Covered

pier 2, originally uploaded by Tetsuya Blues.

Purposely obscuring part of a picture is one way artists sometimes force us to fill in the blanks. On two levels, that comes into play in Tetsuya Blues' photo above. The "2" is partially hidden behind the subject's head, while the head itself is turned away, obscuring the face. The number is easy to fill in, but the face isn't. We are left to wonder who this person is, unable to give this person an identity.

I like how my focus keeps shifting between the wall and the figure. I start with the circled numeral, then the enclosed head within. The sharpness of the subject draws me down through the contrasting textures of hair, fur, and creased fabric. And then I look to the Japanese text in soft focus behind.

With the gaze of the subject directed away from us, it's almost as if the focal point of the photo is that wall. I especially like how centered both foreground and background are. There's a tricky balance here that I think Tetsuya Blues has really nailed beautifully. I can't stop staring at this photo.

Wed

Untitled, originally uploaded by BůřpSÉäN™.

I'm not sure who was in charge of the framing of this great portrait, but I love the decision to chop bride and groom in half, leaving that patch of red background right in the center. Burpsean on the left and Ivy on the right are both on flickr and I'd like to think that they were the creative minds behind this great wedding portrait. One commenter left a message saying this shot resembles a typical Korean horror movie flick poster. I totally agree in that there's an intensity to the shot: in the colors, the expressions, and the preciseness of it.

The lighting on both bride and groom is perfect. The lighting on that background is nicely down as well. I wonder if it was done with studio strobes or something simpler, like a diffused flash straight ahead, reflector beneath, and something lighting the red background. The even lighting works really nicely here to highlight a clean, straightforward shot with an unconventional composition.

There's not much else to say here. Other than Happy Valentine's Day to everyone celebrating it. Also, I hope I eventually get a chance to be in such an awesome wedding portrait. Or shoot one.

Flying

Untitled, originally uploaded by Lee Wei-I.

I couldn't help myself. Here's another Lomo LC-A shot, this time featuring Agfa film. Just as different digital cameras seem to process colors in subtly different ways, producing varying degrees of true-to-life-ness, film results vary from company to company. Kodak is known for warm tones, verging on being an orange-ish color cast. My parents were partial to Kodak film, so I suppose I've grown up accustomed to seeing photographs with this kind of look. When I started shooting with my first digital camera, I instinctively color corrected my photos to have that warmth. Kodak's biggest competitor, Fuji, is known for slightly cooler color reproduction, with greater saturation. Above, we have an example of Agfa film, which boasts extreme color saturation.

Naturally, this is the perfect film for the Lomo LC-A, which also boasts super saturation. The result speaks for itself. All I can add is that simple cameras are good at reminding us that bright sunshine + 100iso film = winning photos featuring vivid colors & high contrast. If you've read some of the other posts, you may know that I love night time shots with dramatic lighting. Those kinds of conditions require specific techniques/equipment: longer exposure times, tripods or surrogate tripods like chairs or trashcans, and the ability to hold your own if cornered in that dark alley during a night shoot.

It's good to realize that there are great opportunities in broad daylight. The type of energy and emotion that Lee Wei-I has captured above is just as intense as many of my favorite after dark photographs. Looking at it now, it reminds me that I have some neglected cameras that are looking for some action. In fact, after seeing some of a great shots that Lee Wei-I and other have been able to get on Agfa film, I ran out and bought a few rolls. This morning I was scratching my head, wondering where those had gone, when I realized the film was still wound in my Nikomat from over one year prior. I got to go get that developed.

Blue

..., originally uploaded by motionid.

Motionid is one out of a handful of photographers over in Japan walking around with amazing lenses strapped around their necks, documenting what they see on the city streets. I've been hooked on this guy's work as he has a knack for capturing subtle emotions in tack sharpness with scarce available light. Each candid portrait is loaded with feeling. The shallow dof afforded by the fast lens isolates these people, magnifying their expressions.

When I see an image like this, I feel like there's a whole story here. One commenter on flickr described the photo as having a cinematic tone and I agree. It's not just the wide crop and the dramatic lighting, but the sense that we are seeing a single frame from a movie. I wonder what it is that's weighing down his shoulders, causing that subtle lean. I wonder what music this man might have playing in his earphones that might cause him to pause and furrow his brow that way. He's dry, but that raincoat tells me maybe he expects stormy weather.

Looking through motionid's stream and seeing photos like this one has opened my eyes to the beauty of cooler color casts at night. I've always tweaked my photos in post to get a warmer, kodak-like, temp. I realize that I've neglected a world of blues and violets that I now want to go out and capture.

Glow

Untitled, originally uploaded by Taigah.

There are alot of photography rules. One is don't shoot into the sun. It saps the contrast out of a shot and washes all the colors out. Another rule is don't try to get backlit shots unless you want a silhouetted foreground or burnt out background. Well here's a photograph that does both--with glorious results. Sunsets, along with puppies and flowers is one of the most derided photo subjects on flickr. In defense of sunsets, though, it's a tough situation to photograph in a creative or interesting way. I love this photo because of its unconventional approach to a tough shot, capturing an amazing warmth.

Instead of sapping the color away, the glow of the sun breathes life into the entire scene. It's beautiful how the grains of sand are lit golden as they drift down into the sunlight. Incidentally, Taigah's real courageous here for getting down for this low angle shot. Sand pretty much hates anything mechanical, cameras especially so. But the angle works well here to fill the frame with not just the subject but the beautifully colored sky. It is not easy to capture nice gradient in the sky at dusk. Here it just looks like it was so easy.

On top of that, the little details work to add to the "story" here. There's that band-aid above the right knee, toughening up our heroine. She's got that handful of sand, grains slipping away into that sunset. I wonder if she's thinking about metaphors as she gazes down at that sand. Credit has to go to Taigah here for exposing for the foreground, affording us a glimpse of a magical moment. I probably would have exposed for the sky, loosing everything but a boring sunset in the distance. The two beach chairs complete the picture. It's great how you can't tell if they're occupied or not. Maybe they're beckoning us to visit Aruba.

Silence

silent, originally uploaded by nacoki.

This one is an old favorite of mine. Looking at this photo, I'm immediately reminded of Wong Kar-Wai's Fallen Angels, one of my all time favorite films. There's one scene with the lead actress shot in extreme wideangle, eating alone in a noodle shop. The camera is right in her face, tightly cropped, emphasizing her aloneness. For me, this photo exudes a similar feeling of coldness, trepidation, and isolation.

The slight blur and high contrast further obscures the figure's features. It's uncertain if she's huddling to escape a draft (that does look like a winter sweater), of if she's lowering her head in sorrow. What is she holding? Well, sometimes photos can play tricks on the viewer. According to the photographer, it's a harmonica! And suddenly the brows are transformed before our eyes to become furrowed. The mouth is blowing a tune. The eyes are closed in concentration.

Any way you look at it, the image is still an emotional one. Things like the framing (the one-thirds rule is not always king) and exposure just serve as icing on this cake.