Who You Lookin' at, a photo from Pennsylvania, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Just for fun...the showdown at the OK Corral...in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. Taken a decade ago this weekend...The kids small, but he's tough, and it doesn't look like either are going to back down...the boy wants water, the goose wants land...the line is drawn, who will cross it first.

Taken with my first "real" camera...an Olympus 38-138 zoom. The quintessential power point & shoot of the decade. The grain is due to the scan and the color is due to the photographer. Figured why not, mark a decade of shooting and have some fun. This one has it all - the dynamics of the tilted horizon, the character created by the grain, the colors of sunset, the few moments of tense quiet anticipation before the fight, waiting for the first move, breath held, eyes wide...enjoy.

...and a note on the horizon: I tried straightening it during PP but that made both the boy and the goose look like they were on the moon, so I composed the photo around the boy and let the horizon, well, just be dynamic.

Thanks for any comments or critiques,
John

japiey, teutza, scroller, edytungkal, Dpbours, ktanska, woladorsky, jmcl, pboehringer, mphotographies, Greg1949, robertosalguero has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

japiey (10163) 2007-08-30 13:46

Hi John.

It's a pleasure to enjoy the real sense..
Lovely subject and feel the musical mood there...
Good composition..
I really dont see the technical problems that you have said in notes, and is that a problem here? That adds the drama , a sensible touch...
Salutes, dear John.

jean paul

teutza (10590) 2007-08-30 14:00

hehe..that's a great funny catch!!:)))
the grain works nice here and the colours are very good!!and the subject just perfect:)
teo

scroller (3249) 2007-08-30 14:02

Hi John,
Such a funny picture. The goose is it canadian? It think that te picture went out quiet well after all.
regards
/Stefan

InasiaJones (27209) 2007-08-30 14:11

Hi Poppy!

How are you John! This will be my latest comment on one of your photo, since I’m leaving Saturday...

This is a cute and funny pic, where both the kid and the bird aren’t sure about the other... It almost look like a duel! According to the foreground weed, you were shooting low and that’s an excellent reflex when shooting kids. You’ve push your Olympus to its limits!

One day, someone will have to explain me why good photographer like you can’t straigthen the horizon... :-p)

See you buddy and enjoy every minutes of your loooooong trip! Lucky you!!!

Cheers!

André

[workshop] [compare] +

German74 (777) 2007-08-30 14:17

Muy buena foto, la verdad que debió ser un encuentro asombroso para ambos...

Abrazos.

puzzle (700) 2007-08-30 14:18

nice and funny photo,John :)

leyla

daddo (16675) 2007-08-30 14:36

Hi John. One can detect the tension. An engaging vignette. Nice light. Pity about the horizontal. But who cares, it's what is happening before us that is important. Regards. Klaudio.

edytungkal (4545) 2007-08-30 19:41

Ha..ha.. funny title with cute boy and the goose on interesting situation. Just a little bit to noisy on the top but it's ok i enjoy your posting. Thanks John :-)

daniel

Dpbours (222) 2007-08-30 19:50

Hahaha John, this is a funny one! A stand-off here. The kid already finished college by now and the goose has been finished as well some years ago ;-).
Hahaha, dynamics of a tilted horizon. I have to remember that one!

Gosh, as a kid I got bitten really badly, but that was by a swan and he was in his good right when I tried to pet the young ones... Don't try that one, since you will be full of bite marks when you get home. ;-)

Greetings! Dennis

ktanska (20369) 2007-08-31 0:11

Hi John,
Child and a bird is a classic theme. This has quite nostalgic feeling, bringing back memories from childhood. Square format works well. The goose is just out of focus, but maybe there was nothing you could do to fix it with that camera.
Kari

rbcy1974 (20756) 2007-08-31 0:56

Hello John
You have captured the interaction between the boy and the bird very well
excellent dof
Regards
Daniel

woladorsky (806) 2007-08-31 1:32

Hi John!

A great motive... an encounter between a curious kid and a big goose!
10 years ago!1 guau!

cheers

Rolando

miumiu (3888) 2007-08-31 1:45

Hello John!
Very lovely and nice moment!
I like your idea!
Greetings
Agnes

vapours (8208) 2007-08-31 5:27

Incredibly simple photo, but at the same time so strong, the lighting, colour, focus is all spot on here and an image that really pulls the right strings with me.

hderin (600) 2007-08-31 18:29

Hahhaha ! Great shot master John. Photo is in good spirits. Thank you very much.

Best regards

Haluk Derinöz

jmcl (14535) 2007-08-31 20:40

Hi John,

Wonderful moment of contemplation .. love the colors and the use of focus .. very effective ..

take care,

John

sothy81 (9390) 2007-09-01 13:26

A very interesting picture indeed. They are looking each other. We dont know how much things going on with the child standing there. Well done. Sothy

Polonaise (5796) 2007-09-04 5:16 [Comment]

Show Comment

pboehringer (770) 2007-09-04 10:18

Hi John,
I'm not quite sure if you already departed or not. I wish you a very good trip and I envy you a lot ... I have to remain here and keep going!
The scene is wonderful spotted and documented. What a surprise that must have been for these two characters. Mutual respect for the stranger at the other side of the line and yet something has to happen. I wonder what happenend seconds after your shutter release. That tension is exactly what makes it wonderful.
I'm not quite sure why you had to defend yourself for the tilted horizon. It is pretty clear that it is like this because of the lake turn and not because you are a bad photographer.
Take care and have an entertaining and safe trip. See you next year, Peter

mphotographies (1976) 2007-09-06 20:51

Hey John,

The two elements are remarkable, the boy's low level presence didn't intimidate that goose at all. The intense attitude of both elements become more important to the overall effect of the image.

By looking at how vertical the two elements stand, I guess if seen in wide landscape the foreground, lake, and horizon seems to be diagonal due to its natural orientation. Does makes sense of the dynamism you metioned in your note.

The texture has the 'film' effect which reminds us the pictures taken during those earlier days. Well done!

Cheers!

Jom

Greg1949 (9009) 2007-09-09 3:31

John, what a fine shot, looks like trouble, just can't figure out which one will start it. Composition is fantastic, great capture.

Greg

hattori (0) 2007-09-09 15:10

dear john,
it's a lovely shot, amazing confrontation, he is really tough lad thanks for your nice note
very well done
cheers
nezih

robertosalguero (196) 2007-09-11 18:51

I would like to know what both of them were thinking during that moment. The scene is very cute. The boy and goose look very well placed and seem to be staring at each other. Good light and colours. I think this is a tender moment every father would love to see with their own children. Thanks John :-)

Roberto

smarcell (19571) 2007-09-24 10:12

Your gallery is full of interesting pictures, all of them well composed, with a style which I like very much. This is an example. Good choice to focus on the child and not on the goose or on both, because the child is the subject.

pablominto (53742) 2007-09-24 10:30

Hello John,
It is a great situation!
Confrontation is established, who will win the mental battle? Personally I have no doubt the goose will win an eventual physical encounter, hehehe...
Besides being a good image, the situation caught my eye because of my own image DO I DARE, which has some resemblances!
Greetings,
Pablo -

aralda (1240) 2007-10-14 4:59

Fun shot!
Great light, too!
Raluca