iHop

bdcolen

michswiss

I don't think the girl looks nearly sticky enough to be in an iHop. The man in the foreground, though, reminds me of the end of a graveyard shift or having been out all night and needing something to eat before snagging a couple of hours sleep. If I were to be able to magically add something to the shot, it would be a waitress moving into or out of the station.

bdcolen

michswiss wrote:

I don't think the girl looks nearly sticky enough to be in an iHop. The man in the foreground, though, reminds me of the end of a graveyard shift or having been out all night and needing something to eat before snagging a couple of hours sleep. If I were to be able to magically add something to the shot, it would be a waitress moving into or out of the station.

That would indeed add something interesting. And you're right - she doesn't look sticky enough. As a friend once said to me as we left an iHop and headed back to work - "Ah, nothing like a lunch of white bread soaked in corn syrup, with a side of animal fat!"

damonff

love the focus layers

rainbow

I have more questions, than comments about the photos: I could see why you snapped the shot with the girl looking out at something. Had I been sitting where I assume you were, I might have done the same. Now in looking at the photo itself, did you plan this angle? I would have said that "Oh well, I wish I were more to the right to get the mother in the shot." Also you chose to include the guy in the foreground. Was this for ambience? Were the three adults in a row a compositional element that helps make the shot, and if so, did you see this before you shot it?

I guess I am asking you to help critique your own shot (as if one of us took it) to help us learn from your actual photography experience and what you were looking for when you decided to shoot.

Thanks!

bdcolen

rainbow wrote:

I have more questions, than comments about the photos: I could see why you snapped the shot with the girl looking out at something. Had I been sitting where I assume you were, I might have done the same. Now in looking at the photo itself, did you plan this angle? I would have said that "Oh well, I wish I were more to the right to get the mother in the shot." Also you chose to include the guy in the foreground. Was this for ambience? Were the three adults in a row a compositional element that helps make the shot, and if so, did you see this before you shot it?

I guess I am asking you to help critique your own shot (as if one of us took it) to help us learn from your actual photography experience and what you were looking for when you decided to shoot.

Thanks!

Good questions. First, remember that this was shot on a 4/3 sensor, and is cropped as a square - I lopped off empty space to the right.

I did indeed plan the angel, and not only did I chose to include the guy (my 'youngest' son) in the foreground, but I chose to only capture part of him - as I did - to produce what I hope is a bit of mystery about him. I did indeed see the three adults in a row - believe it or not, and then wanted the little girl peering around the row - or so it seems. Mom, by the way, didn't seem particularly interesting. Were she interacting with the child, I'd have definitely wanted her.

As to the square, I've found in the past six months to a year that I like it more and more, especially for portraits and relatively close work.

Awais Yaqub

She seems interested in something else, i wonder what she was looking at

bdcolen

Awais Yaqub wrote:

She seems interested in something else, i wonder what she was looking at

Probably just watching the back and forth of waiters/waitresses, and people paying at the cash register, all of which would have been happening in the area she appears to be looking toward.

Richard

Great composition in this one, BD. I know it's against "the rules" but in this case I wonder if it might have worked better if the little girl were looking straight at the camera/viewer. Guess there's no way of knowing.

seastack

Nice shot, and I especially like photos with layers to them ... I always have the chant in my head of foreground, middleground, background. Now if you could just get a waiter or waitress in the background, or rather half of them just coming around the corner with a tray ... ;-))

I would be tempted to increase the contrast on this a little, especially your son, but that's just my personal taste. The one thing that still bugs me a little about digital is the lack of grain, especially in the highlights.

Flyinggina

Following this thread has been a learning experience for me and a lesson in how studying the work of good photographers can affect how we view photography of a certain genre.

When I first saw this photo, I did not find it particularly compelling. It just didn't speak to me. Part of that is because I don't respond well to major blurry areas in the foreground unless my eye is drawn directly to something in focus (or more in focus), and the little girl just takes up too little space in the frame for the picture to work for me. I recognize that this is just a personal issue and I work to keep an open mind.

