Threat Assessment 6X

[flashback]

C&C welcome

[Mike Buckley]

I wonder if you would like this better by cropping on the left side, perhaps resulting in a composition that places the man who is eye-balling you at the rule of thirds.

[flashback]

Actually in this case I'm going to disagree with you. I think the 'rules of thirds' is unnecessary in this image, and I feel that leaving room on the left just gives it depth and context. As well, the X on the truck works with the X's of the red table, the chair legs and the X on the man's hat.

[IzzieK]

Actually...there is an X shaped in the crease of the man's shirt at the back of the man and the woman eyeing you, too. And of course where the bicycles are parked. Well seen, Jack...

[Dave Humphries]

I had to look and think to make the title connection Jack, but once I had ...

So yes, really the framing needs to stay as is.

Well spotted, Dave

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured, I sort of overlooked the X factor myself.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Jack. I like the image. Too many bicycles are a bit distracting for me. If it was my image I would clone the first one on the right. This would create some space between the red table and bicycles.I like the X concept

PS. I don't know if the cloning job would be frustrating though

[Mike Buckley]

For me, a lot more is being made of the X's than the photo itself makes of them. What is the subject?

[flashback]

Izzie, thanks.
John, thanks.
Binnur, thanks, I'll have a look see about the bicycle.

Mike, In this case the entire photo is the subject. It's not always about nicely placed and lit subjects. By cropping and placing Mr. Evil Eye according to the RoT then much of the context is lost. And, if I did crop the image then you or another would (rightly) point out that Mr. Evil Eye now has a distracting red X attached to his back/side/shoulder.

I think "Threat Assessment" is easy enough to get while the "6X" may not be (as) obvious but, as Dave H. pointed out, "I had to look and think to make the title connection Jack, but once I had ..." So rather than employ RoT or vignetting, I added a verbal mystery in the title, to get a viewer to spend a bit of time viewing and trying to figure out the heck I am referring to.

[FootLoose]

I got the Xs - depending how you count them, though, there are more than 6.

"In this case the entire photo is the subject. It's not always about nicely placed and lit subjects." Interesting comment, Jack. I read something similar a couple days ago in a book I am currently reading. I find the Xs in this shot form a line from background to foreground, which is interrupted by Mr Evil.


Incidentally, there is a brand of beer in the deep north called XXXX. (Rumour has it, they call it that because they can't spell 'beer' ). On first reading your title, I though you might have found a more potent drop

[Stagecoach]

I like it Jack, just the way it is.

Sometimes I wonder why we try and look for everything in an image that possibly could be changed rather than just appreciating it for what it is and how it's presented. To me it's a scene that has interest within it, not just the guy who's wondering why you are taking the picture but also we clearly see the locality, important to show this is a very public place.

As for 'X's am I allowed to include the wheel spoke crossovers

[flashback]

Thanks again, Greg. Funny you mention more than 6 Xs, I looked and realized that there is an X formed by the scaffold bracing directly in front of the X truck. Curious, what was the book?
Deep north huh...

[flashback]

Grahame, thanks for appreciating the image. I agree that it stands well as a whole, not to say that it couldn't be cropped but then, it would become a different image. And you're welcome to include all the Xs you find, I'm discovering there are more than I first thought.

[FootLoose]

Thanks again, Greg. Funny you mention more than 6 Xs, I looked and realized that there is an X formed by the scaffold bracing directly in front of the X truck. Curious, what was the book?
Deep north huh...

The book is The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression by Bruce Barnbaum. I am only about 100pp into it, but it is one of the better books on photography that I have read.


Deep North = Queensland
Mexico = Victoria
Greensland = Tasmania

[IzzieK]

Thanks again, Greg. Funny you mention more than 6 Xs, I looked and realized that there is an X formed by the scaffold bracing directly in front of the X truck. Curious, what was the book?
Deep north huh...

Yep...every State in Oz have their own brands of beer, the problem over there is the size when ordering. My favourite advertisement of beer is the "I can feel a four XXXX coming on..."(of course, my other favs are "there is nothing like a Crown, for putting it up and putting it down..." and "Willy the Fly" (Mortein insecticide). I love adverts...

Thanks for calling us Mexicans, Greg...

[flashback]

I will have to check out the book.

"Deep North = Queensland
Mexico = Victoria
Greensland = Tasmania"
I'm guessing there are reasons for the particular titles, gonna have to google them.