StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I spent a number of hours practicing Documentary style photography work in the area of the old (former) central bus station in Tel Aviv. An area filled with illegal workers, illegal immigrants, a crumbling economy, sleaze, sex shops, and a 7 level bus station (The new CBS) with each lower level being progressively nastier, to the point that no ones seen the underground levels (and lived) in years.

Tell me what you think, there are some shots here that i'm very proud of, despite it being so different from my usual "taste".

IMG_0133

God this guy made for some good pictures .

IMG_0066

Not as good as some of the others, but I loved the angle and eyes on this pup. (And it led to a lot of photos of the group he was with).

IMG_0093


IMG_0145

I need a sharper lense/Better close-up+Macro.

IMG_0193

Creeepy doll...

IMG_0165

Prices in different currencies .
IMG_0169


IMG_0138


IMG_0177


IMG_0278


IMG_0316

The letters in the background were...strange. This guy was nice, although I couldn't understand what language he could understand.

IMG_0158


IMG_0376

IMG_0387


IMG_0397

Sex club, and owner. (And delivery guy). She started yelling at us a second afterwards .

IMG_0404

Old school. Translate it yourself, yew bastards .

IMG_0412

Sex clubs, peep shows, the area has a wonderful economy .
IMG_0030


IMG_0038

IMG_0429


IMG_0128

Ahuh...

IMG_0130

IMG_0432


Which of these versions is better? Is either good "enough"? (I need to filter).
IMG_0306

IMG_0313


IMG_0112

IMG_0123


a quickr pickr post

I like IMG_0376, IMG_0145, and IMG_0133 the best. IMG_0429 is an interesting wall but the photo itself is dull, and a bit bright. IMG_0038 is not bad, as a photo of an interviewee for a news article or something. IMG_0177 could have benefited from less backlight. IMG_0165 is another potentially okay news-article photo. Good angle on IMG_0193, though I don't think it's much of a documentary photo. I'm not sure how I feel about IMG_0093, and especially whether or not the focus is misplaced. Technically good, but I don't know that it 'says' anything. Between IMG_0306 and IMG_0313, I'd say that I like the exposure and DoF for 0306 better, but the Santa in 0313 distracts a little less from the gentleman whom I presume is the intended subject of the photo. IMG_0432 is kind of neat looking, but the photo itself is relatively sterile - sort of like IMG_0376, but I did like the colors in that one.

I guess that's about it. For some excellent documentary photo reference, look into the work of the photographers of the US Farm Security Administration, which is IMO among the absolute best American documentary photography ever. Also, one thing to keep in mind is that worn, wrinkled old-person faces have become a sort of cliche shorthand for gritty, hard existences. It doesn't invalidate such photos, since those faces are expressive and take lighting well, but if you want to keep your work 'fresh' you should just keep that fact in mind as you shoot.

These are generally technically quite good; you seem to be coming along well and that class seems to be paying off.

If I had any skill with a brush, I'd be asking you if I could use the old girl with the red torsal garment as a study; there is so much detail to the man's face. Bizarrely, I can image him painted by Monet.

tim31 wrote:If I had any skill with a brush, I'd be asking you if I could use the old girl with the red torsal garment as a study; there is so much detail to the man's face. Bizarrely, I can image him painted by Monet.

Old girl? You mean the woman knitting? I have quite a few more image of her from different angles (including portrait style) if you want to practice . Thanks!

Also, as a side comment, it seems that some of my portraits from this series will be used for the next run of the photography course as an example of superb portraits. /Preen