::..:: Everyday people ::..::

[Nathan Hayag]

Hello. First time posting my shots here in OPF. Hope y'all like my set. ;)



1) Follow the leader.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3658/3629368510_b40919fb8a.jpg


2) Arrrr!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3575860203_c9f9f97e22.jpg


3) Jawa and the loot.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/3491437751_a5bf739591.jpg


4) Life's little pleasures.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3369/3449220169_8d8b8c9755.jpg



.

[Cedric MASSOULIER]

Hi,

I like very much your pictures which have very good lights and warm colors, but i think there should be a more formal link between them... Subject is not really apparent here, except everyday pictures, we can't understand why you showed them together.

Regards,

Cedric.

[Nathan Hayag]

Hi,

I like very much your pictures which have very good lights and warm colors, but i think there should be a more formal link between them... Subject is not really apparent here, except everyday pictures, we can't understand why you showed them together.

Regards,

Cedric.


Hi Cedric,

Thanks for the comment. You are correct, these are everyday pictures, hence, the title "Everyday People". There aren't any link whatsoever among my pictures except the effective use of available light as a spotlight that's why I've taken time putting appropriate titles on them to help tell the story because each picture is a story in itself. :)

Cheers,

Nathan

[Nathan Hayag]

5) Teaism.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3499670101_e27e9af7c7.jpg
Tea is a religion of the art of life. - Okakura Kakuzō


6) He says..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/3494310847_dfd7874073.jpg


7) She says..
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3394/3494283381_4f4190ca54.jpg



.

[Asher Kelman]

Hi Nathan,

Welcome to OPF and congrats on stepping in with images to share.

Yes, it's far easier for us to digest the images when they are related by a theme even more particular than just, "available light", unless one is showing of one's camera. Having said that, a numerous collection of pictures can eventually build up an idea of what catches your own attention and how you react to the world around you. This might be in a book with a narrative.

I prefer putting together sets of pictures that are indeed closely related in some way, perhaps showing a common feature, asking a related for example.

Asher

[Asher Kelman]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3499670101_e27e9af7c7.jpg

Nathan Hayag: Teaism

Hi Nathan,

Of all your pictures, I find this one picture most agreeable. They are, in general, not only immediately interesting but also pay off more when one lingers! In your very first two pictures, you use black space to great advantage. Here you're much more surgical in your framing. In this bright detailed picture of the tea-maker, you've shown atmosphere and good placement of the subject. Kudos! I can understand the tight framing around him but for this, consider, perhaps, much more negative space here too. He's powerful enough to command a far larger canvas.

Asher

Can you share the shot specifics?

[Nathan Hayag]

Thank you for welcoming me here, Asher.

I don't think we're on the same page here. The use of available light (i.e. sun, incandescent, etc.) is never about showing off one's gear. Camera phone or Leica, it is achievable. :)

Anyhow, for the Teaism shot. I used my humble Sony A300, coupled with an 18-200mm.

Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure: 1/13
Aperture: f5
Focal length: 60mm
Metering: Spot
ISO: 100

For PP:
I just added vignetting through CS4. Auto Tone/Levels/Contrast/Color/Curves. And then I further enhanced the warmth by adjusting the red, orange and yellow in Hue/Saturation, Color Balance and Vibrance. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

8 ) Chernobyl baby.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/3714038211_b51273fc48.jpg


9) ¡Viva la Revolución!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2666/3681189478_3a6ea14404.jpg


10) Dilly dally.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3392/3570162624_b33586d218.jpg



.

[Asher Kelman]

Thank you for welcoming me here, Asher.

I don't think we're on the same page here. The use of available light (i.e. sun, incandescent, etc.) is never about showing off one's gear. Camera phone or Leica, it is achievable. :)

Anyhow, for the Teaism shot. I used my humble Sony A300, coupled with an 18-200mm.

Mode: Aperture Priority
Exposure: 1/13
Aperture: f5
Focal length: 60mm
Metering: Spot
ISO: 100

For PP:
I just added vignetting through CS4. Auto Tone/Levels/Contrast/Color/Curves. And then I further enhanced the warmth by adjusting the red, orange and yellow in Hue/Saturation, Color Balance and Vibrance. :)

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for the details of your shot.

In a gallery, I'd just enjoy your picture since it immediately caught my attention, has a lot to explore, I like to be taken to places that are new and the picture is well done. It's an experience worth stopping for, at that spot, and just appreciating. One might like to know shot details, but for sure, the art gallery owner wouldn't have a clue! In a gallery one just enjoys and then purchases the work.

