Working for the man every night and day

[ionian]

f5.6 | 1/50 | ISO800

[Shadowman]

Nicely captured and converted.

[Mike Buckley]

Such a wonderful moment in time captured forever!

If I had made this image, I would be saying to myself that it is so close to being great thanks to the posture of the two children, yet so far from being great due to the prominence of the post and rail and due to the flare caused by the light bulb.

[ionian]

That's pretty close to my thoughts Mike - the rail is a shame but I had a fraction of a second to catch it. At least it follows the same line as the other straight lines in the image, so doesn't grate. Where do you see flare from the bulb? I could take that out in post.

[Mike Buckley]

There is a noticeable lack of contrast in the foreground items located in the lower left area of the scene. If I'm right that that is caused by flare, I don't think you're going to be able to improve it much if at all during post-processing.

[Sergio M.]

Simon, a very nice shot indeed. I like the diagonal composition of the girls.
I get the point made by both of you about the rail and post, but do appreciate the difficulty in getting a shot in these kinds of circumstances.

I hesitate to suggest this, but a possible square crop (1:1) would eliminate the light, most of the rail, and part of the post. This of course would change the image and might not be what you want or intend.

Regardless, a wonderful shot.

Sergio

[ionian]

Thanks all. I have tried the square crop as suggested by Sergio - I think it is more effective but the image loses some context. I guess an imperfect shot will always be imperfect (or to quote a local saying, you can't polish a turd).

[IzzieK]

I prefer the first image better Simon, seeing that it relates to your title from the song of Credence Clear Water Revival, Proud Mary. Very clever title, if I may say so. And I like the B/W too. The crop is mehhh...

[Sergio M.]

I think it is more effective but the image loses some context.

I agree, and that's why I hesitated suggesting the crop.

I don't think it's a turd at all. Whatever you decide, you captured a story and a special moment in time.

Sergio

[ionian]

I think this one goes down as a worthwhile experiment. I've not done much street stuff (this was kind of street) so there are many positives to take, and perfect photos in a split second will rely on a degree of luck. Thanks for the feedback and positive words everyone.

And Izzy, I'm a sucker for praise so feel free to praise my titles whenever you like! I'll throw a few more lyrics in, see if I can catch you out...

[IzzieK]

I think this one goes down as a worthwhile experiment. I've not done much street stuff (this was kind of street) so there are many positives to take, and perfect photos in a split second will rely on a degree of luck. Thanks for the feedback and positive words everyone.

And Izzy, I'm a sucker for praise so feel free to praise my titles whenever you like! I'll throw a few more lyrics in, see if I can catch you out...

I have to google that song you know...I got a getting old husband who loves to play the piano but can't and won't and yet he insists on singing when we are in the car...you should hear the dog howls behind him.

[bnnrcn]

I prefer the image as is