Bud Grossmann’s Words of the Week for the Week of August 21, 2011 Previously unpublished art commentary. © 2011 by Bud Grossmann. All Rights Reserved.   Biker Bar Triptych, 2011 © 2011 by Bud Grossmann A SEEMINGLY SENSELESS SHOOTING IN A BAR       As a general principle, I prefer to allow my photographs to speak for themselves. I’d nonetheless like to defend the photo I displayed as my PoD on August 19, about which you say you were “not particularly impressed” and “it wasn’t (Bud’s) usual quality.” I welcome and appreciate feedback of this sort.       When I agree with the comments I receive, as I sometimes do, my art improves. (Someone described to me what she would have done differently with the pair of pies in my August 14 photo; I thought she had good ideas. Unfortunately, by the time I received the suggestions, the subject matter was no longer available to pose for a retake).       Whether I agree with criticism or not, I usually learn something about the person giving the feedback, and I almost always see things in my photography (or my writing) that I hadn’t recognized before.       My August 19 photo is not something I would frame and hang on the wall all by itself. But it is, to my eye, an excellent portrait of Steve, particularly as the third photo in a triptych.       We have, first, on August 15, a medium shot of Man in Bar, sipping a drink; for the second photo, on August 17, the camera pulls back to reveal more context—Women Looking in Direction of Man in Bar (I like this one for Steve’s lively body language and the blast of window light on his eyeglasses, on his right sleeve, and on his arm near his elbow); and then we have the third photo, the one you declared to be of lower quality, where I’ve “zoomed in” on what I think is a well-composed (applying the Rule of Thirds, placing the Italianesque nose prominently on the upper right cross-lines), beautifully lit, oddly colored view of a man with a smirk that some might consider kissable, his eyes evidently ignoring the camera’s intrusion, his drink glass raised to intersect with part of a brightly lit left ear.       I cropped this third shot from a somewhat larger image, and I tinkered with the color and contrast. But otherwise it’s a lucky shot—I did not pose my subject and did not control the light.       The lighting, though accidental, turns out to be, in my opinion, perfect. It gives depth to the hollow of Steve’s left cheek, it defines the shoulder of his black T-shirt, and it illuminates a tuft of wild hair on the back of his neck and five silver whiskers on his chin. Furthermore, the focus is precisely where it belongs, on the eyes. The blur of camera motion is slight, and the background contains nothing whatsoever to distract us from Steve. In short, I am inclined to consider this one of my “best” portraits ever.       Take another look, if you would be so kind. I sincerely thank you for sharing your opinion. I would be glad to continue our discussion about this or other photographs. ♦         ARCHIVES         Click for a list of other Words of the Week I would welcome your thoughts on this page (or any of my others).  Write to me at the following address.  Please be sure to spell Grossmann with two n’s and mention what page you are writing about. Thanks!  BUD GROSSMANN Top of this page | HOME | Fine Photography | Picture of the Day | Writings | | Words of the Week | Mom & Pop Prop. Mgt. | FAQ |

This page was updated Sat, Aug 20, 2011, 11:50PM CDT.