Golden Hour Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

There was something desert-like in the colours of that late afternoon; the old, impeccably attired Indian man was crossing the street under the windswept evening cirrus clouds while this man, sporting a Hawaian t-shirt, was turning to the right. As the temperature was neither cold nor hot, neither of these getups made much sense to me--but I welcomed them for the odd mood they endowed this forgotten corner of the world.

I have also uploaded the more contrasty duotone version in the Workshop.

quillo, rigoletto, robiuk, broglia, AnimeshRay, KevRyan, delnaja, luisafonso, kevinos, eleparc, falves, PeterC, dincmen has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Tilapia (176) 2007-05-15 0:03

Hi Sarolta,

I was thinking that the image would be great in B&W, and then there it was.

Super angle, DOF, and composition. Excellent shot!

Regards from Guelph

dvlazar (6492) 2007-05-15 0:13

Hi there,
I like your bold and gutsy composition - cutting off the head of one of the 2 subjects - but it works well!
The lighting is almost 'staged' looking, its so perfect.
Regards,
dave

ribeiroantonio (22056) 2007-05-15 0:44

Your picture is really interesting because of the low POV. Did you hold the camera just very low and took a sneaky pic or, where you looking through the viewfinder? I may be wrong but for me looks like more the first suggestion. Anyway, it is not the point and the photo is really excellent. Well done.
Antonio

Wanda1 (11025) 2007-05-15 1:08

Hi Sarolta,
An interesting composition and angle that you have used. I love the odd colouring and the subject matter is great. Well seen.
Regards
Wanda

vedra (0) 2007-05-15 2:40

Hi Sarolta,
Nice point of view. The shot got some sort of timeless quality thanks to that slight rotation.
The two guys: so close, worlds apart. Each of them in his own world, but isn't that ever growing characteristic of the modern world?
Vedrana

Atousa (3514) 2007-05-15 2:57

Salam,
It shows how people and their habits are different .
Interesting capture.
Thanks for sharing
Atousa

faubry (32499) 2007-05-15 3:12

bonjour Sasa, a lot contrast herebetween this classic old man and hawai man... two worlds, i like because you had take at knee on the ground, good soft colors
take care
francine

scalerman (25787) 2007-05-15 3:18

S: and this one is the A+ for the week. What a really stealth image: so nicely contasted, so really beautiful. Some of yours I don't get, but this one ranks in there on high... c

delnaja (7937) 2007-05-15 3:24

Hi Sasa,
how are you?
Love the tilt and the color version more...
The expression of the man is just good... but my eyes are a bit disturbed by the woman on the right of the photo... Anyway, excellent light.
Take care
Fred

brevbrev14 (372) 2007-05-15 3:24

Hi my dear Sasa, i like a lot the colours so soft in this composition...
Beautiful also the ES version..
My eye goes directly on the position of the hands of the man on the right side..perhaps after a long and strong winter....this man needs summer in the air..
Greate contrast of dresses with the man on the left side.. very good perspective and crop!
well done!
ciao!
:)))
Valeria

luisafonso (858) 2007-05-15 3:56

I am glad you decided to upload the color version on this one. It's so beautiful, the tones are so gentle, so naturally pure. The duotone version is very good, but maybe it's my mood today that prefer this dreamy one. Love your composition. The hands, the gaze of the standing man, the diagonal of the building: what a row of strong elements. The golden hour feel is very good but a real golden hour hunter would underexposed the scene a little bit. Thank God you didn't ;) It's a great photography. Those hands... I can't stop looking at those hands...

Furachan (0) 2007-05-15 4:17

Tremendous shot, dear Sasa, hint of hip action but I don't want to tar you with that feather in case I'm wrong, LOL! Sinners want company... The cropping on the right is so right somehow and the Indian man's slightly abentminded, professorial look. Also the toned down colors.
Lovely work.
Best wishes,
Francis

kevinos (6927) 2007-05-15 5:17

It certainly has a surreal colouring and feel to it Sarolta, and the tilt adds greatly to that feel. It's interesting how cropping the man in the foreground's face throws his hands into the forefront, and the hand look so tense too, as though he is worried, defensive.The man in the coat look sort of confused and lost in a world that seems rather unkind. It is a image the provokes so many feelings. regards kevin

