Harvard Commencement

bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
edited May 31, 2010 in Street and Documentary
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bd@bdcolenphoto.com
"He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

"The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed

Comments

  • thoththoth Registered Users Posts: 1,085 Major grins
    edited May 27, 2010
    I love the point of view in the first, B.D. The last, however, is the winner for me. It is a very evocative photo. thumb.gif
    Travis
  • Jack'll doJack'll do Registered Users Posts: 2,977 Major grins
    edited May 27, 2010
    These are all very good, each in it's own way. If I had to pick a favorite "wish I took it" shot I'd have to decide between #1 and #4.
    jrg.smugmug.com

    Jack
    (My real name is John but Jack'll do)
  • bfjrbfjr Registered Users Posts: 10,980 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    I stop every time I view at #3. thumb.gif
    Benjamin
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  • Wil DavisWil Davis Registered Users Posts: 1,692 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    #4

    thumb.gif

    - Wil
    "…………………" - Marcel Marceau
  • lizzard_nyclizzard_nyc Registered Users Posts: 4,056 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    Can't pick a favorite.
    #1--I always like the quirky caps--and I like your POV on this one.

    #2 This is such a great shot, I like that you included the photographer in the shot, trying to capture that special moment.

    #3 Again the photographer in the shot just makes it for me (btw, I like his socks:). Two grads, both smiling from ear to ear and obviously friends--for me that shot is about those two--love it.

    #4 Don't know if that's her kid or little brother--either way-beautiful moment.
    Liz A.
    _________
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    So my take is that #4 is a real killer. One and three are fun - I'd be happy to turn them in had I been assigned to shoot in the yard, but they're pretty typical graduation images. Two, to me, is an 'almost;' it's a good image, but it can't touch #4. All of which leaves the question of what it is about 4 that works so well for me. If forced to explain it, I think it's a combination of the child's eyes - and expression - the kiss, the curve of the child's arm, the curve of people up the right side, and the square of folder that plays off the woman's mortar board. But when you start breaking it down that way, the magic evaporates. So either like it or don't. rolleyes1.gif

    Oh, and finally, between the child's face and the tonality, for me it's really suggestive of allot of 40s and 50s street images. So that probably has allot to do with it's pull for me. headscratch.gif
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • rainbowrainbow Registered Users Posts: 2,765 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    I do like the story in #2 with mom's graduation being a family event.

    #4 has a great clarity in the subjects. All else is blurred just right to complement the subjects without distracting while adding to the context.
  • PattiPatti Registered Users Posts: 1,576 Major grins
    edited May 28, 2010
    I enjoyed them all BD. #4 is a standout but the first one gave me quite a giggle. An architecture student? I was once married to one of those.
    The use of a camera is similar to that of a knife. You can use it to peel potatoes, or carve a flute. ~ E. Kahlmeyer
    ... I'm still peeling potatoes.

    patti hinton photography
  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited May 29, 2010
    Thanks, Patti - Graduate School of Design - everything from landscape arch to urban planning. Most of the GSD students had some sort of Leggo thing on their caps.i
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
  • ruttrutt Registered Users Posts: 6,511 Major grins
    edited May 31, 2010
    Gotta love 4.
    If not now, when?
  • FlyingginaFlyinggina Registered Users Posts: 2,639 Major grins
    edited May 31, 2010
    I enjoyed all four pictures very much, BD, but for me #4 is the one you will be looking at for years to come. Tenderness (graduate), fatigue (child), or maybe something else going on between them. Whatever, it holds the viewer's interest and makes us want to know more.

    Virginia
    _______________________________________________
    "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you, the less you know." Diane Arbus

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  • bdcolenbdcolen Registered Users Posts: 3,804 Major grins
    edited May 31, 2010
    Flyinggina wrote: »
    I enjoyed all four pictures very much, BD, but for me #4 is the one you will be looking at for years to come. Tenderness (graduate), fatigue (child), or maybe something else going on between them. Whatever, it holds the viewer's interest and makes us want to know more.

    Virginia

    Thanks, Virginia - Your take was mind. There was something else going on, but it appeared to be complicated and I have no real idea what it was.

    And thanks to all for the comments.
    bd@bdcolenphoto.com
    "He not busy being born is busy dying." Bob Dylan

    "The more ambiguous the photograph is, the better it is..." Leonard Freed
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