On Sun, 13 Feb 2005 09:15:11 -0800, Shel Belinkoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hi Frank, > > From your intro I'd expected more. It's an OK pic, but it doesn't capture > the "feel" of a smokey jazz club, and the photo seems to be stagnant, not > particularly dynamic. It doesn't help any that a piece of the guitarist's > hand is missing, either. > > A few years ago I took a weekend seminar on portraits given by Baron > Wolman, the Rolling Stone photographer from the 1970's. He said something > that made a lot of sense for this type of photography: Try to capture the > peak of action. To do that may require some anticipation of what the > subject will do, which requires time spent observing the subject carefully > and observing his or her moves. Here the musician is looking at his > guitar, and there is no contact at this moment between him and the > audience, or between him and you, the photographer. This sets up a > barrier, or at least a distance, between viewer and subject. > > Shel >
Sorry about the intro. I was joking around about preconceptions about "jazz culture" more than I meant to introduce the photo, but from re-reading my initial post, I can see where I should have just posted the link. In terms of the photo, well, that's the way the guy played. Very studied and quiet (in terms of body language); he just stood there with his eyes closed and played all night, very little connection with the audience other than his music. In terms of the cut off hand, I think that I was looking for balance in terms of the body of the guitar, so to me at the time of shooting, the hand was almost incidental. I know that cutting off hands is thought not to be a good thing to do, but (again) it doesn't really bother me in this pic, but I certainly understand how it would bother some (obviously, you, anyway... <vbg>) Of course, one might then wonder why I'd choose this photo given his lack of dynamicism, and I guess my answer would be that I just liked the look of it (which is pretty much why I post anything, I guess <g>). I appreciate your thoughts and comments, however. I guess the fact that I was there to experience the show has affected my objectivity WRT the images of the concert. That's the beauty of posting PAWs: to get a dose of objectivity in what (for me) is a very subjective process. Thanks again. Your comments are most appreciated. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
