This one was captured while I was out shooting the Rhythm challenge shot. This guys was talking away...to himself...about taxes and sweetwater beer and life inside his head and many other ramblings. He looked fairly neat, but it was obvious that he was homeless. I chatted with him for a few minutes, though I am sure he had no idea that I was even there. I asked him if I could take a few photos, and he said yeah. As I was leaving, he asked me for a cigarette, that I didn't have. I offered him $5, he took it and went into some diatribe about past presidents and who was on the 2 dollar bill. I overexposed a bit and included his bare feet to give the shot somewhat of a disheveled look. Not quite a photojournalism headline, but I am not really a photojournalist.
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Place: 147 out of 183 Avg (all users): 5.1705 Avg (commenters): 5.2000 Avg (participants): 4.9143 Avg (non-participants): 5.3396 Views since voting: 934 Views during voting: 244 Votes: 176 Comments: 17 Favorites: 0
~trading post~ I do think this should have done better. You've captured a great expression, in an appropriate environment. I guess had he looked more dishevelled it may have suited the theme better.
I like the format and composition - wall cutting image in half, but focus on face and feet at either end. The focus is spot-on, with good dof to give a recogniseable but not distracting background. The monochrome suits it well, but I think it could have done with slightly less saturation in the tone you chose. Mayeb it could have used a touch more contrast - the white point seems a bit 'dirty' rather than white.
Definitely a candid to keep - nice little story to accompany it too.
My first impression is that this is more of a candid or portrait, rather than a photojournalism image, and its score may have suffered because of this. On its own though, it's a fine image. Composition is good, and we can see this individual in his setting well. I like the sepia tone, and feel it adds much to the image. It was a nice sunny day, and we can see harsh shadows, that perhaps detract, but only slightly. (The shadows also add a rich set of contrasts that I like.)
In terms of the challenge, perhaps a full-face portrait would have been best, especially if you could have captured the eyes.
Leroy was going to do the PJ shots, but my quick impression is it is too posed. Even if it isn't, it looks too posed. Perhaps a horizontal crop would have made the subject more a part of his surroundings and let us see more of his world. The B&W conversion is quite nice though.
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The thing I noticed first about this picture was his expression; the second thing I noticed was his socks. I'm not sure if this was what people were looking for in this challenge, but it's a good "street candid" of an interesting character. I'm not sure about the golden tones - don't dislike it that way, but I think I may have preferred it in pure B&W.
this is a nice portrait, but I think the sephia tone isn't helping the image, the image doesn't look old, so sephia doesn't work well, but B/W with some dodge and burn might make it pop.
and to cut his leg might be a good idea, just in the middle of the leg so you loose the white socks.
To know the real stories after challenge always puts the light on in a dark room. However, upon first seeing this photo without the explaination, to me it looks as if it is nothing more than a snapshot of a relative or friend which you happened to catch while they were talking to you personally. He looks clean and healthy. Nothing really grabs you as a candid. Could be anyone, but not someone I would see as homeless or destitute. Therefore the title didn't even do it for me. The title seemed like an afterthought. There is just really nothing exuding a mood or feeling of opression from him other than a guy sitting on wall. Also, the background doesn't work either. Had he been in the corner of a paperstrewned or polluted alley, maybe then. But as it looks right now, it is just a guy that was taken a picture of. This just doesn't work for me as a photojournalism shot; however, with that said, I have seen some real front page pic's this month that don't seem to be great shots either. LOL...My own didn't work either, but it was my first lightning capture ever..LOL..so I just had to enter it - not to mention I tried for hours to get it! LOL..
Way to go in actually engaging your subject before shooting. I have not really gotten the guts to do that whole hog yet. I figured he was homeless, but he does look pretty clean and orderly. His socks look in better condition than my own. I think that if you had captured a shot that was more candid - with him looking down or away - you would have scored higher. Technically the pic seems fine. Good detail and sharpness, duotones work well. The overall interest level just isnt high in my opinion. A grungier guy or different pose would have helped change that.
Trading post...
I actually voted this a 7. I'm surprised it didn't do better. Great facial expression. The feet were blown out though. If you look close you can see toes, otherwise it looks like socks. I guess the 'clean' look of him hurt you as homeless usually equals dirty.
If I hadn't read your comments I wouldn't have found anything exceptional about this guy - except that he has an expressive face (that's probably because there is no way to photograph a person to reveal their speech). Fairly clean socks don't suggest hard times either. I do think this photo is a good portrait. I like the slight blurring of the background so as to reduce distractions. The monochromatic tone works well too.
This image doesn't say down-trodden to me and I'm not sure what you mean by $5 richer (I'm guessing you gave him $5 to pose?) Nice portrait, but not really news to me.
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