My Japanese Cousin

[mikozia]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Jeffry Abt]

Good shot!

[SilentShutter]

Good shot!

 

Why ?

This is a chance to discuss and critizise if necessary.

[Suuumm55]

For me the background is still visible
The corner of the copier (?) On the right may quietly disappear
The blouse is extremely lightened on the shoulders
And what happened with the hands .......?

[Jeffry Abt]

Mikozia clearly was merely making a "snap". The young woman in the photo was responding in a cheerful way to the person photographing her. This often is half the battle... a "positive energy flow". Good shot!

 

By the way, I think people in our day are beginning to react more positively to a photographer taking photos. Ubiquitous smart phones and the little cameras in them, have made us all much more comfortable around photography.

[Louis]

Mikozia clearly was merely making a "snap". 

 

Right!...

 

I guess we are all here, in a "Photography Site", because we love photography and hope to improve our photography!... (This is regardless of our background or private life which has nothing to do in a photography site!)

 

I do not believe that anyone can learn anything and improve his/her photography if any "snap" that is posted is viewed positively and as "good" when it is not!

 

Just my 2cts. !

[SilentShutter]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Remember me starting photography.

I was impressed by pictures of H.C.B, Capa, Lebbeck and other photojournalists

not about about cameras or gear at all.

I wanted to get the same "look" or catch the "story".

First I had to asked people about technics - later how they feel my pictures.

 

Taking pictures is like sending a message - you try to say but have to be sure

that somebody really understands what you want to tell..........right ?

 

So for me it´s important to get a honest reply.

 

*Peace !

[Louis]

 

 

In this site, it is impossible to remove our mistaken threads!...

So, I had to start the next one to explain my response!

[Louis]

For me the background is still visible

The corner of the copier (?) On the right may quietly disappear

The blouse is extremely lightened on the shoulders

And what happened with the hands .......?

 

 

Why ?

This is a chance to discuss and critizise if necessary.

 

Beside that, this shot seems to be out of focus!

 

In street or "candid" photographer, pictures out of focus sometimes work. But in this kind of shot when the subject is posing to have her picture taken, and therefore, the photographer must set the camera, the focus must be right and the photo sharp. I am using the same camera as the OP and I know how wonderful it would work.

 

BTW, I notice many photos of this same poster in every forum and they all seem to be out of focus!...

[fotografr]

I agree with Louis that we are here on this forum to improve our photography and help others do the same. More true criticism like this is needed, rather than the constant meaningless slap on the back type remark. There is a frequent poster in the Nature and Wildlife section who puts up dreadful images and gets nothing but "great shot" comments. He will never improve because he thinks, based on false praise, that he's already doing excellent work. Kind of sad.

[Quan]

I agree with Louis that we are here on this forum to improve our photography and help others do the same. More true criticism like this is needed, rather than the constant meaningless slap on the back type remark. There is a frequent poster in the Nature and Wildlife section who puts up dreadful images and gets nothing but "great shot" comments. He will never improve because he thinks, based on false praise, that he's already doing excellent work. Kind of sad.

 

Agreed

[Jkulin]

With the greatest respect to mikozia I have viewed many of her pictures and without any exception most are out of focus as this one is, in defence of mikozia I am fast coming to the conclusion that either there is a problem with her cameras or that she needs to slow down and think about her composition and focusing.

 

I note looking at the exif info that this was taken on a M240 at 1/90, ISO200 and if I am not mistaken at F1.4 with a 50mm lens and was shot with aperture priority and if the date was correct then it was taken in May 2015.

 

It would appear that you have a number of fine Leica camera's, the M240 in manual focus is not a point and shoot, you need to be sure 100% of the focusing, if you are using the M-series lenses on the T, then perhaps it might be wise to obtain an AF lens and see if that helps as with manual focus it just isn't working, it could be that your prescription for your vision is out.

 

mikozia I know we had a small discussion on the T section and you took exception to my comments, I really would like to help you as indeed many people have offered to help on here.

 

Can I suggest that you look at this image, none of the image is in focus, you cannot even read the badge on her chest, her eyes and teeth are completely out of focus, if your intention was to shoot at F1.4 then you need to make sure 100% that the section of your photo that you intend to be in focus is actually in focus.

 

As some have said the composition is of a happy person, then don't be afraid to shoot closer, you are using a 50mm lens and you could put that to great use, I have cropped an example which would have been great if in focus

 

An old photographer who helped me a great deal in my early days used to say to me, use your feet, use your bl***y feet, use your d**n feet, something that has stayed with me for a very long while even with the cropping software available now, back then with film and E6 you had to make sure that your image was perfect, if it wasn't then consign it to the hidden files.

 

If your intention was to post the above image inviting critique, then I am sure like everyone else has said, we hope this helps, if your intention otherwise was to display a perfectly acceptable photo, then sadly it has failed.

 

Maybe someone that lives near to you from the forum could help, if you were in the UK then I would be pleased to assist.

 

Please don't take offence at my post like you did last time, I am really trying t help.

 

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[ehecatl]

I don't know, I keep coming back to Mikozia's photos and this one in particular. Earlier, SilentShutter —I like all y'all's clever handles— asked the question "Why?" about why this was a good shot. There have been a number of responses, regarding framing, composition, focus. I think those kinds of technical responses are great, and, very helpful (I've seen some comments on Mikozia's photos in other posts that have left me, frankly, aghast). 

But I would like to offer why I think this photo works. At least for me. In short, for me it comes down to casualness, to capturing the everyday. It's a streetphoto, but it is also a posed shot; it tells me a story of everyday work in a consumerist society.

I'll go with my responses to the comments on framing, composition, and focus.

