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Christian Barrette
{K:21125} 4/20/2004
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I agree, hipshots do have their feel, and it is not really about framing, but the feel of the moment. Much alike the camera held at the shoulder in the movie world, with coarse video rendering.
You might be interested by this project :
http://www.johnbrownlow.com/hipshot/
P.S. Do you know how to make a clickable link here ?
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Christian Barrette
{K:21125} 4/20/2004
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Never before has any civilization produced so many images - among other things we might be tempted to qualitfy as waste. What retains this massive production to fall into the realm of pollution is the work the human mind invests into making sense out of it. We sort it, classify it, appreciate and depreciate it, we identify ourselves with a construct, a set of rules held into a style. But the main question will still be about what we try to say through it. We use styles to communicate, build our shared identity.
Hipshot is definetely a style with its own rules, much like calendar and postcard shots. Lomography has its own set too. Does it speak to you ?
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Audrey Reid
{K:5872} 4/19/2004
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Hi Christian & Matej, I fully agree that some images should be viewed and appreciated as experiences 'shared' with the photographer.
Places we the viewer won't otherwise see and moments that are pure magic. With regard to this image, for me personally both of the above apply.
However, as Christian well knows :), I check to crop everything to the bone!! In this case, I'd still be tempted to lose the wall :)
PS - I seem to remember having long discussions on your images before - fun to chat....!
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Matej Maceas
{K:24381} 4/19/2004
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To continue the discussion, I would advise against cropping. For me, the man immediately pops out of the picture as it is; his point-of-focus status does not need to be enhanced further IMO. And as Christian says, the composition benefits from the door-man-door triangle, which is well balanced at the moment (small door + small man left of centre, big door right of centre, with equal "empty" space on both sides). I'm afraid that moving the small door close to the edge would violate that balance. Furthermore, cropping off the left wall would also do away with much of the cable, which I think has some meaning for the picture.
Hipshots have a certain magic. We (or at least I) take them with the knowledge that the composition will most probably have some faults, but that it does not matter so much because the subject outweighs this seeming disadvantage. I think that if it's a hipshot, accept it as such, don't try to improve it, or else the magic might be lost.
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Christian Barrette
{K:21125} 4/19/2004
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Hello Audrey,
thanks for your comments. There is a lot that could be done to revamp the composition and I think too that cropping out the left wall would help. Although, perhaps the triangle 'small door - the man - the large door' is also graphically of some interest.
There are some serious technical flaws too, like the softness of a poor quality lens. Like I said in the first post of this series, it's not about aesthetics, but about nostalgia, about a time when I held my camera on the belly and shot with my guts.
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Audrey Reid
{K:5872} 4/18/2004
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Priceless catch of the moment Christian. Not everyday someone pops out of the ground infront of one and in front of such interesting backdrop no less!
Considering you shot from the hip (so to speak), its a good grab. Had you carefully composed this, I'd say it could be sharper and agree on the toning issue.
Would you consider cropping the left wall to nearly the pillar? I think the crop may help focus the eye on the big door and the man. Thus giving less importance to the second door. As is, all 3 subjects take equal prominence in my view.
What do you think?
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Mike Marcotte
{K:3948} 4/18/2004
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I like this one best. You've been shooting well for years mon ami.
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Marta Pereyra
{K:5029} 4/18/2004
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I love it!!
Excellent capture!
Congrats, Marta
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NN
{K:26787} 4/18/2004
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I agree with MM on this being the best of the series. Well seen and captured!
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Matej Maceas
{K:24381} 4/18/2004
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For me, this is the best of the first three images of this series. It has clarity in terms of immediate identification of the subject, absence of any distracting elements, and recognition of the settings. There is also an element of curiosity and extraordinariness (not sure if that's actually a word) - how often does one see people sticking out of holes in front of churches?
As for tonality it's quite nice but could use slightly stronger blacks.
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CorrieLynn Jacobsen
{K:9882} 4/18/2004
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great tones, funny shot!
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David McClenaghan
{K:9481} 4/18/2004
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This is quite funny/odd when you see the bigger picture.
Maybe a bit more contrast would help.
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