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The Stare of Curiosity
The Stare of Curiosity
Shutter-For-Hire


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Street Photography III (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
Location: Toronto, Ontairo
Date: Oct 25, 2008
Aperture: f/2.2
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/640
Galleries: Candid, Photojournalism
Date Uploaded: Oct 25, 2008

 I really had no plans for this picture... I just went downtown and walked around taking pictures, it was very fun and a perfect excuse to do that... it's something I've wanted to do for a while now... I found this man playing the keyboard, so I snapped a couple pictures. He has no arms or legs but believe it or not, he was actually playing the keyboard. I watched him for a while and he was actually playing some really good music! I asked his permission to take some pictures and he was very pleased. He was very cheery and smiled the whole time he played. I stayed there off to the side for about 15 minutes... I crouched down beside a street light so that I wouldn't distract anybody passing by and then I snapped away. I didn't even notice this one until I got home. I really liked it because it shows everyone passing by ignoring the man playing the keyboard, except the one little child with his head turned. He looked very curious, the two shots that follow this one show the child getting further and further away, but his head stayed turned looking at the man. The little boy lookd so curious about why the man didn't have any arms or legs.

I really like this shot... I tried many different things with this picture in terms of selective desaturated and complete black and white... I found that this one looked the best... The previous winners all seemed to have a complete black an white picture with advertisements on the street... so accordign to past results, this won't do that great... either way, it was a perfect reason to get off my ass, go downtown, and take some pictures on the street! I actually taked to this man and his wife after and will be going back to visit them whenever I am in the area.

As a side note... I hope this doesn't get voted down because my Money entry is of the same person... it's not my fault that he is such a good subject =)

[Nov. 2nd, 2008 07:55:03 PM]

___________________________________

yea, yea, yea... ok everyone... here it is... and yea... I DO like the complete Black and White version better... BUT as some have also realized... many voters spend about 1-2 seconds looking at a pic before voting... so I figured that the only way to draw their attention to this AMAZING catch was to cheeze it up like this... in terms of getting a more deserving score, I stick by my choice... The way I figure, the 20 commenters who complained about it may have given me like a 9-10 rather than a 5-6 IF I left it all in black and white, BUT the other 150 voters wouldn't have noticed the little boy and the armless man so they would have given me a 3-5, although since I grabbed their attention, they probably gave me a 6-7... it was a VERY tough choice to make... either way... here it is =)



____________________________

YES!!!! Top 10!!! yea... should have been higher if it was in Black and White eh?... well, I stick by my above thoughts... I still feel that if it was in black and white I would have ended up with a lower score EVEN though it looks better

Statistics
Place: 9 out of 146
Avg (all users): 6.4302
Avg (commenters): 7.1905
Avg (participants): 6.5179
Avg (non-participants): 6.3879
Views since voting: 3137
Views during voting: 428
Votes: 172
Comments: 35
Favorites: 6 (view)

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AuthorThread
 07/18/2010 10:15:57 AM
Great shot. Nice use of selective dessat as it helps tell a story.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2008 02:32:28 AM
perfect shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/08/2008 03:07:51 PM
Great shot. Congrats on your high finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/04/2008 04:16:13 PM
very cool shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/04/2008 12:41:07 PM
Unfortunately I think you are right that a black and white photo probably would not have done as well.... This is a very timely capture and is defintly some good street photography.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/03/2008 01:46:10 PM
I prefer the b/w version of the two. However, both versions show a wonderfully powerful image and I'm delighted that it did so well. Great work and congrats.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/03/2008 10:36:56 AM
I love the selective desat, not surprised some on this site would rather see just B&W but to me it really isolated the subjects and added to the photo. Nice job, I had this one rated higher than its finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/03/2008 09:05:01 AM
The desat makes this shot special and you did it with style. I think folks are so used to seeing it done poorly that they dislike any photo where they see it used. It is just another tool in the photographer's toolbox, to be used sparingly and when appropriate.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/03/2008 08:30:40 AM
Originally posted by ThingFish:
Looks like almost everyone including myself feel you spoiled this excellent shot by having the 2 main elements in colour. Still congratz on a good 9th but it could have gone higher.

Not sure I agree on this scoring higher if it was in B/W...what Eric did here with the desat certainly stirred some emotions/comments in many (some liked it), but I think the post-processing served it's purpose in grabbing the attention of fast moving voters.

