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HI guys,

Well the comps over so I have decided to ask for some feedback on these street shots that I have been taking. Any comment or critique welcomed.






That's enough for now.

I cant quite put my finger on it, but something in the third image really apeals to me... I think it is the lighting... Very nice!

I'm hooked on the fourth one.

Great composition, the face on the child is very emotive, and you've got the shadow detail almost nailed. Perhaps a tad lighter in the child's face, but I'm not overly concerned because it's already quite close to optimal.

Matt

Numbers one and four for me.

Number one has such a fantastic naturalistic feel to it. An image most of us will have seen many times, yet you captured this at just the right moment (decisively, I might add ). A great story shot. Is the man tired, sad, rubbing his eye?

Number four has great composition. All those empty tables and that lone child "abandoned" in all that isolation. The harsh angles also provide a great counterpoint to the softness of the childs expression.

Number two doesn't work at all for me. Hard to say why, but part of it is I'd actually like to be drawn to examination of the weathered face (which I can't see properly) yet what I keep being drawn to is a white plastic bag in the lower right corner.

These are great Matt...

I like #1 as well, but the kid in #4 is fantastic... While the space around him/her says something in itself, maybe a closer crop would make the most of the expression on his/her face... It might also exclude the railing which is quite distracting...

Thanks for the comments guys.
I've been going HCB mad at the moment. Everything I take is going this way.

The guy in the first shot was so drunk and kept bobbing his head left and right and that. He saw me take the camera out and started giving me some odd looks so i just continued drinking with sam. Eventually he rolled forward and I couldnt resist and had enough time to get him like this before he came back up for air and gave me yet another dirty look.

Number 2 i like because of the story that leads up to this point i guess. I have others of this guy feeding hundreds of pigeons in the park, and going mad when a little girl ran in and made them all fly away. I liked this one as it was just him, no birds, going about his business after feeding time.

Number 3 was a bloke doing falun gong in the park. I sat and watched him for abuot an hour, shooting him all the time. I really like this one for some reason too.

Number 4 was just a gift. She was playhing by the water, looking at the seaguls and wouldnt stay still until this shot. No one else was around, apart from her dad a table down in front of her. I dont mind the railing being in the way of it, it adds to the abandoned and isaolated feel to it for me.

Thanks again guys.

No 2 for me, the facial expression, flannelette shirt, jumper tied around waste, he looks defeated in a determined sort of way (?), the plastic bag adds to the story here IMO, could be any of a thousand old duffers in Sydney on a Winter's day.

Max

I like!!!!
1 & 4 more so.
Every day life in B&W always a winner IMO

Great work!!

Cheers
Ray

rokkstar, beautiful shots of everyday life...1,2 and 4 are excellent IMHO...

I wish I had the *guts* to shoot complete strangers...

1 and 4 for me too, i think #4 is great.Tells a story i think,lonelines.

Number 2 by a long shot....its great

Street candids par excellence

N# 4 for me as well.

No's 2 & 4 really drew me in. Perhaps go even further into the "gritty" factor of street-life? You seem to have an eye for capturing the personalities (or at least the moment).

Fiona

So what lenses did you use for these?

Hi Matt
Excellent images. Excellent conversion. What method do you use to convert to Black and white?

They all tell a story, and captured skillfully with a keen sense of anticipation
Success in my book!

embi wrote:So what lenses did you use for these?

The drunk guy was shot with the 50mm 1.4. All the rest were shot with my rather cheap sigma 70-300mm. I had to crank the ISO up on most to 640 and above.

Matt.K wrote:What method do you use to convert to Black and white?

I simply see what channel gives the best results and then use the monochrome setting in the channel mixer. So most of these were blue channel conversions I think. And then a slight curve adjustment on top to give it a bit more contrasty punch.

Many thanks for all your kind feedback on them.

Matt,

Excellent images. No. 1 is my favourite.

Alex

Hi Matt,

A lot of people seem to like these images however I would challenge you to get closer with the subject, get rid of the telephoto and put on a normal lens. Get closer to your subject and look at the difference that happens to your work.

