I was going through some old Pan F stock shots that I had shuffled away a few months back and came across this shot. I know most of the stuff I do is part of a "series" depicting an event or mood. Most of the time, photographers (especially candid) are lucky to get only a handful of images where the one image can tell the whole story.

Aside from the kid bobbing for apples how does the panel feel about this image? Is the image compelling? As always, my education is benefitted by the dicotomy of your critiques.

Cheers, (and Merry Xmas).

John.

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), December 22, 2001

Answers

Great candid picture. The boys really are enjoying themselves and you have captured the moment well. A great natural photo to look back on in years to come.

-- sam smith (Ruy_Lopez@hotmail.com), December 22, 2001.

Nice try, John

It works as a snapshot, but it is not compelling. The subject (kid in foreground) is out of focus. The head of the kid on the left looks misshapen, probably because of the wide angle perspective. The print is too high key (the highlights are burned out), so much so that I can't even tell if the fruit is an apple. I also think it would work better if there were more of the pan of applies in the picture. It looks artifically cut off at the bottom of the frame.

For a grabshot it's very nice. But it is far from compelling in terms of framing and the technical aspects of the print. Hope this is helpful.

Best wishes, and happy holidays all.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), December 22, 2001.

The problem is that many photos, this one included, only tell a story to people who know the story. What would someone in China make of this, other than kids having fun?

Here's a similar example:

Fete 2, Copyright 1999 Jeff Spirer

To most, if not all, of the people reading this, it may or may not be an interesting photograph, but it won't convey a story. To most Muslims, or people who have spent time in Muslim countries, it will convey a story, or at least have a strong context. In other words, the story is only conveyed because the story is already known.

There are photographs that can have meaning across cultures, but I think they are ones where emotion is strong and universal, rather than tied to what is happening in the photograph. A grieving mother over a dead child, for example, is universal.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), December 22, 2001.

Please excuse my ignorance, what event are they celebrating? Looks like they're torching a chicken, feathers and all.

-- Fred Sun (redsky3@yahoo.com), December 22, 2001.

Guess that proves the point, eh?

There's a Muslim holiday, I can't spell or pronounce it, each family takes home a sheep and kills it in the home in a special celebration. They then butcher the sheep and eat it over the next week. The children and young men take the heads and feet in the street and barbecue them.

I was fortunate to be in Morocco when this holiday happened and see what, to a non-Muslim American, seemed to be a surreal event.

-- Jeff Spirer (jeff@spirer.com), December 22, 2001.

Interesting bbq contraption Jeff, it reminds of an old mexican woman I saw in Tijuana scorching corn cobs on a grill composed of a big truck rim, old truck hubcap and a round grate.

-- Dave Doyle (soilsouth@home.com), December 23, 2001.

Well, as they say: "I guess you had to be there" to appreciate that!

-- Alec (alecj@bellsouth.net), December 23, 2001.

Bakr Id, perhaps?

I recall Cornell Capa saying that his brother's famous shot of the Spanish Civil War soldier being shot was simply not understood in an exhibit in Japan, an image which probably has the most universal theme of the Century of War. They couldn't understand whether he was dancing, falling over or what.

I think that images are generally worth both more and less than a thousand words. They are virtually useless at conveying information (unless of the purely forensic type) but they are strong at conveying atmosphere, the look and feel of a place or person or situation. Which is why photoessays without text usually fall pretty flat.

Photography works best when you're well aware of the medium's limitations, IMO.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), December 23, 2001.

Here's an image which could have a variety of interpretations, for instance, and needs some supporting text, I think.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), December 23, 2001.

Sorry about that...

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), December 23, 2001.

Rob- that picture is in a different league to the one above (sorry jeff!). It has a kind of insistence - the eye is drawn towards the man appearing through the window - "what on earth's going on here then? What is all that slimy material?". The Spirer pic- with it's partially obscured skull goes off in all directions and passes as a pleasant enough ethnic stock shot.

-- steve (stephenjjones@btopenworld.com), December 23, 2001.

Some photos work well all on there own - this one doesn't quite make it. But that doesn't mean it's not a good photo, beyond a 'snapshot' as some have said. Sometimes photographs work in conjunction with other photographs, or with text - witness National Geo. In every issue there are photos that, without the text, the caption or the other photos in the series would be so-so. But with the story behind it, they can be used to illustrate a point better than words alone. INHO, very seldom do documentary photographs stand completely alone on their own.

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), December 23, 2001.

Re Rob's picture.. It's a prison break, the guy makes made a hole in crumbling masonry, finds a passageway between cell walls leading to the outer walls, and drags his bedsheets along to use as rope.

-- Fred Sun (redsky3@yahoo.com), December 23, 2001.

Well, I have three questions / points... 1. Which shoot by Capa of the Civil War Soldier? Anybody have a link for this (sorry, I am new to photography) 2. If the above picture is that of a prison break, was it staged, or candid? I mean, how do you get a candid shot of a prison break? 3. In regards to the picture of the kids bobbing for apples, I think its a great shot (not something for the history books or museums, but much better than average). I think if the pic was cut in half, right down the middle, to include only the 2 boys on the right, it may be better (the left boy's head does look out of shape...). I think the best part of the picture is the movement which is captured... it looks great! Regards Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), December 24, 2001.

I like Rob's picture. It works pretty well as a stand alone. It could be a guy trying to escape from a prison, or someone in his own hideaway looking out for others. The appearance of his face is interesting, and if this wasn't posed (or even if it was posed), it is a terrific shot. Good job.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), December 24, 2001.

It's a fair cop guv. Well actually it's a tannery worker emptying out a leather dyeing barrel. He has to go inside the barrel to get the last dyed skins out and is looking at his workmates.

But I have to admit that the breakout interpretation is much more exciting ;-)

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), December 25, 2001.