Saturday, September 13, 2008

Dilemma

Tonight, I photographed a demonstration and candle light vigil held by district custodial workers whose jobs are being threatened by privatization. There is something I like about both of these pictures. Each for different reasons. I'm putting them both up on my blog hoping you all will give me your opinion. Which do you like better? Why? Also, please feel free to say if you don't like either....

Thanks. :)


7 comments:

lackofintellect said...

I love the cigarette in the first, but I really love the light in the second, I vote second.

Barb said...

I vote for the 2nd ~ I love the way it shows the "weathering" in the mans face ~ definitely a man who has worked hard all his life.

Jakob Schiller said...

I second what Josh said, love the cigarette, but have to go with #2. The moment on his face, the light, the low depth, all really nice. Sign shots are hard and you made it work.

Charissa said...

I'll take door number 2, for all of the reasons stated above. I love the way the light and the lines in the man's face play off each other.

Michael said...

Maybe I'm just being contrary, but I think I actually like No. 1 more. I think the silhouette of the guy in the cowboy hat against the gray sky is graphically more striking. Is it full frame? I like his position in the bottom corner, but I think I would have left in more sky above and in front of him. I think that would add impact, especially if he was alone or there were few people protesting. That lonely, anonymous feeling is much more unsettling and powerful. Maybe that says more about me than it does your photo:)

tspinski@gmail.com said...

This is a really tough choice. Initially I was leaning towards the the second one. But after stewing for a bit, I vote for the first one. I like the composition better. The hat and cigarette elements are more profound. Also, the select focus on the second one kind of bothers me. While I love the light on his face, I also kind of feel like he's trying not to look at you. #2 seems more natural.

Lexey said...

Thank you for all of the opinions. I think that the second one is an easy pick. The light is beautiful and the lines in his face definitely say something about him.

But, I've been leaning toward the first. I think the body language is good and the cigarette helps tell a story about who he is. I also like the subtle catch light in his eye.

Also, I agree with Tristan that I don't feel ME in the first photo. And in the second, I do, a little.

To answer your question Michael: They are both full frame photos. There were about 100 people there for the protest. We didn't run these in the paper, we used one that showed more of the crowd to tell the story better. I just happened to like these.