An old saying was "dont shoot until you see the whites of their eyes" and the same is true in doco photography, the eyes reveal so much about a subject and when you start seeing the eyes you are going to start telling a story.

I do like the last image although I am wondering why you let that rail into the bottom left of the image? Have some confidence to work a little closer!

Just another point, try getting a second element into the images; you do not need it on that last shoot of the kid... the design element that is happening within those chairs and tables is good enough on its own. The photo of the old guy though would tell more if there was a second component in the image that was creating a norm. The shot of the guy curled up would also tell more if there was a secondary element happening. I call this concept "value added photography". If you have a look at some of the good images from the master doco photgraphers you will discover there is usually a secondary component in the images and it will either support or juxtapose the main subject. Check it out!

Keep working at it! Ants

I like number 2 best, I think his face shows a lot of emotion, so I think a tighter crop to show his face more clearly and to remove the distracting plastic bag.

Antsl wrote:..... however I would challenge you to get closer with the subject, get rid of the telephoto and put on a normal lens. Get closer to your subject and look at the difference that happens to your work.

I agree totally. Hence the reason I asked about the lenses you used.

Just found this site

http://1000words.net/

Thanks for the feedback ants.
I used the telephoto for a couple of reasons.

1. I wanted the subject to be completely unaware of my presence. If I had gone in there with my 50 then I wouldn't have the expressions I have.

2. This was my first folly into the world of docu photography and it somewhat scared me. The telephoto lens offers a certain amount of protection - you don't need to be confronted by people, and don't need to explain what it is you are doing etc.

I would love to get closer to the subject though. I would love to be shoot the whites of their eyes. I think I would like an 85mm lens so that I can get close, but not be in their faces.

rokkstar wrote: I used the telephoto for a couple of reasons.

1. I wanted the subject to be completely unaware of my presence. If I had gone in there with my 50 then I wouldn't have the expressions I have.

2. This was my first folly into the world of docu photography and it somewhat scared me. The telephoto lens offers a certain amount of protection - you don't need to be confronted by people, and don't need to explain what it is you are doing etc.

I would love to get closer to the subject though. I would love to be shoot the whites of their eyes. I think I would like an 85mm lens so that I can get close, but not be in their faces.

These are both reasons why people use telephotos for doco photography, they are also the reasons why most people fail at this subject. If you look at the work of all the great doco photographers you will discover that they use wideangle lenses almost exclusively, more importantly though, they have also made an art form of getting close to the subject without losing the mode of the situation. Your hero Mr Bresson worked almost exclusively with a 35mm lens (28mm in digital). To get good at this genre you too will need to learn these skills!

My advice, let the subject know you are there and then let them forget you. It's the key to the game!

I like them all! The black and white really does the shot justice. It sets the mood and makes you look at the body language, then you get to fill in the rest with your mind. nice.

Antsl wrote:My advice, let the subject know you are there and then let them forget you. It's the key to the game!

Thats how I was able to get my pic of the chefs for the comp. After what seemed ages they finally forgot I was there.

The exif data for my shot says 18mm (27mm on a 35mm Camera).

It is scary at first and I havent done it for ages (only just starting to do it again) but I remember going in for the kill and the results are worth it.

These are awesome mate. Really like these. I love streetshots like these when the subject is unaware of anything. #3 and #4 are beautiful. You're gonna have to teach me your B&W conversion method, cos I love it. The toning in #3 is particularly appealing to my eye.

It was great to meet you the other day too. We must organise a midweek shoot sometime soon!!

Well Done Rokkstar

I agree with Antsl. But he's talkin not about a man but a Legend!

One of the greatest photographers of his time Henri Cartier-Bresson


Get closer you will discover another Photographer in you!

Fab

Blimey, a second archived thread resurgance. Thank you again for the comments Taro and Fab.
I havent done any more of this type of shooting recently but do want to. I'm steadily building up my courage and ability to get closer to the subject - still trying to get the non reactive expression though.

Good to meet you too Taro. Midweek meet is cool. Got a few things on but can always push them aside to go taking pics.