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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 99 - Borders, barriers and boundaries (Host: Najinsky) >> Eligible > * Bus Boy *
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7/27/07 Traveller

* Bus Boy *

Another refinement, several actually. Generally I like to put things into a context, and being a color guy I liked the yellow unbrella for both context and color...but the image isn't about him in his context, it is about him serving us...and therefore a tighter crop brings him better into being the central theme of the image.

I thought about equaling the Gaussian Blur on his hands and arms, but they being distinct and sharp and helpful are why we value him, while he, his personality, his being, what is essential to him...well that, that fades for us into bland insignificance. That's the point of the image...so there was no reason to to fade his hands or arms, the contrast between these two elements emphasizes the essential truth of the picture.

Lastly, iso made a comment in the discussion thread that pretty much applies to me and has me thinking where he says:

"Far too often I see a theme rammed down my throat with the picture title or narrative that acompanies a pic. I like to see pics that tell a story on their own or let the viewer make their own mind up about the image with influence."

Point noted...but as a word person, I am not sure that this will become part of my canon, but I do understand what he is saying. Still, even before his comment, at another site, I got a sense that people were seeing this as a race issue, and maybe because of my following phrase, "....is more fierce than any border." The word border tended to tilt this toward a racial question, which wasn't my intent at all....this is strictly, "Class Boundaries," and so that phrase had to go.

I think I am done with this now. Yes, it's a little obvious, a little in your face, (I hope), but how else to get people's attention for people we automatically ignore?

Best Wishes, Traveller


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Canon DSLR Challenge03-Aug-2007 21:27
No, Naj's comment was great and perceptive. I may not have made it with this image where we needed to get to...I confess this. But, with this image I was trying to create and use the inherent tools of photography to...Say Something....well beyond the image itself.

This is not easy and maybe I failed, but it was the attempt that was important. I Nail pretty all the time...I have a talent for it...difficult and complex social statements not so much. This is Hard to Do.

If not this time....then the next. Every journey starts with a single step, as they say...

I did try to may the head partially invisible using an opacity slider...it looked terrible.

I would give your suggestions a try...but...ta da!

I have something else to say...lol...hee, hee, hee.

I have a set up shot that I really, really must give a try.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment and help.

Best Wishes, Traveller
Canon DSLR Challenge03-Aug-2007 14:57
I've watched this image develop Trav and I was a little lost for comment. I can empathise with your conceptual portrayal of the boundaries that exist in our 'society' and the difficulty in our individual interpretation of your composition. So I thought that I would just take the easy way out and comment on the technical aspects as seen through my eyes. But that was really just a 'cop-out'!

Naj made an interesting comment I feel... "I'm sure in your head there is a lot going on with the image, but for me, too much of it is still in your head." ... and that is very often true for many of us?

So.... I understand where you are taking us with this image and agree that it certainly fits the theme "Barrier" etc. etc. so no problem with that....

Now... for the 'cop-out' technical aspects.... :- application of the 'Gaussian Blur' in my opinion is appropriate but for me it is too severe! I would like to see you apply some 'edge softening' so that the boundary between the blur and the 'normal' is faded. (I would either use the 'blur' tool in the toolbox and manually soften the edges particularly around the eyes and near the LHS ear. This would be with a brush size quite small and somewhere between 10% and 30% opacity/intensity) or use a mask and if necessary manually treat those areas.

Finally,... I think you are far too critical of yourself, you have great skill in both photographic composition and in post processing. Many would envy your expertise, so... Great work Traveller ~ Regards Melbob
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Aug-2007 07:02
A final thought Naj...if you walked into a Gallery and saw this on the Wall, (an improbable event I grant you), what would think of the image? No explanations, no captions, just the current title.

This is how I see the image, all the extraneous comments stripped away...which really just served the purpose of how I got from point A to Point B in reference to this image.

This is not a question if you like it or not, but what thought processes the image alone would engender?

Try it, what do you think now?

