Hi all ... for those who have followed my on-going attempt to get a Royal Photographic Society distinction with my London Underground project, here is the latest in the saga. My mentor shows my work in progress to one of the people who actually does the assessing. His comment was that, although the photography was fine, I did make the Underground look a very lonely place. He suggested the panel would be stronger if I incorporated a few images with groups of people, especially if I could make it dynamic.

So down I went again this morning! Here are three. I will have to go down once or twice more, so any comments are very much appreciated.

The first is called Swimming against the Tide - no real titles for the other two.

Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike, to be honest, these shots convey more of a lonely feeling to me than the previous ones you posted :o The previous ones may not have had many people in them but, they had more of documentarian feel to them. In this first shot, the girl coming towards the camera is looking down and away, while everyone else has their backs to her. In the second one, all the people are just looking straight ahead like drones trying to avoid eye contact. In the third shot, you have a performer but, everyone is walking away from him. Don't get me wrong, I like the shots, I just think if you're trying to avoid a lonely feeling, I would like to see more human interaction. While these shots are full of people, all I see is a bunch of people busily trying to go about their lives while avoiding any possible contact with other people. Maybe look for a couple holding hands or a group of people standing around a performer or...?

Thanks Xia_Ke ... I think I should have made my intent clearer when I posted them. When I started with the project, the idea was indeed to convey the loneliness of a place, even one used by a couple of million people every day. That hasn't changed. Although the assessor suggested images with more people in them, he wasn't suggesting I depart from the original concept. I phrased that badly .. by "a very lonely place" he meant a non-crowded one.

I suppose you could say I was after "loneliness even in the midst of a crowd". That is why the first image is personally my favourite of the three - it shows an isolated person, even in a crowded corridor.

In that sense, I take heart from your comments - it shows I am on the right track! :)

Cheers
Mike

Ahhh, okay, that makes sense then...LOL I think you are definitely on the right track then. My mom is coming to visit in a few hours and I can't wait to show her these. She's home visiting from England right now (she lives in Hunwick, just outside of Durham). She occasionally has to work in London and has commented about how lonely such a busy place can be. It'll be interesting to get her take on these :)

Xia_Ke .. I would love to hear her take on them :D

Incidentally, I just heard back from my mentor. He likes the first two, but defnitely not the third.

For your mum, if you missed the whole project, you can see ALL the images at:

http://album2591.fotopic.net/c1367250.html

Cheers
Mike

Mike
When you went down on the previous occasions you captured (excellently in my humble view) the Underground as you saw it. You gave us shots devoid of people, rush hour shots (or similar), movement, excitement and some nearing the abstract.
I personally would feel very uncomfortable returning and working to an accessors brief or vision. To me anyway that is a pressure and I for one would not be able to produce under such circumstances. But I suppose to get the badge so to speak this is what must be done.
I wish you good luck and I know you will get there.
To get what he is after I think you need to be there in the middle of rush hour with the camera/wide lens over your head and Bob will surely become your Uncle.
Tell the assessor that Overbeyond on the Photography Rreview Forum said that he should use his Freedom Pass, pop on the tube and see if he can do any better :) .

Tom, you made me laugh - because he really is an old far... err I mean senior citizen :D

I must admit that when I first heard his comments I felt in something of a quandary about compromising the original vision and, on reflection, decided that my vision was important to me, however he happens to feel about it. Hence, I am quite happy to get a few more images with groups of people, but not (as Xia_Ke says) to sacrifice the loneliness motif.

However, all is not lost!!!! Part of the ARPS procedure is that I have to produce a written brief on my intent. Therefore, the assessors do in fact know about the "loneliness" notion when they view the panel and judge me on how well I have achieved it.

On another matter - once the Xmas tree is up in Trafalgar Square, do you fancy a night session?

Cheers
Mike

like when i took my coaching courses, i had t o"bend" in order to fall into their assessments of what coaching is all about.

when i got my badge i just went ahead and did what i always did !!

the underground IS a lonely place. people DO fail to make eye contact.

perhaps take one inside a carriage with all of the people there reading and avoiding each other ??

Tom, you made me laugh - because he really is an old far... err I mean senior citizen :D

I must admit that when I first heard his comments I felt in something of a quandary about compromising the original vision and, on reflection, decided that my vision was important to me, however he happens to feel about it. Hence, I am quite happy to get a few more images with groups of people, but not (as Xia_Ke says) to sacrifice the loneliness motif.

However, all is not lost!!!! Part of the ARPS procedure is that I have to produce a written brief on my intent. Therefore, the assessors do in fact know about the "loneliness" notion when they view the panel and judge me on how well I have achieved it.

On another matter - once the Xmas tree is up in Trafalgar Square, do you fancy a night session?

Cheers


Mike

Yes indeed I am up for that Mike. Past my bed time but any excuse to give the tripod an airing.

I get the feeling these are distorted aspect ratio, the people look to tall and thin, the curve of the tunnel walls doesn't feel right.
I was going to make the same comment about the placement of the people, so it looks like you've got it as you planned it :)

What time are you planning the night excursion, room for a short bearded one?

Paul .. short, tall, beardie or smooth!!! I will find out tomorrow when the tree goes up, and then maybe circulate a couple of dates.

Cheers
Mike

Hi Mike. Just showed your pics to my Mom and she loved them. Said you are definitely on the right track.

She's strating to get into photography now and I was telling her about the outing you had and that you are planning more. She said it sounds right up her ally as she belongs to a ramblers club I think it is? She's not much of a computer person but, I'm trying to get her to join here. So, you guys might have another tag along on future outings if interested :thumbsup:

Xia_Ke .. it would be great to see her on her jaunts to London. She can always contact me through you. I am sure we could always rustle up a shoot of some kind.

Cheers
Mike

Mike

These don't fit in with the rest of the photos for me. It doesn't give you the same level of loneliness that the others do for me.

#1 is the closest, what would be more powerful is if she was isolated in the crowd travelling in the same direction, how you do that is another problem.

It would take a gap within the crowd with one person in it with just the right amount of space so a very shallow DOF to seperate the person from the rest. It would also be better if the person is female rather than male, because I think the impact of loneliness would be bigger.

I will try and make the tree lights - if its Friday I will be in London for work so can stay on. However with my week so far anything could change.


Roger

Roger .. it certainly isn't easy! I agree with you that No 1 "fits" with what I have done before, but the others are a little unharmonious. Oddly enough, all the pics are pretty shallow DOF anyway, due to the amount of light. Still, I will be trying to get at least one along those lines. In the end, as you know, I have to produce 15 pictures - I am going to go for no more than two or three of them with this crowd motif. The rest will come from my existing stock - otherwise there is a risk that I will not produce the panel which I have in my mind.

I will go down possibly on Friday and see if I can get another one or two from which to choose - probably something like No 1, but going the other way.

Cheers
Mike

Xia_Ke .. I would love to hear her take on them :D

Incidentally, I just heard back from my mentor. He likes the first two, but defnitely not the third.

For your mum, if you missed the whole project, you can see ALL the images at:

http://album2591.fotopic.net/c1367250.html

Cheers
Mike

From an earlier post "the idea was indeed to convey the loneliness of a place, even one used by a couple of million people every day."

I am just the opposite. I don't like the first two and do like the third with the lone musician. Even though he is in a busy space he seems to be all alone and unnoticed and after all isn't that what you are trying to convey? Jeff