Re asking for shot details: For folks hoping to learn from your beautiful work, these seemingly superfluous details. The camera format lens and aperture govern the depth of field and how the background is drawn. One cannot get the same effect with a digicam, full frame camera, MF or LF at the same aperture. I'd argue that it's hardly true that one can get the same picture with any camera. Rather a good photographer can get a great picture with any camera.

Thanks,

Asher

[Ken Tanaka]

Hello Nathan,
These images are actually related; they're snaps of where you were. I like your general concept here. Some impressions, for what they're worth.

I find your extremely heavy-handed post-processing distracting and frustrating. I want to see more detail and context in your images. Of course it's impossible to judge an image in this format but you've reduced some of these to little more than splotches on brown/black fields. Little sense of context, which can sometimes greatly add to the image.

Also, lots of long focal length stuff here. That's pretty common for amateur/avocational snappers. But it's clear that you have no engagement with your subjects at all. They're just inanimate objects. That's fine. But in this strategy you must then make the human subjects relate in some way to their contexts and/or each other. Referring to my previous remark your post processing, and sometimes your framing, has mostly eliminated that possibility.

A personal issue of mine is avoiding capturing people on the phone. It's a real buzz-killer for images to my eye. Ditto capturing street beggars. It's just too damn easy.

Keep at it. But either get closer to your subjects or look for situations in which your human subjects become part of a wider-angle composition. (One strategy is not to carry a focal length longer than 50mm on your walks.) Either way, lighten-up on the Photoshop.

Have fun!

[Paul Abbott]

Hello Nathan,

Ditto capturing street beggars. It's just too damn easy.




Give it a go then, Ken. Then lets see what you get? I'll throw you a challenge. I hope they won't be just snaps, 'cos then that is easy.

Everything can be regarded as easy, think about it. Sunsets, flowers, animals etc. But try photographing them in a meaningful and interesting way and thats where the difficulty lies.

[Nathan Hayag]

Hi Nathan,

Thanks for the details of your shot.

In a gallery, I'd just enjoy your picture since it immediately caught my attention, has a lot to explore, I like to be taken to places that are new and the picture is well done. It's an experience worth stopping for, at that spot, and just appreciating. One might like to know shot details, but for sure, the art gallery owner wouldn't have a clue! In a gallery one just enjoys and then purchases the work.

Re asking for shot details: For folks hoping to learn from your beautiful work, these seemingly superfluous details. The camera format lens and aperture govern the depth of field and how the background is drawn. One cannot get the same effect with a digicam, full frame camera, MF or LF at the same aperture. I'd argue that it's hardly true that one can get the same picture with any camera. Rather a good photographer can get a great picture with any camera.

Thanks,

Asher


I totally-100%-off-the-wall agree with you that a digicam could never ever handle what a dSLR can with regards to DOF, aperture, exposure, metering, ISO, and all those stuff, BUT what I have been reiterating here is the light around us as an effective tool to isolate the subject from the surroundings. Get a digicam, point it on a crowd with small patches of light peeping through building gaps, when a face finds itself in contact with the sunlight--shoot! Wouldn't his face pop out from the crowd? Of course, it wouldn't be as good if it was shot with an SLR, but we're not talking about DOF and all that mumbo jumbo here, right? My thread is about light, light, and light. One of the main fundamentals of photography.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel

[Nathan Hayag]

Hello Nathan,
These images are actually related; they're snaps of where you were. I like your general concept here. Some impressions, for what they're worth.

I find your extremely heavy-handed post-processing distracting and frustrating. I want to see more detail and context in your images. Of course it's impossible to judge an image in this format but you've reduced some of these to little more than splotches on brown/black fields. Little sense of context, which can sometimes greatly add to the image.

Also, lots of long focal length stuff here. That's pretty common for amateur/avocational snappers. But it's clear that you have no engagement with your subjects at all. They're just inanimate objects. That's fine. But in this strategy you must then make the human subjects relate in some way to their contexts and/or each other. Referring to my previous remark your post processing, and sometimes your framing, has mostly eliminated that possibility.

A personal issue of mine is avoiding capturing people on the phone. It's a real buzz-killer for images to my eye. Ditto capturing street beggars. It's just too damn easy.

Keep at it. But either get closer to your subjects or look for situations in which your human subjects become part of a wider-angle composition. (One strategy is not to carry a focal length longer than 50mm on your walks.) Either way, lighten-up on the Photoshop.

