| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Challenge: The Hidden City (Basic Editing)
Camera: Fujifilm FinePix S9100/9600
Location: Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Date: Dec 23, 2007
Aperture: F/4.5
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/800 Sec
Galleries: Emotive, Candid
Date Uploaded: Dec 24, 2007
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The Photo was taken near Marina Beach, Chennai, India. I had to go to Chennai which is 362kms aways from Bangalore, where I normally live now to attend a test and an interview. I was lucky enough to get some spare time to visit this beach.
I called Chennai by a special name, 'City of Road Side Sales' because they try to sell virtually everything in the beach; popcorn, ice creams, snacks (Chats in local language), you name it; they sell it. Though the road side sales scenario can be found all around India where there will be a crowd, I saw something unusual here. These two people here sell flutes near to the beach. I took this photo when they were engaged in a verbal fight regarding their unsaid, but quite clear memorandum of understanding. The guy to the left was yelling to the other guy who was selling his flutes 'Why did you encroach into my area?' although it sounds ridiculous according the modern theory of marketing and sales where you find ways to defy your competitors to gain market leadership. :)
Regarding the photo, I was quite helpless regarding the compostion. There were thousands of people wherever I point the camera towards. Apparently lucky enough, in this one, I got few set of people who were looking at them as they were in an audible conversation, making them the focus of attraction.
I know that this is not one of the best shots I've taken and more over it looks more or less like a snapshot rather than a planned photograph. Still I'm going to submit this... just to see how many of you can make out the story straight or atleast something closer to it from this photo.
One thing which I know for sure is that this photo is not going to be rated good, but once after voting, when the description is available to the public, I would like an indepth critique about this photo. I just want to know what more I could have done to make this photo better. :) |
| Author | Thread |
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05/04/2010 05:33:04 AM |
| I was looking at the latest issues of Japanese photo mags today. There was a series of pictures from Nepal, and one featured a flute seller with a set-up just like these guys. I just find it incredible that there's a market for them. |
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 Photographer found comment helpful. |
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04/23/2010 11:07:06 PM |
| One of my old school friends, who is a world-class flautist, visited India and bought a couple of flutes from such sellers (not at this beach though). I saw the photos on her website. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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01/04/2008 06:30:26 AM |
The photo is a bit too cramped... there should be more room for the flutes (on the left and on the top). The picture is also underexposed as far as the actual subjects are concerned, especially that would've been great to actually see the faces of the sales people (and their expressions). The light reflection from the shirts and the sand fooled the meter. The harsh light did not help either as it creates distracting shadows. I would've closed in on their faces, getting some of their wares in the picture. From a different angle maybe you could've captured both faces, not just one. With the right DOF you could've blured out the other people and some of the garbage. It needs the white balanced adjusted as well - did anyone there have white shirts? They all look yellow. Try shooting in RAW mode so you can adjust the white balance later. If you shoot in the highest resolution available you can reframe the picture by cropping it - for example the tall guy on the right is quite distracting and you cannot concentrate of the two salesmen.
Here is a modified image - as much as I could get from the low res image:  |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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01/02/2008 09:46:22 PM |
| I saw that you wanted some comments on this photo so I thought I would throw in my 2 cents. Without the story it appears to just be a snapshot, like you stated. Composition wise I think chopping off the two main subjects legs and having them off to the left makes it hard to follow who or what the subject of the photo is supposed to be. I think by including their feet and moving them more towards the center of the frame would help put the focus on them and their little spat with each other. I also think i would boost the contrast a bit and turn it b&W. I say b&w b/c all the colors going on in the background grabs you attention and by desaturating the image you eliminate the color distraction. Couple that with a more focused composition on them and I think the story gets told better. I also think the image appears a bit soft and could use a run through USM or Smart Sharpen. Hope I gave you something you can use and these are just my opinions, take for what they are worth. Trevor~ |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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12/31/2007 04:03:38 AM |
| Nice capture, very photojournalistic. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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12/30/2007 03:02:43 PM |
| This image has so much going on that I have a hard time letting my eye concentrate on the two salesmen. With such a crowd, it must have been difficult to simplify the background for any of the mutliple interesting subjects. Sometimes it is possible to get down low and isolate an object of interest against the sky. Unclear whether that would have been realistic here. Let us know what they are selling. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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12/27/2007 02:56:20 PM |
| I think this would have been better if the three men on the right were cropped out. There is too much activity and no central focus. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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12/26/2007 12:53:44 PM |
| Are those guys selling cigars? I'll just bet those are really nice ones! :) |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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12/25/2007 10:33:23 PM |
| What an interesting shot. Definately something not seen everyday by the public in general. Would like to have seen a more contrasty shot with a bit more saturation in the colours. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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