Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Where's Anne Of Green Cables?

I'll Give This My Best Shot

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON


This is Craig, the foreman at the building site of the Melbourne Recital Centre. Some weeks ago I was shooting from the Sturt Street side of the site and asked if I could get a couple of shots of him, to give the composition a human touch. The first frame is taken with the signage in sharp focus but in the second, I've reversed the focus, with Craig in sharp focus and the signage in soft focus. It's always a fun experiment. Which shot do you prefer?

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

David, I think I'd rather mess with the overhead cables - Craig looks a bit mean in focus. :)

david mcmahon said...

Hi WFW,

That's very funny. Thank you for being the first to comment.

Appearances can be deceptive - he was a really nice bloke.

Keep smiling

David

K M F said...

nice one

david mcmahon said...

G'day KMF,

Thank you for visiting andfor taking the trouble to comment.

Glad you liked the shot.

Keep smiling

David

indicaspecies said...

Where's Anne of Green Cables - I've heard of it. Is it a movie, musical or a novel?

Craig in focus is better since your intention is to give the composition a human touch. Moreover, in spite of the soft focus on it, the sign is 'readable' in the second picture. So, I prefer the latter.

david mcmahon said...

Hi Celine,

Thaks for your feedback on the two images. re; Anne of Green Gables, it was a novel by a Canadian author and it was made into a TV movie. I think the Green Gables house is a major tourist attraction.

Keep smiling

David

dot said...

Meaning no insult to Craig, I think the sign is the subject of the picture since he seems to be reading it. I prefer the first photo with the sign in focus.

mrsnesbitt said...

I thought at first he was smoking a very long cigarette! Dont you just love it when pictures turn out with obscurities?

All ready for tomorrow?????

LOL!
Dx

david mcmahon said...

Hi Dot,

That's my choice as well. I just think it has the edge over the other version of the shot.

Thanks for the feedback

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi Denise,

How very interesting. I'd never ``seen'' that side of the shot.

Yes, I'm ready for tomorrow. I think you might enjoy the post!

Keep smiling

David

Brian in Oxford said...

I prefer the signage in focus. A person's still a person, even if a bit blurry. If you blur out the sign, you risk losing its message.

indicaspecies said...

David,
Thanks for the info on 'Cables.'
If you happen to meet Craig again, please tell him that everyone prefers the signage while Celine is the only one who feels it's better to 'focus' on him ;)

Anonymous said...

I prefer the first photo.

Let's also mention;
"The House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Oh, and Deb Gable... er... oops, that's Deb Gamble... back to the casino.

Anonymous said...

I like the first one because the composition renders it the main subject of the photo, and so would prefer to see it sharp, also I like the colors :)

We finally named my son Abhinav - thanks for enquiring about him, really touched me that someone way out in Australia is concerned :) but then blogging has left no doubts that we're all part of one global family :)

Anonymous said...

indicaspecies, I can almost imagine David on some random day in some random street tapping Craig on his shoulder and telling him that :))

Anonymous said...

Which do I prefer? Focus on the sign. One thing I love in photographs is slightly out-of-focus human subjects. I think that it's far more representative of reality...

FHB said...

Like the second one. You can still read the sign.

david mcmahon said...

G'day Brian,

It gets my vote as well, because I think tyhe sign is really arresting - and you still notice the strength of character on Craig's profile.

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

G;day indicaspecies,

Okey-dokey. I'll drive past tomorrow and tell him exactly that. He's got a sense of humour, judging by my brief meeting with him.

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

G'day Darlene,

Yep, me too, for reasons detailed above.

I'd forgotten about The House Of Seven Gables ... and what a killer one-liner about Deb. I'm sure she'd enjoy that.

Hats off to you ...

Keep smiling

David