We have the rainy season now, which means that the heat of summer is just around the corner... What happend to the first half of the year, hard to believe it's already July.
was the man in the transport carrying on his wheels? a vendor of some sort?
cool though about the 2 umbrella-ed pedestrians facing away in the same direction. to me that was the highlight of the pic though I wished the feet weren't cropped but i guess it could not have been avoided during that moment.
Japan. Near the office you see more push carts, but this was taken in a residential area so the bicycle (and wagon) is much more effecient. Small delivery vans are also common, but I think the bicycle is a nice touch... .
The two umbrellas are waiting for the train to pass before crossing. Yes, that young girl in the front was moving around impatiently, and I was glad to get her to one side for this shot. Best to leave the feet attached when possible.
we're all wondering what happened to the first half of the year!
it's been raining here but without the accompanying coolness that go with the season. raining. but humid. of course, i still welcome it as summer was just way too hot.
KT, malaysia must be worse where humidity is concerned so i shouldn't really complain
Casey, are the folks in your area pretty much oblivious to the camera like how they are in HongKong? Since it's the birthplace of two of the world's leading DSLR manufacturers, I'm kinda thinking that people don't care much when and where and who you shoot.
Echi, in fact that little girl in the photo was giving me
July 1 2009, 8:52 PM
a little "trouble". I wanted to take a photo of the delivery guy and she kept posing in front of the bicycle .
Most of the time there is no issue taking photos, but of course one still uses common sense and respect. Certain parts of the city would be exceptions. In some of the night spots, it's okay to be in your face, but some parts of Shinjuku I would think twice before even taking my camera out of the bag... some people definately do not want their actions recorded and would have no problem making that your problem.
is really bad still in KL. temperature lately ranges from 26-36 degree celcius on a daily basis... but at least the haze is absent for a while. what irritates most of us is the rain... it always looks like it's coming but then when it finally pours, it does so in anemic trickles and then goes away. it's like wanting the sneeze... but the sneeze never comes even though u make a funny face to prepare for it.
Did you try different cropping options with this one? I would have liked to see most of the left side out of the picture so that the paver patterns of the floor and the bricks of the facade would be more prominent and help frame better the bicycle guy.. But at the same time, the background is quite busy and probably would not be a good idea, and of course the umbrellas are important... This is a tricky one, but no doubt interesting. It's one of those with multiple options and no definitive solution.
Eduardo, This image was not that natural to crop so just for fun I went a little extream... You are correct about the paving bricks, I liked that element (file for the future...).
Sometimes a quick shot in the rain is just a quick shot...
This is extreme indeed! But very mysterious also. I hope you didn't find my comments above offensive, I also find myself in these situations where I don't know what to do
about cropping, and in me case, it's even worse, as I prefer to keep the original proportion while cropping. Now that I'm playing around with a small camera, shooting sometimes from the hip, the problem has gotten even worse, as I can't compose consciously. Thanks you.
I agree that it's one of those shots with multiple options and no clear cut cropping solution. The focus was the delivery guy, but other elements were also interesting - particularly the bricks...
My experience with cropping is that it's obvious or it's the whole frame, or move on to the next photo. In the middle there are the times where compromise takes hold and not always toward a positive result.
Sticking to the original proportion is a real limitation. The only crop that I have not used with any frequency is narrow portrait - it seems unnatural... so maybe I should work with that format .
I think that your ability to shoot from the hip will improve over time as you do more of it. With the digital you can at least see the results immediately. I did one session shooting from a park bench using an ND filter to catch movement of people walking past. About one or two shots from that session were usable. Placing the camera on the bench at least gave a reasonably level shot.
Cropping and choice of cropping is one of the topics that is enjoyable to revisit many times.
could go on and on and on. My preference for keeping the same proportion is most probably the architect in me, or maybe thePurist in me
However, with time, we people who use proportions in our everyday jobs (not only architects, but maybe also graphic artists and other designers), find it interesting to limit ourselves and try to get the most out of those limits. I know it may also sound as a straightjacket of sorts, but I think that, whenever possible, one should try to compose from the moment one aims. I'm not against different cropping options, and I think that my insistence is probably my very personal compulsive disorder, or plainly that I just don't know how to do it. I've had two exhibitions (no big deal), and I find that it looks very nice when all the photos show some consistency. But, again, this is a very personal opinion.
Your photo has proven interesting in awakening this debate precisely because it has many interesting things going on. Would it have been "simpler", it, of course, would have been an easier cropping decision. I also think that this is why black and white works better with street photography: taking color out of the picture (literally) distracts less and keeps already a very inclusive picture simpler.
Don't know for sure... but I like to question things. And, of course, only my opinion.
of being claustrophobic. These type of shots have that element . Not sure if it's the cropping, the subject matter, or a combination of both. Clearly a rainy day brings a closed in bundled up mood...
There is a word for showing part of an object in representation of the whole. I can't remember the word, but I do remember that Valentin is an expert at that approach...
peacefulness in this scene. In your shots Japan seems to be such a calm place.
The crop works for me thanks to the sign in the upper left corner which prevents the left part of the shot from looking empty. I haven't been able to find out the reason for it but somehow this shot looks so depth, so three-dimensional. It's almost as if there were a window on my screen through which I could grab at these figures and stroke the wet pavement.
Thanks, Valentin
PS. I too had claustrophobic feelings looking at your alternative crop, by the way.
Regarding your comment about the "depth" and "three-dimentional" nature of this image, I believe that the sharpness of the lens and the paving stones provide some accent. As well, I find that the brick wall pops out with the contrast of light and dark. This was the 28mm lens.
When I was working with the original 16 bit scan, the paving stones just jumped out at me... and provided a lot of the perspective nature of the image.
The alternative crop was indeed fun. I also played with, but did not post a thin portrait shot of the two umbrella holders, and expermented with different angles.
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