Have fun!


Thank you so much for this very nice critique, Ken! I do use 28mm, 50mm and 100mm on certain occasions but I always tend to go back to my trusty 18-200mm lolz. I really appreciate your critique here. Will keep your advices with me once I hit the streets again. :)


Again, thanks.

Nathan

[Nathan Hayag]

Give it a go then, Ken. Then lets see what you get? I'll throw you a challenge. I hope they won't be just snaps, 'cos then that is easy.

Everything can be regarded as easy, think about it. Sunsets, flowers, animals etc. But try photographing them in a meaningful and interesting way and thats where the difficulty lies.


Hi Paul. What I think Ken is trying to say here is that beggars are "too photographed" already. We should admit that almost all of us have street beggar shots. I've been following a lot of street photography contests and most of them don't allow those kind of shots.

[Nathan Hayag]

11) BFFs
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3628560401_88a9861a8a.jpg


12) She's got it.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3634/3575787793_2c316c7b1b.jpg


13) He who sings scares away his woes.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/3118025299_36b01bc109.jpg


.

[Paul Abbott]

No worries, Nathan.

I guess buildings are so damn easy too, they're everywhere! ;)

[Nathan Hayag]

No worries, Nathan.

I guess buildings are so damn easy too, they're everywhere! ;)

Lolz. You have a point. :D

[Asher Kelman]

I totally-100%-off-the-wall agree with you that a digicam could never ever handle what a dSLR can with regards to DOF, aperture, exposure, metering, ISO, and all those stuff, BUT what I have been reiterating here is the light around us as an effective tool to isolate the subject from the surroundings. Get a digicam, point it on a crowd with small patches of light peeping through building gaps, when a face finds itself in contact with the sunlight--shoot! Wouldn't his face pop out from the crowd? Of course, it wouldn't be as good if it was shot with an SLR, but we're not talking about DOF and all that mumbo jumbo here, right? My thread is about light, light, and light. One of the main fundamentals of photography.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel

My point, Nathaniel, is besides the effect of the light, the picture might be far better with the digicam because of extra DOF or better or with with a plastic off-kilter Lomo due to how the periphery is delivered in a special way. I'm not saying one thing is better. I just feel that the character of the lens adds a lot and is very significant in how the image written.

Your series with light peeping through to show us glimpses of interesting subject is a great uniting theme and I'm enjoying tour work.

[Sandra Jones]

I like this style very much. I did think a few were too dark, but that's nothing, it's what makes this set work. Love the 'tea is a religion...', fantastic colours and light. I'm amused at 'He says..She says', thought that was well done. Also I like the girls in 'BFFs'.

[Wendy Thurman]

Nathan-

Welcome, and thanks for the images. Like Asher, I find Teaism to be the most arresting image in your series. Like Ken, I would echo the "get closer" sentiment he expressed. I just did a series in a marketplace that failed because I did not get closer.

Your work is interesting and I hope to see more.

Wendy

[Wendy Thurman]

Give it a go then, Ken. Then lets see what you get? I'll throw you a challenge. I hope they won't be just snaps, 'cos then that is easy.

Everything can be regarded as easy, think about it. Sunsets, flowers, animals etc. But try photographing them in a meaningful and interesting way and thats where the difficulty lies.

Paul-

You are doing work with meaning and context as regards street people and I am appreciative of that work.

I do think Ken has a point. It's easy to photograph people who live a moment-to-moment life; what is not so easy is to portray that life contextually. I think you are trying to do that with your London Homeless series and you are to be applauded for that effort.

I haven't photographed beggars here in Kabul. There are thousands of them but if I can't tell their story then I shouldn't exploit them. I don't, and won't, do gratuitous shots. You have put a lot of time and effort into your project and it is one that I hope you pursue. Your work isn't self-serving but I think we need to be attuned to work that is. I don't presume to speak for Ken but he might agree with me on this one.

Don't show me a picture- tell me a story. (Which I think you are doing with your project.) This is the photojournalism forum...

Wendy

[Ken Tanaka]

Wendy has expressed my intended thoughts perfectly, above.

But back to Nathan's work here, several of his images remind me very much of a project that Philip-Lorca diCorcia did several years ago in NY. Basically for the project, titled "Heads", diCorcia used remotely triggered flashes mounted to a construction-type scaffold to light sidewalk subjects who he then photographed distantly with a big lens. diCorcia's lives (very) profitably in the art photo world which is where these arresting sidewalk portraits sold. (A book of the work is still available on the 3rd-party market (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/3882434414?).)

