Shooting high & making it work

ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
edited August 31, 2008 in Technique
Sorry, in advance, but you need the print version of today's New York Times to see the pictures I'm talking about. I dug around in the online Times with no luck.

Also, please, let's leave politics out of this. Really it's about photography.

That said, there are two pictures of Hillary Clinton at the DNC that I found surprisingly powerful and which break a rule that I have fought to uphold for years. The first shot is on the front page. The second shot is on page A15.

The rule is to avoid lower body amputations and try not to leave too much unbalanced space on top. Both these pictures show only her top half and leave a lot of space above. The A16 shot is especially dramatic this way. Of course, the space above is full of convention drama and the bottom half might not be so interesting. But still...

I love The New York Times for its PJ. Every day is like a lesson.

If someone finds a link to these shots, please provide. Thanks.
If not now, when?

Comments

  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,130 moderator
    edited August 27, 2008
    Is this one of the images to which you refer:

    http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2008/08/26/us/26clinton-190.jpg
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited August 27, 2008
    Sorry, no.
    If not now, when?
  • LlywellynLlywellyn Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 3,186 Major grins
    edited August 27, 2008
    Is this one of them?
  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited August 27, 2008
    Llywellyn wrote:
    Is this one of them?

    Again, sorry no. The two shots in question show a lot of convention activity in the background on top: people, signs, banners. The use of DOF in both shots is just about perfect; you can see that background but the subject stands out as being the only thing in sharp focus. Come to think of it, this makes me think they must both be tele shots, even though they have good wide angle like compositions.

    I thought for sure they'd have them online, but I guess I just don't understand the policy. BTW, both shots are credited to photographer/New York Times, and not some outside news agency.

    You might just have to buy that paper if you want to see the shots. On the other hand, if you want to look at some great photojournalism nearly every day, a New York Times subscription is hard to beat.
    If not now, when?
  • JimWJimW Registered Users Posts: 333 Major grins
    edited August 27, 2008
    Rutt,
    I have the paper today and can see both these shots. Since the Times is printed in many locations, the photo on p. 15 will likely be on another page for different areas. I’m in NYC, and it’s page 21 for me.
    The photos are credited to two good shooters, Todd Heisler and Damon Winter. I thought Winter shot for the LA Times until I saw this credit line. Heisler’s work from Iraq is well known.
    As I’m sure you know, it’s unlikely the photographer had anything to do with the cropping. And the NYT regularly throws convention out the window, if necessary, to fit the photo into the space. We often see severe cropping and squishing to fit an orchestra shot into two columns in the Arts section.
    The Times seems to be building up their photographer base again after losing many seasoned vets a few years ago when the Times demanded they sign a (difficult) contract. Many photogs refused to sign.
    I love looking at the photos in the Times too. I have a couple of friends who shoot regularly for them, and I look forward to seeing their work. As the saying goes “there’s more to the picture than meets the eye.”
    The one on the FC is most interesting, as the background could be almost anything. Yet we see Hillary and we know the Dems are having their party, so we recognize the background for what it is. Only later ( a couple of seconds) did I see the UNITY sign and the Hillary sign. I agree it’s a powerful effect.
    Thanks for calling these out.
    Cheers,
    Jim

    I don't want the cheese, I just want to get out of the trap.


    http://www.jimwhitakerphotography.com/
  • jfriendjfriend Registered Users Posts: 8,097 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2008
    rutt wrote:
    Again, sorry no. The two shots in question show a lot of convention activity in the background on top: people, signs, banners. The use of DOF in both shots is just about perfect; you can see that background but the subject stands out as being the only thing in sharp focus.

    Here's one that matches your description.

    I've noticed that there are a lot of natural light, color shots from the convention floor that I don't think our cameras were capable of only 3-4 years ago, certainly not the early digitals. See the front page of the online nytimes.com and look at images 2-8 by clicking on the number below the main image. All pictures taken in very low light and it doesn't look like a flash was used on any of them.

    This page will likely change tomorrow so you might see something different when you go there.
    --John
    Homepage • Popular
    JFriend's javascript customizations • Secrets for getting fast answers on Dgrin
     Always include a link to your site when posting a question
  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2008
    Still not it, John, but pretty nice. The two I saw in the paper really made me stop and take a look.

    I agree about the equipment making it possible to do new things.

    We really haven't talked about what makes this sort of shot work. It's not the sort of thing we encourage beginners to do.
    If not now, when?
  • aktseaktse Registered Users Posts: 1,928 Major grins
    edited August 29, 2008
    JimW wrote:
    The photos are credited to two good shooters, Todd Heisler and Damon Winter.
    Perfect Timing! I was reading Vincent Laforet's Blog today and saw the name Damon Winter mentioned and thought, where I did see this name before?

    Laforet was giving props to Damon Winter's Neighborhood Lens series in which he double exposured on 8 X 10 sheets of film for about 4-8 hours in brooklyn!!!

    Damon Winter's New York Times Photo Slide Show with Commentary as he followed Obama -- and if these are any indication of that photos that Rutt is searching for.... I can just imagine that the hillary one would be thought provoking. He has very an unique eye and the guts to frame the shots in some usual ways.
    http://aktse.smugmug.com/
  • Scott_QuierScott_Quier Registered Users Posts: 6,524 Major grins
    edited August 30, 2008
    Hey Rutt,

    Since you have a copy of the paper and it appears many do not and since you are talking about composition - why not just scan a copy of the photos and post them here? It's for educational purposes and, if you also included appropriate credit/by-lines, I don't think it would be a © violation (would it?). This way all would know what you were talking about.

    Just a thought....
    Scott
    My Photos
    Thoughts on photographing a wedding, How to post a picture, AF Microadjustments?, Light Scoop
    Equipment List - Check my profile
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,130 moderator
    edited August 30, 2008
    Scott_Quier wrote:
    Hey Rutt,

    Since you have a copy of the paper and it appears many do not and since you are talking about composition - why not just scan a copy of the photos and post them here? It's for educational purposes and, if you also included appropriate credit/by-lines, I don't think it would be a © violation (would it?). This way all would know what you were talking about.

    Just a thought....

    Unfortunately, unless you get permission first, it is a violation of Federal Copyright law to copy the works by any means.

    It would also be against Digital Grin policy, which is there to protect us as well.

    I'm afraid we must respect the rights of both the copyright holder, probably the NY Times, and the original photographer.
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,130 moderator
    edited August 30, 2008
    Are the images within either of these searches?

    http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Agraphics8.nytimes.com+%2B%22Todd+Heisler%22+%2Bclinton+%2Bconvention&btnG=Search+Images
    http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&q=site%3Agraphics8.nytimes.com+%2B%22Damon+Winter%22+%2Bclinton+%2Bconvention&btnG=Search+Images
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited August 31, 2008
    No, sorry. For some reason the NYT kept both images off the internet.
    If not now, when?
Sign In or Register to comment.