Re: PAW - That Darn Ball!
Time to play catch up on my paw viewing.:-) Nice shot Shel. I love the boys expression and wide eyes. The clotthes in the background really helps break up the brighht sky. 'Nother one well done. Dave > It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from > the old neighborhood in San Francisco. > > http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html > > As always, comments, criticisms, and the tossing of tomatoes are welcome. > > Shel Belinkoff > >
Re: PAW - That Darn Ball!
Hello Shel, I like this a lot. The expression on his face is priceless. I was nowhere back in 1969, but it still reminds me of my childhood. You made me smile:) A boy with a ball is timeless I think. We played football wherever we could; in the street, parks, yards, etc. Oh, just as I write it I realize that is soccer for you:) Attila Saturday, May 15, 2004, 2:32:27 PM, you wrote: SB> It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from SB> the old neighborhood in San Francisco. SB> http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html SB> As always, comments, criticisms, and the tossing of tomatoes are welcome. SB> Shel Belinkoff
Re: PAW - That Darn Ball!
Absolutely fantastic! Norm Shel Belinkoff wrote: It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from the old neighborhood in San Francisco. http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html
RE: PAW - That Darn Ball!
Just a quick comment, Frank ... I was using the new version of PS here, and fiddling with a new tool, the Highlight/Shadows tool. It was the first using it and I hadn't a clue as to what I was doing. Too damned technical for me to pick right up on it. And then, after I posted the pic, I discovered that all the adjustments were made on a monitor that was way out of calibration - it had been set to 1/2 the contrast ratio of the normal calibration. Well, it's up, and I'm zonked - been up all night - too much coffee, too interested in the new PS, yadayadayada - and I'm not gonna change it now. I love this pic, too and maybe you can tell from some of the others I've posted, that I loved those kids and the neighborhood as well. One of the things that makes these pics work is an old and oft repeated but frequently ignored aspect of photography: know your subject. Here I lived with these kids, we shared the 'hood, saw each other every day. Much different than hitting the streets to "see what you can find." I like this one for the reasons you like it ... all the elements clearly describe where this kid is from, where he lives, and, to an extent, how he lives. The clothes lines did it for me, too, as did the pants hanging on a line over his shoulder. Thanks for your kind and effusive comments. Shel Belinkoff > [Original Message] > From: frank theriault <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Date: 5/15/2004 5:57:15 AM > Subject: RE: PAW - That Darn Ball! > > Shel, > > Stop it, you're killing me! > > Where to start? Well, first off (and I know I've mentioned this at least > once in relation to others in this series), it's so timeless! Wearing jeans > and a sweatshirt, this kid could be from any era in the last 50 or 60 years! > There are no other time cues in this photo that tell us when it was taken. > It's a photo of Youth. Kids are kids, and they never change their > essence. > > Well, maybe one thing's changed: these days, do kids still go out and play > with balls? I guess they do, but unfortunately they're more likely to be > seen in front of a screen playing the latest Jet Li computer game, making > blood spurt all over the inside of a computer, but I digress... > > What else? Well this is probably because you're always on me about details > and about exposure, but I notice how well the exposure works here. When it > was loading, I was thinking, "wow, that background is way overblown". But, > once it was all loaded, and the details emerged, I could see some texture to > the clouds, the nice sharp clotheslines, and thought, "well, it's bright to > be sure, but it's what it ~should be~. Great job of exposure!! > > Framing is remarkable! The angle of the buildings (tenements?) on the > right, the shape of the pavement playground (how inner city is that?) the > fence in the background, the clothesline (there's that clothesline again!), > they all draw us into the child, yet they tell us the story about where he > is, and what environment he's from. > > Two more things (because I have to stop sometime): > > The expression is priceless. Sort of shy, but with a hint of anticipation, > it's as if he's asking someone, "will you catch my ball, huh, will you?" > It's so childlike (in a good way, of course). > > Second (again), I love that clothesline! I don't know why, but it evokes > something in me. As I said before, it frames beautifully, but it also says > "inner city" so well. I mean, I know folks have clotheslines in the > country, but the lines going from building to building like that are so > typical of crowded inner cities. They're almost a link from apartment to > apartment. Makes me recall my mother, hanging off our balcony, hanging the > clothes, while the neighbour did the same thing, all the while chatting > (more like yelling, gossiping very loudly ) between themselves, and then > ending up going to the other's kitchen for a coffee afterwards. A type of > socializing that seems not to happen so much when people live in single > family homes on huge lots in the 'burbs. > > Sorry to have gone on so, but it's a great photo, and it really touched an > emotional nerve with me (which is what great photos are supposed to do). > > cheers, > frank > > "The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist > fears it is true." -J. Robert Oppenheimer > > > > > >From: "Shel Belinkoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Subject: PAW - That Darn
Re: PAW - That Darn Ball!
