Portrait Award

[Rob MacKillop]

I've reached 2016 now in my trawl through my old files.

 

[Brian Moore]

So we have eight more years to go...?

Just kidding! I love your work!

 

[Rob MacKillop]

LOL. It's mostly very painful for me...

 

[Gianluca Drago]

It doesn't look like Rob's. And I feel something weird in the geometry (maybe some geometry correction automatism not perfectly right?). If the (second) portrait is that of the woman... she is almost out of frame.
Sorry, but this is how I see it tonight, when I'll post something in future you can take revenge on me for this comment with over-the-top criticism.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

No, your comments are welcome, Gianluca. I don't post images here because I think they are good, and worthy of praise. No, I present them for discussion, pro or contra doesn't matter.

To my eyes, there is a lot wrong with this composition, but I'd say the idea was a good one. I saw the lady first, and, being shy of people in street photography, I pretended I was aiming for something else, and only then noticed what the sign was about. It was too good to pass up on. But she was staring straight at me, so I chickened-out and took a quick snap before moving on without looking at her.

So, the idea required a few more seconds of composition time, and I needed to move more to the right. As for the 'geometry correction', I can't recall doing that here. I did admittedly try that technique out on some images - if it's an option you at least want to try it - but I decided I never liked the results, so abandoned the technique. I can't remember if that was before or after taking this image.

So, nice try, but no cigar.

This is the value for me in looking through my old images. I learn something.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I completely understand all your difficulties with street-photography, I suck when I try it.
In my comments I set out to be impartial and honest, but I don't always succeed 100%. Otherwise what are the comments for?

Fortunately, when one posts a photo in this forum they don't just have to put up with the comments of a amateur like me, but those of a community of very experienced photographers.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Once you put something in the public realm you have lost control of it. We should keep this in mind if we are very sensitive to criticism. I much prefer discussion about, rather than criticism (pro or contra) of.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Once you put something in the public realm you have lost control of it. We should keep this in mind if we are very sensitive to criticism. I much prefer discussion about, rather than criticism (pro or contra) of.

This comment of yours puts me in crisis because I cannot distinguish between the two options. I am not a certified critic, so my first naive judgement is ‘I like it’, ‘I don't like it’, then I can try to elaborate the concept, but I have to express my own vision not try to impersonate the person who posted the photo because that would be presumptuous of me.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Hmm. Is saying you like or don’t like a photo an act of criticism? I can like an image I think is not perfect or even ‘good’. And equally I can dislike something I think is in many ways very good. And does it matter if you like or dislike an image? I can’t speak for others, but I am not looking for your or anyone else’s approval. My sole aim of posting here is to stimulate conversation about the subject. To be perfectly honest, I am disinterested equally in whether someone likes or dislikes my photography. Discussion of the ideas behind the image is always more interesting to me.

 

[Brian Moore]

and, being shy of people in street photography, I pretended I was aiming for something else

There is a documentary series on TV over here in the US called "American Masters." It was/is broadcast on PBS (Public Broadcasting Stations), a nationwide network of publicly funded television stations. Anyway, one of their episodes featured Garry Winogrand, one of the most celebrated of "street" photographers. It was fascinating to see Winogrand at work on the streets. Given what I have seen of his work, he is the last person I would consider cautious about how he photographs people. But his technique seemed to be to act like he wasn't sure of his camera. He'd raise it to his eye, then quickly take it down and gaze at it as if something were wrong with it, then he'd do it again; repeatedly acting as though he didn't know what he was doing. Perhaps this was to disarm people, or perhaps it was out of the same kind of fear most of us experience when attempting to photograph strangers. Who knows? Anyway,...it was fascinating.

American Masters may be available on Netflix also, or perhaps YouTube.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, Brian. The BBC iPlayer has many PBS progs. I'll see if they have it.

I remember seeing an old advert - its was drawn by hand, so was quite old - in which the photographer's camera had a false lens at the front, and a sneaky one at the side. People would think you were focussing on something away from them, so were relaxed. Of course the ad was quite salacious, as the girls to the side of the photographer were in swimming costumes...Sex sells!

 

[Brian Moore]

Thanks, Brian. The BBC iPlayer has many PBS progs. I'll see if they have it.

I remember seeing an old advert - its was drawn by hand, so was quite old - in which the photographer's camera had a false lens at the front, and a sneaky one at the side. People would think you were focussing on something away from them, so were relaxed. Of course the ad was quite salacious, as the girls to the side of the photographer were in swimming costumes...Sex sells!

lol. I think I've seen ads for such "spy" cameras. Same concept as shooting wide angle on the streets; people think you're shooting past them at something else.

 

[Chris Bennett]

I like this Rob.
The various elements included in the scene raise questions, which is 'a good thing', as far as I am concerned.

 

[Chris Bennett]

There is a documentary series on TV over here in the US called "American Masters." It was/is broadcast on PBS (Public Broadcasting Stations), a nationwide network of publicly funded television stations. Anyway, one of their episodes featured Garry Winogrand, one of the most celebrated of "street" photographers. It was fascinating to see Winogrand at work on the streets. Given what I have seen of his work, he is the last person I would consider cautious about how he photographs people. But his technique seemed to be to act like he wasn't sure of his camera. He'd raise it to his eye, then quickly take it down and gaze at it as if something were wrong with it, then he'd do it again; repeatedly acting as though he didn't know what he was doing. Perhaps this was to disarm people, or perhaps it was out of the same kind of fear most of us experience when attempting to photograph strangers. Who knows? Anyway,...it was fascinating.

American Masters may be available on Netflix also, or perhaps YouTube.

I am pretty sure I have seen this on YouTube, Brian.


...more sure now that I have searched for it:

 

[Julian Tanase]

What draws my attention to this photograph is the verticality of elements: the advert board, the lamp posts, the tall windows, the pillars, table legs, and yes, ultimately, the woman. The horizontal shapes only enhance one's feeling of verticality here.

I do seem to imagine that the woman is on a kind of silent disapproval because it is not her portrait on that advert. She doesn't want to be associated with the thing itself, but she's not very far from it, hoping someone will notice her being upset. Even her stance is one of clear disdain and disapproval. You know, "hell hath no fury..." sort of thing.

In decrypting and enjoying the "fabric of meaning" of the photography, one doesn't care much for assessing the exposure or processing technique; one feels these are secondary to the purpose of the photograph.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks Chris, and thanks Julian. It does raise questions, which is why I thought worthy of be placed on this august forum! I just think it could have been done better, and it was my squeamishness in street photography that let me down. I’ll stick to other genres, for the most part.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

Hmm. Is saying you like or don’t like a photo an act of criticism? I can like an image I think is not perfect or even ‘good’. And equally I can dislike something I think is in many ways very good. And does it matter if you like or dislike an image? I can’t speak for others, but I am not looking for your or anyone else’s approval. My sole aim of posting here is to stimulate conversation about the subject. To be perfectly honest, I am disinterested equally in whether someone likes or dislikes my photography. Discussion of the ideas behind the image is always more interesting to me.

Sorry, Rob, but I understood very little of this whole discussion. I'd better take a breather.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

I hope I have not upset you, @Gianluca? All I'm saying is prefer discussion over likes or dislikes.

 

[Gianluca Drago]

I hope I have not upset you, @Gianluca? All I'm saying is prefer discussion over likes or dislikes.

I just need a pause to understand where I am.