Footnote: diCorcia was ultimately sued by one of his subjects (hey, it's NY) but the suit was dismissed. Subjects on the street are fair game in the U.S. as long as they are not defamed, which this man wasn't.

Nathan: You should make an effort to see diCorcia's "Heads" work.

[Paul Abbott]

I didn't take Ken's point as a personal jibe, at all.

I just found it strange that Ken mentioned 'contexts', 'contrasts' and 'juxtapositions' (all that I agree with wholeheartedly) in 'street photography', but then in another sentence, went on to say that photographing vagrants was - "too damn easy".

The 'too damn easy' line is totally out of context with what Ken was saying, so why say it?

[Nathan Hayag]

I like this style very much. I did think a few were too dark, but that's nothing, it's what makes this set work. Love the 'tea is a religion...', fantastic colours and light. I'm amused at 'He says..She says', thought that was well done. Also I like the girls in 'BFFs'.


Thank you so much Sandra. I really appreciate your comments. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

Nathan-

Welcome, and thanks for the images. Like Asher, I find Teaism to be the most arresting image in your series. Like Ken, I would echo the "get closer" sentiment he expressed. I just did a series in a marketplace that failed because I did not get closer.

Your work is interesting and I hope to see more.

Wendy


Yea, that's the best advice I've got so far (thanks again, Ken). I actually ventured in using a 10mm focal range a couple of months back, but I had to stop when I got my leg kicked by a Mr. Grumpy lolz. Anyhow, the distance from my shots are all part of my composition. Trying to include my light source and the 'coming-towards-me' effect to give them a more 3D look (a Daido Moriyama technique). But Ken is right, there's no story if you barely see a face or a lingering gesture.

[Nathan Hayag]

Wendy has expressed my intended thoughts perfectly, above.

But back to Nathan's work here, several of his images remind me very much of a project that Philip-Lorca diCorcia did several years ago in NY. Basically for the project, titled "Heads", diCorcia used remotely triggered flashes mounted to a construction-type scaffold to light sidewalk subjects who he then photographed distantly with a big lens. diCorcia's lives (very) profitably in the art photo world which is where these arresting sidewalk portraits sold. (A book of the work is still available on the 3rd-party market (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/3882434414?).)

Footnote: diCorcia was ultimately sued by one of his subjects (hey, it's NY) but the suit was dismissed. Subjects on the street are fair game in the U.S. as long as they are not defamed, which this man wasn't.

Nathan: You should make an effort to see diCorcia's "Heads" work.


He's my hero, Ken. ;) Most of my shots are actually DiCorcia-inspired. You'll also see a little bit of Daido Moriyama and Rarindra Prakarsa in them.

[Nathan Hayag]

14) Two-Face.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3481/3922796859_9d393bff3d.jpg


15) OmNomNom.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/3955923118_5bb66a1a13.jpg


16) Quo Vadis?
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3864732807_2d02e33107.jpg



.

[Nathan Hayag]

17) Let the sun shine through.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3628700186_47a8505376.jpg

18) The rope trick.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3848485097_986d368af3.jpg

19) Aura power.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/3955956106_e8ff78e206.jpg



.

[Asher Kelman]

17) Let the sun shine through.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3628700186_47a8505376.jpg

18) The rope trick.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3848485097_986d368af3.jpg

19) Aura power.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/3955956106_e8ff78e206.jpg



Thanks for locating real persons from the masses around you. That ability to give value to a stranger is arresting and agreeable to me.

Thanks Asher

[Hans Miedema]

WOW Nathan ,I love your work

Yes some may be a little closer but it works for me this way,the composition the PP great work

[Wade Skinner]

G'day Nathan,

I instantly recognized your pix as I had looked through them on Flickr in recent weeks. There are some in there I quite like and I think it's good that you have a theme. Most of them are clearly shot by the same person (you).

I think you have some other photo's there that I have seen, that some people here would quite appreciate.

It seems you've stirred up an interest in the locals.

Keep it up.

Wade.

[Nathan Hayag]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3537/3628700186_47a8505376.jpg

18) The rope trick.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3848485097_986d368af3.jpg

19) Aura power.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2596/3955956106_e8ff78e206.jpg

[/center]

Thanks for locating real persons from the masses around you. That ability to give value to a stranger is arresting and agreeable to me.

