father to son, a photo from Seoul, Nord

Photographer's Note

roller blading is extremely popular in korea. kids rollerblade on any reasonably flat surface. olympic park has a massive outdoor area perfect for roller blading.

kids and beginners can practice in the centre of the square, serious roller bladers and competitive skaters do circuits around the outside.

i was really attracted to this father and son who were training together. partly because they were wearing matching gear (korean sports is about looking the part) ... but mostly i was attracted to the fact that this father is directly teaching his son a skill and a sport.

korean fathers aren't known for being involved with their children. being a good financial supporter is the father's priority. they tend to pay money for everything and kids rarely see their father or spend any quality time with fathers.

i think people may disagree with my framing on this one ... i really wanted to push them to the left, which meant catching the roller bladers as they came into the shot. i wanted to create the feeling of unity and speed. so i wanted lots of frame for them to skate into.

enjoy! :)

andante, skeelerik trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

jinju (14265) 2006-03-24 8:39

I think this image inspired me to just open photoshop and see what my inline shots look like David. Honestly, didnt yet bother to do that. Great, intense colors and superb framing. I like how they are just entering the frame.

edited: Well, lets just say Im not happy with how they look:)

andante (7092) 2006-03-24 8:50

David, what I like the most about this image is that the only reference for rollerskating is on the bottom left corner, which in this composition is left for the viewer to discover. Well seen and done!

Niara78 (0) 2006-03-24 8:59

Great compo, David! They literally speed into the frame...colours and sharpness are superb!

Best regards,

Nathalie

skeelerik (763) 2006-03-24 9:07

Hi David,
It's good you mentioned in your note about the framing. I considered it a pity of so much space at the right and not the whole person in the shot. But you're right to catch the unity and the speed this way. And good for this father to teach his son how to skate. It's my sport too. See my website. CU, Erik

rowanb (864) 2006-03-24 9:36

nice shot david, good colours and action, nice choice of d.o.f., i see where your coming from with the framing..
good work
rowan

Katharina (401) 2006-03-24 12:26

Great photo! I love the colours, so bright and clear... You manage to catch a good moment... They looks great dressed exactly the same... Well done...
Regards

toni_al (15875) 2006-03-24 15:48

Salut David
La position des patineurs est excellente et la composition me plait beaucoup
Well done
Toni

markoci (3933) 2006-04-03 1:16

your post today reminded me of this image that i meant to comment on before.. an excellent photo with a great title and note (so true about korean fathers' involvement in their kids' lives..) fantastic colours, sharpness and dof (just perhaps a bit too high on contrast) you caught them in a cool "sports pose", my favorite part is the bottom left corner which gives us this subtle hint that this is indeed rollerblading and not iceskating. a cool place, olympic park, some excellent photo ops, too bad i never succeeded... (i see you're experimenting with different frames, my advice: keep it simple..)

Darren (6823) 2006-04-03 1:25

I like this one here David, I came across it after first seeing todays upload. The light is still a little hard, but it seems better to my eyes on this shot here. I really like the composition here. Having them tucked into the corner and moving into the empty part of the frame is great. You also did well in keeping a nice, pretty empty background, which can't be too easily done in Seoul. Nice shot.

triptych2003 (1534) 2006-06-29 21:19

korean commercialism crescendos into matching outfits for families.. even if they can't skate, they are sure going to look the part! interestng placement.. not sure if it works for me tho.. great colours and detail tho