Crossing the Street

StueveShots

I'd love some feedback on this shot, caught as I walked down the street last week in Colonial Williamsburg. (Actually I had to run a little to catch the two as the walked into the light...I'm glad the mom didn't notice!) The shot itself has nothing really to do with the historic district...rather I was captivated in this instance by the color of the mother's coat combined with the color of the leaves, and the stripes of the little girl's hood with the bold pattern of the tree branch.

I even liked the way the mother is leaning so far over to guide her daughter across the cobblestones.

So I liked the moment in my day...but the question is, did I catch an interesting shot? I'm still learning here...so any thoughts you have are helpful!

Richard

I want to like this but it's not quite working for me. It's a nice family moment. The color of the leaves is gorgeous, but the light seems so flat that one loses interest quickly. I don't really get the connection of the striped hood and the tree branches.

misterb

I love it.. and the balance and ying/yang of the dangerous street with the young child and concerned parent.

The canopy of the tree represents the safety and "cover" which are orange/and the yellow coat blends smoothly.

Too bad there weren't yellow stripes in the middle of the street.

StueveShots

Richard,

Thanks for taking the time to comment! Interesting comment about the flat light...Hmmm...I might see what I can do in curves to correct that (although I don't want to distort anything). If I succeed, I'll repost so you can let me know if it helped.

StueveShots

Thank you, misterb, for taking the time to comment also...and I appreciate the thought about safety/danger. The idea of the canopy of safety is one that hadn't occured to me, but I like it!

Nyarthlopic

I think this is a fantastic capture that so many people can relate to. When I see the mother and child, my sister in law and niece immediately comes to mind...trying to let her cross the street under her guiding hand instead of just picking her up and carrying her. This is a great show of parenting, and I think the colors are gorgeous.

StueveShots

Thanks, nyarthlpic! I truly appreciate the kind words.

rainbow

StueveShots wrote: »

I'd love some feedback on this shot,
...but the question is, did I catch an interesting shot? I'm still learning here...so any thoughts you have are helpful!

You caught a "nice" shot with the pleasing elements as you identified. But after the initial "feel good" element, there is nothing of continued interest to explore or to want to return to or wonder about.

StueveShots

Rainbow, that criticism, especially in this "street" category of the forum, makes sense to me. I caught a moment in time rather than a moment in a story...

That doesn't change, for me at least, the aesthetic pleasure I got in the colors of the moment or that little warm feeling I get watching a mom care for her daughter. (Now, whether I caught the full sweetness of the moment can certainly be debated!)

But I do take your point and will learn from it for future street shots. Thanks for the insight.

bdcolen

StueveShots wrote: »

Autumn leaves and color; nice light in the leaves; Mom with coat that goes with the leaves; Mom guiding child. What's not to like? A good image of a quite moment of motherhood and childhood. We don't need drama for everything. And, frankly, I worry a bit about folks who can't look at this and have it summon up their own memories of fall, childhood, parenthood, etc. There's plenty to hold me here.

But as for the stripped hood? Nah. It's pretty much lost in the other colors and doesn't connect to anything. But that's nit picking.

StueveShots

Thanks, B.D. I appreciate your comment very much! I pay close attention to your work and have been trying to learn from it.

As to the striped hood...I only noticed it after the fact, so I can agree with the assessment that it is lost in all the rest! It wasn't the reason that the moment caught my attention, that's for sure.

I showed this shot to my husband (along with all the other shots I took during my business trip) and he loved it...and then he started laughing. Apparently I have demonstrated a deep love of yellow coats over the years. I never even noticed the pattern until he pointed it out. Maybe I'll need to do a study of yellow someday.

Either that, or just go buy myself a yellow coat.

Photosbychuck

The thing that bothers me the most about this photo is that you can not see their faces.