Three Funny Men... Photo

Photographer’s Note

19 AUGUST 2004, COLLINS STREET, MELBOURNE

Three Melbourne men share a bit of humour as they walk west up along the footpath of Collins Street, Melbourne, during the August 19 Anti-Howard demonstration.

Many of the workers and leisurely strollers of the city district appeared from the office towers to watch the demonstration as it headed towards the Sofitel Hotel, few noticed my camera trained upon them.

I never did catch their joke but I managed to catch their picture as they strutted past; about as close to 'classic' street photography as I have come lately.

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Two things to note:
-The time on the nearest gentleman's watch is roughly 2:40PM (who needs Exif data?)
-He's got a better mobile phone than me

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25mm ; XP2 rated EI200 ; cropped

bpelvan, Bogdan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

bobll7 (194) 2004-09-19 0:41

Great capture of an urban moment. You mastered the use of black and white film/paper perfectly, it is impressing. I like the feel of the picture, à la Cartier-Bresson, you nailed it at the right time.

jhe00 (271) 2004-09-19 0:45

A very crisp and stylish image. Could easily be from the pages of Esquire or GQ (I think it's a compliment, although some people might not)

bpelvan (3760) 2004-09-19 0:49

A very striking shot and wonderful b/w. Vey well capture of the action with good DOF.
Congrats. Bravo.

benny (629) 2004-09-19 1:17

Super photo, faites avec un apparei mythique!
Photos vivante, qui parle d'elle même.
Bravo.

Benedetto (437) 2004-09-19 2:40

Beautiful B&W, excellent street capture.!!
Very well done.
Regards, Benedetto.

rjamin (1169) 2004-09-19 3:02

Excellent photo. It has strong dynamic action feel to it.

flydragon (0) 2004-09-19 4:24

HI Mchael
verry nice daily life picture
its remind me some picture of Cartier Bresson
its like you are invisible here i like it
woww the quality of black and white is great
i never used this Ilford film
well done
••simon••

eleparc (24059) 2004-09-19 5:18

nice dynamic shot and great compo. the b&w choice is good too;-)

Luko (13842) 2004-09-19 14:32

Definitely a classic look, I wouldn't have said HCB (who would have put a 3rd metal lid on the ground) but another american guy from Magnum whose name I forgot for the moment.

The pic really holds together because of the bound or circular looks between each of the three guys, something like a 1>2>3>1 repeated pattern (toldya : 3 is the magic number!).

A "Magnum DIY" group theme would be funny to start, sure I'll put this one into it.

danielswalsh (12930) 2004-09-20 3:12

Hi Mike!

Nice candid street shot you've captured here, complimented by the B&W.
Good street photography, and I like the fact they are seemingly oblivious to the camera.

Cheers!
- Dan

spence (1677) 2004-09-20 5:32

I like this so much - the actual streetscape is lovely and the relaxed and warm connection between the three men is palpable. Great b&w contrast too. I'm not surprised about his mobile phone - they DO have that "top end of Collins Street" look.

Enia (365) 2004-09-21 20:25

I like this photo very much because of the very secret moment you captured of the men. and i know it is very difficult..but you managed to do it like they were posing for you...very well done!

zig (2450) 2005-04-05 23:43

Very classic but VERY nice. B&W suit to this image. I wonder how it would look like in colour. I also admire you　had enough courage to point your camera at them from that close.