Grace under Stress

Stryker · Apr 2, 2011

I was doing some street photography with the 70-200mm f/4 on my 50D when this lady suddenly filled the frame. She was about 3 feet away watching me as I snipe at people on the street. I wasn't able to move back as I was against the wall thus the tight shot. What do you think?

AgentDrex · Apr 2, 2011

See? Good thing you had the camera along. Sweet shot! I like....come check out mine sometime....keep shooting...

eccs19 · Apr 2, 2011

I don't normally say this, but this may actually look good as a B&W shot.

photonewbie86 · Apr 2, 2011

I agree with eccs19 this would look great B&W it would look very dramatic great shot by the way!!!!

Photogger · Apr 2, 2011

Aww...bless her heart! I bet she could tell some stories! Great photo!

Davor · Apr 2, 2011

I love photos of older people, it really tales allot. I would also try to do a B/W conversion and see how that turns out.

Stryker · Apr 3, 2011

Thanks for the comments. Edited the original post and included the B & W version. Cropped it a bit on the top and bottom

412 Burgh · Apr 3, 2011

hey Stryker, I love the shot.. It gives me a sense that she has been through a lot and she has a great story to tell. I was wondering is it legal to just go in public and take pictures of random people without their permission?

Stryker · Apr 3, 2011

412 Burgh said:
hey Stryker, I love the shot.. It gives me a sense that she has been through a lot and she has a great story to tell. I was wondering is it legal to just go in public and take pictures of random people without their permission?

HI 412Burgh. Thanks for the comment and the concern. In my country, people are very willing to smile and have their photo taken. Even Manny Paquiao loves it to have his picture taken in public. Well, unless they are celebrities, politicians, or have something to hide. Not an issue in Manila

manaheim · Apr 3, 2011

Wow. That's a battle worn woman. Interesting subject but not overly interesting picture. Still... Nice.

Stryker · Apr 3, 2011

manaheim said:
Wow. That's a battle worn woman. Interesting subject but not overly interesting picture. Still... Nice.

any suggestions???

molested_cow · Apr 3, 2011

That's a hearty smile you got there. I don't like the crop on the b&w version, the original is good.

manaheim · Apr 4, 2011

Stryker said:
manaheim said:

Wow. That's a battle worn woman. Interesting subject but not overly interesting picture. Still... Nice.

Click to expand...

any suggestions???

Unfortunately not really... without knowing what else was going on at the time and the scene it's hard to say. That said, don't take my comments too harshly... she is a very interesting looking person so the photo has a lot of weight just with her in it, but I felt like it needed context, setting... to give you an idea, I was like "Good lord, I've never seen a woman that battle-worn in the US... is that a US person?" And then I looked at your profile and saw that you are from the Phillipines, and was like "Oh... probably not US".

So, in short, I think there's more story there that your photo just isn't telling the way it is currently. Bringing in some elements from around her might have changed that... just not sure what those would be.

manaheim · Apr 4, 2011

btw, I usually prefer b/w for people, but I think the color lends a lot to this photo... she is so deeply browned and her skin is SO abused and the pigmentation really shows that. Plus the b/w one makes her look like the Crypt Keeper, which is a very different effect. The first shot I find myself drawn to and I say "awww... I bet she's a fascinating woman to talk to... and she looks almost sweet"... The second one I recoil from to some degree.