. To me her partially failed photograph is infinitely more interesting than the vast majority of the photographs I see on here.