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a sad evening 4 xmas shopping by `cweeks:iconcweeks:

Categories Photography > Photojournalism > People

©2004-2009 `cweeks
:iconcweeks:

Artist's Comments

i return to los angeles ... only to find rain.

this was actually very early in the evening ... like 5.30p.

was shooting details of a new showroom featuring $60,000 bathtubs and $25,000 stoves for an architectural mag. when i walked up to the location i saw this guy. felt bad for him. alas, there's really nothing i can do for him. as with most of the homeless in santa monica ... they have internal problems that they must face and deal with before they could "really" accept help from any person in society.

this guy had a blank stare. i know he was fretting about a rainy night and no where to sleep.

the showroom i was shooting in had a sign on the door, "no sitting or sleeping in this area." guess that's not the image they wanted.

so i smoked a cigarette and just watched with my 70-200.

what i liked was that the guy was basically in the dark and although rainy there were so many christmas lights and store lights on illuminating the sidewalk and street. saw this happy little family juxtaposed with the dispair ... and knew this was the photo i wanted to make.

canon eos 1d mark 2. 70-200/2.8L. 1/6th second (thank God for Image Stabilizer) at f5.0. 800 iso.

i have two (2) versions. dunno why but the colour works better than a b/w version. i like both but i think for once the colour connoting xmas was good. further, i decided not to shoot wide open as i wanted at least some of the detail of the background to come out. only the homeless guy and the background blown out ... hmm ... not sure i'd like it. shooting at 1/6th ... hmm ... that was a challenge ... but it also allowed some walking movement of the family.

Daily Deviation

Given 2004-12-17

a sad evening 4 xmas shopping by *cweeks is a moving and timely deviation. We have a lot to be grateful for at this time of year, however it can be easy to walk past the homeless or less fortunate than ourselves in our mad rush to make the shops before closing. This image forces us to think about others, in this case the slumped figure on his worn and tattered suitcase, quietly observing the silly season around him. I wonder who he is, and where he would like to go if given half a chance. (Featured by `serpentinekiss)

Comments


love 0 0 joy 1 1 wow 0 0 mad 0 0 sad 10 10 fear 0 0 neutral 0 0
:iconsammy-lee:
~sammy-lee Dec 10, 2004, 2:46:28 PM
i love colours of the lights nd the subjects.. a contrast between happiness and sadness. Brilliant work :)

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No Comment .....
:iconspanishjohnny:
~SpanishJohnny Dec 10, 2004, 2:52:23 PM
i like this shot a lot, the description makes it even more interesting. i don´t know realy what to say, but i like the light a lot (great reflexion on the ground).

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take what you have gathered from coincidence
:iconavadon:
~avadon Dec 10, 2004, 3:19:02 PM
Talk to me about Image Stabilizer. Without my tripod (which I never have when I need), my pictures turn out blurry. I'd love to have a program that fixes those.

The colour really is the best part, here. Black and white would have missed the essence you are trying to communicate. I would say run it through some photoshop processing to isolate a few colours so that there aren't the hues of fluorescents bouncing off concrete and (stucco? I'm guessing) mixing with the direct colours of the Christmas lights.

Just a thought.

I love your descriptions.

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[none]
:iconcweeks:
`cweeks Dec 10, 2004, 3:20:38 PM
image stabilizer is a part of the lens. it's like a built-in gyro system.

i'm not allowed to isolate colours and such. we're only allowed -- for photojournalism's sake -- to do minor stuff ... like stuff in a conventional darkroom.

wish i could.
:iconcei-:
`cei- Dec 10, 2004, 3:22:57 PM
Powerful image Chris, it works even without the story (yet that adds so much more to it).
Must say...I was suprised to see a colour shot from you, but now I can see why, Christmas is linked with the colour and the lights, in black & white it is lost.

Details?
The bulge of the suitcase...it really is his life in a bag. The Santa Monica sign in the background, the movement of the cars in the background as people rush around on their modern lifestyles...caring little about those left behind. I wonder what the kids thought?

--
:macos: | you may be invited, girl, but you're not coming in ⌘
:iconavadon:
~avadon Dec 10, 2004, 3:24:31 PM
ah, I see... then I would knock this off the photojournalism category and take a walk on the wild side. *grin*

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[none]
:iconeternalxrayne:
=EternalxRayne Dec 10, 2004, 4:11:16 PM
La...:( I miss LA.....
:iconurban-khaos:
~urban-khaos Dec 10, 2004, 4:28:28 PM
very well done for 1/6th, if that were my camera...it would just die :)

i love your 5 buck forty photos dude, i think i'm gonna do a series of them and old people ...interesting little bastards that they are :)

whats your views on christmas ?

--
I'm nice. Honest. I have the heart of a little girl

in a jar
on my desk - Stephen king

My Manifesto
:iconpocketprnces:
~pocketprnces Dec 10, 2004, 5:45:12 PM
Wow, what a powerful image. Makes you think twice about all the stuff you buy for you on Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate. Like their may be someone right next to you, looking at the same stuff, but in a different light then you. :+fav:
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Details

December 10, 2004
230 KB
1100×910

Statistics

167
287 [who?]
13,694 (1 today)

Camera Data

Canon
Canon EOS-1D Mark II
1/6 second
F/5.0
120 mm
800
Dec 8, 2004, 11:39:05 AM

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