Please , DO NOT TOUCH!!!

[Ripnowell45]

I know that you dont want to hear great picture but that is what it is... I think it is a really good shot and I think it shows how excited that kid was to be around when the camera was snapping.... I wouldnt change anything about the shot at all... Great work

 

[MrMatthieu]

To me it looks like a family portrit, evrery time I post a picture I get told I nee to crop it down to dring out the subject. Here I think you would have been better off with some background. A street scene or something. As far as emotion, non for me. I think the color is a tad bit to dark as I said above. Have you tried B&W with it yet?

Tyson :
thank for your contribution .
In fact the picture was taken in a very local place the house you see in background was the only one 1 km around.
If you want to see some streets, amazing and charming mess of india 's street I will post next time, just for you .
But this one , for me the only subject was these people, that s why I tried to minimize background & parasite object. ( I hope you understand my mean , because my explanation sounds more french than english to me :mrgreen: )

For the W&B it s something I like to do, whatever is the subject sometimes I like to make w&B, but amoung the hundreds of pictures of India I have I never tried. It is something taboo that I can not imagine easily. For me India sounds like " Colors , noise & smell". But I will try right now & post it here maybe it is a good idea.
For emotion I can not do anything, each one has is one sensibility. Me for exemple pictures of cute animals do not produce any emotion , even nice one, it is like this...

Ripnowell45
Thank for your comment.
I am not totally masochist, and I accept your compliment about the kid and the picture with pleasure of course.
The only thing I don't like too much is if each post of everybody & every day is a great shot, just to be nice with the people who send the picture. After it looses its meaning.
I just want to say, that with me you can really tell me what you feel about the picture, even severe critic, because it fuels my desire to take better one.
I hope people reading this will not thing I am completly crazy and arogant because it is not the reality :crazy:

Bye

Matthieu

 

[Dpez]

Matt,
I liked the pic...the way the boy is leaping, brings life into the pic...
btw, seems to be shot in someplace of the Indian subcontinent...is it?...correct me though, if i'm mistaken...

 

[MrMatthieu]

Matt,
I liked the pic...the way the boy is leaping, brings life into the pic...
btw, seems to be shot in someplace of the Indian subcontinent...is it?...correct me though, if i'm mistaken...

Dpez thank for the comment.
Yes you re right i have around 20 others pictures of these people but static, and it does not have the same impact at all. Thi sone is clearly the bets of my serie, furtermore was taken during the 10 first minutes, at thi stime I looked very weird & attractive to them, after I did not catch the same emotion on their face.

You are right this picture was taken nearby Haldia, small city where I worked 9 months. This city is in West Bengal 3 hours by car from Calcutta.
Quite a wild & charming place. Not touristic at all. Not see any tourist during these 9 months.

Tyson:

THe b&W, no comparison for me with the color in this case. WHat is your opinion about it?


Bye
Mat

 

[Dpez]

hi Matt...both versions work for me...its kinda journalism photo...isn't it?...compo, tempo and tonal range make it look more like the World Press Photo types...not fantasy photgraphy at all, but realistic ones, portrays real life, wherver shot, whenver shot...good one....keep 'em coming...helps...
Dpez

 

[PNA]

Well I'm going to say it....Great Shot!!!

There's a good bit of emotion shown by the women as well as the boy.

Your timing of the shot was right on!

 

[danalec99]

I sure even if you see "homeless" dying in the street you will do something. Here I have seen dead people on the floor & people walking around, buying fruts, talking at 1 meter distance of the dead, as if the dead body was not there. Just to explain to which extend this people are not visible to higher cast people.

It means that even with money & big car they remain "impur".

SOme people of this low cast in India succeded with the help of government to make study and become wealthy. One became president of India. Nevertheless they all remain "impur" & intouchable. And they children will be also.

'They all' would be a very generalized statement. This President that you mentioned is from Kerala (the southern tip of India - also where I hail from), where this plague was rampant several decades ago. It's more or less a memory right now. Apart from the older generation who would draw the lines in their minds (they wouldn't have the courage to speak out) this issue is virtually non-existant in Kerala - thanks a TON to education. What you said (ignoring a dead body) would be unthinkable there!

It is however sad to see that this is still going on in some belts. Little do they know that they have more access to education/govt subsidies/benefits than the average Indian citizen.

 

[MrMatthieu]

'They all' would be a very generalized statement. This President that you mentioned is from Kerala (the southern tip of India - also where I hail from), where this plague was rampant several decades ago. It's more or less a memory right now. Apart from the older generation who would draw the lines in their minds (they wouldn't have the courage to speak out) this issue is virtually non-existant in Kerala - thanks a TON to education. What you said (ignoring a dead body) would be unthinkable there!

