Street Vendor

[lovelife65]

Vancouver, BC
Yep, grainy grim photo.

I left the person sitting next to him against the wall on purpose, but not sure it works other than to give a deeper view as to the scene.

[DanK]

An interesting and powerful image. I don't think including the other person helps; I didn't even realize it was a person until I read your description, and having a contrasting bright area on the edge is distracting. I'd crop the right off and loosen the crop at the bottom, if you have any additional space captured there.

[Shadowman]

Nice effort, the added person doesn't hurt the composition but does add to the array of shapes.

[Manfred M]

I agree with Dan. That whole bright area on the right hand side of the image is a major distraction that should go.

[lovelife65]

Agree with both of you. I did eliminate him originally, but then decided to put it out there raw before concluding it was better.
The store windows with the umbrellas walking past in reflection tie the image into the scene a bit better (busy shopping area) than the homeless man sitting on the sidewalk.

Yes, too tight at the bottom. I try to be quick on street photos so as to avoid drawing too much attention.

[RBSinTo]

Sharon,
This is indeed a grim image. I agree that there is too little space at the bottom, but that is a minor point. I'm ambivalent about the cropping of the person on the right, but only because not seeing the very edge of the granite pillar bothers me. Somehow it's inclusion anchors that side of the shot better than having the granite surface run off the right side of the shot.
Overall a good bit of street photography that emphasizes the reality of life on the street.
Robert