Roger Wade

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Hi all,

I have long been interested in street photography and attempting to catch "that" moment.

I particularly like the following pic. It says a lot to me, something I try to make happen in my photos.

This little girl had just polished off a chocolate ice-cream, run back to her parents and then headed off to feed the birds. She laughed just before I shot this (I would have liked to get that too!) but then looked nervously back to Mum and Dad to see if all was ok. Click.

I love it and, for me, it is a special moment. Hope you like it.

Rolleiflex 2.8f
Cinestill 50D

Barcelona, Placa Catalunya


Girl feeding pigeons
by Roger Wade, on Flickr
 
"I particularly like the following pic. It says a lot to me, something I try to make happen in my photos.

This little girl had just polished off a chocolate ice-cream, run back to her parents and then headed off to feed the birds. She laughed just before I shot this (I would have liked to get that too!) but then looked nervously back to Mum and Dad to see if all was ok. Click.

I love it and, for me, it is a special moment."


All this text above is in your mind and not in the photo.
For street shots to be good they should resonate with the maker and with something in the mind of the viewer.
It's like a joke, if it must be explained, it doesn't work.

Everyone doesn't have to like everything you take, but you shouldn't need a backstory to inject all the feeling.
A street shot must give entry into another world yet allow the viewer enough to create the story, a feeling.

upload_2018-11-6_16-17-22.png
 
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Hi all,

I have long been interested in street photography and attempting to catch "that" moment.

I particularly like the following pic. It says a lot to me, something I try to make happen in my photos.

This little girl had just polished off a chocolate ice-cream, run back to her parents and then headed off to feed the birds. She laughed just before I shot this (I would have liked to get that too!) but then looked nervously back to Mum and Dad to see if all was ok. Click.

I love it and, for me, it is a special moment. Hope you like it.

Rolleiflex 2.8f
Cinestill 50D

Barcelona, Placa Catalunya


Girl feeding pigeons
by Roger Wade, on Flickr

I quite like the image, the viewer can tell the little girl has been having chocolate and while looking at someone is feeding the pigeons. Street photography can be a funny thing as some say NO people in it and others say with people in it, but for me street photography is better in b&w.
 
@The Traveller
Actually I was describing what had really happened before I took the photo. I could also tell you what I personally see here but, like whisky tasting notes, that doesn't mean anything to you

I do agree, however, that a photo should say something, no matter whether street or landscape or whatever. And that, of course, is subjective.

In the Vivian Maier book, there are several pics that I think are AMAZING and some that don't speak to me. May be and probably is different for others

A lovely book about CREATED backstories can be found here. Imteresting.

Sparks: Adventures in Street Photography

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1783524898/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_bnC4BbMD2ZP4T

Fujidave - I also much prefer b/w but happened to have colour in the camera that day.
.
 
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"I particularly like the following pic. It says a lot to me, something I try to make happen in my photos.

This little girl had just polished off a chocolate ice-cream, run back to her parents and then headed off to feed the birds. She laughed just before I shot this (I would have liked to get that too!) but then looked nervously back to Mum and Dad to see if all was ok. Click.

I love it and, for me, it is a special moment."


All this text above is in your mind and not in the photo.
For street shots to be good they should resonate with the maker and with something in the mind of the viewer.
It's like a joke, if it must be explained, it doesn't work.

Everyone doesn't have to like everything you take, but you shouldn't need a backstory to inject all the feeling.
A street shot must give entry into another world yet allow the viewer enough to create the story, a feeling.

View attachment 165477
Would you say the same thing about "backstory" in travel photos? I frequently find your explanations of your travel images very interesting, as in your most recent post, and for me the explanation adds quite a bit of value to the viewing experience, I think photos serve many purposes, and sometimes the backstory provides insight into another world. Not every photo has to be an artistic masterpiece to succeed.
 
IMO, the picture, particularly a street photo, needs to be good, not necessarily technically perfect or sharp or in focus but 'good' enough so that it makes the point. A street photo should give enough info so that viewers can get involved in the idea, can understand what the photographer saw and why he/she took the photo.

Travel photos are often I-was-there kinds of things. I like to shoot travel photos that have a street photo edge, that imply more than a specific place but a story. Captions or backstories can add, but they rarely should be the most important element because then the photo is an illustration.

Here are two travel pictures, both taken in a big city. They are self explanatory, a caption or a title might add something but very little. the stories are embedded.
Composition and execution adds particularly the first but content is king here. The story is irrevocably linked to the content.
upload_2018-11-6_20-42-40.png


upload_2018-11-6_20-42-54.png
 
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My comment refers to the composition: I would crop the image just where the diagonal line begins on the right. Eliminating the lower part would make the image more cohesive.
 
I noticed the mustache straight away! Odd. I then read the description of the photo and the details that underly the photo. I dunno... a caption can really help a photo...so can a long description....
 
Thanks for all your comments. Food for thought, which is what it is all about.

@Donde Here is a copy of the photo cropped as you suggest. Better you think? Not sure as I quite like the whitish shifted rectangle framing the girl to echo the colour of her top. It probably does help to concentrate the focus on the scene however.
I guess it is because I shoot and have always shot mostly film that I am loath to crop images. That is probably irrational and sometimes counterproductive but I try to get the frame right when taking the photo and that is the "product" for better or worse. Same applies to Photoshop for me. I think I probably have to be more flexible here as I was in the years I primarily shot digital, when I shot and cropped and it didn't "feel" wrong. Strange maybe.

barca39crop by Roger Wade, on Flickr
 
Well I like it better and you are game for giving it a try but if the original feels better to you then that is the keeper.

There is nothing wrong with a "back story". An image typically takes a split second to complete (before post processing) and may not be self explanatory except on an utterly basic level. If it is of a place or event that viewers are completely unfamiliar with it can generate curiosity that if addressed by some explanatory text can make the viewing experience more rewarding.

A typical "street shot" can offer multiple composition possibilities resulting from crops that are "valid" or rewarding to the viewer. Take for example the last two images added to your thread by another poster. In the first I would crop out everything to the left of the artist's palette and in the second I would crop just below the figure's elbows. Those crops would be my aesthetic choice given the raw material.
 
So you would crop out the copy he is making, the other center of interest And the balancing item?
And you'd crop off the guys pants, worn as a symbol that is obvious in the US but maybe not elsewhere.
Luckily those are my shots and won't be treated to that 'aesthetic'.
 
On your new crop I like it, but it is up to you what one you like more. On the two put in by The Traveler, cropping to his shorts might be better, as anyone would think it was in the USA, but as you say your shots.
 
So you would crop out the copy he is making, the other center of interest And the balancing item?
And you'd crop off the guys pants, worn as a symbol that is obvious in the US but maybe not elsewhere.
.

Yes absolutely. Said crops would improve the photos.
 

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