Candid Black and White

***Steve*** · 31-08-2005, 14:14

With all the chat about candid photography recently I set out to shoot something that fitted that genre using only the camera and the 50mm lens. This meant to get anything other than ordinary shots I would have to get up close and personal with the subjects.

I also was on the look out for something that would fit into this month’s photo competition and my original idea was a coloured person and a white person which is how the photo below came about. Ultimately as there was a second coloured person also caught in this shot it didn’t make the grade but it is still quirky enough for me to spend a little while on and offer it for critique here.

BTW I got something completely different for this months competition in the end

Matty · 31-08-2005, 14:18

thats very good steve, hes clocked you and you got eye contact, that makes the shot for me. I like the way that hes in focus whilst everyone else is moving, nice

CT · 31-08-2005, 15:04

I think you've done very well to get the black guy in such sharp focus given the very limited DOF and moderate shutter speed, as is shown by the fact that other figures close to him - both in front and behind, are quite blurred. The little girl in the foreground is blurred to just the right amount to not detract from the main figure - the black, guy - but is still distinct enough to figure very strongly in the shot.

The black guy looking at the camera and no doubt wondering why you've singled him out, really makes the shot quite powerful. A bit ruthless I suppose, but it's what good candid/street photography is all about. Is the little girl also looking at the camera? I can't decide, but her wistful expression contrasts strongly with the even stare of the black guy.

I'm not a big fan of mixed B&W/colour shots, but this one works really well and I can see the reasoning behind it.

***Steve*** · 01-09-2005, 01:32

43 views and only 2 replies

Was it something I said?

CT · 01-09-2005, 01:51

Don't you just hate that!

01-09-2005, 02:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

43 views and only 2 replies

Was it something I said?

No, you smell. Sorry.

Technically it's bob on.
However, I personally am not sure it works. I've been mulling it over, and at first I thought "A clever take on the theme". But that's not the idea behind the shot now, so I won't go down that road

Anyway, I'm not too sure it works, if I'm being honest.
As you know, photography is subjective, and one mans pie is another mans pastie, so to speak.
The use of selective saturation/desaturation has worked well and brought the main subject out more as a focal point, as also the blue of the people around him emphasising him focally in the shot.

That said, I personally am not a lover of it. While it makes the man stand out and it makes me think, it does nothing or me visually. It gets no juices flowing, so to speak.

Composition wise, I think you've got the bloke spot on, rather than left or right on a third. I'm not too sure about the girl in front, she seems to be more distracting than anything, I suppose I would either prefer her in focus and looking at the camera, or not there at all. Not inbetween.
As you say, the second black man does distract from the overall message and feel of the shot, and it would have been better if he had stopped to buy a paper round the corner.

Nevertheless, even with my harsh comments I still feel you've done well to visualise an image in your mind, and capture it, whether you set off with this shot as your intent, or you saw it at the last minute, raised your camera and pressed the 'trigger'. Either way, you've seen an image which would have looked totally different through the lens (IE no processing and desaturation etc), which can be a stumbling block for many many people (myself included).

And that chap on the left with the backpack on, I'm sure thats the dude I went to college with. I'd recognise that bloke anywhere, even from the back

(No saucy comments and sniggers from the back please children

)

Hope you haven't been offended by my criticism (Don't know why I'm saying that, I know you won't be

). For the others reading, as we all repeat time and again, photography is a subjective thing. What one likes, another doesn't.
I have explained that it doesn't wet my whistle per se, and I hope I have explained well enough *why* that is so

jewel · 01-09-2005, 04:29

No, I'm not diggin this one either. Can't explain it as well as Marcel has but, it just doesn't work for me. He looks out of place like you put him there, rather than being a part of the pic as a whole.

Jules.

KenCo1964 · 01-09-2005, 09:39

I like to view a pic several times so as not to be too hasty. There have been a couple of times I have viewed a pic and not thought too much of it but, after several views I sometimes see it in a different light or vice versa. Anyway, I like it as a picture but feel it is let down by the second black guy who unfortunately is also bald which to me unbalances the pic, or certainly distracts my attention between those two. I am only saying this as I know your standard is so high, myself, I’d be very happy to have taken that shot, not just for how it turned out but because of the ability to stand there and take it in the first place. I don’t see to many of these pics and I quite like them, I feel your subject might have been better shot further away from you though. I like it as I’ve said, don’t think it say’s B/W to me though and depending on other pics in the comp, may not have voted for this.
So did he hit you?

***Steve*** · 01-09-2005, 09:55

No he dodn't hit me

He just gave me a look that could kill.

Regards to the composition of this shot I am not defending myself but its impossible to orgonise a street full of people moving in different directions when you don't know any of them. Thats the issue with street photography, the shot either comes or it doesn't

For the same reasons as been highlighted above by most people I discounted this shot for the competition, its not a strong enough picture and has too many flaws to be worthy against the stiff competition that the rest of you are likely to submit. The second coloured guy was just in the wrong palce at the wrong time

Thanks to the ones that took the trouble to pass comment, all points very valid and I am neither offended or upset by anything said.

GfK · 01-09-2005, 10:05

I tend to take photos at face value rather than taking them apart for analysis.

Suffice to say, "I like it".

Bloke in picture looks like he's going to kill you though!

dezyboy · 01-09-2005, 16:37

A very clever shot, just not to my taste mate. I think it looks too much like .. umm .. errr actual forget that after looking at it again and agin, I like it but your choice of a white frame is distracting from the photo. JMHO

competition ? dezy wanders for a look

***Steve*** · 01-09-2005, 16:51

Details of the competition can be found at
http://www.thephotographyforums.com/...ead.php?t=3011

and the entries from the previous 5 rounds can all be seen at
http://www.thephotographyforums.com/gallery/album05

Hedgehog · 01-09-2005, 17:09

I like it for the sense of movement all around & the staticness(?) of the subject frozen in the frame... & I think the desaturation works.

***Steve*** · 01-09-2005, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hedgehog

I like it for the sense of movement all around & the staticness(?) of the subject frozen in the frame... & I think the desaturation works.

Ladies and gentlemen may I present Hedgehog, my new best friend

CT · 01-09-2005, 17:19

The thing is... whether you like the pic or not, this isn't 'comfortable' photography, you can feel the black guy's resentment/embarrassment at being photographed in the street, even identify with it. You also put yourself in the position of the photographer wondering if you could have taken the shot, and you need pretty big nads or a very thick skin. You can't help getting involved whichever way you look at it.

That guy could quite easily have headbutted Steve as he walked past -even if he would have had to jump up to do it. :lol: