Thank you, John Setzler, for a Huge Headache...

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/05/2005 02:02:27 PM · #1

and i mean that in the kindest way!

some of you may be aware of an on-going side challenge john started a few weeks ago to encourage people to get out and get comfortable taking pictures of strangers. i joined in on this, and had a ball, shooting and meeting new people.

well, the manager of one of the places i went liked the results enough to ask me back to help him redecorate. he has a wall area about 30' long and 4' high that runs above 5 booths, from the middle of the restaurant to the back. he wants to make it look similar to my kitchen wall.

so, i've been in there shooting off and on for the past few weeks. you may have seen some of my images already:

i pared the list down to about 120, and went to meet him last night, and gave him a slideshow so that he could pick the ones he wanted. he told me he wanted to start with 30, but that i would be doing the picking...

hence my headache.

so, if you are bored and/or interested in giving me a hand, here's a link to the
images.

you can either post the images numbers here, pm me, or shoot me an email from the site. as always, i appreciate you help and feedback. hope you enjoy these images as much as i have.

some notes about the shooting

these were all shot RAW with my 300d, using existing light. most all of them were shot handheld, except for the obvious extended exposure shots, where i was using my trusty 6.5" tabletop tripod. most all were shot at iso1600. for the most part, no editing has been done, except to use bibble to adjust the WB and ps to add the borders and copyright notices.

again, i can't thank john enough for the inspiration to get out and do this. you never know where your camera might take you unless you take your camera...

edit: legalities and such
as for the shooting, i was asked by the diner to be there, and the camera was completely out in the open. there was absolutely no sneaking around. when anyone asked what the pictures were for, they were told "to hang on the wall." and, if there was even a hint of discomfort, let alone a request not to be photographed, you can bet i didn't take the shot. conversely, i did have a number of people who asked me to take their pictures. also, there are only a handful of shots of patrons that fall where there are fewer than 4 people in the image. lastly, this diner has a HUGE regular clientele, and if any patron found their picture on the wall and they didn't like it, it would come down immediately, to be replaced with one of the 'rejects.'

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 14:28:36.

brianlh

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

05/05/2005 02:08:33 PM · #2

Wow, many congratulations to you Skip! This sounds quite promising. The shots all look great - I think it will come down to a matter of the balance you create between the more personal portraits and the more artsy shots/perspectives. I wonder if there is some legality to selling the diner pictures of identifiable customers without permission?

hopper

Canon EOS-80D

Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

05/05/2005 02:16:25 PM · #3

I see why he's letting you choose ... there's only about 4 which I didn't like :) Simply an excellent job! You would be wise to hit all the diners in your area with these as your portfolio ... you'll be rich in a couple months or so.

:)

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/05/2005 02:30:20 PM · #4

TANSTAAFL

(so are you at least getting a free lunch out of this?)

KaDi

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

05/05/2005 02:31:11 PM · #5

Here are my picks noting only the last 4 digits of the images and the group they came from as displayed on your page:
Group 1: 6812, 8151, 7803, 8100, 6849, 8110, 8171
Group 2: 8738, 8248, 8740, 8758
Group 3: 8773, 8801
Group 4: 8850, 8915, 8841, 8843
Group 5: 8960, 8950, 8996, 9083, 9006, 9116, 9097
Group 6: 9120, 9297
Of course, it will make a difference once they're all laid out together. These are the ones that grabbed me with direct subjects and wonderful expressions.
Hope that helps...but then, you probably know which ones are truly good.

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 14:35:30.

w24x192

Canon PowerShot S50

05/05/2005 02:31:46 PM · #6

See if he will let you get some input from some of his regulars...after all, they are not only the ones in the shots but also the ones who are going to be looking at them day after day.

If that's a no-go, just pick thirty at random. If they are all good, then your set.

theSaj

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/05/2005 02:33:03 PM · #7

Hey...

Um, the flash doesn't give you a number...or I'd let you know the ones I felt you should drop or re-shoot.

skief

Pentax *ist DS

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

05/05/2005 02:36:08 PM · #8

Here's my 30 in no particular order, and probably a few repeats in the list (as in similar subject matter)

6812, 7803, 6849, 8110, 8171, 8197, 8740, 8772, 8778, 8784, 8801, 8804, 8807, 8813, 8830, 8843, 8915, 8927, 8950, 8971, 8996, 9043, 9057, 9058, 9094, 9097, 9113, 9118, 9120, 9297

Is it normal for there to be one picture on each set that absolutely refuses to load in? I'm using Firefox. Who knows.....

Edited to bold the ones I shared with KaDi so you would know those are really good ones that struck both of us

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 14:40:52.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

05/05/2005 03:03:15 PM · #9

Skip - 30 from me. Great job, sounds like fun!!!

