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Phostructor [2013-03-03 13:00:04 +0000 UTC]

Because you posted in Obscured Photos, I started to write a comment that became a full critique. .. and I couldn't find a single fault!

This is a very successful photograph on a number of levels. It engages the viewer in an actual moment of another’s experience in a way that is both visceral and aesthetically pleasing. It feels ‘true’ to life. The following elements all combine to evoke this sense of verité.

The quality of light brings a great deal of detail into the range of exposure - I don’t see any dodging or burning effects. It appears to have been taken in conditions of open shade, or perhaps a cloudy-bright day. A surprising amount of textural information ( for this kind of light) is present, and the most important elements of the image are the brightest and the highest contrast. The bright line of the stitching, and the stitching material still to be threaded form a subtle arrow shape that leads you to the focal point of the entire image: the finger pushing the needle into the shoe. The highlights on the hands emphasize their texture and the prominent tendons that show the effort being made.

You also notice the textures of the clothes he is wearing, which gives us a great deal more information about him. Although they are old, the pants have a distinct crease in each leg. That is consistent with care and attention to detail that we would look for in a craftsman. He wears a sweater, which tells us conditions are a little cool. The sweater also contributes a lovely compositional detail that connect several elements in the image: the little pattern of parallel lines is very important. The energy in the image all plays off of those seven diagonal lines. It would be a good photo without them, but with them it becomes a very good photo.

I could go on at length about the lines, I really could. Suffice it to say that their diagonal and repeating character impart a surprising amount of energy, and are the organizing principle of the picture. Without the lines the tilted composition of the whole thing wouldn’t make as much sense. The placement of the fingers, thread and needle are emphasized by the lines, and note that, if you drew a parallel diagonal line through the needle it would be almost exactly the same distance as the highest line is from the corner of the image. A diagonal line from the top left to bottom right takes your eye from the eye of the shoemaker directly to the fingers and needle, while crossing the lines on the sweater at almost a right angle! The main subject of the image is also placed almost perfectly upon one of the intersections of the rule of thirds lines. That position is emphasized by a six or seven lines that radiate away from that point.

And one last detail of the composition: the wrinkled brow of the cobbler is also echoed by the lines on the sweater!

There is no question that this image would be vastly different in color - is is a classic subject for Black & White. All the formal elements are enhanced, and the tradition of journalism is subtly referenced in a Black & White documentary photograph of this kind. The technique reveals the classic instincts of the photographer - in close with a standard lens gives not only tight cropping, but also a depth of field ideal for the image, with the absolute sharpest point where everything else is pointing to - the needle and hands.

This must be described as ‘photographic’ - there are many elements that could never be evoked as well in any other medium. It is both a classic style of image and at the same time unique and original. This is no lucky shot- it is the result of time spent working at the craft of documentary photography.

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kokinomala [2013-02-18 19:16:32 +0000 UTC]

very intersting capture
i have never see this technique..

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