Eric, I hope you post this photo to a forum thread for discussion. I'm sure it could get a little rough, however, the "conversation" could be very enlightening and educational.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/03/2008 03:40:43 AM
Looks like almost everyone including myself feel you spoiled this excellent shot by having the 2 main elements in colour. Still congratz on a good 9th but it could have gone higher.

Message edited by author 2008-11-03 03:41:37.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
11/02/2008 09:53:06 PM
Isn't that the way it happens. The adults avoid eye contact and the kids want to know. I wonder if you spoke to this man after you shot this photo. I'll bet there is a hell of a story behind this shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/02/2008 09:50:18 PM
Love this, but the desat wasn't necessary. The message is strong and doesn't need any help.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/02/2008 04:55:42 PM
well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/02/2008 12:04:51 PM
this reminds me of another picture I saw here on DPC where a little girl was staring at a man on the floor, asking for money, and her mom was pushing her away, the little girl was the only one looking. This picture has the exact same emotiont o it. I wish the colors weren't as bright and happy, maybe a little more subdued, but I love this picture. Adding it to my favorites 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/02/2008 09:03:11 AM
This is an awesome capture, however, the selective desat only serves to cheese it up.
I would love to see a straight conversion of this piece to black and white only. IMO it would make for a much stronger image. Great work none the less
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/02/2008 08:29:18 AM
Generally I don't like this color + BW shots - this one makes an exception as it makes excellent use of it to highlight the main elements of the picture in a way that adds to it without distracting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/31/2008 10:33:01 PM
If you hadn't done the selective desaturation this would've been so much more powerful, otherwise it really detracts from this fabulous capture. Amazing photograph! This is so moving that I can't help regreting you almost ruined it with the unnecessary editing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/31/2008 09:01:07 PM
Meets Challenge:3
Technical:2
Interestingness:2
Extra Credit:
TOTAL: 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/31/2008 11:48:50 AM
I think the story in this photo would be strong enough to stand on its' own. The selective desat is understandable in intention...just not sure that you needed it. As someone who's seen many photos here at DPC it feels like you're trying to hold the viewer's hand and force them to see what should be evident. Maybe it'll work and help your score (many voters don't take the time to slow down and look...your post-processing should direct them to the point in the first couple seconds). I do hope that you've kept this in a B/W format and put a print up somewhere to enjoy it. :-)

Good luck in the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/30/2008 11:55:58 PM
I can see what you were going for with the selective desaturation, but I don't feel it's necessary. Being that the kid clearly has a fix on the man with the keyboard I think the viewer would have picked up on that without the post processing as it is. Either color or black and white, but the mix doesn't work for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/30/2008 04:34:53 PM
The gentleman's smile back to the boy is what wins here. I understand why you chose to use selective desat here - to have him stand out in his environment and add the interaction with the boy. But I suspect it may have worked based on his smile alone in pure B&W as well. Very clean work with the desat by the way.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/30/2008 01:19:59 AM
Great shot but the B&W/color was a poor choice in my opinion.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/28/2008 05:16:04 PM
Not a fan of selective saturation!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/28/2008 08:08:57 AM
Good capture of a candid moment. In some ways I like the way you have processed this, but I also think it could be a bit overstated for what is a poignant moment. Maybe more subtlety would have been better, for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/28/2008 04:01:40 AM
Great capture that stirs the emotions. I would have preferred the entire shot in black and white though. It's almost as if you are trying to force the viewer to see the relevance of the title by having the man and the child in color and I find it detracts from the overall impact of this otherwise fantastic composition.
I gave a 7 but had it been in black and white only would have given a 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 10:59:40 PM
I love the concept..love the little boy looking back and the fact that to emphasize the two and the glance, you have coloured the two but, b&w for the rest. However, it seems a bit TOO obvious to me. I think that viewers might have caught it had you left it either in color or in B&W. Still, it's a great capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 08:57:31 PM
What a great picture! So much going on in it!

One can't help but wonder if he was any good?

p.s. 10 and fav.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 05:16:45 PM
for me the totally black and white work better
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 05:16:16 PM
I like the way you are driving all the attention to the two important points in this story. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 04:13:29 PM
Captured the kids look perfectly. Really tells a story. Great picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 02:24:56 PM
Great capture, perfect processing, poignant and insightful. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 10:26:02 AM
I really wish you hadn't gone down the "desat" road...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 10:13:39 AM
nice catch
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 06:42:08 AM
Good street scene with plenty of people interest but not sure about the selective desat.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 01:44:05 AM
I would have liked the use of SC on this if it had just been the guy on the piano or just the child
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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