I Love A Parade

[swmdrayfan]

This young gent was engrossed in the parade participants before him. I felt this particular crop was a little more dramatic. I don't have another version except the original, and in that one, his legs were cut off at the knees.:blush2:
Feedback and suggestion welcomed.
John

[F-15_Flyer]

I feel like this would be a good B & W image, with the white shirts, and the dramatic setup.

I like it though, it has a very great sense of power, a pretty nice composition too.

Would you mind if I posted a B & W version?

[swmdrayfan]

Would you mind if I posted a B & W version?

Sure, go ahead.

[engineer]

what do you mean about "dramatic" here? what is dramatic?

[F-15_Flyer]

what do you mean about "dramatic" here? what is dramatic?

What do you mean What do you mean?


Here it is swmdrayfan:

[engineer]

maybe it's a language problem, coz english is not my first language. but i don't see anything "dramatic" here as i have understood the word "dramatic". i might be wrong. in my point of view the word "dramatic" has a relatively strong meaning.

[engineer]

however, i forgot to say that i prefer the edited version.

[swmdrayfan]

Ok, 'dramatic' may not have been the best choice of words.
The idea was to correct an obvious flaw in the original, and by doing so, the crop has a better sense of depth, if you know what I mean.

[engineer]

hi John, thanks for your explanation, I know what you mean now.

[Didache]

Personally I prefer the original. Red is always a good colour in photos as it draws the eye pretty immediately - which, in this case, is to the foreground figure.

Mike

[swmdrayfan]

Personally I prefer the original. Red is always a good colour in photos as it draws the eye pretty immediately - which, in this case, is to the foreground figure.

Mike

Not only that, but I was struck by the blue of the sky and the white of the marchers' shirts.......red, white, and blue....perfect colors for Memorial Day, no? I hadn't thought of it before now. F-15 had a point about the b & w, though.

[Greg McCary]

I think the composition is fine, but the kid looks as though he was pasted into place or you shot this with a big zoom?????????
Greg

[Sebastian]

Haven't read the other posts, so forgive me if I repeat what others have said.

First, there is nothing in the photo indicating any sort of a parade. Some people are walking. A person is watching them. Where are the crowds? Other participants? Decorations? Floats?

Second, and this is what could have really made it decent regardless of the first point, there is no emotional connection with any of the subjects in the photo. The person in the foreground has his back to me, and the people in the distance are too poorly defined to be able to connect with them on any level. Even their activity, walking, is completely nondescript.

In a situation like this, if there was no "moment" to capture and imbue emotion or action into the picture, I think you could try to make something graphical out of it. Maybe work with the pattern of all the white shirts? Get them from the side and try to catch the angles of their legs in unison as they walk? Get in front of them and show the long line of parade walkers? (Maybe with shallow DOF, or deep DOF?)

I, as a viewer, get nothing communicated to me here. If I was there, and this was an image that triggered a memory, then I would feel slightly different. But in the end, if you took this image to portray the parade, then I think you could have done much better. However if your intent was different, then my critique isn't really worth much.

[swmdrayfan]

I think the composition is fine, but the kid looks as though he was pasted into place or you shot this with a big zoom?????????
Greg

Greg.....I shot this with the 18-70 mm at max focal length. The kid was standing right in front of me.
John

[swmdrayfan]

Haven't read the other posts, so forgive me if I repeat what others have said.

First, there is nothing in the photo indicating any sort of a parade. Some people are walking. A person is watching them. Where are the crowds? Other participants? Decorations? Floats?

Second, and this is what could have really made it decent regardless of the first point, there is no emotional connection with any of the subjects in the photo. The person in the foreground has his back to me, and the people in the distance are too poorly defined to be able to connect with them on any level. Even their activity, walking, is completely nondescript.

In a situation like this, if there was no "moment" to capture and imbue emotion or action into the picture, I think you could try to make something graphical out of it. Maybe work with the pattern of all the white shirts? Get them from the side and try to catch the angles of their legs in unison as they walk? Get in front of them and show the long line of parade walkers? (Maybe with shallow DOF, or deep DOF?)

I, as a viewer, get nothing communicated to me here. If I was there, and this was an image that triggered a memory, then I would feel slightly different. But in the end, if you took this image to portray the parade, then I think you could have done much better. However if your intent was different, then my critique isn't really worth much.

Thanks Seb. You made some interesting and valid points. I'll certainly think about that at the next parade. :idea:

[Sebastian]

Just hope I help.

[swmdrayfan]

Just hope I help.

You did. I'm experiencing new things this summer without baseball, and any help I can get is really appreciated.