nicoz (1963) 2007-05-15 5:31

Hi Sarolta,
Nice shot! This indian man is such a nice character to have in a shot. He almost looks like a character of a cartoon or soemthing. The strange lights/colors add to this feeling.
Well done!
Nicolas

eleparc (24059) 2007-05-15 6:38

did you shoot from the hip or did you actually focus? the result is impressively good! i had the feeling you had desaturated the photo, but reading your note, i am not quite so sure now.. I love the subdued colors and tones, and the overall scene! This man with his bended back is a great cherry for the photo! a sort of hunchback of Ottawa...;-)
Eric

falves (1403) 2007-05-15 7:08

Hi Sasa, remarkable composition. The low POV is the key here. And this mixture of cultures is priceless. The soft and pastel colors are amazing and creates an outstanding piece here.
Very good.
Take care
Fred

vapours (7935) 2007-05-15 7:47

Nice play with exposure Sarolta, the levels are so spot on that it could easily be a well done HDR. A great character you've caught here, but you've gone one step further with the general quality of the shot.

PeterC (2242) 2007-05-15 8:52

Sasa,
Fantastic piece of street photography! The tones are just wonderful so delicate. I like the duotone as well but i was hoping to seeing some sepia in there!! Inspired framing.

Cheers
Peter

michiels (4170) 2007-05-15 11:33

hello Sasa,

I love the composition. It has something surrealistic. I like the colourversion more, because of the special colour like you say in your note. The tilt is excellent. I always want to look again :)
see you, inn

KevRyan (22422) 2007-05-15 12:07

You nailed this one beautifully Sasa - absolutely marvellous - Furachan technique - Sasa subject and closeness - fantastic backdrop - good choice to show it here - not much time but all the very best form Chongqing!

kev

MiguelP (14338) 2007-05-15 13:24

What is it the existence? Do the memories goes to heaven when someone die? It´s great when the unexpected comes to inspire the artist, as it happened in this forgotten corner of the world. And this fantastic light, what about it? Great one Sasa.

AnimeshRay (8886) 2007-05-15 13:50

Interesting that you mention 'desert-like', which is exactly what I felt as I opened this one. I first thought you be in Morocco or the south of Spain, then I read on. I think it is the sky and also the particular angle you have used. The two subjects looking in opposite directions, the face of the one on right expertly cut off, and the tilt, all speak volumes of your uncanny vision.
[did you shoot it from the hip?]

broglia (3379) 2007-05-15 14:56

Hi Sarolta, wonderful composition. I love all the subtle muted colours. But for me the hands are the key! The way he is almost caressing them. Most unusual and very eye catching. The lamp post too provides a terrific divider for the two characters in the frame. Masterfully cropped as always. A masterclass in street photography. Best regards, Roberto

AmiBe (6042) 2007-05-15 16:04

Hi Sasa,
yes, the colors are nice and soft but for me, what makes the shot, it's the excellent compo and the man's expression.
Incredible timing, very good tilt... And the crossed arms are excellent.
A masterpiece to my eyes.
rgs

bostankorkulugu (34168) 2007-05-16 0:12

i admire the way you create magic out of the ordinary, sasa... another example... simply great with the golden tones in the sky... this is much better than the B&W version 4 sure...

take care...

korkut:)

CliffW (2310) 2007-05-16 0:22

Hand wringing, an act of worry, while wearing a laid back Hawaiian shirt. Next to a distinguished looking gentleman that for some reason makes me think of Peter Sellers in Being There. I think it's the gentle, maybe-he's-deep-in-thought look to him. Totally at odds with the dynamic angle. So's the subdued color. Nothing ought to work here, but it really, really does. I heart conundrums.

pgorod (1122) 2007-05-16 6:15

My 4th or 5th visit to this photo, time to leave a smiley and critique...

I love it, I'm really enjoying these twisted compos, very un-classical and so very well achieved. You're moving around your world of photography with great freedom, and yet it doesn't look forced, it looks confident; it looks creative, not random.

