# Red Haired Woman With a Cigarette



## sashbar (Oct 10, 2013)

The title was changed by popular demand to:
*"The Poor Street Performer With The Blue Trolley Totally Ignored By the Red Haired Woman With The Blue Bag, Despite Covering Himself In Gold And Hovering In The Air". *;-)


View attachment 57834


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## Warhorse (Oct 10, 2013)

Indeed it is.


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## sashbar (Oct 10, 2013)

see below


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## sashbar (Oct 10, 2013)

Warhorse said:


> Indeed it is.



I am not lying. She also has a blue bag. Just every inch as blue as the one in the corner.  

And the yellow tetragons patterns correspond with his and her projected movements/positions. 

Clever, innit :waiting:


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## limr (Oct 10, 2013)

I'm still trying to figure out what he's sitting on.


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## sashbar (Oct 10, 2013)

limr said:


> I'm still trying to figure out what he's sitting on.



He is sitting on his stick. It is a metal construction hidden in his sleeve and the lower part of it is under the carpet. It creates an illusion of hanging in the air.


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## limr (Oct 10, 2013)

Aha! I knew there had to be something in the suit connected to the stick, but since the carpet isn't in the frame, I couldn't figure out how it was anchored.

The Old World sure does love its metallic-painted street performers  He kind of steals the shot away from the woman, but the woman is needed for the 'story' - he's obviously trying to get attention but not getting any from her.


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## Warhorse (Oct 10, 2013)

sashbar said:


> Warhorse said:
> 
> 
> > Indeed it is.
> ...



Sorry...I just do not "get" it


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

limr said:


> Aha! I knew there had to be something in the suit connected to the stick, but since the carpet isn't in the frame, I couldn't figure out how it was anchored.
> 
> The Old World sure does love its metallic-painted street performers  He kind of steals the shot away from the woman, but the woman is needed for the 'story' - he's obviously trying to get attention but not getting any from her.



Yes, this is exactly the story.  But I like the formal ingredients here - the symmetry, the contrast in movement and those yellow patterns, that look like radiating from her and his head in different directions. It sort of shows that they are on different  wave length.


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## peter27 (Oct 11, 2013)

For me, there are too many elements competing with each other for it to tell a coherent story. Sorry.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

peter27 said:


> For me, there are too many elements competing with each other for it to tell a coherent story. Sorry.



Too many elements ? :shock:  For a street photo? There are very few elements here and most are working for the story.. I really do not understand what do you mean..


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## peter27 (Oct 11, 2013)

sashbar said:


> peter27 said:
> 
> 
> > For me, there are too many elements competing with each other for it to tell a coherent story. Sorry.
> ...



Ok, so there's the mime artist, a trolley, the fire hydrant or bollard (I can't tell), the shop windows (one with strong lights and people in it, the other with a colourful sign and a half reflection of a brick wall, car and company name from across the street). I also think the composition isn't the best I've seen from you. 

All in all a bit of a jumble. Sorry! I'm not saying I could do better, but, from what I've seen of what you've previously posted, I know you can.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

peter27 said:


> sashbar said:
> 
> 
> > peter27 said:
> ...



OK. Let us look at it closely.

The mime artist: he is the part of the story obviously.  Do not let the title fool you - this is not a portrait of a woman.
The trolley/black post: yes, i see what you mean, it does not look tidy at all. I thought about cloning it out, it s easy. But! It gives the image the needed balance, there is a visual triangle that makes it stable. And the trolley loooks like a cheap version of the woman's bag, which is funny.
The Windows: I see no problem here - it is almost symmetrical, breaks the otherwise boring wall and the fact that the right window is slightly larger that the left one, again, balances the mime guy. ( And BTW it is not windows - it is the Apple store :mrgreen:
The people in the shop: mmm..yes.. you are maybe right, I did not think about. Probably worth darkening a bit to hide the people and all that clutter... Or maybe not. I am on the fence here..
The yellow lights/colorful signs: these are very important here. Basicaly THAT is what the image is about. Look at them as the thought waves , projected right from the heads of two people here. They are on different planes, underlining the fact that these two people are both here and at the same time they are in diffrent worlds. Let me explain:




So we have the projected movements /positions underlined with these yellow patterns ( just look at these yellow lines/signs and imagine what these guys are thinking  ) , we have the balance, we have the contrast between the stiil and moving subjects. We have a strong yellow/blue color scheme. 
 I think it is not that bad after all.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

I have darkened the windows


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## Forkie (Oct 11, 2013)

You could start your own street performance in Covent Garden getting blood out of stones.  

