The Life in My Years

This week’s challenge hosted by Steve is Best Ever Images. While I judge my own work, I never know if my own opinion is reflective of what others see and think, so deciding on the criteria was a challenge in itself.

My best is none too good
My first thought in selecting images was to go off of the “like” reactions that I’ve received on photos that I’ve posted on Facebook. The image that has received the most “likes” is one that I took of an alley in San Francisco’s North Beach after an overnight rain. I love the composition, and on a Facebook page it looks great, but when I look at it closely and more critically, I see that it’s hopelessly overly pixelated and, since I took it at f5.6, it totally lacks the depth of field that the scene requires. The moment is lost forever. And while I can go back to that alley after an overnight shower, the rain puddles and the clouds will never be the same. In other words, it’s the best ever as a lesson in paying as much attention to the craft as I do the scene.

So, now what?

I’m going mostly with what moves me personally . . .

People. And the idea that every picture of people tells a story.

“The man is at the window” “credit to Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider“.
I was in San Francisco’s Chinatown, as I often am, with both a camera and an appetite for dim sum. This time it was during the Lunar New Year season. I was waiting to cross the street at Stockton and Pacific when I happened to look up at an apartment window to see a man gazing out over the crowded scene, and looking like he wished it was all over so that he could get some peace and quiet – as if you ever get those in Chinatown on a Sunday during Lunar New Year.

I extended my lens all the way out to 135mm and caught the man just before he retreated back into his apartment (no time for a second chance). It was one of those rare lucky moments and it did get a fair amount of “like” reactions on social media.

Krakow: The violinist (the banner photo and below)
While my wife was relaxing at our hotel, I decided to go exploring Krakow’s Stare Miasto (old town), with camera in hand (well, dangling from my neck). When I stepped out of the apartment building, the notes from a violin were reverberating off the ancient city walls.

The musician, playing the theme from Schindler’s List, the movie connected with some of Poland’s most tragic days, was a siren. I followed the notes to St. Florian’s Gate, the border between Medieval Krakow and the modern city to the young blonde musician.

I stayed and listened to her play for some time. It was my last few hours in Poland and so when I left I dropped most of my remaining Polish money in her violin case.

After taking a number of photos of her, she clearly started playing to my camera.

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The Protest. Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an upper middle class community in the San Francisco Bay Area’s East Bay. The Saturday protests against the current administration are held, ironically enough, just steps away from Nieman-Marcus, Apple, and other chic stores. I’ve attended quite a few times, sometimes with my camera.

I took the image below with the intent of just capturing the flag. During post-processing I noticed the people in the image below and to the back of the larger flag, and to me there was something allegorical about them; the woman on the left looking forward and hopeful, while her opposite looks down and forlorn. In order to enhance the effect, I added a lot of grain and a slight vignette.

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Defiance. Walnut Creek.
Unlike the two people in the previous photo, this couple, one a war vet, showed a completely different emotion.

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Sagrada Familia. The tourists
Nothing really special here; just a moment in the lives of tourists. When I visit tourist destinations I naturally take pictures of the attractions themselves. I also like to turn my camera towards the people who, like me, are in awe of what they’re seeing. The image below sort of shows the typical tourist’s sequence; look – take the shot – check the finished product.

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The best is always subjective, and subject to change, depending on what I’m feeling at the time. More and more, for me, the best images are the ones that are more about people than they are about places and things.

I have some great images of autumn colors, waterfalls, urban architecture and rundown shacks, but, for today anyway, the best images are the ones that have a short story in them.

While one can disagree with the protesters, their expressions tell a tale of our time.

When I look a the man in the window, I’m reminded just how much luck is involved in this often frustrating hobby.

The violinist in Krakow is more personal because her talent, what she played and where she played it, was particularly poignant for me.

Thank you Steve for the challenging challenge.