Composition and all that Arty stuff - discussion thread.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16616035
Yeah, fair enough Shane.

I do think that tilt also adds a bit of a whimsical feel besides creating a tension and movement to the subject. Normal is what I try to avoid like the plague

I actually like the tilt and it does exactly what you stated in the earlier post. My eyes slide across the wig window to the bald guy. Haha! Kind of helping me read the "story".

Meanwhile in S. FL...
I am practicing wide angle close-ups with a 15mm. I try to avoid normal too. Close-ups with no background get old for me.
@jetcode: This may look better sliced and diced.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …12742168@N08/12​017485946/

I like the perspective and the way you are using the frame in this.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #16615452
I'd like to keep enjoying your honesty, so I hope it won't lead to a ban.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16615467
As long as it doesn't get personal and stays about the work it should be just fine.

I can't stop anyone from having a reaction or getting banned but I can assure you I deal strictly with what takes place in a frame. Criticism is an invitation to expand. Not always. Some criticism is decidedly obtuse and uniformed. I am glad I had to deal with the psychology of my own head in regards to criticism. It liberates me because I no longer have to defend my work. It sinks or swims. Your choice. If someone threw tomatoes at a show I hung I would grab the camera and shoot it. The results might be better than what was there before! Riding the tide so to speak.

bidkev wrote in post #16615318
Thanks JC for your comments and a different slant on the image, but it's not what i hope I was conveying (JC? that's Messianic? ) b

I cannot not deduce emotional content from faceless silhouette figures unless gestures are involved. Lots of people cross that bridge and they may travel in packs.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16615327
Joe I like the B&W best.

OhLook wrote in post #16615750
For that subject, I prefer the slightly faded version.

Thanks. No body of work here. I liked the decaying sign of humanity in a less than decaying natural setting. The grass keeps growing year after year. So does the rust. I am a serious texture junkie.

Rust Never Sleeps...

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16615870
redux

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO

This is a big improvement. Cleaning up the bricks adds clarity to the leading line foreground by reducing distraction. Nice job bringing the garments out. That makes for a faster acclimation of target. The flag symbology becomes stronger. I'd like to see this in a gallery collection of your best street. You have at least 50 really solid images. Probably 3 solid portfolios or styles or statements. Make a great show. That's where we get to see what Allen is about. Not so easy one image at a time.


Thanks for hanging in and providing great wisdom.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16616193
Rust Never Sleeps...

So I have been told ...

You're welcome. And I hope we can continue to keep these in depth conversations going in this thread.

Yeah I had to clean up a little of the crap laying around. I hope I didn't gp over the top and make it obvious. I will get a better idea with the print. It just might not be enough for that.

bugadrienne wrote in post #16616092
Meanwhile in S. FL...
I am practicing wide angle close-ups with a 15mm. I try to avoid normal too. Close-ups with no background get old for me.
@jetcode: This may look better sliced and diced.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …12742168@N08/12​017485946/
Today in S. FL by bugadrienne, on Flickr

The idea is reasonable however the light at this time is giving us hard shadows. Personally I am not fond of black in a color image unless the subject is actually black. I think this might look much different in the nice landscape light of sunrise, sunset, or haze reduced direct lighting. Every once in a while atmospherics will provide the most exquisite day light. That's when color comes alive in subtlety and richness. With harsh light the colors are more intense and subtlety is reduced. Now you may be able to make some adjustments in CS to balance the color a little better. Perhaps some fill light.

Another thing to consider is the relationship between elements in the image. I find shooting nature to be one of the most difficult sports of all. You can't bend nature. One cool trick that goes way back to Ansel is to walk around with a 2:3 35mm sized cardboard cutout and use it to frame the image. I have used this technique for many formats. I use this with a 6x17 1:3 panoramic camera. Once I see exactly what I want to shoot I set the camera up. If I don't I will often pass. Of course for street capture strategy is completely different. Tripods are not involved which is very convenient.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16616235
Yeah I had to clean up a little of the crap laying around. I hope I didn't gp over the top and make it obvious. I will get a better idea with the print. It just might not be enough for that.

Before CS some landscapers would police a scene which meant reduce distractions. Move twigs. Clean surfaces. It looks fine. Let them have less distraction. It makes the print a little more surreal.

Fan-Ho interprets Allen Bourgeois

jetcode wrote in post #16616364
Before CS some landscapers would police a scene which meant reduce distractions. Move twigs. Clean surfaces. It looks fine. Let them have less distraction. It makes the print a little more surreal.

Fan-Ho interprets Allen Bourgeous

and it's bourgeois....

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16615870
redux

This really brings out the flag motif that I missed before. Now, maybe because you swept the pavement in PP, the slightly darker area to the left of the woman's plastic bag bothers me. It's distracting because it's so close to the figure.

jetcode wrote in post #16616188
I can't stop anyone from having a reaction or getting banned but I can assure you I deal strictly with what takes place in a frame.

Well, and my chutzpah, which knows no borders.

No? At least two viewers here did get the message about tension within that family.

OhLook wrote in post #16616778
This really brings out the flag motif that I missed before. Now, maybe because you swept the pavement in PP, the slightly darker area to the left of the woman's plastic bag bothers me. It's distracting because it's so close to the figure.

Well, and my chutzpah, which knows no borders.

No? At least two viewers here did get the message about tension within that family.

yeah I actually thought about taking it out to I guess I probably should.

DocFrankenstein wrote in post #16607686
Porn can be art.

IMHO this thread is about composition. And the title has been bugging me for a while. Because it implies that composition is related only to "arty stuff", as if you don't need to compose commercial work and vacation snapshots. Or there's a divide between "arty stuff" with snobby things like composition, shutter speeds and apertures and the free spirited normal photography that's subjective and unconstrained by rules.

I'd call it "illustrated study of elements and principles of design"

This has nothing to do with commercial viability, subject matter or definition of art.

Just take the darn picture and talk about lines, shapes, colors, where the eye travels and how it relates to portrayal of subject matter.

These threads are never anticipated to be so popular.

The original name was more an attempt to separate this thread from the hundreds of gear head threads on this forum (which has its own place of course), and was a very quick decision...

mikekelley wrote in post #16607941
Because it is the first class cabin of the only remaining Pan-Am 747 in the world, where the seats get closer together in the nose.

And what defines 'art' to you? Evoking an emotion is art to me, telling a story is art to me. Two things, which, in my opinion, that photo does pretty well.

Two things which a simple street snap can also do well (as has been pointed out many times). Commercial photography is focused on telling a story, creating a response in the viewer. Some of it is the greatest artistic photography you will ever see. Check out Erik Almas.

I have to agree with this, creating commercial work can be just as artistic as non-commercial work, great image by the way and as a commercial photographer myself, I can understand all the planning that goes into this shot, just the uniforms and clothing alone would have been a sourcing exercise that was probably quite lengthy...

[QUOTE=elrey2375;16609​280]Ok, staying with black and white but a very different subject matter

1798 x 2125

EMBED PREVENTED, IMAGE TOO LARGE: http://imageshack.com/​a/img96/7411/imgl7984.​jpg Click here to see our image rules.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #16613521
Seeing is part of your work. Composition and the way you put your images together is all part of seeing. Understanding how line, shape, tone, framing etc all work and then putting it together in a way that reflects you personally is what I've been taking about. Joe come on pay attention.

Again from Weston.
" “composition” becomes a personal thing, to be developed along with technique, as a personal way of seeing."-Edward Weson

And I'll post this again. Worth a watch and timely for this part of the conversation.
It really gets interesting about 3 min in.
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=Xumo7_JUeMo

Good video.