This little girl was lost on 6th Avenue in NYC during a street fair. A short time later, we saw her dad making his way through the crowd. What caught my eye was that we usually think of the police chasing after the bad guys. But here we have the little girl doing what her parents probably told her to do -- if you need help, find a policeman.
I usually write down exactly what I have done during post processing, and this time was no different, but I seem to have lost the little piece of paper I wrote it on, so I try to list my steps from memory:
crop
resize
select the policeman and little girl
with them selected: levels, shadow/highlight, USM
inverse the selection, so the background is selected: channel mixer to turn it b&w
I guess I didn't select them well, because I was left with a greenish/reddish/whitish halo in certain places, so I did some burning/healing/cloning to get rid of the halo.
Then a couple of strokes for the frame
I really don't know how well this will do. I hope it does well, because I really like it. I did the selective desat because it just didn't really have a lot of "pop" in all color or all black & white. I had some other photos that might have done okay, but I just I like this one so much more. With Free Studies, I want to do things I've never done before, so this one I did two things: street candid & selective desat
When I open the original at 100%, I can read the officer's name tag. I've thought about maybe getting one printed and sending it to him.
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What a touching moment! I love your use of selective desat here. The poor little girl seems to be not only lost, but to have wet her pants as well. She'll remember this day for a long time, and you captured it all perfectly.
I'm delighted I got this image. I thought it a very strong image when I saw it in and after the challenge. It tells a story - one that almost takes one back in time a bit. What I like is the way you've shot this nearly from her perspective height-wise. By doing so, the only other faces you see are the officer who's helping her, and the other child in the background looking on. The legs and bodies of all the other adults are going in all directions, heedless to the plight of the young lady - only the other child seems to notice. Another element that adds to the emotion of this shot is the fact you can't see the officer's eyes. It's the young lady's predicament that's captured. He's there to help, yes, but without his eyes visible, her face has much more weight.
Though to my eyes you did the desaturation well, I do think it works better completely in black and white. I like that you tried something new with the desaturation and understand your desire to bring focus to what you're trying to show, but pure black and white lets the image speak for itself in my opinion.
A wonderful capture. Your notes indicate you're quite fond of it (which to me is what's important) and the placement and score are very good (imo) for a "street candid" in a free study.
I'm usually not a fan of selective desat because it looks so unreal... but in this case I didn't even realize you'd done it until I read your comments. I was completely focused on the little girl and police officer. The other thing I like about this photo is the little girl in the background who seems to be watching what is going on. Overall, this is a fantastic shot that has captured the moment well. And as for sending the offer a print of the picture, go for it! I'm sure he would apprecaite it! :)
Technicals: sharp, focused, good delineation of subjects and background. I never have much to say on technicals when the shot is 6+. You need great technicals to get that score on this site.
The feel: The true strength of the shot. I didn't see this one in voting, but I would have likely started at a 7. However, I think your choice of selective desat worked against you. At least, your choice to selective desat and then not mute the colors of the subjects. The feel of the shot is one of fear, sympathy, and, to parents, never wanting to be in that situation. The bright colors of the subject works against all those emotions. I do like selective desat, but I would have done it with complete desat of the background and then partial desat of the subjects. Another ballsy method would have been to separate the subjects with the background with image grain. Again, because of the emotion of the shot, image grain may have been perfect. Some burning of the background too. Had you captured the emotion at the same time as you separated the subjects (with whatever means), I would have likely gone with an 8+ which means a very good picture.
This may be too much with both techniques, but here's a quick run at my version:
I agree with the other commenters who said this photo tells a compelling story. May I suggest that you send a print of this photo to the NYCPD. It projects a law enforcement officer in a positive light. Law enforcement people have a thankless job. The media is too quick to show negative images to boost ratings. Police everywhere have learned to put up with it. The occassional positive image and a well meaning, "Thank you" goes a long way to boost moral.
Compelling image. I think it would have even more impact if it was cropped more tightly at the top to just a bit above the police officer's hat. Your desaturation is good, but the tighter crop would really force the viewer to focus on the wonderful interaction you have captured. Good work!!
Oh, my goodness! This little girl looks so scared. You were really able to create a story with this photo. Also like the desaturated background. Great work!
Nice capture. IMO full desaturation here might have worked better. I really love how theres a kid in the background holding her parent's hand...Interesteing contrast
A very powerful image, assuming it wasn't staged (and it doesn't look like it was)!
I'm not usually a fan of desaturating things like this because people do it arbitrarily all the time. I actually think it works exceptionally well here. I think the desaturation has a symbolic effect, emphasizing the fact that the whole word seems like a dark, gray, scary kind of place to the little girl. All she has here is herself and the guy she's counting on to help her. My first 10 of the challenge.
very nice..love the desat of people in background and ponytail holder on ground to right of her feet.. perhaps officers face and upper body and her face/hair should be lighter? gl in challenge 9
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