It is however sad to see that this is still going on in some belts. Little do they know that they have more access to education/govt subsidies/benefits than the average Indian citizen.

danalec99,

My statement are very basic and general, it can just be considered as introduction to people who have never been there, nothing more.
While saying this, my fear was to shock people from india like you, who may read my comment. Purpose is not to make a caricatural picture of India and people.
You are right to say that each situation can totally differ from one part to the other one of India.

For education in india, I have been amazed by seeing such high number of child going on regular basis to school. I did not expect
I m glad you participate and give your comment.
Mat

 

[danalec99]

danalec99,

My statement are very basic and general, it can just be considered as introduction to people who have never been there, nothing more.
While saying this, my fear was to shock people from india like you, who may read my comment. Purpose is not to make a caricatural picture of India and people.
You are right to say that each situation can totally differ from one part to the other one of India.

For education in india, I have been amazed by seeing such high number of child going on regular basis to school. I did not expect
I m glad you participate and give your comment.
Mat

I did not misjudge your intention - just wanted to clear the general misconception that might evolve out of this thread.

I look forward to seeing more of your work from India.

 

[MrMatthieu]

I did not misjudge your intention - just wanted to clear the general misconception that might evolve out of this thread.

I look forward to seeing more of your work from India.

With pleasure
Mat

 

[The_Traveler]

The only thing I don't like too much is if each post of everybody & every day is a great shot, just to be nice with the people who send the picture. After it looses its meaning.
I just want to say, that with me you can really tell me what you feel about the picture, even severe critic, because it fuels my desire to take better one.
I hope people reading this will not thing I am completly crazy and arogant because it is not the reality :crazy:

Dear Matthieu,

I really appreciate the comment above as it gives me the freedom to reply.

The picture is well-framed, great color, sharp, good DOF, good composition. I do like the picture a lot, but it does not tell the story that you have told in the text. It would be wonderful as part of a photo-essay with accompanying text. Without your text, I wouldn't know that these were 'untouchables.'

I hope that you accept these comments in the spirit they were offered.

 

[MrMatthieu]

The_traveller, thank you for your comment, I appreciate .

In fact I will tell you something more about these people.
I had no idea these people were untouchable at the time I took the picture.
I knew it was poor people working hard, that s all.
It is the reaction of indian colleague to who I told " did you see the people on the road this morning? They are very friendly I stayed with them, it was great time for me , blabla..."

His reply was: " You should not talk to them, there are untouchable, ... " I prefer to keep the rest for me.

So the_traveller just to say I had at the time of the picture no idea what was really their condition.

I have also to admit that now it is still very difficult for me to understand what does it stand for "untouchable".

Because I have learnt also that some people ( workers and technicians) with who I have worked during nine month are also untouchable and they do not look like these people.

So I do not want to confuse people and make them believe that everybody who comes from the low caste necesserly look like these people and break stone on the road. It is not true.

The explanation attached to this picture are , I think just additional explanation , not fully required to appreciate the picture, it is just to give more detail about the people on the picture .

I am also not qualified to give you more explanation because india is still very mysterious to me.

Maybe to take this picture just as the picture of a young boy and women, somewhere, fascinated and scared by a photographer is more appropriated.

Mat

 

[Tyson]

I am on my brothers lap top and the picture looks alot better to me now. I must need to get a new monitor. Mine is kind of old. I am sorry about the too dark comment, it looks good from hear.

 

[D-50]

I dont get much from this picture. I feel the lighting is dull, to me it looks like an on camera flash or at least a flash pointed directly into their faces. The framing of the photo in my opinion is not great either. I realize it was a quick shot that you probably didn't really set up for and consequently I think that comes accross in the photo. Also although I do believe these people live a very interesting and hard life and interacting with them was probably an emotional experience, the photo does not convey that emotion to me. Im sure others love the photo but unfortunatly I do not, no offense. I would like to see more though, maybe another will hit more of a personal cord.

 

[MrMatthieu]

I dont get much from this picture. I feel the lighting is dull, to me it looks like an on camera flash or at least a flash pointed directly into their faces. The framing of the photo in my opinion is not great either. I realize it was a quick shot that you probably didn't really set up for and consequently I think that comes accross in the photo. Also although I do believe these people live a very interesting and hard life and interacting with them was probably an emotional experience, the photo does not convey that emotion to me. Im sure others love the photo but unfortunatly I do not, no offense. I would like to see more though, maybe another will hit more of a personal cord.

D-50 : Thanks for your honnets comment, and you are right on several points:
- this was a quick shot
- set up were not optimized, because I had at this time no idea on hhow to optimize, I was completly beguiner in photography. I had the Canon 350 only since 10 days maximum and this was one of first shoot in real condition without the book open :mrgreen:
- it was emotional experience
- the colour look also very weird to me, I can't explain.

But I did not use any flash.

I do not see any offense in tour comment an dI appreciate it
Thanks

Tyson: Try to explain to your brother you need to keep his lap top for photography and he can use your :mrgreen: