My Ride Home
Posted on 01/08/2011
“I don’t like to pose!” Well that’s what Maria replied when I asked (or is it proposed?) to take some photos of her. But sometimes it’s a good idea to ask again (and again) to get a shooting where photos like this one here are the final result:
Canon EOS60D, Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC, ISO400, F1,8, 1/500s
I met Maria at a Maltese rabbit feast. My friend Edward invited lots of people to this restaurant called, erm, Marleys or so and this cool and pretty gal was sitting in front of me while I (and everyone else) devoured some cuddly tasty little creatures with chips and nice gravy. So I asked if she wanted some photos of herself and she said no a couple times (“I don’t like to pose!”) and then later I made another offer: “Don’t pose, you just listen to music while sitting in a bus and I just take some pics…” And yes, that worked.
Shooting in those buses reminded me a bit to shooting ‘Rundweltmädchen Gesucht!’. We walked around the bus hub in Valetta and Maria asked several bus drivers (politely of course) if we could should in various buses while they were waiting to depart. So in, take a couple pics for a few mins, out. Possible a bit stressful and a bit like filming in those subway cars a couple years ago but it was actually more fun this time around (I’m not not saying that shooting Rundweltmädchen was not fun, but the first subway shoots were the horror).
I like how the picture turned out, apart from one exception. It has sweetness and a nice mood going for it, I like Maria’s expression, I like the light and the composition. Ah and the colors turned out nicely after a bit of editing too. What saddens me though is that I fucked up the focus, it’s just not precisely sharp where it should be. I used a new lens and started to do more manual focussing so some photos on that day didn’t turn out as perfectly as I wanted them to 
Ok, enough self-tormentment, in the end it is a nice learning opportunity and still a very nice photo of a very nice person (and it’s also not like every Bresson pic was tac sharp either).
And yes, there are other versions, all with different framing, of that picture.
So which one do you guys prefer? And what do you think of the colors? Do you mind the slightly off focus?
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Das unterste gefällt mir am besten, da ist das Framing am besten (beim obersten zieht die große Rotfläche das Bild zu schwer nach unten; die engeren haben zu wenig Luft). Ist ein nettes Bild, mir allerdings zu sehr Lifestyle-Magazin. Wird mir da ein iPod oder ein Lebensgefühl verkauft?
Hm, zieht das Rot nach unten oder erdet es das Ganze? Das mit dem zu wenig Luft bei den anderen Motiven kann ich aber defintiv nachvollziehen. Das letzte gefällt mir aber auch, klar auf die Dame bezogen. Lifestyle Magazin? Hm, vielleicht, ausserdem weisst du doch das jedes Apple Produkt quasi ein Lebensgefühl in purer Verkörperung ist (hat mir der Steve in einer gemeinsamen Plauderrunde erzählt)
Naja, das Rot ist die schwerste Farbe und die Fläche ist halt wirklich sehr groß.
Das Redesign hat jetzt die Anordnung natürlich etwas geändert – mein Favorit wäre #2, da ist diese Fläche einfach nicht so groß und es ist aber trotzdem Luft um das Motiv. Vermutlich habe ich eh an iPod gedacht, weil da immer so lifestyle-ig getan wird – und ich mag das nicht so, wenn Bilder so unterschwellig an mir zerren.
i like the first version where you can see more of the red seat. and i don’t think the focus is a bad thing. makes it more interesting. very nice picture
Hey Fabian,
thanks for the comment. Yeah I guess that one stays my favorite. Maria prefers the tilted one (Nr. 4) for example.