On the bus -- blansky remix

It's unfortunate nobody comment on your original. I like this a lot, because of the lines, black, white and grays, and of the mystery of what is that woman all about and what is going on here. Not to continue to change your ideas, but I'd also get rid of the title because it gives away too much. I'd possible change it to "woman looking forward..." which is literal as well as perhaps symbolic, alluding to the bus ride and destination.

blansky said:

Not to continue to change your ideas, but I'd also get rid of the title...

Click to expand...

The other Ken would then be forced to observe that she was indeed off the bus, because as we know one can't be both...

Like this a lot, graphic and mysterious. Agree with Blanksy, works better cropped.

FWIW, I think the mystery and intrigue and even the mood set by what is outside or reflecting in the window is missing in this one, and for me, it loses impact. It becomes too refined to the woman and loses the context that made it interesting.

I think this crop is very good. Turns a snapshot into a well thought out photograph.

Hey, a great discussion -- thanks everyone. I still kind of like the first version because the seatback in the foreground creates one plane, then the next seatback another, and then the woman in front of the wall a third -- to me, it all rather leads the eye to the woman, whereas in the cropped version the woman is immediately seen. So yes, the cropped version is more immediate, in that sense. I appreciate the comments!A technical note: this was my first use of Tetenal Emofin two-bath, with the APX100 rated at 160 -- other frames show that 200 is very viable. I was trying to underexpose somewhat to pull the highlights down off the shoulder then overdevelop a bit to spread them out. Usually I'd expect the shadows to go black (though not so much with a less-than-one-stop push), but in fact the combination of Emofin and APX100 seems excellent. The grain is somewhat more obvious that this film in, say, Agfa 8 glycin, but it's a nice grain. I've more testing ahead of me -- next I'll try Neopan 400 at 800.

I like the cropped version. I think the strongest element is the interplay between the straight lines and the curves. In the un-cropped version I find my eye getting lost at the seat cushion. But this interpretation keeps my eyes occupied, and exploring the frame.Some of this may have to do with viewing the image in a fairly small scale on a monitor, the original may do better in a large print. Another approach might be to print down the upholstery some so that it recedes a bit, but it would be pretty tricky to do that and make it look good.Very nice photo, I like it a lot!