Long Day

[KagoGrl]

Took this shot downtown Austin one day last year... I am fairly proud of this shot though I wish I'd captured the full bench. Please comment as openly as you can... I'd appreciate it.

[sana]

Interesting shot! Since the man is obviously "not present" (he's thinking of something elsewhere, or sleeping), I think you should try more to do a closeup, rather than putting him in the contest.

I'd suggest you to crop the man only, from the edge of the street on the top, to his feet on the bottom, from his back on the left to somewhere... on the right. I think that would give him a sculpture-like look, especially with the interesting part of the bench in the foreground.. and that would also reveal more of his inner world.

I am only a little concerned about the shadow on his head, but maybe it's not a big deal. Good work! I want more people shot by you!

[jiminyClickit]

KagoGrl,

Yes, and no. I can imagine the full bench actually drawing less attention to itself, making the photo all about the man. But by including it, the size of the man would decrease. Hmm.

It's a rich shot, crops of the upper half, or of the shoeless-foot area would be thought-provoking. That line-of-sight thing, too, his gaze following the curb of the street, nice.

Have you, since taking this, started to include more in your photos, cropping in post?

[KagoGrl]

Thank you for those comments. I had not really thought about cropping closely around the gentleman, but now that yo've suggested it I can see how it would be quite effective.

I too am bothered by the shadow across his head, but back when I was working on this shot I was not proficient in Photoshop - I haven't tried, but I might be able to clone it out (not sure, cloning is still tricky to me).

How do you feel about the lighting and the contrast? I'm happy with the way it turned out. I am never very comfortable taking pictures of people in the streets, because you never know how they'll react but he didn't know I was there and (as bad as it may sound) I felt more comfortable and therefore got a better shot than I may have had he seen me.

I have one other street shot that I'll post for review later this week (don't want to crowd the forum). Thanks again! Please - more comments!!

[Saralonde]

I like this, b&w suits it very well. I agree maybe a little cropping, but maybe just get rid of the cars in the background. I like the shadows on the sidewalk below him.

I love shots of unsuspecting people in the street, really can tell you about the human condition, but I understand the discomfort factor. The uneasy feeling I get when attempting these keeps me from doing it more. That's where a 70-200mm comes in handy !