Re: [Leica] paw - week...whatever.

["Mike Durling" <durling@widomaker.com>]

Very nice photos, Lee.  I have to disagree on the depth of field issue.  I
think the shallow depth of field on the knitting lady actually helps the
photo, or at least changes it.  It draws your eye to her face which is very
interesting.

Mike D

- ----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Bacchus" <lbacchus@home.com>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2001 10:07 PM
Subject: [Leica] paw - week...whatever.


A pair of contrasting portraits from my almost completed project (to form
part of a small group gallery show) on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside
(http://www.photo.net/photodb/presentation.tcl?presentation_id=52810). The
first is of a woman in Chinatown (which is contained within this desperately
troubled and impoverished community) who makes her living on the street
knitting hats. The other is of Rebecca, who < ahem < makes her living on the
streets as well.
When I first encountered the knitting lady, I vainly and naively imagined
myself to be one of the few to shoot her. After I fired off a dozen or so
shots of this woman who spoke not a word of English, she reached back behind
her, pulled out a dog-eared and timeworn piece of cardboard on which was
scrawled, "May I please sometime have a copy of your picture, please."
If I was going to offer some pre-emptive self-criticism, it would mainly be
that the knitlady's hands should be more in focus. Alas, I was only carrying
Delta 100 and couldn't stretch the DOF amid her shadowy corner. I also
wonder whether the shot is too tight, and that it would work better with her
array of knitted hats as a background. Conversely, I wonder if Rebecca's
portrait might work better in tight. But then I wanted to display part of
Pigeon Square, a famous (and infamous) hangout in the neighborhood.
Other comments gratefully accepted,
Lee Bacchus
Vancouver.