William Johnson wrote:
> " Tom Paxton at the Freight ", by John Francis.
> [...] Another alternate shot that would be fun
> would be something with a wider lens (100mm??)
> that would show the performer and also enough of
> the club so that we could see the environment of
> the "Freight & Salvage". As it is, there really
> isn't a sense of "place", it could have been taken anywhere.
You're absolutely on point here, Bill. The amount of background and
environment included in a portrait establishes a context, a sense of
time and place, and is often critical in telling a story. Some
portraits require that additional information to make them work
right, others don't require as much information. An example of a
portrait that doesn't need such context is John Hope's portrait of
"Frank". That's a photo that's strong enough - or rather, that
shows a certain character - that additional information could be
distracting and lessen its impact.
If I recall, John had some other shots that he took that night, some
showing other people on the stage.
> My point is that with this good subject, and
> your good low light technique, there is a lot
> of good photos to be made, but I'm not sure
> that any would be better than this. Good Job!
John's not a "people shooter" and his best work, from what I've
seen, centers around picking out a specific subject from a field of
possibilities. While this is sometimes good in motor racing, it's
not always ideal in portraiture (see your comments above). This
could be considered an excellent photograph depending on its
purpose. For example, it could be a good album cover, where there'd
be a fair amount of additional information given about the singer
and the event. It would be a great photo in the context of a photo
essay, where there were other photos that detailed the venue a
little more, and perhaps included some additional musicians and
things going on on stage or in the audience. It's not a bad photo
at all, but, depending on its purpose, it might be better.
--
Shel Belinkoff
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
There are no rules for good photographs,
there are only good photographs.
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