Night into Dayby
wsargenComment by e301: When this shot came out of the queue i thought it must be a temperature shot, and then noticed that it was a night on the town shot.
As a documentary shot I really like it: the graininess and the over-exposure of the fire gives a great sense of danger and excitement, especially with the view of the back of that firefighter as he/she moves towards the flames.
I don't really want to get into technical discussion here - it isn't the kind of shot that 'follows the rules' as it were anyway. Were it posed then there are pretty obvious elements one would change, especially in composition, and extraneous elements.
In that 'technical' sense, it isn't a good photo - but as a record of a moment, it's fine. I would guess it scored as it did because most voters here appear to be looking for clean, controlled, well-executed shots, rather than the drama of this. Were it perfectly focussed, exposed, and not grainy at all I'd guess it would have done better.
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Photographer found comment helpful.