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06/18/2010 01:57:48 AM · #1 |
Hey, I just finished editing photos from a 5 week India trip, and was hoping to seek some constructive criticism. I know that this section says Individual Photographs, but I would really appreciate a review of images from my site! Even if you only have time to look at one, I would still appreciate it.
Anyways, the link is //www.drewmastromartino.com
Thanks so much.
-Drew
Message edited by author 2010-06-18 14:32:58. |
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06/18/2010 01:02:24 PM · #2 |
I will give it a look. And since I grew up there, I may get cautiously critical (if you don't mind ;-)
Message edited by author 2010-06-18 13:07:26. |
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06/18/2010 01:04:23 PM · #3 |
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06/18/2010 01:34:41 PM · #4 |
Thanks mycelium.
My comments:
[1] I found the pictures candid, sometimes very engaging (like this young kid in an ethnic white shirt with a backpack walking to school), at other times very detached (like of the mothers breast feeding their babies).
[2] The one picture that specially caught my eye was of this guy who is sitting on a train's berth and you caught his side profile in all natural lighting through the window.
[3] You know how to make use of the available light, and how to engage your subjects for street portraits (assuming you don't even speak their language, it is an achievement).
Still going through part 2 and 3. I found the pictures to be biased with capturing mostly the dirty, the poor, the struggling.
I have a question for you, my intention is to try and understand your (and a photographer's) goal when clicking those pictures in India, please do not take it personally, I genuinely want to understand this:
[] Are you aware of the Taj, the Red Fort, the biggest public rail transit system, the Akshar Dham, the desert, the folk dances, the festivals, the temples, mosques, the entrepreneurs, the IITs, the Art Academies, the musicians, the neighbors watching out for each other's kids, the middle school geniuses who can count faster than a DSLR can snap pictures, as photography subjects?
What I am saying that the next time around around, if you balance your set out with these topics too, it may look more realistic and impartial. P.S. I hope you took permission before clicking some of the personal shots.
Great work, keep it up!!!
Message edited by author 2010-06-18 14:23:56.
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06/18/2010 02:29:11 PM · #5 |
Hey Prash, thanks so much for taking the time to look through these.
To some of these pictures, there is a story. Like one of the mothers (not the Bonda) is actually possessed by black magic. This was taken in a small remote village in Orissa. Thank you very much for your comment on available light. I can only thank  iamwoman for challenging me to focus on light more than photoshop.
I'm sorry if you think the pictures are biased... I think you see them in a different way than I do. I did not go looking for the subjects... they were just in my surroundings. I hoped to provoke something much more than pity in the viewers. Truth is, I admire the struggling much more than the well off. I want viewers to see the subjects' hope, the determination, the strong mental attitude on life that many of us don't have.
About 50% of my subjects, I spent time with them to gain their trust and capture the best picture possible. About 98% of the pictures, I asked for permission, the other 2%, the position they were in were the best, and if I asked, I felt it would have ruined the picture. However, I did make an effort to show them after I took it, and all cracked big smiles :).
I was in India for 5 weeks, and traveled a lot. I decided not to go to the Taj Mahal, because I wanted to capture the culture and emotion rather than still architecture (I am just not very good at things other than people). The shot of the Guard was actually taken in the Red Fort. I also had another shot of a pilgrim with the lotus temple in the background, but the lighting was not very pleasing in that picture. I am aware of some of the things you state, but not all. I took pictures as I went, and did not plan to go to a certain event just to capture specific pictures. The high/middle class you state... they are not as likely to be lying around on the streets all day, and when asking for a picture, some of them got suspicious and refused. However, I did get one very nice picture of a woman that owns a retail shop, but it just didn't fit right with my collection.
Kids were a tricky subject, and I would ask their parents, or even parents would insist I take a picture of their kid! (I don't speak Hindi or any other language in India other than English). What they really liked was the print out of the picture I gave them. I carried a Polaroid Zinc printer around and used that to make prints sometimes. For the other shots of kids, I took them with a local that everyone in the village/town knew.
Maybe next time I go to India, I will do my research before, and find the other side of India as the country that's rapidly developing.
Thanks so much again for looking through my pictures, and asking genuine questions.
-Drew
Message edited by author 2010-06-18 14:35:48. |
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06/18/2010 02:32:25 PM · #6 |
Thank you Drew for taking my comments in a positive manner. I hope you did not mind a first person perspective on the pictures.
You are a talented photographer, I hope to see more of India, and the World through your eyes.
Thank you!
Message edited by author 2010-06-18 14:34:13. |
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