Here's a picture from a few years back, 1990 ish, that I thought of when I saw Tony's picture of the shopping carts in Alaska.

I wish the kid hadn't been looking at me, but the whole time he walked by, he wouldn't take his eyes off me. That's probably why I don't get too excited about street photography.

It's interesting (to me) that I like eye contact in portraits, but wish to be invisible on the street... t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), March 09, 2000

Answers

Tom,

I like it!...WITH the kid, as is! The WALL is looking at you ( I'm sure you see the "eyes" and "mouth",...and the KID is looking at you. Makes the shot, for me!

The kid is not afraid to turn his back on "The Wall",... it's his friend!

Good one!! Larry

-- Larry H. Smith (LarryHS@webtv.net), March 09, 2000.

The color works great in this photograph. The backdrop is excellent. There are numerous pairs of ideas that make this photograph work very well. The red v. green; the two pipes; the two eyes; the boy and the parking meter; walking v. standing still. I like that he is looking into your viewfinder, too, because it parallel's the two "eyes" on the wall. This shot is straight on, and mine of the shopping carts is at an angle. I think the angle works for mine and the straight on works for yours. It's shots like these that make me like color photography.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 09, 2000.

Yeah!... what Tony said! ( I forgot to comment on the color.) Red/green..perfect colored shirt for your shot. It all goes together really well!

-- Larry H. Smith (LarryHS@webtv.net), March 09, 2000.

I hadn't considered the connection between the kids eyes and the window eyes. The windows and drain pipes were the initial attration, kind of like the wall and shopping carts in Tony's picture.

When this kid showed up dressed perfectly for the shot, I popped off 3 frames. This one definately had the best balance for such a small red in the green field. Intellectually I wanted him coming into the frame but the composition was determined by the architect of the building and the guy that hung those goofy gutters (why are they like that?).

Thanks for the back pats, I've never printed or hung this image, but for some reason I had it scanned (pcd). I'm glad you put yours up Tony, or this would still be on the shelf... t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), March 09, 2000.

Great shot. I think it is a plus that the kid is looking at the camera, I agree with the above about the synergy with the two faces. And the color is excellent. However the horizon or in this case the wall to sidewalk being off balance throws the picture off a bit. Also I would crop the left side a tad more as well. But what the heck do I know....

-- J.R. Farrar (jeeperz@home.com), March 09, 2000.

Tom to answer your question why the gutters are shaped like that is as follows: I would guess that this building is very tall, no? Since I am 99% sure it is, the reason the are shaped funny is because when liquid falls great distances inside piping, it collects immense speed and power. Falling liquid of more than about 2 stories would knock a hole in even cast iron pipe when it did reach the 90 degree turn. So the plumber needs to "jog" the downspouts before the rainwater gathers too much speed. This is proven. If you could see inside a very tall apartment complex you would see a cactus like array of sewer lines finally reaching the bottom floor and the main line to the outside. The "jog" slows down the flow to a reasonable speed. And if it isn't a tall building, my other guess would be that plumbing code prevents the downspouts from draining directly in the grates on the sidewalk.

BTW, great image. Excellent light that day.

-- Colin Miller (ckmiller@pond.net), March 09, 2000.

J.R. Farrar said "However the horizon or in this case the wall to sidewalk being off balance throws the picture off a bit. Also I would crop the left side a tad more as well."

I know why you said that (I think) but it is precisely these types of "defects" that make a photograph interesting, even unresolved, like another shot of mine I called "Mailbox." (I should post it) If the frame was adjusted slightly from the left (cropping), as you suggested to presumably better center the upper portions of the pipes, something would be lost. Did you mean that the side walk isn't perfectly level in that this was taken at a very slight angle to the wall? I might agree with the unevenness were more pronounced. It hits me as level, and when my concentration goes immediately to the more bold elements, I don't think about it. I like angles quite a lot. For me, that's why my shopping carts one works. I'll bet this would also work with angles.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 09, 2000.

Did you mean that the side walk isn't perfectly level in that this was taken at a very slight angle to the wall?

I was more talking about the horizon not being level. The sidewalk goes uphill from left to right.

I don't think about it. I like angles quite a lot. For me, that's why my shopping carts one works. I'll bet this would also work with angles.

I am a very perpendicular type of person. I like things to line up and be straight. I know this is a large contradiction in the photo world, but it is very hard to change. I also find it easier to work with angles than curves. On a side note, assuming those grates go to a sewer system, one would think the gutter installer would have pointed the outlets towards the grates? Seems to make sense to me.

-- J.R. Farrar (jeeperz@home.com), March 09, 2000.

Once I took a photograph of a lady walking across the street but from an angle. In the easel, I made the street look level which made the building behind her appear to lean. I liked the effect, but not many others did. I suppose it's because I'm weird. I'll post it as a new thread entitled "Walking."

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 09, 2000.

Tom, I vote for the composition as-is. If you really wanted to correct the very slight "sidewalk-tilt" (for those "perpindicular people"), it would be at the expense of disrupting the pleasing parallelism of the downspout-verticals with the sides of the photograph(frame). (Then what would the "parallel people" think?)

Re. left-side cropping; the implied forward (leftward) motion and swinging arms and legs need some room. I wouldn't "jam" the kid further into the frame, just to even-out the right-left downspout-to-border spaces. (my apologies to the "symmetry people" :-)

I say you got it RIGHT!!

Larry

-- Larry H. Smith (LarryHS@webtv.net), March 09, 2000.

The asymmetry of the gutter/window-eyes pretty much makes this shot for me. If everything were square and true it would be too static. Since the drain pipe was so close to the edge of the frame and the street wasn't level (see bricks at top compared to bottom), this is the way I made it. This is way more attention than I thought this shot would get... what fun! (I needed it, too much envelope pushing makes Tom a dull boy)... t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), March 10, 2000.

Tom, it's really a cool shot that is worthy of a lot of attention. Wish I took it!

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), March 10, 2000.

"Roger!", on the "envelope pushing"...we all neded the fun of looking at/discussing THIS shot. Thanks Tom!

-- Larry H. Smith (LARRYHS@webtv.net), March 10, 2000.