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Basket Man - KR Market, Bangalore, India
Basket Man - KR Market, Bangalore, India
choltmeier


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Street Photography III (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Location: KR Market, Bangalore, India
Date: Oct 25, 2008
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/180
Galleries: Urban, Portraiture
Date Uploaded: Oct 25, 2008

 I'm visiting Bangalore, India for a week for work. The street photography environment is incredible! (What luck that a street challenge came along to coincide with my trip!) I had the opportunity to visit KR Market. This is a farmers market where everyone puts their produce and goods out on the street for sale.

It was the eve of Diwali so the market was very crowded with people preparing for the holiday. It poured rain the night before, so it was very muddy and wet. It was the most amazing street photography environment I've ever been in. I can't speak the language, so I walked around making eye contact with people and pointing to my camera. They'd either accept or decline with a hand signal (some didn't seem to know what the heck my camera was or what I was trying to say but we still were able to resolve my question). For those who accepted, I'd take their picture, show it to them on the back of the camera, then 3-5 others nearby would ask me to take their photos. It was street photography nirvana! I was directed to this gentleman with the basket on his head by what I assume was his daughter or neice. I had just taken her photo and she was so excited she wanted me to take photos of everyone she knew. All seemed quite pleased when I showed them the back of the camera.

I stayed at the market for roughly an hour (I will post more photos to my portfolio and/or to Flickr once I've returned home and had time to process them). I was overwhelmed with how friendly the people were even though I was a foreigner intruding in their space and not particularly interested in what they were selling. It was an incredible and moving experience!

As for post processing, there was direct sun which was a bit harsh. The basket on his head made for nice shade, although his shirt got a little blown out.

Camera Raw: fill light, recovery, blacks

CS3: sharpen, vignette, multiple curves layers, dodge/burn to darken shirt and brighten face, added black border, save for web

Here was my 2nd favorite from the day:


Statistics
Place: 27 out of 146
Avg (all users): 6.1111
Avg (commenters): 6.5000
Avg (participants): 5.8750
Avg (non-participants): 6.2261
Views since voting: 2607
Views during voting: 429
Votes: 171
Comments: 15
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 USM
 11/03/2008 10:03:22 AM
This is awesome, Chris! Look at those soulful eyes! Wow! I love your story. Thanks for sharing. Street Photography Nirvana is so correct! I'd think I'd died and gone to Heaven -- challenge or no -- I just love this type of photography. I think it is my favorite. You did so good! And again, I'm so glad you use "maverick" techniques in leaving them in color! It adds so much to the richness and street-beauty of the scene.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D700
Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF
 11/02/2008 11:39:31 AM
The guy has reasonably interesting look but honestly the tone of the skin and lack of contrast makes the image look like it was resurrected from underexposure. I could be wrong but it's making it hard to give this high marks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED
 11/02/2008 09:03:44 AM
Nice portrait ... needs a tweek with the contrast
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
 11/01/2008 11:12:29 PM
technically i'm awful...but if you're going to get good at this shot i would think you need not worry about over exposing the background and shoot for his face. perhaps getting it great is just impossible with that much ambient light and not being able to use a light meter on him. feels like you overdid the mid range level boost in post processing to try to improve his under exposure.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 10/31/2008 08:50:39 PM
Meets Challenge:2
Technical:3
Interestingness:1
Extra Credit:
TOTAL: 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 10/31/2008 10:58:01 AM
interesting street portrait
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4 L USM
 10/30/2008 01:12:29 AM
You need some major work on this shot. You captured a great moment but it's overexposed. Work with the levels/curves and contrast and you will have a great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 10/29/2008 05:16:32 PM
A very good street/environmental portrait. Very good light, excellent detail, and commanding eyes.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon
 10/29/2008 09:19:59 AM
Well captured. Nice DOF.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS
 10/28/2008 09:05:18 AM
nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D850
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR
 10/27/2008 02:27:37 PM
Exquisite detail, and I love the lighting/tonal range. What a terrific, expressive countenance. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 09:06:21 AM
Your post processing detracts from an otherwise great subject. Perhaps a high contrast black and white treatment would have worked better with your subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D90
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 10/27/2008 07:29:29 AM
Very nice framing..this man really is staring right back at me...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 10/27/2008 01:55:38 AM
Great expression on his face!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z9
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 105mm f/1.4E ED
 10/27/2008 01:45:41 AM
This would have been great in BW too. The picture looks a tad overexposed but then again my monitor is super bright so gonna go with my monitor being off :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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