Turnabout is fair play

[RSL]

Here's another shot from the street shoot I did a week ago this past Saturday during the Manitou Springs art walk. Manitou Springs is a tourist town and it has a lot of fake American "indian" artifacts -- things like moccasins made in India, indian drums made in China, rubber tomahawks made in Mexico, etc. Here's a kid learning to play the tom-tom.

[attachment=16861:Drummer.jpg]

[button]

Great timing- the hands of both father and son make the shot.  I think the light cooperated, allowing you to frame the father in the foreground and intentionally dwarf his son.  The father's reflection works, creating a pleasing "V," as well as a virtual spectator.

I'm not sure what I think about the woman top right.  I assume you're trying add context here, but I find her a bit disctracting, as she's walking away from the subject, taking my eye with her.

John

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I'll agree with most of what John says, and add that the direction and intensity of the gazes of boy and father help tremendously.

But I like the woman's reflection, and I'm glad you didn't (blush -- that word again) crop her out. She is small enough so that I don't look at her until I ma well and truly ready to move on from the boy and dad.

Eric

[JeffKohn]

To me this image is more successful than the other shot at actually telling a story. Nice timing on capturing a moment when their hands are up. I'm going to have to side with John on the woman's reflection; it's  a distraction, and adds nothign to the picture for me. Also considier if you crop her out, the entire image is composed of earth tones _except_ for the boy's green shirt, which makes him a stronger focal point for the image.

[kikashi]

Here's another shot from the street shoot I did a week ago this past Saturday during the Manitou Springs art walk. Manitou Springs is a tourist town and it has a lot of fake American "indian" artifacts -- things like moccasins made in India, indian drums made in China, rubber tomahawks made in Mexico, etc. Here's a kid learning to play the tom-tom.

[attachment=16861:Drummer.jpg]

Russ, I like the subject of the shot, but I find both the woman walking away and particularly the object in the doorway very distracting. I spent more time wondering what the object was  (a buggy of some kind?) than on the rest of the picture. The woman is easily removable, but the thing would remain.

FWIW

Jeremy

[RSL]

Okay, I'll critique this one too. I don't have a problem with the woman's reflection at the far right of the shot. I saw her in my viewfinder and could have waited a second or two for her to leave the frame. The dad and kid were drumming and I was sure I could still get a shot with their hands raised. This wasn't like the third picture I posted of the kid with his arms crossed and ready to kiss his mom -- where the shot had to be now or never. I agree with Jeremy that it would have been nice not to have whatever it is in that entryway to distract the viewer. Unfortunately, in street photography you can't start moving the props around before you shoot. My main beef with this picture is the angle of the dad's neck. It feels strained to me, though I know it wasn't.

Here's another version shot from a few steps to the right. Of the two this originally was my pick, but my wife, who owned a gallery for ten years disagreed. She pointed out that this shot puts too much emphasis on the dad, when the emphasis should be on the kid. I liked them both well enough to concede. Now I'm not so sure. It's a good example of why it pays to wait a while before you make decisions about your photographs.

[attachment=16925:Drummer_2.jpg]

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

This one is nice, but I still prefer the original drummer photo. I'll even be willing to let you crop out the woman in the upper right and tone down the big funny object in the doorway just to make the other viewers happy. But that one is a real winner IMHO.

Eric

[kikashi]

This one is nice, but I still prefer the original drummer photo. I'll even be willing to let you crop out the woman in the upper right and tone down the big funny object in the doorway just to make the other viewers happy. But that one is a real winner IMHO.

Eric

I agree. Apart from any consideration of emphasis, the second one is spoilt for me because the kid's hand hides part of his face.

Jeremy

[AndrewKulin]

If only the boy's hand was just a 1/4 second higher or lower then I don't think the Dad would be the focus.  As it is I prefer this photograph over the original as it is less cluttered with stuff (but I do not mind the lady as much as others do), both faces are facing in the general direction of the camera (e.g., the Dad is not facing away), and the faces are not in direct/harsh sunlight, the boy in particular and so the squinting of his eyes are not apparent in the second photo.

Andrew