Alley Way, Edgewater, New Jersey, 11.18.2016

José Angel Santana

José Angel Santana

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Any comments about tonality and processing would be appreciated.

_B180037_03.jpg
Olympus EM-10 II
OLYMPUS M.17mm, F2.0, 1/20, ISO 2500

Thanks,
José
 
The first thing to catch my eye is that the wall is falling to the left and could do with correcting unless it was like that. Doing this may well alter the balance of your picture.

Norman
 
I don't do much or even any street photography Jose but I would have preferred this shot to be closer into the subjects, tonally it works for me though,
Regards,
Alan
 
Thank you, Alan. Yes, I know what you mean. Closer is better. I'm trying to work out toning and processing. And, I'm giving myself some challenging
pictures to deal with. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.
 
Jose, in my book processing includes making sure that verticals are vertical and horizons are horizontal. As for tonality, a lot depends on the story you are trying to relate, perhaps you could clarify that a little.

Norman
 
Thank you, Norman. I appreciate your perspective. I guess I've been influenced a great deal by Garry Winogrand:

https://www.google.com/search?q=gar...9tw-ioSCYN8-H7qdJm5ERdUX6czMgCz&tbo=u#imgrc=_

Sorry for the humongous link, but it may be worth a look to see another perspective on horizontals and verticals.

Norman said:
the story
Click to expand...

beginning: homeless man (down/lower on his luck) sees me from afar; middle: Chinese man does not see me at all; end: the wall and its symbols sees everything. What are the symbols saying?

Thank you, Norman. You ALWAYS help me think.
Jose
 
There are other questions, José, what is the other side of the glass fronted door, how do I tell that the man at the far end is homeless and that the other man is Chinese? What the wall sees is a rather bleak outlook.

Norman
 
I see. Yes, if those things are not clear to you Norman, then that's not the story. It's the story of what I see in this ally no more no less.

I posted it with the thought that I'm trying some things in the area of the tonal spectrum from black, thru grey, to white. Like a test pattern. But if you ask me what's the story. It's the story of what I see in this alley.

Thanks,
Jose
 
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I think its a great picture, the surroundings tell a story to some extent, the interaction of the two people thought provoking, I also don't think (not been awkward Norman) that straight angles mean a lot with this type of photography, you have remained honest to the capture were you have to be quick to capture a split second, the only grip is the central part of the wall is a little to white needs burning down a touch, these new edits so far Jos'e are worlds apart from when you first started posting, meaning that in a good way far less digitized and erring more the graphic film look.
 
Martin Henson said:
the only grip is the central part of the wall is a little to white needs burning down a touch, these new edits so far Jos'e are worlds apart from when you first started posting
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Thanks for this feedback Martin.

With time to reflect while my computer was on the mend, I thought that I needed to focus my attention on what brought me here in the first place, which was the great usefulness and informativeness of your YouTube video about Smart Object based/Adjustment layers. Also, I realized that there is a bit more to optimizing a picture in color for B&W conversion in Photoshop.

Before, I simply brought the Highlights all the way down, the Shadows all the way up, set the white point, set the black point, maybe some noise reduction, fix chromatic aberration, level the image (for Norman :) ), then open it up from ACR into Photoshop and proceed with the B&W conversion.

The main change that I'm making is in doing some more detailed color separation, and adjustment to the colors in ACR, then using the Vibrancy slider in ACR to boost it all, then going into Photoshop. I remember one when I posted an original color version of a picture, someone saying it wasn't a very good color version, which was intentional at that time. Now I'm realizing the I can optimize the picture a bit better in color in ACR before bringing it into Photoshop.

I still have a long ways to go, and especially as, I soon hope to start printing in a bit more serious way. So yes, Martin your feedback and guidance is very appreciated.

I still do wonder what Norman, you might think of the Winogrand pictures as they violate most everyone's sense of horizontal and vertical norms. I also realize he might not be everyone's cup of tea. The drama and spontaneity of his work is what I admire.

Thanks guys,
Jose
 
Martin Henson said:
I think its a great picture, the surroundings tell a story to some extent, the interaction of the two people thought provoking, I also don't think (not been awkward Norman) that straight angles mean a lot with this type of photography, you have remained honest to the capture were you have to be quick to capture a split second, the only grip is the central part of the wall is a little to white needs burning down a touch, these new edits so far Jos'e are worlds apart from when you first started posting, meaning that in a good way far less digitized and erring more the graphic film look.
Click to expand...

I could not agree more, Martin has pretty much nailed my thoughts. For this type of image I think not having horizontals and verticals true to the x-y axis adds a touch of reality and spontaneity to an image. When I look at a lot of modern "street" images with corrected alignment they fall far behind with impact and honesty those street images of yesterday which were processed just as they were taken. As far as I am concerned, the image content will always outscore little editing deficiencies.
Keep up the good work Jose.
 
I have looked at the Garry Winogrand pictures and I can see how you may have been influenced by some of his work. The impression I have is that his deviation from the vertical and or horizontal is deliberate and for effect and not an aberration or accidental misalignment. I am all in favour of doing something different from the normally accepted requirements of alignment provided it is done for an artistic reason.

Norman
 
Tommy said:
When I look at a lot of modern "street" images with corrected alignment they fall far behind with impact and honesty those street images of yesterday which were processed just as they were taken
Click to expand...

Thanks for looking and your feedback Tommy. About what you wrote quoted above, there is a wonderful book about Diane Arbus (Diane Arbus: Revelations) in which there is a discussion about how she took great pains to use a specific development method and also to secure adequate supply of a specific paper. But, she also made a point of leaving in all manner of "blemishes" in the originals on purpose and this became one her signature/trademark aspects of her pictures, that their "authenticity" was due to how only she would allow these "flaws" to remain in the picture. It spoke of how she would do virtually no retouching of her pictures. Great care in the development & printing, but according to this essay no retouching. Hard to believe.

I thought it intriguing that leaving in what others would consider flaws, how that became part of her signature style that communicate an "honesty" about the photography. Today, when a pictures "honesty" can be in such serious question, given the power of digital tools, it's something for me to think about.

Thanks again, Tommy, and for he encouragement!

Norman said:
I am all in favour of doing something different from the normally accepted requirements of alignment provided it is done for an artistic reason.
Click to expand...

I agree Norman, and I think Martin has expressed it very well:

Martin Henson said:
you have remained honest to the capture were you have to be quick to capture a split second,
Click to expand...

A large part of the "artistry" in this type of photography has to do with seeing and grabbing something ephemera, like the position of a butterfly and those who like it appreciate this kind of thing, others do not at all. Who knows?

Thanks Norman!
 
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