Darren's old pal., a photo from Hong Kong, Sud

Photographer's Note

Well this is not my favorite pic : I must say that if Darren didn't ask for, it would have stayed quiet into my neg folder till the end of times and even later...You can say anything I won't be bothered with it (as for all my other shots also, of course...).

However, this is my contribution to Darren's illustration of "it's a small world : the people we know without knowing each other".

This is the bearded guy I mentioned in this scene and who Darren (very nicely) portrayed 5 months later during a HKG TE Trek with Maciek and Kourosh.

Now that you know the whole story, some words about the shooting and my own approach. At first hand, I like to walk through places without shooting anything in order to be "seen and accepted" and to select some viewpoints or scenes. Whenever there's a striking character or immediate scene that I'm not sure will stay for long, I take a first "snap" that is not really composed, this is to ensure that I have at least a shot of the subject, I then come back on my way and start real shooting from the standing points I've selected, add some technique stuff, select more appropriate apertures, etc.

Very few of the shots I've uploaded in TE are coming from "snaps", for most of them I've been waiting on a selected area for something I wanted to happen.
With this guy I only took the snap, not the real shooting, he was gone. I thought I had taken him afterwards, framed through a window, but this is one of the shots I dreamt of, not a real one...

PS : Hey you local guys, Maciek and Kourosh, shame on you!!!
For Darren and for myself, it only took 2 or 3 days to scout that old guy who's got the real photostar stuff, what were you doing all these times? ;-) ... Where are your versions, guys?

Darren, cool_s15, bfly, zto, ninadev, piozac, kourosh, avigur_11, eleparc, maciekda, Josh69, mdchachi, elena, caliane, SagaDS, stefi trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Darren (6823) 2004-03-27 7:20

Luko, I think this is much better than you are giving it credit for. Your b&w work is almost always appealing to me and this is no exception. There is a grain and noisiness overlying this shot which I feel is perfectly in touch with the guy. He has the same happy look as I remember. At first, I thought perhaps this was a little too centered, especially vertically, but I actually would not want to crop from the top at all and his shoes make a really interesting piece to the shot, so what are you to do? Leave it centered I guess. Maybe I find this a little too contrasty and I do believe you have shots which show a much more engaging scene, but this shot is still pretty appealing to me.

Tonight seems to be the night of deja vu. I posted a photo of someone Maciek has already posted of. Eric LE Parc posted a shot of a nun many people seem to have photographed and now this. Small world.

maciekda (19895) 2004-03-27 7:34

haha, i got him with the exactly the same pose - but i was in front of him :) nice shot , well composed, great B&W. and the guy is great

cool_s15 (4050) 2004-03-27 7:49

a beautiful tone of B&W! I like how you framed this shot which i still can see his sandal. Also, like his act. Well captured with a great note!

zto (268) 2004-03-27 8:25

First of all, thank you for a very usefull note Luko. I'll have that in mind during my experiments with pepole photography, Secondly, the B&W pictures you have posted lately, from Malasya, they are all great. Very intresting in there compositin and subject. Even though this is a snap shot, it is still a good shot in my eyes. Not one of your best, but that you allready know :) Indeed a small world, talk about bein a TE celebrity :).Again, thanks for the note/lesson

piozac (2065) 2004-03-27 8:43

Great shot Luko. Superb b&w. Very well captured moment. Nice expression on his face.
Very well done!

kourosh (2346) 2004-03-27 8:49

It seems this old man has been going to the same place, sitting on the same seat and in the same way for months (or years, who knows?).
your angle is very good here. i like the grain and the slippers at the bottom left of the frame.
Ok, i'll post my version in a minute.
btw thanks for educational notes.

avigur_11 (22535) 2004-03-27 13:22

This guy is really popular here recently...
Wonderful shot, he's very interesting and I like the way he's sitting, very relaxed. Well done, Luko, and nice note.

Skorj (581) 2004-03-28 5:00

This is a great travel photograph. HK life; the cig, the sandles, that seat, the guy - all very detailed.

A little too white and oversharp perhaps, but both of these are easily fixed. Smooth.

stf303 (861) 2007-05-22 10:34

Ils sont sympa tes cliches de HK, j ai du mal a en faire des convenables ici moi. Je n ai pas l oeil en ville, et de toute facon je n ai pas l oeil d un pro ni meme d un amateur confirme. A l occasion dis moi ce que tu en penses,

TFS,

Stef