Harley Davidson Shoot - Maybe Not Safe @ Work

[Vicelord John]

I must be blind...

I don't see the swastika in #3...

Ah I think they meant #5

 

[Olympus E300]

Technically, I think you did a great job with these shots. Far better than I could have done. As for the subject matter - I can relate. I ride Harleys and ride with some "affiliates". The composition is a little over the top in the macho department for me though. I mean, sitting in the saddle with your pistol on your lap? C'mon...lol. I'm also a firearms collector and advocate for firearms safety. I'm not saying that he is being unsafe but it does suggest an offensive attitude. In the end, I think that is what you were trying to achieve. So for that, well done!

Overall, you did a technically fantastic job. I like the subject matter because I can relate to it and it genuinely interests me, however, something about it still offends me. Well done.

My $0.02
- Dan

 

[Vicelord John]

wow, thats the best compliment you could have given me. Telling me I achieved what I was shooting for! thanks.

That said, I'm really looking for negative feedback or constructive criticism.

 

[Live_free]

Am I the only one who noticed the swastika in the 3rd picture?

Probably, but you all were given fair warning that there are offensive things in this post.

I do appreciate though, how you pointed that out and gave no feedback. Your post is essentially useless, so thanks for stopping by. Now leave.

You sir are a arse hole. :meh:

If you want my idea on the images here is what I will say. They all look like hey lets flip it in auto and take some random pictures with my camera. Nothing pulls me in or makes a connection to me personally.:thumbdown:

Yes you did say there may be offensive content, but offensive content and racism are two completely different things. Just that one little swastika made me lose all respect for you and your friend. Have a great day.
Also your attitude is atrocious, js.

 

[Vicelord John]

sounds like you're just offended by someone's freedom of expression, and now you've been called out that you're reacting to something I warned you about. So you're now resorting to telling me my pictures are bad because you don't like the swazi.

You know what? Racism and offensive are the same thing, so I'm lost on that one.

Oh well, you know what they say, good art is art that causes controversy.

 

[Live_free]

sounds like you're just offended by someone's freedom of expression, and now you've been called out that you're reacting to something I warned you about. So you're now resorting to telling me my pictures are bad because you don't like the swazi.

You know what? Racism and offensive are the same thing, so I'm lost on that one.

Oh well, you know what they say, good art is art that causes controversy.

No I was being serious, they look like auto mode snapshots, yeah they are cool for you and your friend but I feel no connection and they are rather boring.

What I meant is being offensive for example "I totally BEEPED that chick man!" That is offensive to some. Racism is a crime, freedom of expression or not I do not like swastikas. They stand for a time in history which was one of the darkest parts in our existence. The bottom line is your buddy is scum and from the way you are acting you are too. I'm done posting here and am done tolerating your attitude. Ignorant...


Reported..

 

[Vicelord John]

Racism is a crime?

Lmao

 

[JeffieLove]

oh...

another thing...

You might want to blur out his license plate #... People can track him down with that

There's my "constructive criticism"

 

[DerekSalem]

Racism is a crime?

Lmao

Racism isn't a crime but the swastika stands for more than just racism. Your friend is wearing a 1% shirt but isn't actually *in* an outlaw club...which means he's posing, he's holding a gun in his lap pointed at his testicles, and although the exposure is good in the pictures they *are* fairly bland and uninteresting. I'm an NRA lifetime member and have ridden motorcycles for about 10 years (3 professionally) and I still don't feel connected.

Also, if you want good feedback, it's usually a good idea not to attack people that post in your topic

 

[Vicelord John]

Im not attacking anyone except fot those who are ignorig my initial warning.

 

[Vicelord John]

So i guess what I'm feeling here is why I stopped coming on this site before. If you don't like something then dont fu(king look! Especially when there is a damn warning!

And as far as racism and offensive being different, are you offended by racism? If you answered yes then they are the same.

Kids that built those bikes during WW2 all had that stuff on their bikes. Its what works to keep with the style. If you cant get past that, then i feel sorry for you for being so closed minded.

Goodbye for a while again photo forum.

 

[Live_free]

Hate crime laws in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hate Crimes & LLEHCPA - Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/civilrights/hate.htm

Sorry for my mis-"speak" racism in its-self is not a crime. I know it isn't, just the whole thing sits very hard with me due to my families background. So it affects me personally. What I meant is it is different the being offensive anyone one with half a mind could tell you that. It is offensive but is a different extent. Hate crimes and racial discrimination are illegal though and is what I meant to speak on, I still don't like you regardless.

Again sorry I typed the wrong thing while mad for emotional family ties, it sits very hard with me, the whole swastika and hate thing.

 

[Vicelord John]

I fully agree with you that hate crimes and discrimination are bad, fortunately none of that is going on here. That does make your comments seem a little unwarranted though, and theycompletely destroyed this thread.

So again, thanks for coming and looking and typing what you feel emotionally rather than just simply thinking i dont like this and clicking away. That would have been too damned easy i guess, and it was an easy out for you to start a fight about it.

 

[Live_free]

I fully agree with you that hate crimes and discrimination are bad, fortunately none of that is going on here. That does make your comments seem a little unwarranted though, and theycompletely destroyed this thread.

So again, thanks for coming and looking and typing what you feel emotionally rather than just simply thinking i dont like this and clicking away. That would have been too damned easy i guess, and it was an easy out for you to start a fight about it.

Just remember you started it with your "now leave response" which was disrespecting my heritage then me. If you would have said "Oh I did not notice that, do you have any CC?" I would have gave CC. Like I already did. Your entire post was, like you say my was, unwarranted. But yours was also rude.

 

[g-fi]

In terms of composition, these aren't very interesting. In #6 the handlebar seems to be growing out of the side of his head, and the cropped cactus at the bottom of #7 doesn't add anything to the image. Often the background doesn't seem to contribute much beyond a "desert" feel. There seems to be a lack of contrast in several images and some of the shots seem to rely on the offensive content to make the shot "interesting". No CC on the actual content, but I think that there is a way to shoot this that doesn't fall back on "Hey that says FU/He's flippin' the bird/He's got a gun" to draw the viewer into the image. I would pay attention to the way that lines in the image draw you towards the bike, rather than breaking the image up, like in #4 .

If there is absolutely no way around shooting mid-day, at least try moving into some open shade, or DIY some sort of large diffuser (a PVC frame and an opaque shower curtain liner or 2 can sometimes work wonders).

If you're going to rely on gimmicky set-ups to convey "outlaw", you need to go harder, and be more creative. These come off very "snapshot"-like and don't say "outlaw who loves his bike", at least not to me. Even moving around and shooting from the front in #7 would be more interesting visually than "Oh hey, that's a dude's back and a bike". If you're going to shoot him brandishing his gun, play it up more, I honestly didn't even notice he had a gun in his lap until I read someone else's CC. Try playing with your DOF in a more creative way, and put more thought into your staging. Take advantage of the surroundings to work around your shooting limitations, put the bike and the dude into the building, play with the shadows to convey a mood. Don't neglect the technical details either, horizons and lines should be level unless it's for an artistic point.

My main CC is to not rely on offensive content to spell out what your images are supposed to be about. Sure, FU says outlaw, but so does a menacing figure in the shadows leaning against a stone wall in front of his chopper. You should aim to produce images that impress people DESPITE the content, your haters should be saying, "That's a bomb picture, even if it does have a (whatever) in it".

How's that for you?