On Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:17:57 -0400, "Bowser" <> wrote:
>A very nice collection this month; best I've seen in a while. Take a look
>here:
>
>http://www.pbase.com/shootin/your_favorite
>
>My personal favorites are Tony's "Biker" and Michael's "karate kid."
>(because my own son went through the black belt program and I've got a few
>like that one...)
Ta for that, and now to something completely different.
If I lived in a big city, I could spend all of the time I allocate to
photography to street photography. Nothing is more rewarding to me
than catching a good candid shot of someone with some character in
their face.
Orlando isn't a suitable venue for this, though. There's no one area
where I can go and lurk waiting for interesting people to walk by.
So, I go to biker bars.
The "Biker" was shot in a biker bar. There's a brick and mortar bar
on one side, a tiki bar on another side, and a large open area between
the two for motorcycle parking. I hunkered down in the middle area
with my back to a trash barrel and shot from there. I'm learning to
shoot from a sitting position up at the people who walk by in order to
not pull in a lot of background clutter.
Bikers, in general, don't mind you taking their picture, but I think I
get better shots when they don't know I am taking a picture. I seldom
get eye contact this way, and I seldom get more than one burst of
shots of the same person. Sometimes I do get a "looking at me" shot:
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Photog...85_R7H5n-L.jpg
(taken at the same place, but some months ago.)
And on the same day as the "Biker" shot, but I'm not sure eye contact
was established. I'm not sure this guy could focus on anything:
http://tonycooper.smugmug.com/Photog...30_Yo9zR-L.jpg
Biker shots are a problem in that if you want to go where the bikers
congregate and photograph them, midday is the best time. A lot of
facial shadows go along with that.
The "Fountain" photo is a favorite of mine even though the reviews
weren't good. It was shot in a salvage yard that is jam-packed with
architectural goodies from demolished houses. I could barely walk
through the old sinks, doors, windows, garden benches, iron railings,
and bits and pieces of Victorian-style houses. There, in the middle
of all this clutter, was this fountain with that odd, blue paint on
it. I would have liked to have been able to move the white ironwork
out of the frame, but I rather like the rest of the background.
The "Watering Can" was fish in a barrel. It was on a shelf on the
shed behind the fountain. I had to move a couple of things to isolate
the can, but it was just a photograph waiting to happen.
To the other photographs in this month's collection:
I'll preface this by saying that landscape scenes are not my thing.
Even though some contributors have done a good - even great - job,
they just don't capture my interest. They all scream "calendar art"
to me. That's bias and prejudice on my part, and not a reflection on
the efforts of the contributors. Also a bit of jealousy based on no
longer living where the leaves change.
Russell's barn intrigues me, but it's my thought that part of the barn
would have made a better shot than all of the barn. Get closer and
show detail.
I like the Duck's Auburn (my Dad claimed he owned an Auburn, but not a
Boattail), but the reflection of the leg bothers me. I also like the
Cadillac, and primarily because the Duck did it in black and white.
Is it a Cadillac La Salle, though? I think that's a 1934 La Salle.
La Salle was also made by General Motors but a separate marque from
Cadillac.
Look at
http://www.car-nection.com/yann/dbas_txt/Las1934.htm and go
down to the photo titled "1934 La Salle prototype" and notice the
ports and the hood emblem.
Rah, rah, rah for Bowser's cheerleaders. I like Solomon's girl in a
mask, but would have cropped out the man on the left. What's wrong
with square crops, people?
Bret's hummingbird is a great shot, but I could pick six better
pictures from the site he linked to earlier of the Christian football
fans. This one lacks dynamics. Gimme one where that moral
righteousness jumps off the screen, Bret. You have some on that other
site.
Elliott Roper didn't post an image that particularly appeals to me,
but somehow I know that he has some that would. I like his quirky eye
to what is photographable.
It was Birds 6 - Dogs 2, and the Birds won in more ways than quantity.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
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