Hi Take ...
I took a photo workshop about a month ago, and one of the points the
instructor made was that many people don't pay attention to, or
miss, small items in the background of their photos. Of course, he
was right, and when I looked at many of my old photos I observed
that the reason many were unsatisfactory was because of these small,
overlooked distractions, some of which I never noticed but which,
nonetheless, affected the final print. It's all to easy to see the
main subject in a scene, but it's just as easy to not see small
details on the edges or in the background/foreground.
Was this photograph set up, or was it just a candid shot of scene
you happened across? If you set it up, did you shoot several
versions of it, or just this one shot? I ask you this because I
recall a photograph by Eliott Erwitt that is similar to yours in
some ways. His photo was of a man riding a bicycle with a little
boy on the back. Erwitt shot an entire roll of film of just that
scene, having the man (his assistant) ride the bicycle past the same
point many times, and from those negatives the perfect one was
chosen.
I mention this about your photo, and in the context of a discussion
we had here some time ago, in which it was considered how worthwhile
it is to shoot many frames of the same scene. Erwin's results
indicate that it can be important, especially if the photo is
important. In his case he needed a "money" shot for an
advertisement. In your case you were doing something similar -
shooting to illustrate a movie made by a friend, a situation where
getting ~the~ shot, rather than a shot, could be important.
After the discussion on the Pentax list, and after the workshop I
attended, I went to a zoo to spend a day making photographs. I
decided to put into practice what had been discussed and what I
learned. There was a man carrying his small son on his back while
watching a performance by some elephants. I took a shot or two from
behind, showing the boy on his father's back, and then decided to
continue shooting. Every shot - and I took about 24 - was almost
the same. Just very subtle differences. Sometimes the father's
hand was held differently, sometimes the boy's head was in a
slightly different position. When the photos were laid out next to
each other the very subtle differences became more obvious, and it
became clear that two or three of the photos were superior to the
others.
So, for a shot like yours, perhaps exposing more than one or two
frames could have been helpful.
And yes, the balance in the photo is certainly a matter of taste.
Cultural differences may also enter into it, as might the intent of
the photograph, and I thought about that while considering my
comment. However, by making the comment without asking about these
differences, I felt that a more candid discussion could result,
which, it seems, is just what happened.
The thing about your photograph is that, on first viewing, it did
nothing for me. I felt it to be rather bland, and not a very good
photo. However, upon viewing it a second and third time, I began to
see more of what you intended, and then tried to find ways that it
could be improved. Of course, it's your vision, so my comments have
only as much value as you want to give them. I thought also about a
longer lens, in which the background might be more out of focus, and
which might have yielded a tighter crop, but then then relationship
between the people and the path may have suffered, I think the
parallel sides of the path are important to this picture, and that's
why I thought a wider angle lens (not necessarily a wide angle lens)
and a closer POV would have been worthwhile to try.
Other thoughts: what if the people were holding hands? or were
closer/further apart? Or if the man was on the right? Or if you
shot from a lower perspective? Maybe one of those choices would
have improved things, maybe not.
--
Sheldon Belinkoff
CREATURE'S COMFORT
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Takehiko Ueda wrote:
>
> Hi Shel,
>
> Thank you for your comment.
>
> > First there's the motorcycle that shows in the distance
> > between the two people. Did you notice it when making the
> > shot? It takes away from the feel of the scene, as does
> > the light pole on the right.
>
> I didn't notice the motorcycle. After I read your comment,
> I looked at the pic again, and it does be distracting.
> Rather, I was careful about the wind condition.
>
> As to the light pole, I intended to show the depth, but
> seems in vain... :(
>
> > The trees on the left and the open sky on the right make
> > the photograph feel off balance.
>
> This will be the matter of "taste". I like this style.
>
> > Perhaps being in closer with a wider lens might have
> > helped.
>
> Maybe true. However, I didn't need/want much DOF here. So
> I chose the middle telephoto lens, instead of wider one.
> Maybe a 50mm at a wider aperture might have been better.
>
> > Also, there seems to be some sort of white, rectangular
> > structure in the background that seems to be "growing"
> > out of the woman's right shoulder - another distraction.
>
> Looking at a print, there is no such ghost in it. Maybe
> this is a noise caused by the scanner. I tried again and
> again to re-scan the neg, but could not get a better result.
> I admit it is distracting.
>
> > This is the kind of photo where less detail would offer
> > more impact. Here's a simple, quick crop without the
> > light pole.
> >
> > http://home.earthlink.net/~belinkoff/tomorrow2.jpg
> >
> > What do you think?
>
> Hmmm. In fact, I don't like cropping, but still this seems
> better. (Please don't start up the cropping flame war
> again...;)) However, to my eyes, the original one LOOKS
> stable, I mean balanced. Another matter of taste?
>
> Well, thank you for your detailed comment, Shel. You're so
> instructive. Another motivation to go out shooting photos!!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> ****************************
> Take Ueda, Osaka, Japan
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> http://members.tripod.co.jp/hayatama/photo/
>
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