Best Wishes, Traveller
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Aug-2007 05:00
Very Astute criticism, Naj....I disagree, but I like smart stuff always. I will think on it.

You don't know that this is a bus boy bringing flowers to your dinner table? Maybe it's a So Cal kind of thing. I will note that you didn't like the color original either, (nor did I), where he was very obviously Latin American and poorness just oozed off of him.

Best Wishes, Traveller
Canon DSLR Challenge02-Aug-2007 02:01
Imagine if this image had the title "Red Chair". When challenged, you reply 'I shot it while seated on a Red Chair. You may not be able to see it, but believe me, it is there.'

Of course we'll believe you. But it doesn't make the image about a red chair.

The main problem I'm having with this image is not with the PP style, but with the missing elements. I don't see anything that says this guy is serving due to Class Boundaries. There is no indication of country, it could be Bolivia or Bangkok. There is only little indication of service, he could be a waiter, he could be the owner proudly displaying the flowers he's grown to decorate his establishment. There is no indication of customers, or what type of people they are.

I'm sure in your head there is a lot going on with the image, but for me, too much of it is still in your head. Regards - Najisky
Canon DSLR Challenge30-Jul-2007 18:51
Well, I'm trying to say something important here...with very limited skills. I find it hard to believe but I still can't work successfully in Layers, or make the visible merge as I want.

So!

Still working on this puppy...lol

Or, maybe, looking at this again, it may say what I want.

The thumbnail does not convey it, but the full picture itself is pretty damned good now, (to me).

Best Wishes, Traveller
Canon DSLR Challenge30-Jul-2007 17:33
"Flowers are a metaphor for the soul in the cultures of southern Mexico. The flower-word is not everyday speech nor the product of an intellectual exercise but speech that emerges from a truth felt deeply. The wisdom traditions of those cultures affirm that the flower-word cannot die even as those who speak it today pass away. This is because the flower-word is rooted deep in the past and in the earth. Those who are in power now cannot uproot it no matter how hard they try. This is as much a spiritual manifesto as a challenge to the forces of globalization."

From 'of hummingbirds and immigrants' a worhwhile reading:http://www.uuworld.org/spirit/articles/4728.shtml
Thanks Trav for your inspiration. Sam Attal
Canon DSLR Challenge29-Jul-2007 23:11
Well, Naj, this remains a work in progress...I am also using it to bang Layers and their applications into my head...I have a partial de-sat I'm still thinking about substituting in...maybe I'll also just do a re-shoot.

But I agree...it is not a good start for the Challenge...but there it is.

(no offense taken, I understand...but I still have hope...the idea is fine though)

Bad work as well as good gets to be displayed, (raised eyebrows)

Best Wishes, Traveller
Canon DSLR Challenge29-Jul-2007 21:10
Traveller, what a challenging opening to the eligible entries. Having thought on this a while, I think I'm finding it unbalanced. I think you've set the image up to work in multiple dimensions but may have paid more attention to the social boundary aspect than other aspects. I think all dimensions need to work to appropriate (complimentary) degrees in order for an image like this to to work as a whole.

On a more positive note I think it's wonderful that you are sharing your voyage of discovery with us. I hope you get lots of helpful comments and feedback and look forward to the next instalment. Regards -Najinsky
Canon DSLR Challenge27-Jul-2007 11:10
I so seldom shoot in the US that I have purposefully avoided giving much attention to Flash Photography...simply because I don't want to travel with it. But, obviously, I'm here and going in a different direction in what I am doing in the sense that I am beginning to start going out of my way to do people...so I need to become competent in this.

I did not accomplish exactly what I wanted...but I did try to make the flowers and umbrella above super sharp and super saturated, verging on the un-real, to contrast with his darkishness and a dark background.

I need to buy some flash stuff and see what happens.

I do, however, still hope that there is a certain in-your-face-ed-ness about this image. Because Class Boundaries ARE Fierce and multi-generational to cross...if ever.

If you can't see the Boundaries, the Barriers, the Borders in this image...no matter...they are there.

Best Wishes, Traveller