Response to Negative Space (Response #4)

Uploaded 560 Days Ago by SeekingFocus - 7 comments

Photo © SeekingFocus (Jason Langley) - www.seekingfocus.com
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User Comments

Ana said 560 days ago:

To me, there isn't enough negative space. Seems quite busy, honestly.

luminouslens said 560 days ago:

What I really like about this photo is the strong sense of place (obviously SF) and of being in the car myself. I like your use of a silhouette in the foreground. I don't really find much negative space however, but maybe I am defining it too narrowly?

Also, since the second element after the silhouetted person is the scene out the window, it would be nice if it were not washed out at the horizon. It would be worth running this through PS and seeing if you can bring back some detail there.

kadenajack said 560 days ago:

I see how leaving the person in the foreground adds to the context of the shot, ie. looking out the window at the passing city streets. However, rather than effective use of negative space, I just find it distracting. This may just be my interpretation, but I think negative space should enhance the focus on the main subject and I feel the opposite here.

On the other hand, if you're trying to create tension, like the kind you get when the tour guide points out something on the opposite side of the bus from where you're sitting, then you've accomplished your goal. I really want to see past the window sitter so I can see the city better.

uncommondepth said 560 days ago:

Really nice concept, but I would have wanted to see it better exposed for the background, allowing the person framing the scene to be completely blacked out. As it is a portion of the hand has color. I think I also would have liked this better if the foreground focus wasn't so soft.

King said 560 days ago:

Now that's negative space! Straight 5's. Congratulations.

King said 560 days ago:

Didn't know it was you, honest. See my thread on Negative Space on the WS Google group. I wasn't kidding about the straight 5's.

SeekingFocus said 560 days ago:

King,

Thanks for your comments here, and more importantly I appreciate your thoughts about the negative space theme in the Google Group. I agree with you greatly that negative space shouldn't just be 'empty' space in an image, but rather selectively using empty space to the advantage of the image.

Thanks for your high ratings, but unfortunately relevance was my lowest score here (a measly 2.01), so apparently others did not appreciate my use of negative space as actually comprising part of the image.

@uncommondepth and luminouslens

I agree with your comments about the washed out horizon, but this was a one-shot deal... I do like the soft focus in the foreground and wouldn't change that if I had this one to do over again. Thanks for the comments!

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