Critique Welcomed Reportage...

[alfie Wright]

Hi all, Hope you are all keeping well?

A week ago on Saturday, whilst looking to shoot more street, I found myself around a protest demonstration in opposition to the so called 'Bedroom Tax', so thought I'd better snap a few shots. Here's a few of my faves...



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #1... by alfie2902, on Flickr



Expect Us... We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #2... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #3... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #4... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #5... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #6... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #7... by alfie2902, on Flickr



We Oppose The Bedroom Tax - Demonstration 16 March - Nottingham #8... by alfie2902, on Flickr

 

[Hamish Gill]

That's a cracking set!
content, compo all spot on ... As they say in ... Somewhere I'd rather not go ... Well jell!
very nice conversion too!

(nice to see you on board and all)

 

[Pete Askew]

Superb Alfie. Especially the first and the seventh.

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Excellent set, Alfie. We've missed you!

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a bedroom tax? I often go to bed when I'm taxed. Probably means something else, though!

 

[Pete Askew]

You mean you haven't been paying it all these years. Oh dear, oh dear. I think you should hold off on buying any new lenses for a while!

BBC News - Housing benefit change protests held

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Yikes. Double yikes.

 

[alfie Wright]

Thanks guys for the kind words

Excellent set, Alfie. We've missed you!

Excuse my ignorance, but what is a bedroom tax? I often go to bed when I'm taxed. Probably means something else, though!

I didn't know very much about it before I happened upon the demo, Rob. Pete's beaten me a link, so that should explain things a little. With camera in hand it just seemed to good an opportunity not to take a few shots.

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Cracking set - especially like the shots where you have the placards in frame to give the images context

 

[Hamish Gill]

Come back to these ... I like them!
Whats the process for black and white conversion? It's very nice!

 

[Glenn Clabo]

Nice series Alfie. I have no idea what it's about...but your shots show the cross section of mood of the people.

 

[alfie Wright]

Come back to these ... I like them!
Whats the process for black and white conversion? It's very nice!

Just checking to see what pics I posted here last & found your question, Hamish.

Better late than never I guess!

I develop the RAW in LR4, I get the white balance correct first then work as colour images trying for a strong but still natural looking contrast mostly just with global adjustments. I add some clarity (+25 ish) & some vibrance (+10 ish) sometimes I'll locally brighten or darken a colour to give a little separation after B&W conversion & sharpen a little.

Then into Silver fx to convert to B&W I'll add a little brightness to the mids & darken the shadow brightness then balance the overall brightness with the global & dynamic sliders. Add contrast to taste amplifying whites a little & blacks more then again balance contrast with the global & soft contrast sliders. Add some texture then play with control points to lighten/darken to lead the eye a little. Add a little vignette or burn edges etc

Then back to LR4 & perhaps fine tune with a little more clarity & sharpen to taste.

I'm experimenting with Nik sharpener pro atm though to get control over local sharpening for effect.

 

[Nihat Iyriboz]

It is indeed a very nice set, Alfie.

 

[Stephen McCullough]

Really good set.
One thing that strikes me is that apart from clues in the various placards, there is little to give away when these were taken. They could be from a current protest, or from years ago.

Anyway, I can feel the mood. Well done.