A child's world

[Damon Lynch]

A young Iranian girl beckons to her mother on a busy sidewalk in Tajrish, Tehran on June 28, 2008.

With this image I hoped to convey a sense of being a child in an adult's world. The adult world is busy and routine. By contrast the child's world is full of wonder, and runs at its own pace.  Does the image convey these ideas?

[Rob C]

You thought all this out before you took the shot, or did what I used to do with most of my pro work, pushed the 'message' once I realised that such a message could actually be constructed upon the foundation of what I'd managed to catch?

Very nice shot, whichever way it happened!

Rob C

[Damon Lynch]

You thought all this out before you took the shot, or did what I used to do with most of my pro work, pushed the 'message' once I realised that such a message could actually be constructed upon the foundation of what I'd managed to catch?

Not before the shot! At the time I saw the scene and made a snap judgment In my initial comment I was thinking about it in terms of the crop that I used, which I should have made clear. My initial crop in 2008 was quite severe, focusing much more tightly on the mother and her daughter. Upon recently revisiting it I went with the much looser crop you see above.

[Rob C]

Not before the shot! At the time I saw the scene and made a snap judgment In my initial comment I was thinking about it in terms of the crop that I used, which I should have made clear. My initial crop in 2008 was quite severe, focusing much more tightly on the mother and her daughter. Upon recently revisiting it I went with the much looser crop you see above.

I think your present crop is perfect: without the rest of the adult world, you'd have lost the smallness of being a child.

Rob C

[RSL]

Damon,

First: It's a very good street photograph. One of the best I've seen on LuLa in quite a while.

But:

#1: Never explain what you were trying to "convey." Always let the viewer come to his own conclusions. A good street photograph involves a story, but it doesn't need to make you understand the story. Ambiguity almost always adds to the picture's impact.

#2: You say that at the time you saw the scene you "made a snap judgment." I, and I suspect a few others on here would like to see the results of your snap judgment: in other words the un-cropped original. In street photography the best crop almost always is the original: the one you saw in the viewfinder when you tripped the shutter. To paraphrase Tuco in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:" "When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't think." Good street photography always is a "snap judgment."

[Rob C]

Damon,

First: It's a very good street photograph. One of the best I've seen on LuLa in quite a while.

But:

#1: Never explain what you were trying to "convey." Always let the viewer come to his own conclusions. A good street photograph involves a story, but it doesn't need to make you understand the story. Ambiguity almost always adds to the picture's impact.

#2: You say that at the time you saw the scene you "made a snap judgment." I, and I suspect a few others on here would like to see the results of your snap judgment: in other words the un-cropped original. In street photography the best crop almost always is the original: the one you saw in the viewfinder when you tripped the shutter. To paraphrase Tuco in "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly:" "When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't think." Good street photography always is a "snap judgment."

Sergio Leone outdid Hollwood every time. And just outside Almeria, at Tabernas (Sorbas), as far as I can tell. I researched it once, along with Old Tucson, but the thing came to nothing... client preferred beaches. Haskins was safe! (This is a joke. About Haskins, I mean.)

Rob C

[Damon Lynch]

Thanks Russ for your feedback. I haven't shared my work in this kind of manner before, so I'm largely unfamiliar with the cultural do's and don'ts. I've attached the full crop. It's missing the edits I did in Photoshop.

[WalterEG]

It is a cracker of a shot and the original capture wins the day for me.

And Rob,

As it turned out, Haskins was NOT safe - possibly didn't even want safety.

Cheers,

W

[RSL]

+1, with a bit of not too careful correction. It's a fine shot, Damon. Your eye was telling you the right thing when you tripped the shutter. One of the most significant things in the picture is the tension between the indifferent mob and the somewhat distraught kid. The more mob the stronger the picture. Very good.

[Rob C]

It is a cracker of a shot and the original capture wins the day for me.

And Rob,

As it turned out, Haskins was NOT safe - possibly didn't even want safety.

Cheers,

W

Not sure what you meant, Walter; I was referring to my not being any threat to Sam's standing in the photo world of Westerns. If you meant that he was physically mortal, yes, we all are, I'm afraid. If you meant that his work was never a matter of 'playing safe' then I think I agree 100% with you. One can never play safe and be the innovator that he turned out to be.

Rob C

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Excellent shot Damon and very nice rim lighting around the child's head to really draw the viewers eye into the shot and straight to the girl - have you tried a B/W version I wonder?

Dave