Friday, June 20, 2008

Hang Ah Alley


Nikon FM, Nikkor 35mm f2.8, Ilford XP2 Super

This was late in the day, and it seemed a bit desolate and with the requisite inner city grime and garbage strewn about.

This SF Chinatown alley should be very familiar to anyone who grew up in the area like I did.

It's quite a contrast to Steve R.'s recent photos from Baltimore's waterfront which always seems so bright and clean (probably Steve's choice of subject matter, right Steve?).

I debated about posting this because there doesn't seem to be a real point to the image other than to document an empty alley in Chinatown. Maybe the point is the emptiness? What do you think? Is it just another one of those countless images that you would see, check it our for about 10 seconds, and move on, or is there something in it that does something for you?

--Warren

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2 Comments:

Blogger Eric said...

What's the point of posting the photo? It's a good one, Warren. I like it and I like the way it communicates emptiness and loneliness. Don't underestimate it.

Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 9:37:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Thanks for the affirmation, Eric, I wasn't so sure about this one.

--WT

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 10:07:00 PM PDT  

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Thursday, June 19, 2008

Row of Palms



Nikon FM, Nikkor 85mm f1.8D, Ilford XP2 Super


Trying to make the most of a mundane subject... just a row of large palm trees on Treasure Island.


--Warren

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2 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Have you noticed my double-barreled shooting on Treasure Island? :)

I was using both cameras(Nikon D100 & Nikon FM), slinging one over my shoulder while I was shooting with the other, then swapping when the mood hit me.

--WT

Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 11:23:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

I think most people would have shot with a wide angle up close, but I kind of prefer this perspective for this subject, using a short-tele (85mm).

--WT

Thursday, June 19, 2008 at 11:25:00 PM PDT  

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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Union Square Wedding Party


Nikon FM, Nikkor 35mm f2.8, Ilford XP2 Super
How about a street shot for a change?

One of our city walks led us to have coffee at Union Square and I saw this wedding party walk up for some pictures.

--Warren


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8 Comments:

Blogger Warren T. said...

Something about this picture works for me. Would anyone care to say what it is about this photo that works, or doesn't work for them?

I would like to discuss/critique this one, if anyone cares to join in.

Thanks,

Warren

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 2:24:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Eric said...

Damn Warren, that looks like something out of a magazine! Good shot. Critique? The upper right corner is a little washed out and it's a little distracting. Other than that, it's nice.

Eric

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 2:57:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Thanks Eric. Just for clarification, when you say "washed out", do you mean that the area is too bright? (I had already burned that corner a bit to reduce brightness, and I thought I actually might have darkened it too much).

--WT

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 3:28:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Dolph Brust said...

Warren,

It is a wonderful picture. Everyplace on the photo is clear and has a story except for that upper corner. The corner is a little fuzzy. The shot is just great, we seem to be picking on a little less than perfect.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 4:32:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Eric said...

Right, Warren. Too bright.

Eric

Wednesday, June 11, 2008 at 8:27:00 PM PDT  
Blogger tedm said...

I agree with Eric, looks like a photo out of a magazine, and a good photo! I like how lots of things are going on in the photo, it's not a simple photo, it's busy, but in every section, there's a story of its own. It appears that you took your photo probably at the same time the wedding photographer took his, so it's in interesting different angle and good timing, and the lady with cell phone or hand to her ear is interesting, as are the dad and kid in the very middle looking on.

Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 10:10:00 AM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the comments, all very interesting observations.

What works for me is the combination of balanced grouping of the main subject, which is the wedding party. The party is split into two groups that fan out into a semim-bowtie shape, bridged in the middle by the groom gazing at the photographer's subject. So you have several sets of converging lines and several interesting sight lines: The woman on the right with the cell phone gazing to the right, the bride engaged in a conversation with the woman next to her, the groom and photographer looking at the 2nd group. All in the second group looking to the left. And smack dab in the middle of the whole thing is the father and child, almost at the focal point of the converging lines.

Yes, it's a very complicated image, but I'm pleased with it.

It's another one of those situations where there was not very much time to think and compose. It was an instinctive capture, and with manual equipment (Nikon FM, 35mm f2.8). I mentioned this before, where my mind is almost on autopilot when it composes a shot. It's at once exhilirating, fun, and satisfying when the shot is successful.

--WT

Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 10:35:00 PM PDT  
Blogger Warren T. said...

Hey folks, my last two posts just suggested a new theme! How about "Photographers in Action"?

What do you think?

--WT

Friday, June 13, 2008 at 5:10:00 PM PDT  

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