The cleaner

[Manfred M]

This was one of the women who were at the Amber Fort, in Jaipur, India sweeping the stone floors. I caught her leaning against one of the walls, her large broom there beside her.

[Shadowman]

Nicely done.

[Mike Buckley]

That soft line of shadow dividing the image is such a wonderful compositional element. I also like the colors, textures and look in the subject's face clearly looking at the photographer. The position of her hands unfortunately doesn't measure up to the rest of the image.

[Manfred M]

That soft line of shadow dividing the image is such a wonderful compositional element. I also like the colors, textures and look in the subject's face clearly looking at the photographer. The position of her hands unfortunately doesn't measure up to the rest of the image.

She spotted me (I suspect that's why I got the eye contact and the raising hands). She turned away right after I took this shot, so this is the only shot I was able to get of her.

[RBSinTo]

That soft line of shadow dividing the image is such a wonderful compositional element. I also like the colors, textures and look in the subject's face clearly looking at the photographer. The position of her hands unfortunately doesn't measure up to the rest of the image.

Unfortunately, Candid Street Photography is very time-sensitive, unlike many other photo genres such as Landscape for instance, where if everything isn't to your liking today, you can come back tomorrow and the mountain or lake or whatever will still be there exactly as it was the day before.
With Street much of the time you see it and grab it as you can because the situation often changes so quickly that that beautiful expression or gesture will be gone in an instant.
The position of the subjects hands don't bother me, and as Manfred implied, she obviously wasn't interested in being photographed, so he was fortunate to get this one nice shot.
Robert

[Mike Buckley]

With Street [photography] much of the time you see it and grab it as you can because the situation often changes so quickly that that beautiful expression or gesture will be gone in an instant.

While that's true, I think there is a tendency for a lot of people to be less rigorous in their critique of street photography than other genres because it's so difficult to catch those fleeting moments. As an example, I see people writing on a regular basis that the light could have been better in a landscape shot. Yet I rarely see that sort of critique with street photography even though the very best street photography holds up to the very best of any other genre. Some photographers will stand on a street for hours waiting to capture the perfect movement exactly as the landscape photographers do to capture the perfect light, so we shouldn't hold street photography to a lower standard than any other genre.

[Manfred M]

Mike - I quite agree with your assessment.

Street photography is a genre that has many of the same underpinnings of other types of outdoor photography. One has to know the area, study the light and the people in order to get those great images. This image is not true street photography, but rather a grab shot taken during a trip. We were there as a group and had specific things to see and a very strict deadline; so this like most of my travel shots is a "grab shot". Not a prize winner, but really more of a documentary shot of some of the striking things I saw as I passed through.

[RBSinTo]

While that's true, I think there is a tendency for a lot of people to be less rigorous in their critique of street photography than other genres because it's so difficult to catch those fleeting moments. As an example, I see people writing on a regular basis that the light could have been better in a landscape shot. Yet I rarely see that sort of critique with street photography even though the very best street photography holds up to the very best of any other genre. Some photographers will stand on a street for hours waiting to capture the perfect movement exactly as the landscape photographers do to capture the perfect light, so we shouldn't hold street photography to a lower standard than any other genre.

Mike,
I agree that we shouldn't hold street photography to a lower standard than any other genre, but it is important to understand those things that make spontaneous images different from carefully planned ones and take them into account.
I typically walk around for hours on a Saturday or Sunday looking for interesting street situations almost every weekend. However, often I have bright, sunny cloudless skies so regardless of how much time I spend "standing on a street", I will likely not get great light to shoot in if and when that wonderful situation appears. So my choices are to get the great situation in less than ideal light, or not bother in the hope that maybe that particular set of one in a zillion circumstances will somehow appear again on a lovely overcast day when I get beautiful shadowless, diffuse light.
Of course, with few exceptions, my very best pictures came about I was in the right place at the right time in wonderful light.
My first-hand experience with critiques of Street Photos (mine for instance by accredited judges at Photography Club competitions) is the opposite of the opinion you expressed. They seem to be far more critical of the lack of perfection resulting from the spontaneous, time-sensitive nature of the genre, (cluttered, unflattering backgrounds/extra unnecessary persons or objects in frame/less than perfect light and so on and so on). I eventually got so fed up with the low scores and truly idiotic criticisms that I've stopped entering these club events and simply scan and post at photo sites.
And by knowing the work of those who comment on my stuff, I've learned when to take whose comments with a grain of salt or conversely to heart regardless whether they praise or pan my shots.

[Mike Buckley]

Of course, with few exceptions, my very best pictures came about I was in the right place at the right time in wonderful light.

That sums up the best of all genres of photography for me, including studio photography of inanimate objects. Similarly, see the quote displayed automatically at the bottom of my posts.

[IzzieK]

OK...back to this thread...I like the portrait shot in this image -- the diagonal forming the broom to her hand and the texture of the wall behind here is nicely caught along with her dress...

[Dave A]

I like this image. Interesting to see what she is wearing and that broom sure is a step back from what we see as a broom at Canadian Tire. Although I suspect it works very well or she would be using it.

Dave