Hi! SB> It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from SB> the old neighborhood in San Francisco. SB> http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html SB> As always, comments, criticisms, and the tossing of tomatoes are welcome. Shel, I suppose this one is just perfect. All I want to do is see it printed big so that I would be able to sit in front of it and dwell in my memories. The more I look at it the more precise I find the framing. The contrast between boy's cloth tone and tone of buildings on the back, the pants, everything. It just works! Boris ([EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED])
RE: PAW - That Darn Ball!
What you're seeing on the lad's face is a skin condition. It is on numerous other photos of him. I usually touch those up but decided to let it pass last night as i was learning a new program and some new techniques. The photo is framed exactly the way i wanted it framed. There's a relationship between the boy and the clothes line that is important to the photo, as it's part of the story, as are the pants hanging from another line. Framing the kid with nothing but empty space behind him is not the photo I wanted. It would say little or nothing about his environment, of which he's a part. Thanks for your comments. Shel Belinkoff > [Original Message] > From: Shawn K. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > It's a very good shot and there really isn't much to criticize. The worst I > can come up with is that the texture of the boys face seems to be somewhat > un-resolved but I can't tell if this is from jpeg compression or what, > that's what jumps out at me. Of course, I've been looking at those 8x10 > portraits someone posted so maybe it's not fair. Anyhow, my first > impression of a fault was that there was a slight lack of resolution > probably stemming from the jpeg file. Other than that you probably should > have completely excluded the small portion of the building to the left or > included more of it. I would go for complete exclusion, since I find the > bright sky to have an interesting effect in this photo. What would have > been better perhaps would have been to move to your right and frame the boy > completely in the empty space behind him. Just a step to your right and > being sure to avoid the building to the left of course.
RE: PAW - That Darn Ball!
It's a very good shot and there really isn't much to criticize. The worst I can come up with is that the texture of the boys face seems to be somewhat un-resolved but I can't tell if this is from jpeg compression or what, that's what jumps out at me. Of course, I've been looking at those 8x10 portraits someone posted so maybe it's not fair. Anyhow, my first impression of a fault was that there was a slight lack of resolution probably stemming from the jpeg file. Other than that you probably should have completely excluded the small portion of the building to the left or included more of it. I would go for complete exclusion, since I find the bright sky to have an interesting effect in this photo. What would have been better perhaps would have been to move to your right and frame the boy completely in the empty space behind him. Just a step to your right and being sure to avoid the building to the left of course. -Shawn -Original Message- From: Shel Belinkoff [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 7:32 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: PAW - That Darn Ball! It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from the old neighborhood in San Francisco. http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html As always, comments, criticisms, and the tossing of tomatoes are welcome. Shel Belinkoff
Re: PAW - That Darn Ball!
It's great, although the ex-boy in question might not appreciate it quite as much ;-) I'm trying to decide whether or not a slight crop on the left-hand side would make it better or worse, but I can't. So I think I'll just stick to saying that it's a great photo. :-) S Shel Belinkoff wrote: It's that ball again ... it's appeared in so many photos of the kids from the old neighborhood in San Francisco. http://home.earthlink.net/~scbelinkoff/paw/boy_with_ball.html As always, comments, criticisms, and the tossing of tomatoes are welcome. Shel Belinkoff