Framing. Yes, perhaps moving the subject just a little bit more off center would work. But I like the casualness of the photo. It's a snapshot of an everyday life. Yes, she is posed and looks directly at the camera. But this is not a studio portrait. This is a young woman at work. 

Composition. Yes, maybe some cropping out would help. But that would, I feel, take away from the casualness, the immediacy, of the shot. And I like that the background is there, partially in focus. And my favorite aspect? The ad of the woman to the right behind the subject. There is the missing hand (or at least one of them) that Suuuum55 inquires about. For me it also brings in a different level, or reality: that ad with the model works against the mundane, almost banal reality of working in a mall/cosmetics shop. The photo is busy, the shopgirl and her store behind her, but she has also stopped in this mad rush to pose, to smile, to relax, if only for an instant or two.

Focus. So it's a bit out of focus. What does it matter? Aesthetically, for me, it works really well in capturing, again, that immediacy. 

 

Anyway, I just wanted to say why I liked this particular photo. 

 

-Ehecatl (but y'all can call me Santiago)

[Guest]

I don't know... 

 

Too many words about an insignificant blurred photo, where renunciation of attention would be the more polite treatment.

This is neither the Lomo forum nor an elementary photo school.

Just go ahead and keep your eyes open for many better photos, which are worth to be looked at, to be amazed and even discussed.

[Jkulin]

Hi Santiago,

 

I'm afraid that as this is a Leica forum then the emphasis is on the quality of photo's presented, this isn't a street photo as it is a relative of hers, which she could take any time of the day or night, the problem is that it is such a terrible photo in all aspects and does not reflect the true quality of a Leica M240 Camera or the quality of the lens.

 

We can all take poor photo's that we would normally want to hide, I do it quite regularly, but I would never present the number of photo's that mikozia does around the forum in the belief that the images she presents are good, and when people critiques her images she gets very sensitive about it instead of saying "OK can someone help me get this right".

 

I have viewed a number of her images and she did take a photo of a flower/plant that was sharp and correctly exposed, which shows she can do it, and having just checked the exif info it was taken on a D-Lux4 so I presume she was using the AF function, the image is sharp and really quite good: -

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/267937-colors-of-nature/?do=findComment&comment=3186459

 

So personally I think it is a focusing problem that she has as when she uses AF the images are sharp.

[ehecatl]

 

 

Too many words about an insignificant blurred photo, where renunciation of attention would be the more polite treatment.

This is neither the Lomo forum nor an elementary photo school.

Just go ahead and keep your eyes open for many better photos, which are worth to be looked at, to be amazed and even discussed.

 

 

 

Hi Santiago,

 

I'm afraid that as this is a Leica forum then the emphasis is on the quality of photo's presented, this isn't a street photo as it is a relative of hers, which she could take any time of the day or night, the problem is that it is such a terrible photo in all aspects and does not reflect the true quality of a Leica M240 Camera or the quality of the lens.

 

We can all take poor photo's that we would normally want to hide, I do it quite regularly, but I would never present the number of photo's that mikozia does around the forum in the belief that the images she presents are good, and when people critiques her images she gets very sensitive about it instead of saying "OK can someone help me get this right".

 

I have viewed a number of her images and she did take a photo of a flower/plant that was sharp and correctly exposed, which shows she can do it, and having just checked the exif info it was taken on a D-Lux4 so I presume she was using the AF function, the image is sharp and really quite good: -

 

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/267937-colors-of-nature/?do=findComment&comment=3186459

 

So personally I think it is a focusing problem that she has as when she uses AF the images are sharp.

 

Thank you for your replies.

This might be a long response, so I apologize beforehand. We live in fast times, and sitting around reading a post by a writer who has been using Leicas since 2002 might be a waste of your valuable time.

 

You're right, mnutzer, "renunciation of attention" could be more polite. However, my probably facile, simplistic comment on this "insignificant blurred photo" was a response to a question: Why is this a good photo?

I guess I didn't make the case as to why I thought it was a good (not great) photo, or why it worked for me. 

 

Jkulin. You raise a good point about quality, however, quality is difficult to judge, no? Technically I know that Mozart's Don Giovanni is an amazing musical composition, but I also greatly enjoy the sloppiness of the Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks lp. Both, to me, are quality. 

I haven't seen many of Mikozia's postings, but I have noted a certain disregard for them. Mostly, the comments are on what you point out out, the pics do not reflect the "true quality of a Leica M240 or the quality of the lens." And, if this is the rule for which we judge photos on the forum, then yes, I agree with that assessment. But, for me, using a Leica rangefinder is more than simply about technique, it's about personal expression. I've been a member of this forum since 2003, though there have been years where I will go without posting or commenting. I first started posting pics from my first Leica, a Digilux 1. The forum members were kind to this former punk rocker posting pics from a weird looking digital camera that bore the Leica badge. Later, I moved to other Leicas, both film and digital.

But, with any of my Leicas can I say that I reflected their "true" qualities? I'm not sure.  At the same time, I never really gave that much thought. My Leicas are my tools, they are extensions of my eyes and my way of documenting the world in which I am but a small part.

However, to try to keep this short, point taken. If a person is posting a large number of photos and taking offense when they are critiqued, then that is a problem. However, if the critiques come down to aspects like "tack sharp focus" without taking into account an aesthetic, then I have to disagree. Because honestly, tack sharp focus isn't one of those things that always interests me. Maybe it's because I'm nearsighted and sometimes I prefer to view the world without my glasses on, blurry and in soft focus. 

 

Anyway, this has been a long reply that is probably not relevant to the discussion at hand about this particular photo that is not liked, but opened up an avenue for discussion. 

 

So let's carry on then.