If you have to ask, the answer is a lot. lol. This was all done in ACR if I recall rightly. I really disliked this picture. This is kinda just an endpoint. Wasn't going for anything, just trying to make intriguing images and capture beautiful things. Noise is deliberate, center burn is lens hot spot from the 720 filter and I guess it wasn't hidden well enough.
Nothing to be sorry about. I don't like it either. Just throwing it out there to see how others view it cause maybe your artistic instincts are wrong sometimes.
Imagine this as a straightforward version. The panorama format would be attractive for the long, thin subject, but it would have nowhere near the impact of this compelling image.
The idea of assembling the image by connecting individual photos, rather like creating a train from individual carriages, is amusing, but it also opens the door for adding layers of interest. The photos fit together … almost. The lines are not quite straight, and the colours and lighting do not quite match. The same passengers and other details appear multiple times. But these are not imperfections, they are part of the concept and make the constructed image far more interesting and also give the train a texture, which would not usually be there.
A beautifully conceived and executed image.
Concentrating on the statue itself was probably a wise decision, especially as it is such a masterpiece. As it is you avoided the temptation to just show the complete Bernini statue, and imposed your own creative stamp on it in the form of your crop. We only see the female legs and buttocks and the male hands and beard, leaving the viewer to guess the rest, although that is not hard, it is satisfying. The legs, arms hands, torso and clothing combine in a good flowing composition within your crop, and lead to the important central area where the powerful marble hands squeeze into the soft marble flesh of the thigh and abdomen, which is the point where the true genius of Bernini is highlighted.
To understand Bernini I looked it up again and it is clear that Bernini has incorporated this attitude into his sculptures and yet when you photograph you have to look to see it and you did.
Beautiful how he depicts the body of the woman in all its fascinations and ethical admirations and I do not see that this would be banned in the States, after all all communication is erotic and without that element life would lack its main motivation, also is it's incredibly fantastic how Bernini has incorporated this sublimation into his statues, watching, thinking, performing and capturing. Well done.
For what it's worth, I thought the photo of the Bernini statue was stolen at first because I swear I've seen that same crop in a book before. In cases like Bernini, some horses get beaten worse than death. Nothing really left to be said about them, especially something that has probably been getting photographed, since photography was a thing.
Re Bernini, I agree. As I said with the original post, I know it has been photographed endlessly. It is beyond argument that similar/the same crops have been used by and many times at that. As I also said, no claims for originality with that shot. Never the less, it is a wonderful thing to photograph. The shapes,textures and play of light are irresistible. I considered other details and angles, including trying to get just the faces. I thought about even closer detail of the impression of fingers and flesh v the line including the leg. Having found the way I wanted to see it, I then concentrated on the exposure I wanted for the shot. I'm happy with what I got and I enjoyed the experience of considering how I'd take it, but no, definitely no claims for originality.
I myself HAVE done some street photography, and that enhances my appreciation of this image.
It is a compositional marvel, with the subtle but very clear vertical division that runs like an unsurmountable frontier between the figures.
And then there are poses, glances, looks. Depth indeed.
Stories.
That is it, basically: good street photography invites the viewer to imagine the story.
Tthis one has that quality in spades.
I agree with Pete that it is a wise decision to show not the whole statue, but just the significant parts that allow us to imagine the rest.
After all: sculpture is sculpture and photography is photography.
One art form just objectively showing the other, would be a documentary, but not photographic art.
The other possible approach to avoid just registering what is there in terms of the sculpture, might be to show not LESS, but MORE.
A bit like I tried here, by using a fisheye lens in the room of the Villa Borghese where Bernini's statue is displayed, incorporating most of statue but also the ceiling where a similar #MeToo scene is depicted (the photo is from 2015, long before #MeToo became a thing):
Thanks to all who took commented. I am especially gratified by those who found something nostalgic that triggered an emotion of some kind - familiarity, sadness, whatever it may be. The old house was a huge part of my own childhood, and it got away from us as family homes often do. Then, 7 years ago, through a series of happenstances, it came back into my hands and I was tasked with saving it from certain collapse. I can't recreate what/who is gone now, but I can make it a vibrant place for my children, grandchildren and friends to take a respite from the modern world. And I meant it about you being welcome any time.
I just might take you up on that offer. If we make it back across the Atlantic and travel through the south-east, you will be worked into our schedule.
I liked the image, BTW, but when I got around to commenting, most had already been said.
As it is Tuesday and nearing the evening hours (in Belgium), we are slowly winding down after another succesful week.
I've enjoyed many of the images and much of the discussion, even though I have commented on rather few images.
(I am still in the middle of that photo job that takes a lot of my time.) But others have created a lively discussion.
The thread has gone a bit quieter in recent hours/days.
That is not unusual for our weekly gathering.
Tuesday is often a slower day, winding down and replying to messages and comments.
Everybody is gearing up of tomorrow's new edition.
Please be advised that if you want to post another image, it is often better to wait until the new edition on Wednesday.
This is good for the poster in order to get more traffic.
And also for the group, in order not to confuse the different sequential weekly threads
I will take care of starting the new edition tomorrow before noon (Brussels time).
Most often, I manage to get it online between 8.00 AM and 10.00 AM (again : Brussels time).
See you then.
The composition of straight lines are enlivened by the characterful ventilation and the two little birds, who did you the favour of not looking in a straight line. These little extras make all the difference and add a lighthearted touch.
I like this black and white study of a little corner of a room, with its different shapes and textures highlighted by the lines of shadow. Well done for seeing the potential and choosing an exposure to leave unexplored shadows as well as preventing the highlights from blowing out. I must say that I prefer the straightened version.
The warm sunlight gives this a positive vibe, despite the shadows covering most of the frame. It catches the edges of the old furniture, revealing just enough to hint at their character and aged beauty. They are proxy for the ancestors who once used them,
The shadowed bars are leading lines and also symbols of restriction, suggesting that it was not all plain sailing here.
It is a very personal and very lovely photograph.
That's a nice image.
I have started playing with B&W recently. I use a color camera with picture style set to Monochrome. I feel this shot would have been good in B&W when presented with appropriate contrast.
Interesting capture (especially together with your description!)
Otherwise, being familiar with this type of scenes on a daily basis, here's what comes to my mind. This is a typical situation in the mornings before the stores have opened. The people who work at the store or are just stopping by to get something before they head out to work, wait for the stores to open.
Given the similar blue cloth the women are using to cover their upper body, I am inclined to think that they might be street cleaners getting ready for their job. Similarly, the man with a red towel on his shoulder may be a store worker. The guy in white clothes is there just to buy something.
They may have seen the other people before or for the first time, but most likely not familiar with each other. Even the two men may not know each other.
A situation that I come across more frequently is all of them doing something similar like having a cup of tea from the street corner vendor.
It's just a few minutes of wait before their morning gets busy.
