Shot From the Back

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Back, Copyright 2000 Jeff Spirer

It's great to see so many images being posted.

Sometimes I think shooting from behind is avoidance, but when I see the stuffed-in look, I just have to shoot. I'm not sure with this one, I don't know if the other woman helps, and the tones aren't well-balanced. But I like it anyway.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), September 29, 2000

Answers

very strange... like two photographs that magically fit together. The top is so abstract, the woman's hair and the supports of the tent somehow look the same (how'd that happen?) And the light area seems... well I don't know what it seems... You're obviously pushing the limits of what this neg has to offer.

I'm with you, though, I can't figure out what is so appealing, but something is. Maybe it's just that big girl hourglass thing and that head of thick, wild hair... t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), September 29, 2000.


I like the gritty detail in what would otherwise be known as a soft and sensitive subject. The stitches in the jeans and the pattern of her tube top are rendered crisply. As always, your shadow details (particularly toward the top) are really good. Unlike Tom, I'm not sure how much the other figure to the right contributes but I'm bound to change my thoughts on this. I wonder why she is kind of washed out. The photograph is definitely interesting and kind of hard to explain. And it's one that I would have figured to be an original Spirer had I not known for sure.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), September 30, 2000.

I also like the forms and textures in this photo. I think that, in this case, shooting from behind is effective because it keeps the emphasis on those forms and textures.

The very low contrast of the woman and background in the corner is a little unsettling, though. That difference in contrast draws my eye over to that corner and strengthens the sense that it's a different photo that's been pasted in.

-- Mike Dixon (burmashave@compuserve.com), October 01, 2000.


jeff, I always have a hard time deciding my feelings on busy photos... I belive that photos with much backround content need lots of planning or a perfect moment. The foreground, in this case a fat woman, is put in the context of the backround. This is where the photographer gets to control the viewer, controlling the audiances every thought (how fun). So my question is, did you do that?

-- ryan sullivan (kspirer@earthlink.net), October 03, 2000.

Ryan, I like busy shots. I don't like head shots. They tell me nothing. The problem is when the busyness fights the subject. Maybe that's happening here, maybe not. After some time to ruminate and fumigate, I think I like the veriti feeling contributed by the background, even if it's a bit distracting.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), October 04, 2000.


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