City - San Francisco State - CALIFORNIA Country - United States
About
I took this photo of this guy playin his violin for money on the street. His look touched me and it made me sad. I listened to him play and had his permission to photograph him. This was the first picture I did that involved a lot of burning. Again, it was around noonish and was very very bright outside. I am very proud of this photograph.
Thank you, Steve, for your kind words. I like the photo the way it is. I think some people see the photo and approach it from how THEY would have handled it. I see a photo for what it is, the photographers version of whatever the photo captures. I will always, ALWAYS, be proud of this photo because it was the first photo i had to burn and it took me forever to get it to look like anything. As i said, i shot this at noon, during the harshest light of the day. But the subject touched me. Yes, its contrasty, but thats what it is. Its a film photo and I could have done all sorts of things to better it from a technical standpoint, but it is what it is. I don't think i could do this photo now, 4-5 yrs later in the same way. My eye has changed, and my technique has improved (I hope). So, this photo is what it is and I will forever be proud of it. Best to you Steve!
I have to disagree in part with Manu's analysis. I can see the violinist's face very clearly and the look on it tells me all I need to know about him at the moment without having to see the full face view. I also basically disagree with his background approach, for the background provides an important context, an itinerant musician chosing to play in a sparsely peopled area. That being said, I do agree that the contrast is too great, and I do think you can have your cake and eat it too with some more judicious cropping. I don't see a particular need to include the violin case and money. The setting tells us enough to allow us to guess what he is doing there. I've appended a solution that I think shows us enough of the violinist to tell his personal story and of the area around him to let us know what that is like. Steve p.s.(I do think Manu's approach was a bit harsh, but his point about someone saying they're very proud of their photo and then placing it in Critiquer's Corner is a bit unfair to the critiquers.)
Taking into account your comment "I am very proud of this..." and the fact that it is in the Critiquers Corner....I hope the comments will not offend..?
Putting to one side the technical problems here of over exposure..the angle of the shot and the final composition are all so wrong. If you wanted to accentuate the musician why so much in the BG..? The trees and the people are far too distracting.
You say his face touched you at the time, well why can't we see his face, why didn't you focus on his face and his expression?
I could continue but at the moment this is enough...hope you understand.
Recommendations: cover all angles including down low, do close up and wide angle shots, always look at the composition through the viewfinder before pressing the button, take the shot like its your last cos he wont be around ever again, if the subject touches you get in close so we can see the detail..
great journalism. some of my best journalistic images were from Union Square. I have one picture of a guy digging in the trash and the Tiffany and Co. sign is behind. A sad juxtaposition of the classes. I have some images in my portfolio from that series.
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