Pavement Stonework

[The amateur]

The passage “They are workers who manually lay paving stones – either in artistic patterns or otherwise – creating sidewalks that are moderately resilient. These traditional pavements enhance urban spaces with beauty, yet they suffer a serious drawback: the weight of vehicular traffic, now that cars can weigh 2 tonnes or more when braking, combined with the dimensions of the stones, causes the pavement to deteriorate rapidly. This issue does not arise with pedestrian traffic, of course.” was part of a text I wrote on another thread about this work.

I recently revisited my archive and reviewed all the black and white work I did years ago, but this time I felt inspired to try a colour solution.
Instantly, I noticed that the quality of the images I captured back then does not quite match what can now be achieve with another piece of equipment that I truly admire and like.
Or perhaps I am simply biased, and there isn’t much difference? It would seem not, but…

I ended up selecting several photos that I felt were representative of this type of work, and I now present them for your appreciation and critique, as has become customary in this discussion space.
Let me begin the exhibition by introducing the two subjects involved.

[LenR]

Antonio, both these images look fine to me. I prefer the colour rendition of the first image which you had previously shown in B&W.
Regarding the second image the lower left corner seems a little distracting and I wonder if the arm could be cloned out or the image cropped?
Thanks for sharing.....

[The amateur]

Thank you, Len, for your comment.

In anticipation of further feedback, I must share that, interestingly, I went through Photoshop and was able to effortlessly remove the part of the arm by the sweater.
However, I did not like the outcome and decided to retain this “blemish".

Perhaps we become too focused on distracting details when they are, in fact, an integral part of the image's capture.
On the other hand, there is merit in being concerned about certain areas that may appear superfluous in the final image.
This may seem somewhat contradictory: on one hand, yes, and on the other, no. Ultimately, the best decision is likely the one that pleases us the most, without becoming obsessively bound by rules.

Let us await further observations, which as usual, are always both pertinent and helpful, enabling us to learn and share knowledge and experiences.

Cheers !

[mugge]

I agree with Len. For something to be integral it must add to the photo. The arm does not.
Cheers Ole

[billtils]

For me, a slight crop at the bottom to give a square format head shot gives a more attractive image (and removes the contoversial area of the arm).

[The amateur]

Thank you all for your comments.
I have reconsidered and accepted the suggestion to alter the controversial area.
Bill, I would prefer not to take that option as I value consistent framing across all the images, but thank you nonetheless !
However, this series does use different framings, as we shall see in the subsequent images I will be publishing.
Contradictions indeed !

[LenR]

Antonio, that looks a lot better......

[The amateur]

Let me then continue with the presentation of this photographic project, if only to keep this forum - which has been so valuable in my development as an amateur photographer - a little more alive.

Here are the two men involved in the paving work, in this instance for an area that belongs to a housing estate. In Portugal, individual housing plots are bounded by a wall that opens directly onto the public road, not for security reasons but rather to limit direct access to the houses.

In this case, the pavement was intended to serve as access to a garage. The stone being laid had sufficient height to easily support the weight of a car moving slowly, without abrupt stops.
The stone is set upon a layer of small stones, with the joints subsequently filled with gravel, a similarly small dimension of stone. It is a task that requires maintaining an uncomfortable position for a long time. Notice the slightly tilted knee pad on the left operator.

[The amateur]

[billtils]

Good luck!

[The amateur]

Bill, good morning,

This project was completed many years ago, and I am simply giving it a refresh now. I do not intend to display it anywhere else - only here - awaiting some comments from you all.
Cheers !

[billtils]

Could make an interesting start to finish story.

[The amateur]

Thank you Bill.
Now the last one of this set.