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Author Topic: Reflective Shoppers  (Read 2384 times)

Chris Calohan

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Reflective Shoppers
« on: September 23, 2012, 12:52:36 am »

« Last Edit: September 23, 2012, 08:04:15 pm by chrisc »
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Rob C

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #1 on: September 23, 2012, 04:50:54 am »

I heard on Aljazeera this morning that the U.S. throws out 40-something percent of all its food as uneaten waste. Imagine if it wasted none.

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Chris Calohan

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #2 on: September 23, 2012, 07:48:03 am »

By 2020, the US will have an obesity rate approaching 80% of its population. You cannot go into a restaurant and get less food than would easily feed two. When my wife and I dine out, we decide on something we both like and order a single with two plates. Plenty of food and even then we sometimes take food home. I am a firm believer in waste not, want not.
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Rob C

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #3 on: September 23, 2012, 08:59:52 am »

By 2020, the US will have an obesity rate approaching 80% of its population. You cannot go into a restaurant and get less food than would easily feed two. When my wife and I dine out, we decide on something we both like and order a single with two plates. Plenty of food and even then we sometimes take food home. I am a firm believer in waste not, want not.



That's a damned good value to have. I imagine that if more of us shared it we wouldn't find ourselves in the crisis in which we all do. From overproduction to over consumption, it all leads inevitably to waste and more destruction of the natual world than is necessary. But greed in all its many forms is an unfortunate factor in most of the human world. We share it with dogs, if not with cats.

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RSL

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2012, 11:38:31 am »

I am a firm believer in waste not, want not.

Right, Chris. The problem always starts with the waist and goes downhill from there.
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shutterpup

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2012, 07:03:47 pm »

I'm curious about the title you gave. Did you mean "reflective?" I looked up relective, thinking it was a word I didn't know; didn't find it.
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Chris Calohan

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2012, 08:05:01 pm »

I'm curious about the title you gave. Did you mean "reflective?" I looked up relective, thinking it was a word I didn't know; didn't find it.

Just fixed that...another good reason not to post when you are tired.
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Rob C

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Re: Relective Shoppers
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2012, 05:25:48 am »

Just fixed that...another good reason not to post when you are tired.

Chris, I post in the morning after breakfast and again before going to bed; in both cases I'm tired. I sympathise with your predicament, but during more awake hours I have to eat, too. Then I have to walk and maybe shoot something if it says Hi! Here I am!

Post and run the risk: we love you anyway, Minis notwithstanding.

;-)

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Randy Carone

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2012, 11:07:57 am »

There is a restaurant/bar in my town that offers half-orders of most of their pasta dishes. When I order a full plate I usually take home half, so the half order suits me well and the added value allows for a second martini. lol
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Randy Carone

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2012, 11:16:22 am »

Chris, Sorry, but I have to ask this: What's the point of this picture? Is it just the woman's fat butt? What struck you about the scene?
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Chris Calohan

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2012, 11:58:47 am »

It was somewhat about the fat and skinny together nicely divided into four segments. It was really more about the reflection as a testament to how people shop: they stop, look, handle, comment to one another and sometimes actually buy something. Mostly, they just mosey about. This was just one of those moments when they seemed to be in a reflective state of handling.
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Rob C

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2012, 03:39:45 pm »

Just my idiosyncratic head, but I think this, and many more street/people shots, look far, far better when they lose that awfully crisp, posed, digital quality. Add some noise grain and make shots less sharp. A little softness, less perfection, lends credibility that it isn't teamwork.

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Rob C

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #12 on: September 24, 2012, 03:45:57 pm »

There is a restaurant/bar in my town that offers half-orders of most of their pasta dishes. When I order a full plate I usually take home half, so the half order suits me well and the added value allows for a second martini. lol


It would be rescued by drinkling wine instead; a martini will anaesthetise you and kill the pasta too - with wine you could find you enjoy the entire pasta at one go. On the other hand, in some situations, a little anaesthetic helps, but there's usually a choice of restaurants, as long as you're not here in winter.