Thanks Asher


Thank you sir. I'm glad you liked them. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

WOW Nathan ,I love your work

Yes some may be a little closer but it works for me this way,the composition the PP great work


Hi Hans. Thanks a lot. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

G'day Nathan,

I instantly recognized your pix as I had looked through them on Flickr in recent weeks. There are some in there I quite like and I think it's good that you have a theme. Most of them are clearly shot by the same person (you).

I think you have some other photo's there that I have seen, that some people here would quite appreciate.

It seems you've stirred up an interest in the locals.

Keep it up.

Wade.


Wade,

Thank you so much for the kind words. I truly hope I'm worthy of those. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

20) Not a care in the world.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3386540821_387061df9e.jpg

21) ¡Que Horror!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2565/3952202121_9913db99b6.jpg

22) The watcher.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3506/4034849033_c960e16b9f.jpg

23) Alienated.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2555/4036090171_50150de1ac.jpg



.

[Nathan Hayag]

24) Toothache.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/4039948246_3fdbb27273.jpg


25) Hopscotch.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3478/4039906809_dd7dc2f786.jpg


26) Never go with the flow.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3529/4056612070_e1e5704f08.jpg


27) The Soloist.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3570164782_67b260ab32.jpg



.

[Rachel Foster]

Hi, Nathan. Welcome and I look forward to seeing more of your images.

[Ruben Alfu]

There´s a sense of solitude in these images, the subjects appear to be actually frozen in time. Maybe it´s a call to stop and see the simple facts, the here and now. From a technical point of view, I think it´s a great exercise of creative exposure.

[Nigel Allan]

Hi Nathan, I held off commenting on your photos at first because I wanted to digest them and process what I felt about them. I have just read through this thread and seen the different comments, so here's my two pennies for what it's worth (by the way, it's worth more than two cents :) until the Pound and Dollar reach parity anyway)

Overall I like the look and feel of your images, and I love taking pictures of people in the street also. I think generally these are very interesting and you are doing really nice work

Where you have effectively used natural light to create contrast and a kind of spotlight I think they are brilliant and some, like the teaism, are wonderful images. Maybe it could have been tighter and more 'in your face' but hey, it's still lovely and engaging

However, on the whole I tend to concur with Ken Tanaka's observations in a number of areas. Now this is just personal taste as we know but for me I do think you are sometimes a bit heavy handed with post processing and vignetting verging on overkill....but as I say this is only MY TASTE and I try and keep the scene as close to what I saw in the VF as possible a lot of the time because I am stuck in my ways :)

And where it appears you have used PP to create the impression of a spotlight rather that actually painting with the ambient light itself (which is how some appear to me) I find this a little contrived. If you have never done this I apologise but some appear to me as though you have selectively shaded areas to make it appear as though you have 'caught' beams of light - maybe it's the vignetting which reinforces this feeling I get. Almost any effect or tool overused loses its impact anyway, don't you think?

Personally I don't like the rounded corners but that's just a superficial niggle and if you love this which you obviously do, then who am I to say anything?

However, I do think that where possible you could get more engagement with your subject...it's quite brave to get up close and personal with strangers and risk their ire for invading their space but on the street everyone is fair game. However, it leads to more exciting images IMHO.

I think you are already streets ahead (sorry for the pun) of most modern DSLR photographers I come across in other forums (present company excepted) where their idea of a 'great' picture is a macro of a flower or butterfly or a distant landscape - in other words, subjects that can't answer back and tell you to p*** off - because that doesn't engage anyone or risk any confrontation. Potential confrontation is what can give street photography its adrenalin IMHO...done well it gets your blood pumping

maybe that was three pennies

[Nathan Hayag]

Hi, Nathan. Welcome and I look forward to seeing more of your images.


Hi Rachel. Thanks for welcoming me here. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

There´s a sense of solitude in these images, the subjects appear to be actually frozen in time. Maybe it´s a call to stop and see the simple facts, the here and now. From a technical point of view, I think it´s a great exercise of creative exposure.


