Hi Frank, One of the problems we photographers have is that of separating ourselves - our emotional attachment and involvement with a scene - from what makes a good photograph. We must train ourselves to see with unemotional eyes, thinking of composition and lighting, not so much about how we like the subject, or how the music makes us feel, etc.
Since the guy plays in a studied and quiet way, maybe you could have tried to capture that aspect of his playing with different ways of photographing him. Wider lens, longer lens, less DOF, different angles ... yiu know, my usual kvetches. Of course, sometimes no matter what you do, a photo just isn't there. BTW, there's not a damned thing wrong with making a photo "just because you like it." Shel > Sorry about the intro. I was joking around about preconceptions about > "jazz culture" more than I meant to introduce the photo, but from > re-reading my initial post, I can see where I should have just posted > the link. > > In terms of the photo, well, that's the way the guy played. Very > studied and quiet (in terms of body language); he just stood there > with his eyes closed and played all night, very little connection with > the audience other than his music. > > In terms of the cut off hand, I think that I was looking for balance > in terms of the body of the guitar, so to me at the time of shooting, > the hand was almost incidental. I know that cutting off hands is > thought not to be a good thing to do, but (again) it doesn't really > bother me in this pic, but I certainly understand how it would bother > some (obviously, you, anyway... <vbg>) > > Of course, one might then wonder why I'd choose this photo given his > lack of dynamicism, and I guess my answer would be that I just liked > the look of it (which is pretty much why I post anything, I guess > <g>). I appreciate your thoughts and comments, however. I guess the > fact that I was there to experience the show has affected my > objectivity WRT the images of the concert. That's the beauty of > posting PAWs: to get a dose of objectivity in what (for me) is a very > subjective process. > > Thanks again. Your comments are most appreciated. > > cheers, > frank > > > -- > "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