6812, 6849, 6858, 7803, 7809, 8100, 8131, 8165, 8167, 8197,
8753, 8755, 8772, 8793, 8804, 8807, 8811, 8843, 8868, 8864,
8850, 8915, 8927, 8947, 8956, 8959, 8985, 9043, 9083, 9113

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

05/05/2005 03:03:45 PM · #10

thanks for the feedback, especially mike and KaDi and Barry!

yes, kris, a book is in the works ;-) very similar to what mavrik has been doing for his wedding clients. thanks for your comments!

and yes, jason, meals are part of the deal!

if anyone else is interested in giving me a hand, but doesn't want to read the whole thread, here's a link to the images. i need to pick 30 images for framing.

edit: barry snuck in while i was typing!

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 15:04:15.

LindaLee

Canon EOS-40D

05/05/2005 03:30:12 PM · #11

Well, I'm absolutely NO help! I'd be hard pressed to chose JUST 30. All the shots are great Skip.

Here's my 32:
6812,6858
7803,7809
8082,8099,8110,8151,8167,8171,8197,8248
8739,8742,8772,8773,8793
8835,8836,8843,8850,8868
8947,8950,8959,8960,8978,8988,8992,8993
9109,9118

Best,Linda

*edited for clarification!

Message edited by author 2005-05-05 16:44:14.

jenesis

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

05/05/2005 03:35:18 PM · #12

Hey Skip, I'm having a little trouble getting to the photos. Got threw about the first 20 or so then it stopped loading. Now I can't even get back at all. Maybe you're doing some work to the site. I'll check back shortly.... so far I like the following:

6849, 6858, 8099, 8110, 8131, 8151, 8171, 8197, 8248

But I'll keep checking back. These all look great so far, btw! :-)

skief

Pentax *ist DS

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

05/05/2005 03:48:36 PM · #13

OK, here's an update with the votes for each photo: (photo # votes,)
6812 4, 6849 4, 6858 3, 7803 4, 7809 2, 8082 1, 8099 2,
8100 2, 8110 4, 8131 2, 8151 3, 8165 1, 8167 2, 8171 4,
8197 4, 8248 3, 8738 1, 8739 1, 8740 2, 8742 1, 8753 1,
8755 1, 8758 1, 8772 3, 8773 2, 8778 1, 8784 1, 8793 2,
8801 2, 8804 2, 8807 2, 8811 1, 8813 1, 8830 1, 8835 1,
8836 1, 8841 1, 8843 4, 8850 3, 8864 1, 8868 2, 8915 3,
8927 2, 8947 2, 8950 3, 8956 1, 8959 2, 8960 2, 8971 1,
8978 1, 8985 1, 8988 1, 8992 1, 8993 1, 8996 2, 9006 1,
9043 2, 9057 1, 9058 1, 9083 2, 9094 1, 9097 2, 9109 1,
9113 2, 9116 1, 9118 2, 9120 2, 9297 2

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

05/05/2005 03:55:27 PM · #14

Originally posted by jenesis:

Hey Skip, I'm having a little trouble getting to the photos. Got threw about the first 20 or so then it stopped loading. Now I can't even get back at all.

thanks for the heads up, jen! i think it's a server/performance issue (just what i need--a real headache)

wow, mike! thanks!!!

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

05/05/2005 04:06:48 PM · #15

I'm not even going to look because I have a horrible track record at picking the "right" photos. But, congratulations on the great gig!

If these are all customers, and the photos are to be framed and displayed in the restaurant, why don't you get (or get the manager to get) all of them to autograph the prints before framing, like celebrities do. It will look great, make them feel great, and solves any lingering release problems ... : )

And leave him some of your business cards to hand out.

skief

Pentax *ist DS

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

05/05/2005 04:23:56 PM · #16

I was bored skip, so just typed the numbers into Excel, did a sort and count, and generally just wasted 5 minutes :-)

maxj

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

05/05/2005 04:30:45 PM · #17

I'll put my votes in for; 8131, 7809, and 7803

pawdrix

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

05/05/2005 04:41:31 PM · #18

You have some really brilliant shots there to choose from. Generally speaking I liked the individual/(3)people images best.

I've been grooving on street photography for a long time and would like to get really good at getting people to give me the shot and be able to make it super special in a short period of time.

I started a series of street musician and a general, nutty characters study of peeps that you see on the streets of New York. Like ones, that everybody knows and have been hanging in the same few spots for years.

Johnny Guitar or Papa Rock is one of my best.

This season has been the most fun I've had shooting ever between this little quest and DPC...I'm plenty busy.

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

05/05/2005 10:21:34 PM · #19

Thanks, again! Ya'll cannot imagine how helpful your insights are in this process.

If anyone else would be so inclined, i'd really appreciate a few more viewpoints. if you don't want to read the whole thread, i need to pick 30 images for framing. here's a link to the images.

Here are some of the ones ya'll have picked.

-Skip

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

05/05/2005 10:32:40 PM · #20

Congrats :)

I need to get off my butt and finish my scavenger hunt photos. I have been busy lately...

The NEXT version of this will be much more most funnerest :)