Spot me dining

[mugge]

I took several shots of this scene of diners. This one was suitiably disorganised. I just liked the composition and also opted for black and white because the colours were too muted for my liking. C&C most welcome.

[Shadowman]

Hi Ole,

I too like taking these type of shots but am never happy with the results because someone or something gets cropped out that seems like they should've been part of the composition. Nice effort and processing.

[Manfred M]

Ole - John makes a good point that these types of images rarely work well, but the issue is less the crop issue he mentions and more the issue of a lack of a centre of interest. The strength of this shot is created by the repeating patterns of the chairs and tables and the dividers that offer some separation of the patrons helps guide the eyes. Use of B&W was a good choice as it simplifies and already busy scene.

I suspect that this shot would have been a lot stronger with a lot fewer people in it; for instance taken just after the place opens with just a few diners or employees about. That would enhance the repeating patterns without messing things up with too many people in the shot. A single person or cluster of just a few people would give the image a centre of attention.

[FootLoose]

The idea of the cross as an organising element is sound but it seems to be a bit overwhelmed by the mass of people. In crowded scenes like this I think you need to pick out one element and focus on that. In the image presented, I would suggest the upper right quadrant with the diners all seated in a row and all with their heads bent in the act of eating, offers the kind of repeating pattern that Manfred mentions. It's easy enough to see that now from a still image, but a different matter when you are on the scene and confronted by the tumult.

[mugge]

When I first saw the scene I liked the cross element and was willing a few people to leave but alas they did not heed

[ccphoto]

This is a very nice compositional execution and a great study of human interaction or the lack of. I just love the line of diners in the upper right quadrant. B&W was definitely the right choice.

[lovelife65]

I like this image a lot despite some of the things people have already mentioned. To me it almost looks like an indoor mall scene. It did cause me to look through the image to see the difference in how people are interacting or not with each other. Of course, it's obviously not a fine dining establishment where people go to have dinner and converse. The guy in the lower my right corner with his hand on his cheek made me chuckle. There are quite a few people that actually look as if they are engaging with each other.

One difference here is that I don't see one person with their phone in their face (although there are a couple of people that I can see where maybe they are doing this)... which is what I would see here in the US.... most likely even in a nice restaurant.