A cautionary tale

[RBSinTo]

Taken in Kensington Market here in Toronto in summer 2016.
I grabbed this shot because I felt it contained all the elements to tell a story.
Converted to black and white in Photoshop.
motorized Nikon f with meterless, eyelevel prism
Nikkor 180 2.8 ED AIS manual focus
Fuji 100 ISO colour slide
5.6 @ 1/125th

[rpcrowe]

Would you consider a closer crop on the subject like this... Seems to make use of leading lines to the subject...

[lovelife65]

Very well done Robert. Certainly the message is well conveyed through the image.

[RBSinTo]

Richard, Sharon,
Thanks for commenting.
Richard,
I did almost the same crop as you suggested and fretted over which I'd use. In the end I felt "yours" was a bit tight, and mine put the subject's face exactly in a thirds position. Camera Club thinking perhaps, and I may yet take your suggestion and get in tighter.
And for anyone who is not familiar with our alcohol distribution system here in Ontario, it is controlled by the Provincial Government through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), who have stores that they run, hence the initials on the Subject's bag.
Robert

[rpcrowe]

I have lived in and visited places where the sales of alcohol were controlled by the governmental authorities. I didn't notice any difference in the number of drunks or the amount of inebriation. Just that the State got the profits from the sales rather than some private party.
However, there have been some places with some really strange (and I mean STRANGE)) laws.
Take Norfolk in the Tidewater Area of Virginia where I lived from 1963-1964. You could buy beer in a supermarket on Sunday but could not buy steak, potatoes or anything else you had to cook
I never could figure that one out

[NorthernFocus]

In the original version the VW emblem on the grill of the car draws my immediate attention. It is the brightest thing in the scene and is also located darn close to the rule of thirds line on that side of the image. IMO the cropped version eliminates a lot of distracting elements.

... for anyone who is not familiar with our alcohol distribution system here in Ontario, it is controlled by the Provincial Government through the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), who have stores that they run, hence the initials on the Subject's bag.

Interesting that even though there's only one place to purchase alcohol they feel compelled to print advertising on the bag. Wise use of taxpayer dollars.

[RBSinTo]

In the original version the VW emblem on the grill of the car draws my immediate attention. It is the brightest thing in the scene and is also located darn close to the rule of thirds line on that side of the image. IMO the cropped version eliminates a lot of distracting elements.


Interesting that even though there's only one place to purchase alcohol they feel compelled to print advertising on the bag. Wise use of taxpayer dollars.

Dan,
Thanks for commenting.
I've been mulling over the comments here about the crop, and while I understand the arguments that both you and Richard made in favour of a tighter crop, to me, the subject is too confined in the cropped version. As for the logo being in the thirds position which fights for the attention of the viewer, there is also an argument to be made that there is a triangle composed of the subject, the bag and the logo which gives the viewer's eye places to rest as it cycles through the image.
In the end, I think I like the original better.
Our Provincial Government has a very conflicted view of the sale of alcohol. On one hand, like gambling, and ciggerette smoking, it is a "sin" and if allowed at all, must be tightly controlled or discouraged. On the other hand with their monopoly on it's distribution they realize so much revenue, both through price-gouging and taxes that they simply cannot apply Prohibition against it. So they tread very carefully but do manage to print really nice brochures to advertise various wines and spirits as well as printing up those pretty carry bags to advertise their wares, despite that, with the exception of a few large supermarkets who can now sell a limited selection of wines, the LCBO is the only game in town for most alcohol.
Government's wise use of taxpayers' dollars? What is this oxymoron you speak of ????
Robert

[DanK]

A striking image. I also find Richard's crop too tight. However, I find tonality a problem, for several reasons. The first is that the brightness of the car really draws the eyes. The second is the pole behind the man. There is almost no difference in tonality between the man and the pole, which makes the man stand out less. Finally, the man's face seems featureless; it is dark, has very little tonal variation, and appears a bit out of focus to me.