Christmas Market

[Gordon Armstrong]

A wet night at Albert Square.

christmas market forum.jpg (312.14 KiB) Viewed 8809 times

[John]

That is fantastic Gordon. Love that colour, especially with all those wet reflections.

[al c field]

I also like the reflections from wet ground and the main subject
Alasdair c field

[Phil Jones]

That's really good Gordon.
I especially like that you've managed to capture the photo with not too many people around or the traffic being nose to tail as I know usually happens at that spot.

Regards,

Phil.

[Paul Jones]

I'm going to put on my Simon Cowell mask and disagree with the others, sorry. But hopefully in a constructive way to make you think more about the image.

It's a colourful image but lacking in interesting content, for me... You have a couple looking quizically at the camera... peoples' backs... two random cars... a traffic cone... brightly lit market stalls partly obscured by traffic lights and signposts...

I appreciate it's a hard scene to photograph. Maybe you could have waited until the couple had walked on out of the photo? Or at least that they weren't looking directly at the camera? That's the real killer for me, the best 'street photography' is where people don't know they're being photographed. Cartier-Bresson?

Maybe you could have gone closer and captured more of the atmosphere of the market stalls?

Anyway, just my opinion given in the spirit that it's better to get a range of opinions than none at all.

[Gordon Armstrong]

Thanks for the comments. I have had a busy week which is why it has taken a while to respond.

Paul, I hope that you have cheered up a bit since last Tuesday, that was two grumpy posts within minutes
I am very grateful that you took the trouble to critique my image but I would like to add my comments.

The image is busy and there are people but that is part of the Christmas market experience. The traffic cone is a fact of life - it was marking some electrical works and I don't think I would have been popular if I moved it. I agree that there are many potential closer images as part of a set of market shots but this is also a valid wider image. The shot in my head was to capture the colours and the reflections in the wet road. It would have been nice if the city fathers had put the Albert memorial in a different place so that it didn't obscure Santa but what can you do.

I like the three bands of colour -red green and blue on the town hall walls, bright yellow lighting in the stalls and coloured reflections in the pavement. I did pause to let the couple walk out of the centre and didn't register that they had looked at me as I pressed the shutter. I don't have a problem with them engaging with the camera as I think it provides a focal point (perhaps they should be slightly brighter). I wasn't aware of the rule that people shouldn't be looking at the camera in street photography (is that in the Dummies guide to judging?? ).

I don't think that this is the best shot in the world but I like it. I have moved over to Fuji and I am really enjoying the way they handle colours.

Happy to disagree and I am enjoying discussing the pros and cons. Can we do it again some time??

By the way I like your photo of Simon Cowell but doesn't the judging book say that you shouldn't cut heads in half at the edges.


All the best

Gordon

[Paul Jones]

Paul, I hope that you have cheered up a bit since last Tuesday, that was two grumpy posts within minutes

For the record, neither post was 'grumpy' - just expressing a different point of view.

I don't think that this is the best shot in the world but I like it.

And that's fine.