Response to People in Life (Response #44)

Uploaded 321 Days Ago by King - - 15 comments

Photo © King (Here at the End, Farewell!) - www.kingdouglas.com/
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User Comments

flipthom said 321 days ago:

This is a nice capture. I might've cropped off the person on the far right to put more emphasis on the others. Overall, nice capture and very relevant.

Ana said 321 days ago:

I wish it were a bit brighter. nice shot.

King said 321 days ago:

@flipthom & Ana,

Thanks for your comments

This was shot in a rehearsal hall in a theater in Beijing, China in 1980 (sorry, Ana). It was very dark in the room. I included the girl on the far right partly to emphasize how dark it was--the right side of the photo was actually lightened--and partly to emphasize the receding perspective.

On my recently calibrated LaCie monitor, this deliberately low key image is not too dark. However, the dancers' black leotards don't have any visible tone (nor is there much density on the b/w 35mm negative). I decided I could live with that.

King said 321 days ago:

@flipthom & Ana,

Thanks for your comments

koknia said 321 days ago:

great shot

mtmartini said 321 days ago:

Perfect shot for this theme - A King image I am certain.

Saxi said 321 days ago:

perfect - one of my favorites!

Beamer said 321 days ago:

For me...this choice of composition diminishes the best part of the scene, the teacher and the group of girls near her. The whole foreground is distracting. My eye wants to see the farther scene closer with more detail.

The lighting is very nice and the tonal range is great.

King said 321 days ago:

Hey, Beamer, thanks for your comments.
We can disagree at last! Forget the people and look at the shapes, the light and dark areas. The point of focus is 1/3 into the scene, the best place for maximum depth of field, given shooting wide open in very low light.

Given that, this shot is not about the teacher.

King said 321 days ago:

@koknia, mtmartini and Saxi,

Thanks very much!

Beamer said 321 days ago:

I agree this shot is not about the teacher. My unfettered imagination just wants it to be...

King said 321 days ago:

For the ratings aficionados, with 13 ratings:

* Relevance: 3.71
* Impact: 3.50
* Composition: 3.43
* Technique: 3.71
* Quality: 3.77
* Overall: 3.624

ArneG said 320 days ago:

Superb

pete said 320 days ago:

china in the 80s.. that must have been an experience!

King said 318 days ago:

@ArneG...thanks very much

@pete...It was a fantastic experience. I am astounded by how much China has changed since I visited Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzho for three weeks in 1980. Now that American Airlines flies there, I'm planning a return trip with my wife.

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