Street Life - Chiang Mai

David Kennedy · Oct 15, 2016

The_Traveler · Oct 16, 2016

It's a picture of a street scene but I don't see what you want us to look at.
Clipped toes, too dark shadows.

David Kennedy · Oct 16, 2016

The_Traveler said:
It's a picture of a street scene but I don't see what you want us to look at.
Clipped toes, too dark shadows.

The Street is the subject and all on it.

The_Traveler · Oct 16, 2016

OK but the shot has no compelling elements, not framed particularly well and things in the shadows are too dark to see well

There needs to be something interesting or compelling to focus on. My eye just skates around wondering what you want me to see.

David Kennedy · Oct 16, 2016

The_Traveler said:
OK but the shot has no compelling elements, not framed particularly well and things in the shadows are too dark to see well

There needs to be something interesting or compelling to focus on. My eye just skates around wondering what you want me to see.

Well thanks for taking a look

The_Traveler · Oct 16, 2016

I'M not being negative just to be negative. IMO any photographer first has to know exactly what the subject is and then compose and expose around that.
If you don't have a definite center of interest, it won't be in the picture either. I've taken a great many bad shots hoping that the camera will make them good - and that rarely happens.
Try not to be discouraged; street photography takes a lot of practice before you can capture in the camera what your mind sees.

pixmedic · Oct 16, 2016

i would crop this square or tall and frame the taxi

kap55 · Oct 16, 2016

This could really use a crop - just enough to eliminate the couple on the right side - and I think you could have a decent photo

The_Traveler · Oct 16, 2016

If you will allow editing, I think I can show how this picture could be more compelling.

David Kennedy · Oct 16, 2016

You can edit now

The_Traveler · Oct 17, 2016

If the center of interest is meant to be street life itself, then the major elements need to be well placed within the frame and visible. Overhead light in BKK has a lot of glare and shadows are deep.

IMO, to be impactful, the image should have been composed so that the frame is much more full, to give the impression of activity, and the couple and tuk-tuk need to be lightened so that they are visible and not just murky objects.

The placement and see-ability of the major elements are more than subtle hints to the viewer what he/she should understand as important; the placement and see-ability tell the viewer what the photographer sees as important and makes a bridge between viewer and photographer.

I couldn't find an equivalent picture to show what I mean but here is one where the placement of the elements makes really obvious what the people were doing and what I saw as interesting.
I hope this is useful.

David Kennedy · Oct 17, 2016

Yeah sure the cropping may help to a degree. And perhaps some elements are distracting but the same can be said about the Monks in Orange. The slight intrusion, far right. His arm should be cropped right out.

The photo I took was a bit of a fleeting chance to capture the Tuk Tuk (taxi) on approach. I was using a telephoto lens and was crossing a rather busy road. The shot had to be taken....so I did. I do not agree with critique in relation to the brightness / shadows etc, but agree to some degree in relation to balancing the layout; ie: Cropping.

Thanks.

EIngerson · Oct 17, 2016

Not trying to belabor a point, but my eyes travel around the frame in the original photo. I have to agree with it needing a crop.

David Kennedy · Oct 19, 2016

The_Traveler said:
If the center of interest is meant to be street life itself, then the major elements need to be well placed within the frame and visible. Overhead light in BKK has a lot of glare and shadows are deep.

IMO, to be impactful, the image should have been composed so that the frame is much more full, to give the impression of activity, and the couple and tuk-tuk need to be lightened so that they are visible and not just murky objects.

View attachment 128844

The placement and see-ability of the major elements are more than subtle hints to the viewer what he/she should understand as important; the placement and see-ability tell the viewer what the photographer sees as important and makes a bridge between viewer and photographer.

I couldn't find an equivalent picture to show what I mean but here is one where the placement of the elements makes really obvious what the people were doing and what I saw as interesting.
I hope this is useful.

View attachment 128845

Nevermore1 · Oct 27, 2016

I have to agree with the crop and it did need at least some lightening/brightening to bring out the details of the Tuk Tuk. It may not have needed as much as was added but it did need some.

Are you located in Thailand or just visiting? I saw another post of yours that was also taken there. I lived there off and on as a kid (my Mom's family lived in BKK and my Dad was USAF the Civil Service). I want to go back to visit some day, been about 20 years since I was last there and I miss it.

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