Arrested

michswiss

bdcolen

First, congratulations on seeing this and having the guts to shoot it - though I wonder about your sanity.:D

That said, the arrest is too damn far away and is lost in the frame. This is not a criticism - you were in a difficult situation. But here are the three photos I would like to see:



or



or



From a photojournalism standpoint it's definitely the first. From a street photo standpoint it's probably the second.

michswiss

I'll come back in the morning and add some comments regarding my thinking on the initial crop. I just keep staying up too late. But, for the street scene, I assume this crop would work better. I have also slightly lightened the faces of the women. Man is that a harsh juxtaposition.

[eta - updated crop]

bdcolen

michswiss wrote:

I'll come back in the morning and add some comments regarding my thinking on the initial crop. I just keep staying up too late. But, for the street scene, I assume this crop would work better (although looking at it, I might bring back in a slight amount more foreground). I have also slightly lightened the faces of the women. Man is that a harsh juxtaposition.

"Man is that a harsh juxtaposition." And that's what street photography is about. And/or humor, ambiguity, pathos, mystery -
As a street photo it's brilliant!:ivar Though I'd crop in still tighter. I know you want that background, but we really need to see the faces on the men. (And it would have been more brilliant if you'd been much closer, or had a long lens. But I realize that's Monday morning critiquing.)

rutt

I want the background, too. I played with it a bit and couldn't improve on Michswiss' second version. I think this will work well in a large print. BD has a point about smaller versions: in a newspaper it couldn't be that big and you'd need a close crop.

This is a very brave shot and it was worth the risk to get it.

Toshido

Would be interested in knowing a little more background on the picture.

To me it looks like loss prevention instead of police, especially the way the guy on the right is holding him. Safe shot but nice timing in it.

Makes me feel like sitting around the local stores and malls waiting for an arrest. Maybe even go to one of the stores I used to work in to see if I can get an old co-worker during the arrest...

Nikolai

First of all: awesome PJ work!
---
Like BD, I want less distraction;
Like John, I want more background;
Concentraing on the group makes it look like shot of the buddies in Silicon Valley.
Here's my crop. It holds both the key group and the unique environment.

michswiss

I decided to share the shot as it's stuck in my head for some time. In fact, I had second thoughts last night after posting it. Having my name associated with this type of content made me nervous. Thanks for the kudos.

I had come out from a set of narrow and crowded hutongs and just switched lens. The photo was shot using a 70-200 on a D300. It was set to ~100mm optically / 150mm equivalent. I could have gone a lot further in, but I'd actually set up for a different shot to try and get a perspective image on the long, open street. So by the time I noticed the plainclothes officials with the young man in custody, I did a quick refocus and fired a couple of shots. I opted to not stand there and recompose lest they notice and I'm suddenly needing to have an uncomfortable conversation. So maybe not so brave after all, eh?

Toshido, I can assure you that this isn't a "Loss Prevention" team. This was taken last winter in a newly developed area behind a very famous square and tomb in a town where the olympics were recently held. There weren't any stores open as of yet on this particular street. But, it doesn't mean that there might not be less nefarious scenarios than the one implied by the body language.

Mr. Quiet

I know you shot that in China, but where in China?

divamum

:lurk

Just reading and learning. Great stuff.

Chrissiebeez_NL

very interesting discussion here, like the input of BD Colen on these threads as well! Thnx!

I'm torn between the original and the second crop. the setting/bg really puts you in china, an important aspect of the story. The crop however focusses on the faces.. mhhh.. difficult, cant really choose between the two.

Awais Yaqub

Seriously photos with backgrounds don't tell "Arrested" rather "buddies" I prefer the 1st version of BD

Mr. Quiet

I have an idea, why don't you use a 10x4 crop? I think you will be surprised!

michswiss

Here's a 10x4 crop. I can see what you mean with the results, it has a bit more balance to my eye. But I think it still falls within one of three styles the shot could take.

michswiss

Thanks everyone for the comments. Much appreciated and a very interesting exercise how a single shot can be cropped to different intents. Here's how I've interpreted it. Three possible intents and reproduction options.

- Pure PJ in combination with an article. This is where I think B.D.'s version fits. Since the context of the photo itself is removed, it is dependent on the article to describe the setting. It definitely shows the detention best, but for this shot is limited to only small reproduction or printing.

- Street shot. The subjects are brought as far to the fore as possible and allowed to play off each other to create a form of tension in the composition. This would be good for an online gallery or smaller print sizes. The 10x4 crop might work in a larger print, but I'll need to experiment.

- Exposition. This would be best with a larger print and minimal crop to allow the full scene to be seen but the detail of the arrest still easily discernible if the viewer explores the image. The detention becomes a statement on how extraordinary or uncomfortable acts can so easily take place amongst us without our being aware of them. Doesn't work online.

Make sense?

rutt

Actually, besides issues of composition, I want a crop that shows enough background that I know this is taking place in a Chinese city. Without that, a lot of the story is gone. It's pretty simple.

Mr. Quiet

Hey, you haven't answered my Q yet, where in China?

michswiss

Mr. Quiet wrote:

Hey, you haven't answered my Q yet, where in China?

I thought my description of the location just before your question was fairly self explanatory, if cryptic.

But in any case, Beijing on Qianmen Jia.

Mr. Quiet

That is Jie, not Jia. I live in China by the way.

bdcolen

michswiss wrote:

Here's a 10x4 crop. I can see what you mean with the results, it has a bit more balance to my eye. But I think it still falls within one of three styles the shot could take.

Yes, more balance - but the story is lost. In the larger view the prisoner might simply be a guy who's had too much to drink and is being helped along by his friends. I simply can't see enough.

michswiss

bdcolen wrote:

Yes, more balance - but the story is lost. In the larger view the prisoner might simply be a guy who's had too much to drink and is being helped along by his friends. I simply can't see enough.

BD, I think the story is how you discover what's happening visually and that is dependent on the medium used. For web or newsprint, I would definitely follow your advice. As a large-format print, I think it might be more interesting leaving all the contextual pieces in place. Then, assuming the image isn't generally uninteresting, there is a reward for the viewer to discover the dissonance and then reexamine the image as a whole from a new perspective.

As a side note, this is why I think titles are important to a piece and what I'm struggling with for the next image I want to share.