Critique Welcomed Candy Palace

[Peter Roberts]

I had to wait a while and keep coming back for just the right person to pass.


Minolta XD7 / Minolta 35-70mm f3.5 / Kentmere 400 / Rodinal

 

[Ralph Turner]

Great shot, Peter. That fruity desert is almost coming out of his cart (though, if that had lined up perfectly, the lovely painted vegetation in the bottom left of the old shop window would have been obscured, which would have been a shame). I really like the light and tonality in this shot.

 

[Ralph Turner]

Of course, feel completely free to ignore my comment above, as that may not have been your intent with this.. . I do like that tonality, though...

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yes, worth the wait, Peter! Though I have to say my favourite part is “Look Up Look Out”…makes me wonder what is up there?

 

[Gianluca Drago]

To my eyes, I would have liked to have a better understanding of the surroundings, a little bit of more context, also to dilute the contrast between the garbage collecting person and the macarons advertisement in a point of view that leaves some room for empathy. Nevertheless, a nice shot.

 

[Peter Roberts]

Of course, feel completely free to ignore my comment above

Not at all, Ralph. I asked for critique.
I was concentrating more on getting the street cleaner reasonably central as well as trying to avoid having one of his legs poised mid air at an awkward angle. Having the dessert appear to be coming out of (or is it going into?) his cart was a bonus even if it doesn't quite work. But then street photography is rarely perfectly composed, therein lies its attraction.
I'm rather impressed by the tonality Kentmere 400 can achieve. Not particularly contrasty which makes a nice change from the harsher contrast that I usually favour. I'll post another shot from the same roll and location shortly, more in the pretty picture category.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

The tonality, as you say Peter, really is good for what is usually regarded as a relatively cheap film. I might try a roll.

 

[Peter Roberts]

Yes, worth the wait, Peter! Though I have to say my favourite part is “Look Up Look Out”…makes me wonder what is up there?

Haha! Pesky signs are everywhere these days. A symptom of the nanny state I suppose.

 

[Peter Roberts]

To my eyes, I would have liked to have a better understanding of the surroundings, a little bit of more context, also to dilute the contrast between the garbage collecting person and the macarons advertisement in a point of view that leaves some room for empathy. Nevertheless, a nice shot.

Thanks, Gianluca. You've given me something to think about.
The latest junk food fad, at least here in the UK appears to be these so called American candy stores. Like their wares they don't seem to last long in one place but soon pop up somewhere else. As a grumpy old man, the irony of the juxtapositon of Candy Palace and the street cleaner appealed to me. The point is that there is no empathy between junk food and the person who has to clean up the litter it can cause.
Perhaps social comment is not my forte.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Those stores have also popped up in the UK. There was a BBC news report saying many of them were fronts for money laundering. Even in my small village there was a huge one for a year. Hardly ever saw anyone in there. Once the year-long rent was up, they moved out. All very suspicious.

 

[Ralph Turner]

I do like the look that the Kentmere emulsions give. If I only had these two in my fridge, I'd be quite contented. They can produce (to my eyes) a very pleasing A4 sized print from a 35mm scan. The 100 is similar, just finer grained, as you'd expect.
There is a youtube channel that you may have already discovered, called The Naked Photographer (no, not what you think) run by a guy called Greg Davis. He has produced some excellent comparisons between various emulsions and his reference, Tri-X, carried out in quite a controlled, objective manner. Amongst these the two Kentmeres feature. Well worth a look if you haven't seen them.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

As a grumpy old man, the irony of the juxtapositon of Candy Palace and the street cleaner appealed to me

Now I understand the photo composition better. Thank you for your comment.

 

[Stevenson Gawen]

Love that, Peter. The composition is rather pleasing, the shopfront kind of makes a frame, and there's a lovely contrast between the prosaic street cleaner and the rather fanciful imagery in the shop... appeals to my sense of humour!

“Look Up Look Out”…makes me wonder what is up there?

I think it says "Help prevent street robbery. Be aware of your surroundings and your valuables"

Those shops sound weird...