Stephan G

Sometimes we do not want to recall our Past.

(Best viewed dowloaded.)

(Download)

Soul Dr. Loc: Beautiful Shenandoah Valley

?

byjoe Loc: Stillwater, OK

??

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

With due respect to the photo, what is it? I see a woman in the background looking at the ground. Is she picking up trash, mourning a loved one, just standing there waiting for a bus? Seriously I mean no disrespect but the viewer has no idea of what type of area we are looking at except for the woman standing by a trash can and some out of focus, something between us and the woman. I would love to be able to tell you it is a great photo and brings up some type of emotion but I just can't see what you want me to see.

Dennis

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Ansel Adams once said, "There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept". With all due respect, in this case, we have a fuzzy photograph of a concept which is not quite ready to reveal itself. The sharp part of the image is conversely fuzzy in concept.
--Bob

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

I don't want to recall unfocused photos I have taken....

art pear Loc: North Dakota

Very powerful image. Thanks.

Stephan G

Thank you very much.

crapshooter Loc: Fox, Alaska

Looks like Horses, Maybe the girl is walking away after saying Goodbye?

Stephan G

Shucks. I was considering sending a bunch of mine.

MSW

I think that the main problem with this photo is that there is no intrinsic context: i'm not really sure what i'm supposed to be looking for, or what the subject actually is. there is some sort of reflection or distortion which makes the (I suppose) woman look as though there's a flame coming out of her neck, then there's the weird round thing right in front of her (a trash can? a charcoal grill? - can't tell), then there's the problematic framing … what looks to be the edge of a door on the left of the subject and a tree or a pole of some sort partially obscuring her on the right... then there's the big whatever-it-is in the front, looming into the foreground and not really identifiable.

i'm not trying to 'flame' on your work, but when you do this kind of bring-up-an-emotion stuff, you enter into what is probably the very most difficult type of photography.


keep trying - I think you have the underlying idea down, but the other stuff has to be absolutely spot on or the whole photo misses the mark

Stephan G

You are picking up on the story in the image.

In a sense, there is a temporal transition from you as the viewer towards the woman. The foreground is of a young girl looking down for something. As you move towards the woman, there is the trash bin. Something discarded in the near past? Or even a loss, as you suggest? There is the hood of a traffic walk signal in upper left. Stop? Walk? The woman is looking down, like the young girl (statue). Same person? Past to present to future? The framed area is green, verdant. A bright abundant future? It is all open to interpretation, or story telling.

The fact is that every time I look at it, I read a different story. And I can't tell you what story I saw when I shot it.

Too often we want a clear statement when we look at images. We hate "fuzzy" pictures. () We desire it to be sharp. The desire is so strong that we often do overlook the story forming in our minds.

In discussing what street photography is, the term "impressionistic" can be applied as well.

I appreciate you viewing the shot and stating your mind. There's no disrespect. There's no need to hold back with my postings. Through sharing our views we give more meaning to what we see.

dennis2146 Loc: Eastern Idaho

Again and with my apologies there is no story. I can appreciate that you want there story to be there but it simply isn't there at all. That same woman could be thinking a million different things in her mind, forgotten past, may have no relevance at all. The foreground is a mass of not in focus something that may or may not have any part of the picture. The woman could be photoshopped out of your photo and placed in any other photo with again, no relevance to that photo either. Forgive me but there is no story, no composition, nothing I can see. I can appreciate what you are trying to accomplish but it isn't there. My apologies for being cruel but even with you explaining the photo to me I can see nothing. Sorry.

Dennis

Stephan G

Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate the critique.

I will admit that this shot was from the hip. However, it came out the way I did expect.

The looming object is a statue of a young girl looking down, with her arm extended. She is looking for something. I left her somewhat blurred so that the eye is led towards the woman, who is also looking down.

Again, thanks and appreciated much.

Stephan G

Do not apologize. Stating your mind is not cruel. I recognize that not everyone sees the world the way I do.

I do welcome your honesty and attempt to see what i see/saw.