Abandoned home

[Sabretooth]

Went into Central London today to meet some friends and had my camera with me. Saw this homeless lady on the street and thought she fitted this months theme - being abandoned from home, abandoned from life etc....

I only had my nifty lens with me but did the best I could.

Slight crop, B&W and bordered.

Hope you like it. Would greatly appreciate your comments.

P.s. I did have some other different backups for this months theme which I will now put on the "Its not valid" tread. Hope I made the right choice.



Details:
Camera: Canon EOS 30D
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/2
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Date Taken: 14th October 2007

Full EXIF Details can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photo_exif.gne?id=1571185609

[Tobers]

Nice sharp shot which fits the theme well. Only thing I'd suggest is losing a bit of foreground.

[allymac123]

Although a good subject, I just feel this photo is lacking any "punch". There's nothing really wrong with it but I would have been tempted to get right in close with your fifty which would have helped it become more of a photo as opposed to a "snapshot" by giving it more punch and making it more "in your face"

[stevegreen]

It's a shame that advertising board is there as it's blocking out the left hand lower part of the frame. I'm guessing this was a snatch shot (candid) so bravely done.......you could have been really brave and asked her to pose with her bags etc though especially seeing the more decaying background to the right, where she is looks very clean and tidy which doesn't suit the overall feel of what you are trying to convey in the shot, having said that,the black and white conversion suits it.

[bodoman]

Excellent subject for the theme, its let down it a bit by the composition and exposure, understandable if you had to take a quick shot though.
I think it had the potential to be a comp winner if you had more time and got the lady to cooperate.

Still thats life, well done

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by allymac123

Although a good subject, I just feel this photo is lacking any "punch". There's nothing really wrong with it but I would have been tempted to get right in close with your fifty which would have helped it become more of a photo as opposed to a "snapshot" by giving it more punch and making it more "in your face"

Tnx. I agree - given the time i would have liked to get in closer and do a better job of it unfortunately the problem I had was that this was taken on a very busy road with lots of pedestrian traffic and the shot was candid - I didn't want to approach the lady in the fear that she may object or get offended.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by bodoman

Excellent subject for the theme, its let down it a bit by the composition and exposure, understandable if you had to take a quick shot though.
I think it had the potential to be a comp winner if you had more time and got the lady to cooperate.

Still thats life, well done

Tnx for the feedback - I agree the composition could have been better by at least not having the board there and getting in a better angle and closer - but would be interested to know what you think is wrong with the exposure?

[bodoman]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Tnx for the feedback - I agree the composition could have been better by at least not having the board there and getting in a better angle and closer - but would be interested to know what you think is wrong with the exposure?

Sorry if my post sounded like a criticism Sabretooth, only it was,nt, its a good photo.
I am the last one to knock anyone elses photos, if you look at mine you will know what i mean

I suppose the point i was making was that if you had more time you could have taken loads of shots at different exposures and maybe come up with one that had more impact than the one you posted, which might carried it through to be a winning entry in spite of the composition.

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by bodoman

Sorry if my post sounded like a criticism Sabretooth, only it was,nt, its a good photo.
I am the last one to knock anyone elses photos, if you look at mine you will know what i mean

I suppose the point i was making was that if you had more time you could have taken loads of shots at different exposures and maybe come up with one that had more impact than the one you posted, which might carried it through to be a winning entry in spite of the composition.

Tnx Bodoman - your comments are valuable - I take them as constructive critisism - helps me learn & improve - Still puzzled on the exposure though - would you say the photo lacks impact because it is under exposed or over exposed?

[bodoman]

The exposure looks fine to me, but sometimes it can look different and maybe
more impressive by trying different exposures, the same as you would try different angles and focal length.

I should imagine every entry on here is one of many shots taken of the same scene but with differing exposures etc, and the best one chosen for the comp
(Sweet Girl & Liquid as examples)

I have seen some photos over the years with perfect exposure, focus, composition etc, and they did nothing to me, although they were technically perfect.
I have seen others with none of the above correct, but have still grabbed me by virtue of the subject matter.

So who knows what constitutes a perfect photo.

[vulkan75]

Poor soulIts a nice shot the leg of the advertising board lets it down slightly,but you get the point.