;-)

Rob C

amolitor

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #13 on: September 24, 2012, 03:47:59 pm »

Interesting - I wonder if we can "see" zone focused work? It's all "sharp" when it's done right, but the actual plane of "sharpestness" is usually not on the subject. Has AF fundamentally changed the way street looks?
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RSL

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #14 on: September 24, 2012, 05:45:15 pm »

It was somewhat about the fat and skinny together nicely divided into four segments. It was really more about the reflection as a testament to how people shop: they stop, look, handle, comment to one another and sometimes actually buy something. Mostly, they just mosey about. This was just one of those moments when they seemed to be in a reflective state of handling.

The problem I see is that there's no indication this is a reflection. It could just as easily be a shot through a window.
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Chris Calohan

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #15 on: September 24, 2012, 07:44:33 pm »

For the most part I like your comments, Russ, but sometimes...."meh" and this is not because of the comment itself, but because I often don't see your point, either.

I understand your perception, but through the glass or as a reflection, isn't it the implied imagery which is more important than the reflection (or not)? How does this become a problem?

In some ways it is like your Friedlander shot. Should anyone worry that he shot almost everything from a somewhat oblique angle and rarely dead straight on, or should we understand that you were not copying his work, merely imitating the style? Had you not titled it in the style of Friedlander, how many people would have recognized his style in your work? More importantly, does it really matter? I liked it for the image quality and tonal range. I found the image to be a bit more cluttered than I would normally like, but using your reference to Friedlander I at least understood the intent.

In many ways this is something I find a bit quirky about this part of the forum and this is to everyone. There seems to be an over amount of second guessing, worrying over stuff which has not cause for worry, criticizing merely for the sake of having a differing opinion rather than simply enjoying what someone else's eye recorded and commenting thusly. I spent hours and hours of my life comparing and contrasting photographic styles to students and while I think it is important to be aware of those who have come before us, I don't let it permeate everything I do. There are always influences but I would rather what I do be a reflection of my developing style than to basque in the glory of someone else's. That is their accollade and mine to perhaps someday earn.

Still, there is much to learn, so I will continue to be a part as long as I am allowed.

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RSL

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Re: Reflective Shoppers
« Reply #16 on: September 24, 2012, 09:51:29 pm »

I understand your perception, but through the glass or as a reflection, isn't it the implied imagery which is more important than the reflection (or not)? How does this become a problem?

Hi, Chris. The problem is that you depended on the reflection to make a play on words for a title, and yet there isn't anything in the picture to identify the reflection as a reflection.

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In some ways it is like your Friedlander shot. Should anyone worry that he shot almost everything from a somewhat oblique angle and rarely dead straight on, or should we understand that you were not copying his work, merely imitating the style? Had you not titled it in the style of Friedlander, how many people would have recognized his style in your work? More importantly, does it really matter? I liked it for the image quality and tonal range. I found the image to be a bit more cluttered than I would normally like, but using your reference to Friedlander I at least understood the intent.

First off, most people haven't a clue who Friedlander is, so it's unlikely most people would understand a comparison with his style under any circumstances. Actually I'd be very reluctant to sum up Friedlander's work in terms of shooting angle. He did obliques fairly often, but I can refer you to plenty of alternative angles. And yes, I'm happy and proud to admit that that image was a long way from a Friedlander. It was a Russ Lewis, but Friedlander popped into my head when I saw the scene.

Quote
In many ways this is something I find a bit quirky about this part of the forum and this is to everyone. There seems to be an over amount of second guessing, worrying over stuff which has not cause for worry, criticizing merely for the sake of having a differing opinion rather than simply enjoying what someone else's eye recorded and commenting thusly. I spent hours and hours of my life comparing and contrasting photographic styles to students and while I think it is important to be aware of those who have come before us, I don't let it permeate everything I do. There are always influences but I would rather what I do be a reflection of my developing style than to basque in the glory of someone else's. That is their accollade and mine to perhaps someday earn.

Still, there is much to learn, so I will continue to be a part as long as I am allowed.
 

I don't know who would disallow you, Chris, unless you were to follow in the footsteps of a guy like Dale Thorn, who managed to get himself permanently kicked off the forum.

And I agree that a lot of nitpicking goes on, usually with suggestions about crops and clones, but after all, the title of his particular forum is "User Critiques." Perhaps one reason there's nitpicking is that too often people post stuff that's not ready to be posted, and many of us are reluctant to let go with a full-throated critique to people who've joined recently.
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