As other people have said, you have posted much better images here with at least what appears to be good, considered composition and interesting subjects.  This one, I'm afraid, just looks like a snapshot.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

Forkie said:


> You could start your own street performance in Covent Garden getting blood out of stones.
> 
> As other people have said, you have posted much better images here with at least what appears to be good, considered composition and interesting subjects.  This one, I'm afraid, just looks like a snapshot.



Thanks for your comment with at least what appears to be a compliment :mrgreen:


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## amolitor (Oct 11, 2013)

Drawing a bunch of lines on a picture doesn't make it awesome.

This is a cute scene, and a nice bit of commentary perhaps. The oddity of the street performer's pose conflicts with the woman with the cigarette and splits our attention in unappealing ways, and nothing else in the frame is really contributing either interest of visual balance. With the possible exception of the large backlit(?) sign visible in the window on the right side. I find it interesting to look at, but a bit of a jumble.

Street is very very hard, and I think this was a good attempt, but I don't think it really works.


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## runnah (Oct 11, 2013)

As the late great Kenny Rogers once said, "Here, taste this chicken". 

He also said, "you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em".


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## Braineack (Oct 11, 2013)

I feel like I'd prefer to see the street performer in perfect focus and a long shutter of the personal walking by...


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## amolitor (Oct 11, 2013)

The main thing that's lacking, as far as I can tell, is any kind of connection implied or otherwise between the woman and the performer. That's apart from the basically disorganized nature of the frame.


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## rlemert (Oct 11, 2013)

For what it's worth, this picture did capture my attention and interest right away. After going through the other comments, though, I went back and took a deeper look - and also looked at your modified version with the darker windows. I do agree that darkening the windows removes some of the clutter and improves the overall impression, but I still think this is a very interesting picture.

(I guess I'm just saying that you're not alone in your madness  )


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

amolitor said:


> Drawing a bunch of lines on a picture doesn't make it awesome.
> 
> This is a cute scene, and a nice bit of commentary perhaps. The oddity of the street performer's pose conflicts with the woman with the cigarette and splits our attention in unappealing ways, and nothing else in the frame is really contributing either interest of visual balance. With the possible exception of the large backlit(?) sign visible in the window on the right side. I find it interesting to look at, but a bit of a jumble.
> 
> Street is very very hard, and I think this was a good attempt, but I don't think it really works.



Thank you for your comment, amolitor! As always, appreciated.  
Regarding the lines - analysing the picture helps me to understand why exactly do I like some pictures and why I do not like them. It is a learning prosess, and I find it very helpful.  Especially when others bother to give a detailed critique and make me defense my positions. 
Some might think that I am just trying to prove that my picture is great. Not at all. In the end I will reevaluate and draw my conclusions about this kind of a setup, make no mistake about it.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

runnah said:


> As the late great Kenny Rogers once said, "Here, taste this chicken".
> 
> He also said, "you got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em".




Great, great song runnah. Thank you for that. 
But as a gambler in the past myself I can tell you that the biggest mistake is not to hold'em or fold'em. The biggest mistake of them all is to take a seat at the wrong table.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

rlemert said:


> For what it's worth, this picture did capture my attention and interest right away. After going through the other comments, though, I went back and took a deeper look - and also looked at your modified version with the darker windows. I do agree that darkening the windows removes some of the clutter and improves the overall impression, but I still think this is a very interesting picture.
> 
> (I guess I'm just saying that you're not alone in your madness  )



Thanks you, much appreciated.  Two mad guys in one place is already something


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## amolitor (Oct 11, 2013)

My remark about drawing lines was kind of bitchy, and I apologize for it.

Your process is yours, and not mine, but I did not find that your lines made much sense. They felt kind of like searching to find sense after the picture was made. But, it's not my process, and they're not my lines.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

amolitor said:


> My remark about drawing lines was kind of bitchy, and I apologize for it.
> 
> Your process is yours, and not mine, but I did not find that your lines made much sense. They felt kind of like searching to find sense after the picture was made. But, it's not my process, and they're not my lines.



Not a problem at all. We all see things differently.  I did not construct the frame with these yellow "radiations" in mind, that would be way too clever for my level. But I was immediately struck when I saw it on the screen - this yellow stuff is radiating from their heads  - they are like empty cartoon bubbles which you can fill with your own words or thoughts.. his is like "oh, another one is passing by" and hers is a bit more imaginative   Pity others do not see it this way, but to me it is a fun picture.  But I will think about - why it does not have a desired affect.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

Braineack said:


> I feel like I'd prefer to see the street performer in perfect focus and a long shutter of the personal walking by...



