Café in Colmar, Alsace

[Chataignier]

[escape]

Hello David. Didn’t want to let this image go by without responding. I find that the image can invoke feelings within the viewer which my not be comfortable. Just something about the look on her face and the whole scene. Could be just me. She did remind me of my first wife. Curios how others might be impacted by this photo if at all.

[DanK]

It's an interesting scene, but it doesn't work well for me. First, while it's a matter of taste, I don't care for the extreme contrast, with lots of totally black areas, even on some of the people. I don't agree with people who say that there should be no pure black in photos, but in this case, it seems excessive. Second, I find the bisected guy on the far right to be distracting. I tried cropping those two people out, but that leaves a fairly tight crop for the woman. Just my two cents.

[Chataignier]

@Daniel : The look on her face was what caught my attention - rather intense, possibly aggressive.

@DanK : The high contrast is a matter of taste, I like it for this type of street photo and the shot got lots of good reaction elsewhere. As for the bisected chap, that also was deliberate - I wanted him to form a frame for the rhs of the shot.

[DanK]

Well, there’s no arguing about taste!


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[Geoff F]

I can accept the high contrast but I am more concerned about having half a person on the right which doesn't add anything to the scene; although that is so often the case with real life street type quick shots.

However, if her facial expression was the reason behind this shot I think you could crop closer. Lose the man on the right and also a bit from the left side to restore a better balance. Maybe a fraction from the bottom if you want to end up with a standard image size.

[escape]

I kind of like it as it is It’s unbalanced-a bit chaotic but with energy just below the surface. It’s a real life quick shot. Try duplicating it in your studio. You can’t. Shots of this type are often better left raw and untamed.

[William W]

I like the line of people to the vanishing point.

As to the comments about invoking feelings and (extreme) contrast - the shot (to me) is akin to a still from a movie: the three main elements: the low camera angle; the Half PoV Shot (of the cropped man) and the pumped contrast. Also, the woman has a resemblance to (a now younger) Jamie Lee Curtis.

The shot got enough of my attention to stop and make a comment.

I am not so sure that it was "a quick shot" - perhaps David might comment to whether there was any strategy and preparation?

Good shot.

WW

[Chataignier]

@Bill : Preparation ? I could see the potential, but I was in full view of the woman who was only about 10ft away and also the man behind her and that rather limited my options. So... I left the camera on the table and shot wide angle and with bracketed exposure to give myself the maximum possible flexibility in post.

[William W]

Thanks.

My point being there was planning aforethought and a thought out procedure employed.

It's sometimes difficult understanding the nuance of written comments; but that's all we have in an on-line forum, quite dissimilar to face to face exchanges in what used to be 'a forum'.

My comment was meant to differentiate the nuance between "shot(s) taken quickly" and "a quick shot" - the former may have planning and procedure, whilst the latter does not and is sometimes referred to as a "Grab Shot".

WW