Composition and all that Arty stuff - discussion thread.

I like this one but feel that such stark curves deserve equally stark B&W treatment. In fact, I wonder if the texture in the clouds doesn't grab too much attention. Maybe a long exposure to blur them out? (or a different time of day to blow out the sky) Either way, well seen .

Was at a literary reading for new writers.
One of the writers had just finished her reading and re-entered the crowd.
So many little private conversations and moments going on - including someone watching the photographer smiling.
Terrible lighting and wasn't really the correct lens so this was the best I could do (50L 1.2 @ F7.1, 1/80th, ISO 4000)

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/q2og​1j

airfrogusmc wrote in post #17529276

That one I was waiting for the right head to get into the center of the circle and the guy yawned just as he got to the right spot. I responded.

As soon as I saw this, I immediately thought of the title to one of Jack London's short stories; Moonface

I need a bit of help deciding between two shots. They're very similar shots (in fact, one is practically a crop of the other) but they feel quite different to me and emphasize different things.

The place is an old, abandoned palace in the medina of Fes, Morocco. As is often the case over there, the original owner had many children and when he died, they couldn't agree on what to do with the place - so that it's essentially left to rot. It's a beautiful place, but clearly falling apart. It's not actually open to visitors though it is mentioned in some guides, but I befriended the caretaker (and his 9 year-old) and he let me wander.

First one for me, no doubt.

#1 is intimate. #2 is more institutional and forbidding. #1 engages me more: it makes me wish to go there and walk around and explore the spaces. As an architectural study, #2 wins, but #1 has more of what interests me.

I wouldn't crop out the right side of #1. You have a nice composition as is, and the dark area on the right sets off the detailed, lit structures at left center.

I like the way the lines on the floor lead the eye into the image and is more pronounced in #2.

1 is more interesting to me. More of a mysterious element. The second one is a bit straightforward, which isn't necessarily bad, but I just prefer the mystery of 1.

Synchronized Stepping....I love it! Great repetition of form.
Nice shadow of the main subject, too - not only his head, but his leg shadow matching the angle of the "ambient shadows".

Thanks Tom,

Without the reflection there would be no photo.

I have really been working on my timing and I can get folks in stride most of the time but I really got lucky with this. I saw the reflection at the same moment I saw this guy starting to step. I shot and just so happened the reflection was still in step.

To get two in stride like that is no mean feat ... superbly photographed. And as Tom said, the shadow of the man's leg lining up with the other shadows is an extra stroke of ... not luck, but you know what I mean ... "The harder I work, the luckier I get" and I think your photographs from the streets tell this out time and again.

Thanks Owain

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #17530536
Was at a literary reading for new writers.
One of the writers had just finished her reading and re-entered the crowd.
So many little private conversations and moments going on - including someone watching the photographer smiling.
Terrible lighting and wasn't really the correct lens so this was the best I could do (50L 1.2 @ F7.1, 1/80th, ISO 4000)

IMAGE LINK: https://flic.kr/p/q2og​1j kar_reading_jun21-4 by wallstreetoneil, on Flickr

This image has a lot going on and there are many things that make this really interesting. But the guy in the white t shirt is so bright he overpowers everything else and keep me from really seeing the other things going on. If those conversations and other subtle things are important to you then you need to bring that bright area of the frame down some in regards to tone. The entire upper left of the frame is to hot and the fan in the bottom left is not helping the image.

airfrogusmc wrote in post #17545662
This image has a lot going on and there are many things that make this really interesting. But the guy in the white t shirt is so bright he overpowers everything else and keep me from really seeing the other things going on. If those conversations and other subtle things are important to you then you need to bring that bright area of the frame down some in regards to tone.

It's interesting that you see it that way, Allen. Part of the scene outside the window is equally bright - totally blown out, and it is roughly equal in size to the bright t-shirt. And then the wall on the left is also blown out just as much as the t-shirt, but is much larger in the frame. And yet the t-shirt is what distracts you, and not these two other elements, despite the fact that one of them is so much larger. Somehow your mind and your eyes are giving more emphasis to the man's t-shirt than they are to those other things.....I wonder why that is?

By the way, Allen, it is great to have you "back", and to see you return to your normal activity level here. I really missed your prolific contributions over the couple/few months.