This year Pittsburgh had two competing Pride Marches. One heavily financed by corporations, and another dubbed "the Peoples Pride March". The police didn't want them to intermix, so they held the second march until the first one cleared downtown. The participants in the second march got tired of standing for over an hour in the hot weather and began to move toward downtown, which created the situation in the picture. All was resolved when the police determined enough space had been created to allow the second march to begin. Don't see many action or social issue pic's on this site, and thought I'd add a few. I understand the topics might not suit everyone. It's the picture comments I'm looking to learn from.
I don’t see anything interesting about the photo--no center of interest or action. There’s nothing there to catch the eye.
Moreover, this kind of photojournalism shot doesn’t interest me at all. Sorry.
even though the subject doesn't interest you, does this have more focus than the earlier police line?
To me the picture doesn't depict your description. Perhaps a different angle?
I'm thinking moving to the left between the line of police and the line of demonstrators, and up a little higher than eye level.
Ike Gittlen wrote:
even though the subject doesn't interest you, does this have more focus than the earlier police line?
It does, but you need to crop the top off. I also believe that this kind of photography is better suited for the Street Photography section.
Ike Gittlen wrote:
even though the subject doesn't interest you, does this have more focus than the earlier police line?
I think both shots suffer from the bullseye effect. Certainly cropping would help but think about filling the screen when doing specific subject photography. Many people try to put their subject in the middle of the frame (in the 'bullseye') and the subject gets lost as the observer's eye wanders around the photo looking for a main subject. Think I read somewhere recently that you have 3 seconds to get the observer to identify the subject or their attention will move on to the next picture or to something else around them.
It also helps to think about what you want the shot to 'say' and compose for that purpose. Trying to show the separation of protesters and police ? Your second shot comes close but could be improved with better DOF choice. Sharp focus on the police with the background protesters thrown out of focus and your observer will interpret the police as the subject. Sharp focus on the protester with the police out of focus changes the observer to identifying the protesters as the focus.
Trying to show many people of the same opinion in the first shot ? It looks more like an unorganized smattering of people. Don't hesitate to ask yourself 'what would my comment be if I looked at this as a self-standing image ?'. Then you can start shooting with specific composition and not be seen as just a snapshooter. Guessing that 'Confrontation' was to be the meaning to the photo, I just don't see confrontation represented.
Just my philosophy/opinion...
-- k --
new here. how do I post on the "street" section?
Ike Gittlen wrote:
new here. how do I post on the "street" section?
Go to your profile page and add Street Photography to your selections. Then it will show up when you open UHH.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.