Congratulations Sasa!

robiuk (10763) 2007-05-16 7:43

(have started writing this a few times, but
was interrupted)
Hi Sasa,
been thinking about this one and the WS one,
and can't decide. What I like in this one, though,
is the particular white balance settings that
leaves the colour palette a wee bit on a coldish
side, but true to reality. But then the Indian guy's
posture and the other man's hands reminded me instantly
of (forgive my sick imagination) meerkats and their
appearances when in upright position.
Of course, I have no intention to ridicule your shot
which I find visually most appealing - Hawaiian lei
motif repeating the lamp post is great... there's also
some sort of an apocaliptic feel to the image that is
hard to explain... is it the light, the tilt, or these
characters...
Robi

rigoletto (27060) 2007-05-16 8:12

Hi Sasa,
Nice crop form a daily life scene. Tilt is good, man with spectacles looks interesting and cutting of the lady's face and exaggerating her hands add something original. But I cannot imagine the issue for taking this photo. I read your note for sure but still got the questionmarks in head. What was the reason for taking this, what were your intentions and your motivation, how did you position yourself and your camera?
I need to learn thinking like a photographer in order to take photos like a photographer :)
Cheers,
Deniz

alper_ayhan (856) 2007-05-16 11:52

Different point of view, an experimental frame. Result is outstanding. I really like it.
Thanks for sharing,
Alper Ayhan

quillo (7430) 2007-05-16 16:21

-

Hello Sarolta, I like the framing from below and the very natural colors, the levelled one is rare but effective and to all this that the biggest gentleman was thinking on the climatic change ... I fry when it must be hot ... heat when it must be cold ... this is a foul-up.

You have good night..

Regards.

-

jinju (14265) 2007-05-18 0:41

Both are excellent but I like the color version better Sasa. Theres such a great cinematic look to this, the man came out perfectly, as if looking away, dreaming..and thats why the color is better, it sets that mood much better than the b/w.

Marcelo_Almeida (1044) 2007-05-19 8:13

Hi Sarolta,
Adorei a composição, sobretudo o senhor ocm a maleta azul. Nice shot.
TFS,
Marcelo Almeida

markoci (3917) 2007-05-20 2:54

a very hip shot indeed :-)... hard to decide between colour and b&w but at the end the sky and the red brick warrants it imo.. very, very cool result, wish i could better describe why i love it so much... i think it's that classic (north) american streetshot that i wish i could see more of on te.. just slide it into my favs...

p.s. what focus point(s) do you select for these shots? do you use automatic?

RGatward (19751) 2007-05-20 4:37

Nicely justapose poeple here, the cropped one in the foreground providing a useful foil for the interesting looking guy crossing the road. As say, very strange lighting.

fixed (3831) 2007-05-21 11:51

hello sasa
I like this shop a lot
the composition/scene is so well framed and seen
just a favorite
thank you & congrats
nono

devimeuxbe (56532) 2007-05-21 17:49

Hi Sarolta
Interesting face for this old man. The composition is dynamic; The light is subtile.
A nice work
Bertrand

coco (28276) 2007-05-25 11:44

And hi again, Sarolta.

Again you use the people in a wonderful way. Amazing the light and colours and also very interesting how you shot this photo.
This strange POV and composition works very well.

Well done.

mlopes (492) 2007-05-25 18:33

lol... you've said to me you've somehow lost your "vision" and you're trying to get it back. I don't know Sasa... but to me your're getting better and better.

My God... how i've missed your shots!

SebastianSeng (346) 2007-06-02 11:33

Hi sasa,

i like the perspective of this image and the tilt given to it. Chopping off the head of the man in Hawaiian shirt brings the viewer's focus right on his shirt and bumps up the contrasting elements factors, right choice! The lamp post seems to divide the two men into their own worlds. Excellent piece of work Sasa! Really very well done!

Your conversions into duo-tone is very well done too. Although i'm a b/w lover, i would say i prefer the color version on this one.

Cheers!

Best regards,
Sebastian.

diverjohn (492) 2007-09-26 9:39

excellent camera angle, composition, and DOF.
Oops, somebody already sang that praise!
Nevertheless, a great photo.
BTW, the duotone loses to the original IMO.