Artist at work

TonyCooper

bfjr

I would of liked to see more of the Artist and less Art.
I will admit that when I see these I'm always tempted to capture as well.

TonyCooper

bfjr wrote: »

I would of liked to see more of the Artist and less Art.
I will admit that when I see these I'm always tempted to capture as well.

I agree, but how do you do that?

If you have the artist face you, he's not painting. I could have asked him to
turn around, but it didn't seem right to bother him. We did discuss various
projects, but he kept working as he talked.

bfjr

TonyCooper wrote: »

IWe did discuss various
projects, but he kept working as he talked.

Right then Tony, Right There.

michswiss

Ben's right. Once you're engaged and he understands you as a photographer, the shots should be happening as you chat. But it needs to be something comfortable for both of you. That's when the good ones come.

joshhuntnm

bfjr wrote: »

I would of liked to see more of the Artist and less Art.
I will admit that when I see these I'm always tempted to capture as well.

yeah, I'd like to see some experiments with various crops.

TonyCooper

michswiss wrote: »

Ben's right. Once you're engaged and he understands you as a photographer, the shots should be happening as you chat. But it needs to be something comfortable for both of you. That's when the good ones come.

I don't think you understood my comment. We chatted, but he never stopped spraying. He never turned to face me. He knew I was photographing because we talked about my photographs of some spray art in Miami he'd done.

PhotoDavid78

Since he is a graffiti artist I think it is perfectly acceptable to show the graffiti

jpope42

I agree, and with this guy the fact he didn't turn while you talked is part of the story. Besides, Graffiti Art is my favorite (can you tell?)

sweet caroline

You could have still gotten closer and chosen some different angles. I work with kids at school a lot, so I'm familiar with capturing artists at work, math at the board, etc. The shots I usually like the most are nearly profile and show both art and artist. This one is more from the artist's back than from the side. I do like his shadow and think a tighter crop that focuses more on him and his current work would work well.

M38A1

Did you use a clarify type tool over the top part of the text "wolves kill sheep"? I can't figure out how spray paint can go from wide to narrow.

I'll have to admit, your shot got me thinking about about an area of town we have where the 'artists' abound. Used to be an old condo project that never got off the ground and the artsy folks have sort of taken it over without city interference. Makes for some fun sets, or now I'll have to try shooting the artists doing their stuff.

.

Molsondog

This situation has a lot of potential. The artist himself has a lot to say - baggy pants, paint on the clothes, etc. The work itself is nice but not spectacular. I agree with the posters who say that it would be more interesting if the artist made eye contact with the camera.

Perhaps next time, more of the artist and less of the art.

Also, the centered subject from a distance doesn't work for me.

If I were you, I would make another visit to the site and engage him or others again. I'd be looking forward to seeing the results.

TonyCooper

M38A1 wrote: »

Did you use a clarify type tool over the top part of the text "wolves kill sheep"? I can't figure out how spray paint can go from wide to narrow.

I'll have to admit, your shot got me thinking about about an area of town we have where the 'artists' abound. Used to be an old condo project that never got off the ground and the artsy folks have sort of taken it over without city interference. Makes for some fun sets, or now I'll have to try shooting the artists doing their stuff.

.

No, I made no adjustments in any way to any part of the image.
That particular wall is painted over periodically so new artists can
add new painting. If you look closely at parts of the wall in the
upper center and upper left you will see old paint showing through
new paint.

This area is an on-going project for graffiti artists with the permission
of the city. The idea is to give graffiti artists a place to do their
thing without defacing private property. There are several buildings,
but space eventually runs out so the city paints over the wall so
new work can be done. It's one of the few places around where a
guy can spray paint art on a wall in broad daylight with a cop watching
and not be disturbed.

As far as the comments about getting the painter's face in the image,
my intent was to show an artist working, not an artist as a person.

TonyCooper

Molsondog wrote: »

This situation has a lot of potential. The artist himself has a lot to say - baggy pants, paint on the clothes, etc. The work itself is nice but not spectacular. I agree with the posters who say that it would be more interesting if the artist made eye contact with the camera.

Perhaps next time, more of the artist and less of the art.

Also, the centered subject from a distance doesn't work for me.

If I were you, I would make another visit to the site and engage him or others again. I'd be looking forward to seeing the results.

I've made several visits. Sometimes I photograph the art, and sometimes
I photograph people with the art as a background. In this one (which was
taken around the corner of the building), I photographed a photographer
using the art as a background. I cropped out most of the art here because
the art was incidental to the subjects.