The Bull Rider

[Greg McCary]

I lost a little clarity on the resize because I scanned at a high a res, but other than that what do you think?

[Tuna]

What a strange moment captured. Her boisterous behaviour seems out of place to the audience we see within the frame - causing an unsettled, surreal feel to the image.

Well done.

Tuna

[JBMcLeod]

Me personally, I feel there's to much distractions going on in the photo. A close up of just the woman and the bull filling the frame with the glow of the lights above accenting her hair and body would give a better mood about the picture. Giving you a chance to feel the excitement and rush of the actual moment.

[Overbeyond]

Hello Greg
I would have gone in closer on bull and rider while retaining the all important one man audience . I think there is too much of the uninteresting foreground material in the shot. It's still an enjoyable shot.

[Didache]

I'm with Overbeyond on this. It is certainly an interesting shot, but a little too much surrounding the action. I woul be inclined to shave a little off the bottom, and also crop the right so the bull stands on the third.

Cheers
Mike

[Greg McCary]

Thanks all for the help. I will play around with the crop suggestions. Looking back I wish I had taken a few more pictures.

[Greg McCary]

Something like this?

[Overbeyond]

Gosh she looks in even more ecstasy now.
Thats the job Greg

[gahspidy]

I like the crop as per suggested. I think though that your shutter speed might have been a bit slow to freeze her, and not slow enough to give her motion blur. Either slower or faster would have been more effective, I think.
Jeez, I could watch her forever on that thing . . . .

[Tuna]

Yes, we can see her "better" but I had no problems seeing her and her expression (as well as her spirit) in the initial image. For me, the loss of distance in the cropped version has taken much away - I feel I've lost something.
I've now lost the initial focus.
I've lost the grunginess of the foreground - the effect of her atmosphere on the viewer.
I've lost the true emptiness of her surroundings - translate emptiness to loneliness...in juxtaposition to her attitude.
We've created a new image where one directly watches another, standing in the audience - not what we had originally: a voyeurs view of a discordant moment. Watching without watching. A feeling of seeing more than what is there...not just what a close crop forces us to look at.

I realize this forum encourages the technical critique methods of cropping, removing, adding, enhancing, re-shooting, etc. and that may be fine for photographers shooting standard flower, butterfly, family, sunset, etc. type images where they want to learn to do "better". However, Greg has been shooting street style images for a while now. In those instances, I believe it would benefit all to focus on the image beyond it's glossy sheen and critique the aesthetics as is. To ask a photographer to change a perfectly fine street image's physical parameters is something I don't agree with.

Tuna

[Greg McCary]

Thanks Gary,
Tuna, it seems when I am shooting streets I try and include as much atmosphere as I can. I sometimes question weather or not my subject gets lost in it. A delicate balance, for me and something I have been working at. I am glad you like it as is. Thanks again or your thoughts and time.

[Greg McCary]

Jeez, I could watch her forever on that thing . . . .

Me too........