Thanks for the comment Ruben. :)

[Nathan Hayag]

Hi Nathan, I held off commenting on your photos at first because I wanted to digest them and process what I felt about them. I have just read through this thread and seen the different comments, so here's my two pennies for what it's worth (by the way, it's worth more than two cents :) until the Pound and Dollar reach parity anyway)

Overall I like the look and feel of your images, and I love taking pictures of people in the street also. I think generally these are very interesting and you are doing really nice work

Where you have effectively used natural light to create contrast and a kind of spotlight I think they are brilliant and some, like the teaism, are wonderful images. Maybe it could have been tighter and more 'in your face' but hey, it's still lovely and engaging

However, on the whole I tend to concur with Ken Tanaka's observations in a number of areas. Now this is just personal taste as we know but for me I do think you are sometimes a bit heavy handed with post processing and vignetting verging on overkill....but as I say this is only MY TASTE and I try and keep the scene as close to what I saw in the VF as possible a lot of the time because I am stuck in my ways :)

And where it appears you have used PP to create the impression of a spotlight rather that actually painting with the ambient light itself (which is how some appear to me) I find this a little contrived. If you have never done this I apologise but some appear to me as though you have selectively shaded areas to make it appear as though you have 'caught' beams of light - maybe it's the vignetting which reinforces this feeling I get. Almost any effect or tool overused loses its impact anyway, don't you think?

Personally I don't like the rounded corners but that's just a superficial niggle and if you love this which you obviously do, then who am I to say anything?

However, I do think that where possible you could get more engagement with your subject...it's quite brave to get up close and personal with strangers and risk their ire for invading their space but on the street everyone is fair game. However, it leads to more exciting images IMHO.

I think you are already streets ahead (sorry for the pun) of most modern DSLR photographers I come across in other forums (present company excepted) where their idea of a 'great' picture is a macro of a flower or butterfly or a distant landscape - in other words, subjects that can't answer back and tell you to p*** off - because that doesn't engage anyone or risk any confrontation. Potential confrontation is what can give street photography its adrenalin IMHO...done well it gets your blood pumping

maybe that was three pennies


Hi Nigel. First off, thanks for visiting my thread. I just gotta say that the spotlights and shadows are 90% real (I'm giving 5% to Camera Raw's 'Blacks' lever and the other 5% to vignetting). The shaded areas you see are probably shoulders or heads or the space between the armpits (or something I can't distinguish) of people within very close proximity to me. These will create very nice dark shadows if done correctly. Crowds can get really thick here (see photos below) in Singapore and that kind of effect is very possible to achieve.

Yes, sorry for the heavy vignetting. I'm really crazy for vignettes and I myself don't know why haha. I just love it when I see photos with heavy vignettes. :) And I blame the rounded edges on Flickr. They have this neat on-site photo editing tool called Picnik where they have frame selections you can apply to your photos. Rounded edges remind me of my childhood photos back in the 80s so I guess it kind of stuck on to me. :)

Again sir, thank you very much for the critique.


Imagine being in the middle of these. (No lighting effects here. Just straightforward street). :D
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/3532612959_736a786974.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/3118025281_ef3de758fc.jpg

[Nigel Allan]

Hi Nigel. First off, thanks for visiting my thread. I just gotta say that the spotlights and shadows are 90% real (I'm giving 5% to Camera Raw's 'Blacks' lever and the other 5% to vignetting). The shaded areas you see are probably shoulders or heads or the space between the armpits (or something I can't distinguish) of people within very close proximity to me. These will create very nice dark shadows if done correctly. Crowds can get really thick here (see photos below) in Singapore and that kind of effect is very possible to achieve.

Yes, sorry for the heavy vignetting. I'm really crazy for vignettes and I myself don't know why haha. I just love it when I see photos with heavy vignettes. :) And I blame the rounded edges on Flickr. They have this neat on-site photo editing tool called Picnik where they have frame selections you can apply to your photos. Rounded edges remind me of my childhood photos back in the 80s so I guess it kind of stuck on to me. :)

Again sir, thank you very much for the critique.


Imagine being in the middle of these. (No lighting effects here. Just straightforward street). :D
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2395/3532612959_736a786974.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/3118025281_ef3de758fc.jpg

Yes the rounded corners are a bit like holiday snaps from the 80's which is why I think they somehow lessen the gravitas of your images.

No need to apologise for the vignetting - each to his own personal taste. It is only my humble opinion.

More power to you for spotting the beams of light that highlight your subjects, well done.

And yes I can imagine being in that crowd in Singapore, but just imagine getting up in their faces a bit :) or catching their eye so they are engaging your lens

[Nathan Hayag]

It's been months since I've been on here. Updating my thread. Thanks for viewing!

28) Top gone.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/3553939124_259e8e42bb.jpg


29) Inny-minnie-miny-moe.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3608/3404029684_fee14b5311.jpg


30) Twinkle in your wrinkle.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3178/3550537399_47dd6038da.jpg

31) It's all about the swagger.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4296264902_2e5e787601.jpg




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