Project 365 - day 7 - Man and bicycle

[Benjo255]

Return to street photography for my shot n. 7. This time I was really close!

 

[Rick58]

Nice shot. Any chance that you may have just a couple inches of crop on the right?

 

[Benjo255]

Any chance that you may have just a couple inches of crop on the right?

No! To the right was just as shoot. I have some others with more space on the right, but in none of them he gives that look.

 

[fotomonkey]

I like it. Even with the tightness on the right. Good job!

 

[Alexr25]

Nice shot. Any chance that you may have just a couple inches of crop on the right?

The problem isn't the lack of space on the right but rather a little too much space on the left.
If you crop just to the left of the leftmost person in the photo you will have a much better balanced image.

 

[Benjo255]

you will have a much better balanced image.

But if I do that he won't transmit so much lonelyness as with all that space.
There's a group of people in the upper part of the photo, but he's clearly not part of it. There's a woman behind him, but you can barely see her. The big empty space in front of him underlines the fact he's alone and there's a divergent direction: the empty space on the left and the eyes looking on the right and the bike is like a bridge.

So yes, You are right. I could have achieved a more balanced image by cropping on the left, but...would you trade a balanced image for an image that says something? Mine is not a defense, just to compare ideas on this issue.

 

[Benjo255]

May be a 4/3 crop (but I don't like 4/3), but I wouldn't go beyond that.

 

[Benjo255]

The 4/3 in this case gives to me less feeling of being there.

 

[Didereaux]

It's certainly not a rule, but it is generally acknowledged that in good street photography the main subject NEVER looks at the camera. Street is candid. Yes, there are exceptions, but they are rare. The reason is that if the main character is aware of the camera it becomes an environment portrait shot and so loses all sense of spontaneity.

 

[Benjo255]

I agree. He's not looking at the camera.

 

[bulldurham]

Didereaux, I am somewhat baffled as to where this non-look at the camera rule comes from. I am quite sure Jay Maisel would disagree with you as would Russ Lewis, Ana Delaney, Yanidel, Matt Hoyle, Lee Jeffries and the works of the recently rediscovered images of Vivian Maier. An awareness of the subject to the camera is totally acceptable street work. Even HSB had many subjects who looked directly into the camera.

 

[Didereaux]

Didereaux, I am somewhat baffled as to where this non-look at the camera rule comes from. I am quite sure Jay Maisel would disagree with you as would Russ Lewis, Ana Delaney, Yanidel, Matt Hoyle, Lee Jeffries and the works of the recently rediscovered images of Vivian Maier. An awareness of the subject to the camera is totally acceptable street work. Even HSB had many subjects who looked directly into the camera.

I quite DISTINCTLY said it is NOT a rule. Simply a guideline, and like all guidelines it is for the beginners. Every rule can be, and often must be, broken in order to achieve the objective. Now I would use your own examples and tell anyone interested to go through a large number of each photographers photos and note the percentage of times that a subject is looking at the camera. Caveat, look ONLY at those photos classified as street shots. You will find that larger percentage will be NOT looking at the camera.

the reasons for that are well described by many of the great photographers. If the subject is looking at the camera you remove sense of candidness, which is the heart and soul of street photography, and must be overshadowed by some other aspect of the shot..

As a side note I would point out that by your complete condemnation you are yourself declaring a rule. Careful there.

 

[bulldurham]

We could poo-pah all day on the semantics, but you did say "It's certainly not a rule, but it is generally acknowledged that in good street photography the main subject NEVER looks at the camera" and I took never as pretty much an absolute on your part. In no place in my response did I do a total condemnation, only merely pointed out there are a great number of contemporary and historical street photographers who are not bothered by their subjects looking into the camera.

 

[limr]

I prefer the original crop. There's a difference between dead space and empty space. This picture needs that empty space to add context and to highlight, as the OP said, the sense of loneliness that seems already present in his eyes and posture.

 

[Didereaux]

We could poo-pah all day on the semantics, but you did say "It's certainly not a rule, but it is generally acknowledged that in good street photography the main subject NEVER looks at the camera" and I took never as pretty much an absolute on your part. In no place in my response did I do a total condemnation, only merely pointed out there are a great number of contemporary and historical street photographers who are not bothered by their subjects looking into the camera.

Never is the definer of the statement 'certainly not a rule', as such its position by following is secondary. Whoa, dayam I didn't even know I remembered that arcane bit!!!! The Oldtimerz must be on vacation today.