Art of Photography Exhibition (critique)

Hank I find that the longer I spend with your image the better I like it. The draw is the attitude and street pub setting. I have never shot Chicago at all but I can only imagine there is a vast territory ready to experience.

macroshot wrote in post #12961119
Jason – First, the title: Corrupted Vinyl. I am one of those people that likes it when a photo and title play off of each other. Whether others might agree or not is irrelevant because right from GO it sets a reference point for me to follow you, the photographer, as you present the image. Second, I would not have guessed that this was not an LP spinning on a turntable so the fact that it is light reflected off another surface, and multiple exposures no less, makes it more appealing. This week simply presented other images that captured my attention in a different way. I still like this photo and it stands on its own merit as an excellent photograph.

Actually, this is one of eight frames I took. I think this is #6 of the set. So, it's not multiple exposures.

Jason C

macroshot wrote in post #12961119
Allen – At first this shot seems almost too simplistic, just another walk-by shot. Then I start to see the numerous pieces in action inside the car and through the windshield. The guy wearing the I <heart> NY shirt, which leads to the dog, which leads to the woman , her face obscured by the mirror but slightly voyeuristic as I look at her unbuttoned shirt, and then right out the window. But not before I catch the other dog peering out the window, to the next car with the derelict license plate (great touch) and then I am realizing the third car follows a line just as I am kicked forward to the two women. I feel like a pinball. It’s a fun journey and it’s a great capture. Part of me wants to know if all of this was intentional…but I really don’t want to ruin it by hearing it wasn’t.

Hank if I said I saw all of that at the moment of exposure I would be a liar But I did see some of it. I did see the her pose the other dog looking at the people on the street and the inability to see her face and the interaction of the guy and the dog, the car with the license plate askew and the strong triangular (upside down triangle) composition with the point or tip of the triangle being the dog being scratched and the line following out the back of that dogs head to the black dog conituing straight following his gazr to the ladies on hte street with the one ladies gaze making a line back ti the driver and his eyes going back down to the dog (point of the triangle)/ I did see that.

One thing that Winogrand, Frank, Bresson, Weyerowitz and all the great street guys did and do was train themselves and their vision by working and doing this all the time so it becomes second nature. Thats why they worked with simple equipment and hyper focused and pre set exposure so all they had to do is respond by clicking the shutter once all the elements come together. I am far from that but I do get lucky once in a very great while.

Putting yourself in the right places for it to happen is half the battle.

Thanks for the comments.

Jason C wrote in post #12970558
Actually, this is one of eight frames I took. I think this is #6 of the set. So, it's not multiple exposures.

Jason C

airfrogusmc wrote in post #12973350
Hank if I said I saw all of that at the moment of exposure I would be a liar But I did see some of it. I did see the her pose the other dog looking at the people on the street and the inability to see her face and the interaction of the guy and the dog, the car with the license plate askew and the strong triangular (upside down triangle) composition with the point or tip of the triangle being the dog being scratched and the line following out the back of that dogs head to the black dog conituing straight following his gazr to the ladies on hte street with the one ladies gaze making a line back ti the driver and his eyes going back down to the dog (point of the triangle)/ I did see that.

One thing that Winogrand, Frank, Bresson, Weyerowitz and all the great street guys did and do was train themselves and their vision by working and doing this all the time so it becomes second nature. Thats why they worked with simple equipment and hyper focused and pre set exposure so all they had to do is respond by clicking the shutter once all the elements come together. I am far from that but I do get lucky once in a very great while.

Putting yourself in the right places for it to happen is half the battle.

Thanks for the comments.

Well then I take it all back.

This week I really enjoy Hank's angles, frames, lines, windows in windows theme. Worked really well filling the frame with interesting content and an abstract self portrait. Lots of elbows in Allen's image. I counted 11. Really interesting use of shadows, light, and "in the moment" interpretation. Jason gets my cosmic order of the highest magnitude award for the deepest subject penetration with the least amount of ordered light. Love the theme. There you have it.

Okay, my head is still recovering from spending mega-hours in the hot sun the last few days, so I'm off my critique game...hence few words.

Joe: Like the lines and repeating shapes, just wish the was there was another focal point to either get to, or be led away from.

Allen: I get the elbows all over the place, but the handicap signage throws a curve ball in the frame.

Hank: Nice effort, but just does not quite connect with me on a cerebral level.

Me: Who knows what the hell I'm thinking about when I click the shutter. I'm semi-obsessed with OOF captures. My bottom pick for the week.


Jason C

That theme "somewhere in the night" Jason could be central to a book or portfolio. This particular impression was stark and in that regard the message was obvious because of the shape of the light source and the colors.

