"you are the dancing queen"..., a photo from London, England

Photographer's Note

I am delaying buying the very popular 50mm 1.8 lens, so I am really pushing the limits of my current lens. Although this is quite noisy (ISO 1600), I was quite surprised at this result..it was PITCH black in there!

I am keen to know what you think about the technical aspects here...

Abba: dancing queen

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life
See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the dancing queen

Friday night and the lights are low
Looking out for the place to go
Where they play the right music, getting in the swing
You come in to look for a king
Anybody could be that guy
Night is young and the musics high
With a bit of rock music, everything is fine
Youre in the mood for a dance
And when you get the chance...

You are the dancing queen....

ramthakur, japiey, Brian has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

clopatra_28 (68) 2006-06-14 7:04

this is a real romantic scene.it shows that you are very romantic too.I enjoy alot
tnx for sharing
Mona

ilgar (556) 2006-06-14 11:51

dear kajal
great light and nice color
i like your shot
thanks

ramthakur (1559) 2006-06-14 12:46

Thanks for your visit, Kajal.
I read your introductory self-portrait with interest. I appreciate and admire your candidness as a second generation Indian in England. Hope I don't sound patronizing!
Your idiom as the younger generation photo-artist is individualistic and articulate, and "powerful" by virtue of that.
It is reflected even in this latest picture of yours I have chosen to comment on from your rich portfolio.

Polonaise (5802) 2006-06-14 14:09

You hit it, Kaj.
You just did.
The lighting charming is there. And the compo. And the atmosphere. And everything that makes Kaj a 'photography Child'.
g.

bishansamaddar (868) 2006-06-15 2:38

hey...
the noise is really good. it kind of photographically brings out the sound that is obviously present in the scene.
the composition is really good. i love the way you have cut out the light source to the left. good work.
bishan.

RGatward (20108) 2006-06-15 8:42

Quite a lttle subplot your new lens story, which I'm particularly interested since i've been going through the same thought process. In the end I've decided it worth paying an extra £130 for one more stop.

Anyway, you a great job here, and the grain doesn't matter. There's also the trick I was telling you about with RAW, and Henk showed me last month how to switch to 3200, presumably the 350 is the same, you just need to turn off the default limiter.

markoci (3933) 2006-06-15 11:56

this one's bang on kaj! quite a love triangle captured here! that glance, that stolen moment between the dancers... easy to imagine the look on her face but if you can't, her shocked and angry posture tells it all.. great light, the almost dualtone dark atmosphere with the slight grain is beautiful..

the exit sign, makes you wonder about the outcome..

just three pieces of criticism; i'd clone the lense flare (just the one spot on her arm, and maybe correct the bit on his pants..); clone or desaturate the green in the right middle and i really don't like the thick black frame..

nevertheless i will have to add this to my favs...

p.s. if anything this should be filed under decisive moment!

Clairedelune (4923) 2006-06-15 21:25

Hi Kajal,
I love the color(s)! Especially the light in her hair. Wow! I like the opposition (if it is one!) between the nice couple and the "dancing queen" who dance alone. I tend to agree with Mark about cloning the flare and the green light. To keep the mood and the tones of the whole picture. Very good!
Claire

Furachan (0) 2006-06-17 5:27

MAgical shot, Kaj. Mark is right about the "triangle" asect, the longing of that bg woman looking over at the couple. I like the grain, I like the orange glow and you compo. I'm not crazy about your black frame but it doesn't bother me much either.
Congrats!
Francis

muratcaloglu (2) 2006-06-18 10:39

That's great.
it is a photo that looks like the photos were taken a century ago (the innocent era of photograpy for me)
Regards
Murat

japiey (10163) 2007-04-08 13:47

Kajal.
This is life...

jean paul