Probably. I am not sure.


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## DiskoJoe (Oct 11, 2013)

sashbar said:


> Warhorse said:
> 
> 
> > Indeed it is.
> ...



She is not the most interesting thing in this photo. Obviously its the gold guy there hovering somehow. Why did you title the photo for the boring lady walking past?


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## DiskoJoe (Oct 11, 2013)

runnah said:


> As the late great Kenny Rogers once said, "Here, taste this chicken".



Ummmm, chicken.


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## DiskoJoe (Oct 11, 2013)

sashbar said:


> Braineack said:
> 
> 
> > I feel like I'd prefer to see the street performer in perfect focus and a long shutter of the personal walking by...
> ...



Now that would have been a awesome shot.


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## sashbar (Oct 11, 2013)

DiskoJoe said:


> She is not the most interesting thing in this photo. Obviously its the gold guy there hovering somehow. Why did you title the photo for the boring lady walking past?



This is just a title, it means nothing. As I mentioned earlier this is NOT the portrait of a woman.


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## DanOstergren (Oct 11, 2013)

I'm not a fan of the shot either. My eyes dart all over the place rather than being able to find a focus point to begin with and then smoothly transition through the rest of the photo. 
I do understand though that you have your reasons for liking it because it's your own shot and you were there to witness the moment. Often times I am in the same position of really liking and understanding one of my own photos but no one else see's it the way I do. At least in this instance people apologize to you after you defend your shot; that I've noticed is a BIG rarity in this forum.


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## vintagesnaps (Oct 11, 2013)

With the number of different things to look at I feel like there could almost be two potential photos in this scene - the woman with the blue bag and the bag in the foreground with the window to the right might have made for one photo, and the performer with the pattern of lights in the window could have potentially been another photograph. Or just the street performer could have been an interesting subject with the gold metallic color and appearing to float in the air.


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## DiskoJoe (Oct 11, 2013)

sashbar said:


> DiskoJoe said:
> 
> 
> > She is not the most interesting thing in this photo. Obviously its the gold guy there hovering somehow. Why did you title the photo for the boring lady walking past?
> ...



Now youre just ranting. Titles mean a lot. It implies the focus of the scene. How is that not an implortant aspect. Had this been entitled "Gold man hovering" the entire flow of this thread would be completely different.


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## sashbar (Oct 12, 2013)

DiskoJoe said:


> sashbar said:
> 
> 
> > DiskoJoe said:
> ...



I am glad you liked the Golden Man. But as I mentioned not once already, it is not the portrait of a street performer. He is out of focus and the angle is not interesting for his portrait. I took several shots of this guy from much better angles and I can tell you - I am not interested in a shot of a street performer. I am interested in the interaction of a performer with other people. And I find an image of a performer totally ignored by the crowd to be more interesting than the of a guy who draws their attention. But you can rarely see a performer totally ignored, there is always someone in the crowd who is interested. So I took this angle where I can get at least some order in the frame and isolate one or two pedestrians. This shot was met with some mixed responses that gave me some good food for thought. Just a shot of a street performer with no attempt to put at least some story and some meaning is not worth it in my book,  I leave it for tourists.


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## fotofinish (Oct 12, 2013)

Well, I can see all the criticisms but i still like the photo which is not too busy for me. The title IS the main distraction and that is easily fixed. If the photo could be better, the  red-haired woman could subsume a larger proportion of the frame.


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## sashbar (Oct 12, 2013)

fotofinish said:


> Well, I can see all the criticisms but i still like the photo which is not too busy for me. The title IS the main distraction and that is easily fixed. If the photo could be better, the  red-haired woman could subsume a larger proportion of the frame.




Thank you! I have to be careful with titles :scratch: 
Fixed now. See the original post


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## DanOstergren (Oct 12, 2013)

sashbar said:


> fotofinish said:
> 
> 
> > Well, I can see all the criticisms but i still like the photo which is not too busy for me. The title IS the main distraction and that is easily fixed. If the photo could be better, the  red-haired woman could subsume a larger proportion of the frame.
> ...


You're the artist, you should title your art as you please. Don't let anyone else tell you that you have to change something simply because they don't understand it. Let them have their opinions because art is subjective, but after all is said and done it's your vision that counts.


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## DucTran (Oct 16, 2013)

Sorry, but I agree with others!  I tried and failed to find an interesting point.


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