Jason C wrote in post #13016348
Okay, my head is still recovering from spending mega-hours in the hot sun the last few days, so I'm off my critique game...hence few words.

Joe: Like the lines and repeating shapes, just wish the was there was another focal point to either get to, or be led away from.

Allen: I get the elbows all over the place, but the handicap signage throws a curve ball in the frame.

Hank: Nice effort, but just does not quite connect with me on a cerebral level.

Me: Who knows what the hell I'm thinking about when I click the shutter. I'm semi-obsessed with OOF captures. My bottom pick for the week.


Jason C

Jason it has a very similar shape as to the shape of all the elbows, the angle of the sitting figure and the arrow (including mine which is the shadow in the left side of the frame) don't ya think?

Man, am I getting confused over what week we're in.

Joe - I like the repeats as they work from the top but that damn wall just makes my eyes slam on the brakes almost immediately after beginning the visual journey. That's too bad.

Allen - clever image but just not working for me. It really bothers me when I can't offer something more substantial than "it doesn't work for me" but there isn't a connection point for me in this image.

Jason - I read your comment about being obsessed with OOF stuff but I guess that seems to be working on some level for me because for whatever reason, I pretty much liked this. Colors, shapes, movement - maybe I'm somehow regressing into some level of dementia.

As for mine, well, again it's just a weird artifact of the day. If I can get into a shooting "zone" things tend to pop out for me and this was one of those moments - seeing something that wouldn't have been there had I just been walking by otherwise. Nothing more to it than that.

macroshot wrote in post #13030434
Joe - I like the repeats as they work from the top but that damn wall just makes my eyes slam on the brakes almost immediately after beginning the visual journey. That's too bad.

Kind of like a tease, a hurdle, a burden to deal with in obtaining fulfillment.

This last week was interesting. 3 street shots. Of the street shots Jason's was by far the most entertaining. I dig the effect you were able to create in generating a mystery.

Allen the family scene is probably a great subject for a lot of people but doesn't do much for me. Add Canon's famous "warm beer" color bias and there you have it. I do appreciate the various gestures and the timing involved in capturing that frame.

Hank I have no real interest in this image. The intention may be sufficient but the visual statement is weak in my opinion. A girl walking between 2 cars in traffic in the shade snapshot style.

While the image I presented has the least to do with literal photography it reminds me that I should probably be focusing on painting rather than photography. I will never stick a camera in someones face and shoot their family. Not my MO. The street people are easy. Buy them dinner.

jetcode wrote in post #13051842
This last week was interesting. 3 street shots. Of the street shots Jason's was by far the most entertaining. I dig the effect you were able to create in generating a mystery.

Allen the family scene is probably a great subject for a lot of people but doesn't do much for me. Add Canon's famous "warm beer" color bias and there you have it. I do appreciate the various gestures and the timing involved in capturing that frame.

Hank I have no real interest in this image. The intention may be sufficient but the visual statement is weak in my opinion. A girl walking between 2 cars in traffic in the shade snapshot style.

While the image I presented has the least to do with literal photography it reminds me that I should probably be focusing on painting rather than photography. I will never stick a camera in someones face and shoot their family. Not my MO. The street people are easy. Buy them dinner.

Thanks Joe. I am really on the fence about the image which is why I used it. It's somewhat pedestrian (no pun intended) and OOF, and blurry, but has other elements that appealed to me. Like I've always said, if I post it, it's open season for comments - I wouldn't have used it in a different contest for example. And yes, it is more snapshot-style and I think that's why I edited it the way I did; with the intention of not attempting to clean it up but use what was present to see if there was anything worthwhile in there or not.

My biases were exposed last week with Hank and Allen images. Both are representative of fully qualified photographers so what's the beef? I ask of myself. I think my value system for imagery is too high (particular to a certain level of draw) which in my mind leaves a lot of imagery behind. Oddly enough I use the same criteria to pick my images which as scores have pointed out do not map all that well to the tastes of others. That is a lesson all to it's own. So I have had a strong urge to either find a unique identity that speaks deeply inside or abandon photography all together and commit to oil painting which is immensely satisfying in the few times I have partaken in it.

So Joe my question; even if its an area that you don't like can't you still apply the same visual process as to how you judge a piece thats in an area that you really do like? Just curious.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #13054961
So Joe my question; even if its an area that you don't like can't you still apply the same visual process as to how you judge a piece thats in an area that you really do like? Just curious.

Of course but then again why do I gravitate towards VanGogh over Chagall?
Should that matter when judging or grading?
Should I let likes and dislikes influence?
What makes value in art?
Why do we get up in the morning?