At the Wheel Photo

Photographer’s Note

There were a group of kids playing in and on an abandonded jeepney here. Certainly in Canada this would be deemed a hazard and removed from a public road, but in the Philippines, they seem to be a little less insistent on such rules. Clearly the kids here greatly enjoyed the ability to have some fun as well as to pretend to be the driver. There must have been five or six kids playing here, all having a great time, but making photos difficult as it was a little dark already and they certainly were not in the mood to be patient for slower shutter speeds. Fortunately, this caught the little girl's face quite sharply.

maciekda has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jhonny_blue (4954) 2004-03-14 7:01

Great picture Darren !
The kid makes me smile ! Great shoy and great kid expression.
Congratulations !

clodreno (0) 2004-03-14 8:03

I suppose what you are saying in your note is true. But what a feeling of joy on his face. incredible. Love it. Nice catch Darren.

maciekda (19599) 2004-03-14 9:10

funny picture, the kid is definitely having fun - his expression is great. technicaly not the greates your photo, but i see here a little moment of happiness.

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-03-14 11:10

good pic here Darren, the sharpness is there and the expression but the background could have been a little better, but well seen

manny (21378) 2004-03-14 12:44

Nice picture. Charming kid and unique composition concentrating the subject at the bottom but looking up to someone. Good shot.

Luko (13902) 2004-03-14 14:52

I know you are one of the (few?) photogs here that won't take these comments too wholeheartedly..

I'll be very straightforward : I'm questioning myself about the point of this shot...there might be something I don't understand such as your framing for instance. I suppose the blurry foot the upper left side corner is there to mention that the child is looking at someone...but to me it looks more like an uncontroled feature that's protruding in the shot.

You know that for me compo flaws are deadly sins while sharpness or other technical shortcomings are forgiveable.
I simply cannot pass by the foot : Darren, you'll have to say two "Pater" and three "Mary" to wash out that compo sin. ;-)

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dsidwell (9745) 2004-03-14 15:14

Another image full of life and exhuberance. You might get away with cropping a bit off the left and still retain the feel of this shot. I love the strong placement of the child, and her joyful emotions.

eleparc (24059) 2004-03-14 16:28

Great shot Darren! I love the look of joy of that kid driving the jeep, so natural and just in time. the light is excellent despite what you say in your note, you did very well.. DOF is good too. Personally, I would crop the ladder out of the photo to avoid attention to be drawn by other apsects of the photo. not a big deal though!

gringofil (0) 2004-03-15 11:35

Hey Darren. Have to go with Luko on this one. You've set a very high standard for yourself with your previous shots, and this one is just not up to your usual high standards. I just don't know how to read this image. The only thing that stands out is the pure joy on the face of the kid.