My point, however, is that I have come to appreciate the photo more through the discussion on this thread. The picture will likely never be a favorite of mine, but understanding what was in BD's mind when he took the shot (framing, why he made certain choices etc.) and reading the responses of others has brought me back to the photo enough times that I have gained an better understanding of why so many people like it.

Which is my long winded way of saying that sometimes it is really useful to discuss a photograph in detail and to gain an understanding of what was in the photographer's mind. Not as a defense of the success of the photo, because if we have learned anything at all from this and other forum's on dGrin, having a specific intent when we take a photo is not enough to make it a successful effort, however brilliant the thought behind it.

Sometimes, though, seeing through the eyes of the photographer and of others teaches me to see in ways that influence my own work.

This got more longwinded than I planned.

Briefly, I have enjoyed and learned from this thread. Thanks to all who have participated and particularly to BD, who, besides being truly knowledgeable about photography and photographers, really is a nice guy in person.

Virginia

bdcolen

Richard wrote:

Great composition in this one, BD. I know it's against "the rules" but in this case I wonder if it might have worked better if the little girl were looking straight at the camera/viewer. Guess there's no way of knowing.

Rules be damned - it might well have worked.

bdcolen

Flyinggina wrote:

Following this thread has been a learning experience for me and a lesson in how studying the work of good photographers can affect how we view photography of a certain genre.

When I first saw this photo, I did not find it particularly compelling. It just didn't speak to me. Part of that is because I don't respond well to major blurry areas in the foreground unless my eye is drawn directly to something in focus (or more in focus), and the little girl just takes up too little space in the frame for the picture to work for me. I recognize that this is just a personal issue and I work to keep an open mind.

My point, however, is that I have come to appreciate the photo more through the discussion on this thread. The picture will likely never be a favorite of mine, but understanding what was in BD's mind when he took the shot (framing, why he made certain choices etc.) and reading the responses of others has brought me back to the photo enough times that I have gained an better understanding of why so many people like it.

Which is my long winded way of saying that sometimes it is really useful to discuss a photograph in detail and to gain an understanding of what was in the photographer's mind. Not as a defense of the success of the photo, because if we have learned anything at all from this and other forum's on dGrin, having a specific intent when we take a photo is not enough to make it a successful effort, however brilliant the thought behind it.

Sometimes, though, seeing through the eyes of the photographer and of others teaches me to see in ways that influence my own work.

This got more longwinded than I planned.

Briefly, I have enjoyed and learned from this thread. Thanks to all who have participated and particularly to BD, who, besides being truly knowledgeable about photography and photographers, really is a nice guy in person.

Virginia

Thanks, Gina - Not that many will believe that last statement.

rutt

This very nice image and discussion have put me in mind of a couple of attempts I made of using this technique (focus on a background subject) almost 5 years ago:





It's a tricky technique. I think you have to exaggerate to make it work.

rutt

bdcolen wrote:

Thanks, Gina - Not that many will believe that last statement.

Don't be paranoid, B.D. More people see through that gruff exterior than you think. You're kind of the Lou Grant of Street & PJ.

rainbow

bdcolen wrote:

Good questions. First, remember that this was shot on a 4/3 sensor, and is cropped as a square - I lopped off empty space to the right.

I did indeed plan the angel, and not only did I chose to include the guy (my 'youngest' son) in the foreground, but I chose to only capture part of him - as I did - to produce what I hope is a bit of mystery about him. I did indeed see the three adults in a row - believe it or not, and then wanted the little girl peering around the row - or so it seems. Mom, by the way, didn't seem particularly interesting. Were she interacting with the child, I'd have definitely wanted her.

As to the square, I've found in the past six months to a year that I like it more and more, especially for portraits and relatively close work.

Thanks for the info. This will spur me more to "compose" the photo in my mind before raising my camera. Currently, I probably use more of a quantity approach and find shots that I like when viewing them. On something like this one, I would have noted the adults being lined up after, not before shooting it.


As Virginia noted, your photo and edification has been instructive. Thanks, Mr. Nice Guy!