Seen Better Days

[rick barclay]

Comments and suggestions encouraged.

http://flashdaddee.com/CRW_1408b.jpg

[cgratti]

very cool, i would crop out more of the brick wall on the right though. other than that, very interesting

[Meerkat17]

I have to agree with cgratti but I think I'd crop it all out of the picture as there's enough interest without it.

Nice capture

David

[rick barclay]

Cropped out all of the wall first. Didn't really like it too much, so I'm left
with this. Thanks for your input, guys.

http://flashdaddee.com/CRW_1408c.jpg

[cgratti]

Cropped out all of the wall first. Didn't really like it too much, so I'm left
with this. Thanks for your input, guys.

http://flashdaddee.com/CRW_1408c.jpg

I like that 100% better....

[elbirth]

agreed, that 2nd one is fantastic. I think cropping all of the wall would be cutting it too close and putting the old lady too close to the edge. I like what you did with it.

[rick barclay]

That's exactly what happened, elbirth. Thanks for the encouragement,
people.

This foto was taken in Asbury Park, N.J., which to me is fertile ground
for phtographers, because it prents extreme contrasts among the
wealth that once was, the poverty that now is, and the emerging
renaissance (sp), reconstruction, and rebirth of a city that once was
known as the "Jewel of the Jersey Shore" and ranked right up there with
Atlantic City as a world class resort.

I can't tell you of the innumerable visits my family made to A.P. in my
early youth, or of the endless hours of fun we and everyone else who went there had. It fell on hard times after rioting broke out on July 4, 1970
and has been in the doldrums ever since. Or so I thought. At first glance the A.P. boardwalk, one of the widest I've ever seen, looks deserted amid
a mile long stetch of boarded up shops and empty lots between the
two anchoring buildings, Convention Hall and the Casino. Both anchors
look like bombed out transplants from World War Two Europe. Indeed,
the picture of the bag lady uses the once famous Casino as its backdrop.
But as one strides along the boardwalk today, he notices cerrtain things
that give pause to his original impression. The boardwalk itself is brand
spanking new and beautiful to walk upon. There is construction going on
everywhere. The Boardwalk, while still grossly under utilized, nevertheless
is being used by visitors for the simple enjoyment of walking along its
length and enjoying the fresh ocean air that washes over everything. The
beach, never known as an attraction in and of itself, is piled up with an
abundance of new sand. It's clean, nice to walk on, and best of all people
once again are using it. I have pictures of all this, but they will in no
way convey the true impression one gets when he comes here. Unfortunately, the opposite is still true. The pictures are disturbing. They
are revolting. The are prime fodder for a photographer like me, indeed, any photographer, who exults in the unusual and the absurd. I only hope I can display them here in such a way that makes one sit up in his chair
and say, "Holy cripes," or something like that. I have my doubts, but dang it, I'm going to give it a try.

[elbirth]

something else I just noticed and hadn't paid too much attention to before...
her right foot seems to have a thicker shoe than her left foot... was that the case, or is it some kind of distortion in the photo?

[rick barclay]

No. I don't think so. I looked at the raw file, and it looks to me like she's
wearing two different types of shoes. There's no distortion that I can see.

[elbirth]

Ok, interesting... I think that's a good example in the photo of the poverty of the area

[rick barclay]

You know, I had noticed that about her before, but I just thought
maybe one shoe was more worn than the other. I stared at that raw file
for quite a while. If you want I could post just the color photo of just her
and you can judge for yourself. It's pretty difficult to tell, IMO.

[berto]

great shot.
compositionwise, i think its very good. nothing wrong with putting the sujjectinthe middle as long as helps to tell a story

berto

[rick barclay]

Thanks berto. But I'm going to try to place my subjects on one side or
another, a la (place any photographer's name here.).

Centered subjects seem to be a no, no. I confess, I don't much like them myself, except in special circumstances, whatever that means.

[elbirth]

If you want I could post just the color photo of just her
and you can judge for yourself. It's pretty difficult to tell, IMO.

Sure, if you want to do that, I'll take a look at it myself... if you don't have it handy, don't worry about it though, it's not that much of a big deal

[dphoto]

Hey Rick,

Nice shot! My first impression was also to cut the brick wall completely out of the shot. Just using my scroll bar in this window I cut it out and, in my opinion, it makes the shot a whole lot better. I don't think it's too close of a cut at all. Anyhow, just my opinion.

As for her feet, they look like different shoes entirely. Maybe she has one leg longer than the other? Or maybe she couldn't find matching shoes.

Thanks for sharing!
-Deva

[berto]

hi rick,

check this out,
http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutorials/compose_expose/thirds.html

it describes the rule of thirds. one of many methods on composing pictures

berto

[rick barclay]

Try this on for size:

http://flashdaddee.com/CRW_1408d.jpg

Two different footwears, definitely. She has problems.

Thanks for the ref, Berto. I've read all about the rule of thirds and swear to you I don't understand it. I pretty much just post what looks good to me. Hence, the original uncropped image. You guy's suggestions are
invaluable to everyone here, and they are appreciated.

[elbirth]

yep... that's definitely 2 different kinds of shoes... but hey, at least it looks like she's got matching socks...

[Big_B]

I've seen people wearing them before. It looks like one of those medical shoes you get if your legs are different lengths or whatever.

[elbirth]

I've seen people wearing them before. It looks like one of those medical shoes you get if your legs are different lengths or whatever.

*smacks head*
ahh yes! That didn't even cross my mind! I'm used to seeing them as a blue canvas type deal with a big white velcro strap for people that break their foot or something! The stiffness of it definitely points to that, thanks for pointing that out to us :)