Street Vendow in Chinatown

[Not_Your_1993_Steppin_Stone]

Camera Model Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/20
Av( Aperture Value ) 3.5
ISO Speed 1000
Auto ISO Speed ON
Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode AI Focus AF

It was on No Flash to keep from getting over exposed, so that is why she is blurry.
I wanted to really capture the essence of the street vendor's quirky quality; but I'm not sure if I did.
I tried getting different angles but then he glared at me and we left :X
What would you have done?

I know usually folks zoom in on him preparing the food but I didn't want to do the expected

[Tito87]

You can use flash and not over expose--all you need to do is to balance the ambient light with the flash. Take a look here, it might help you a bit.
http://neilvn.com/tangents/flash-pho...ambient-light/

[milosh]

I can see what you were trying to achieve, but I think you should have done some things differently.

They say you're supposed to eliminate distractions (objects not contributing to the composition and the "story"), and I see three things as distractions here (the light left of the stand, the advertisement above the stand and the smaller street sign above the woman). I don't care to see what's going on behind and above the stand, as those areas look just like regular street scenes (imo, there's no connection between them and the stand). Because of all this, I would have got closer and aimed my camera horizontally. The left edge of the stand (the hanging plastic bags) would be on my left frame edge, and it would show more of the street behind the woman. Also, this way you would show more of the food and its questionable cleanliness (since you say your goal was to show their quirky quality).

I think having the woman blurry is a good thing, it contributes to the sense of movement and busyness of the street scene.