Weekly Competition #232 - Alone in the City Competition

This was naturally very hard to judge as I expected it to be. Separating the top 4 to find a winner was extremely difficult and I changed my mind several times. Each of the top 4 images satisfied the requirements in unique ways. In judging this competition I looked for the image that displays the four essential features stated in the brief:

a) a single person;
b) a city environment;
c) evokes a strong atmosphere of “solitude”,
“aloneness”, “loneliness” or “alienation”; and
d) a candid capture.

All 17 entries successfully complied with a) and most satisfied at least one aspect of c). However, apart from the winner and runners up, the remaining images struggled to convincingly convey either ‘the city’ context and/or a candid capture. In many ways this was a difficult topic for a 7 day assignment with Christmas Day at the end, because most entrants would not have time to shoot something new. However, most entries succeeded with the spirit of the competition – a great effort, in my opinion. To get 17 entries for such a specific topic was very pleasing, and I thank you all. My comments and opinions below are highly subjective, as they could only be, because they are based mainly on emotional responses to the images. You will notice I make only a few comments about technical imperfections when they are extreme – for this competition I was primarily looking for meaning in the subject matter. Drafting comments on all 17 images was quite a time consuming task and would be quite extreme for 40+ entries. I hope my words are taken as constructive – I have done my best to explain the sensibilities that I applied to each image. Thank you all for answering this difficult challenge. After reviewing all images (many times!) I chose the best 6 images that satisfied the brief as I conceived it for this competition. Further refinement then identified the top 3; the remaining 3 are listed as Highly Commended. Choosing the winner from the top 3 was very hard – they were extremely close. The results are as follows:

1st Place – Semi Final by AxelLuther
2nd Place – Bus stop angst by alun
3rd Place – Resignation by sandinista

Other images that I really like are listed below as Highly Commended (in no particular order):

Dining alone by davidtrout
Lonely at the Gates of Versailles by johnriley
Time out by mudge


Individual Comments

Lonely at the Gates of Versailles by johnriley
From a street photographer’s point of view, I love this image. The woman’s expression so perfectly conveys being “alone with her thoughts”. This photo contains so much meaning and emotion, I find it truly compelling. The only things that diminish it are the severely cropped head and the weak ‘city’ context. If faced with that unfortunate framing, I would try to balance the composition by cropping even tighter – from the left to exclude the black triangle and from the bottom to just below the finger tip of her left hand. John’s gallery features many portraits, so perhaps it was his eye for expression that caused him to lift the camera for this one. This is a fantastic, candid, street photograph – the expression alone is pure human grace.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.


Dreaming by Dodge69
Unfortunately I was hoping I would not get any images of homeless people as a response to this competition. However, I acknowledge that homelessness is the most extreme form of city alienation. This image is a powerful, documentary-style, social commentary photograph. It has a weak ‘city’ context because we must assume a city environment; it has to be assumed, but is not displayed in the image. In this respect, I think it would be improved by a much wider crop, with the figure smaller and the surrounds more imposing. The vignetting appears to have been applied in post processing and in my opinion is unnecessary. This is a personal, subjective dislike of mine – I rarely think vignetting improves any image, particularly street photographs.


Resignation by sandinista
This image answers the brief beautifully, and the title says it all – “Resignation”. What I find interesting about this photo is that it is not very typical of Jim’s (Sandanista’s) gallery. You have to scroll back 8 pages before you find similar street candid's. So I’m so glad this one was entered. The subject’s expression and posture evokes the mood perfectly; the word on the sign (“Therapy”) reinforces a possible context for the unknown story. The scene is grey, the subject positioned to one side of the frame to allow plenty of setting to be displayed. The only improvement I could possible make would be to crop a little more from the right to reduce the distraction of the dominating iron picket fence.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.


In the Empty School Yard... Alone by JudithAnn
This is a great portrait with minimal surroundings to detract from the subject’s wonderful, mysterious expression – the child seems to be a natural at returning an enigmatic expression. The two main problems I have with this image, purely with respect to this competition, are the fact that the photographer and the subject have interacted, and that the “city” context is not obvious from the image. The subject is no longer ‘alone’ – he has reacted to the camera and photographer, and therefore the essential quality of “aloneness” has been lost. Although we know from JudithAnn’s gallery description, that the child is alone in a school yard, we cannot sense this from the tightly cropped image itself. I absolutely love this portrait, it’s gorgeous in every way, but for this particular competition, at the moment of capture the subject was not alone.


Dining alone by davidtrout
This image is a treat, it combines artistic composition, appropriate subject matter, evokes a feeling of “solitude by choice” and self-absorption. I love the huge ‘negative space’ to the right and the almost surreal wall colour. I cannot imagine any building really having such a wall colour, but then again, architects will be architects! David has used this wall for many high quality street photographs and has explored the lone subject in an urban context often. I particularly like his “In the pink..” and “Waiting for Gotho”.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.


Alone by gartmore
This image is full of dynamism, and although I quite like some motion blur in a street image, this one suffers a little too much from the overlay of the shallow Depth of Field caused by the f1.8 aperture. The focus seems to be on the steps rather than the moving subject and therefore the head of the subject is both out of focus as well as blurred. The light conditions must have been very difficult - 1600ASA, 1/30 sec, f1.8. I think this image would have best been taken with a wider angle lens in portrait format – giving more stairs in front of the moving subject would provide better context. It is always better to have a subject entering the frame, with space to move into rather than hitting the edge of the frame on the way out. That being said, it is often very hard to have the right combination of lens and settings for street photography – with a moving subject, you get only one chance, have no time to set up, must rush the shot and hope you get something meaningful. It is a perhaps 80% anticipation and 20% luck. When it comes together, of course, it’s a joy. Gartmore’s recent documentary posts of homeless people and beggars are compelling.


By Petticoat Lane by mecrox
This is a wonderful street portrait that answers the brief in fine style. Although difficult to tell, it appears to be candid, despite the proximity of the camera to the subject; or the subject ignored the photographer. The facial expression radiates a feeling of exasperation, the body language shows the strain of a much needed pause in a difficult journey. There is sufficient space and distance to place him in the city context. Technically, the image is sharp and detailed. The only negative aspect is the missing feet – a slightly wider crop would have been a bonus.


Time out by mudge
Another great street image that satisfies the competition brief so well. It is framed well to give us the benefit of the sign and all the story that this might evoke. I imagine we are looking at a retired seaman on a daily wander with his dog and plastic bag, finding himself, yet again, in front of the Seaman’s Mission or similar place, where he recalls the comfort of his working days. There is a sense of loss, melancholia and ‘outsiderness’ in this image – it has meaning, context and story. Lovely street photo.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.


Sad in the City by aliengrove
This image bites quite hard, it is compelling street photography and satisfies the brief perfectly. Their may be grief or heightened despondency here, but the body language expressed in a public street tell a possibly tragic story. Everything about this image is compelling, subject, setting, framing... but it is let down severely by poor focus. It is very odd because it almost looks like nothing in the frame is in focus – as if the Autofocus was disabled and the lens was still set on that last image taken. This technical fault can’t easily be ignored because it interferes with our appreciation – we know the image is great, we can imagine it in perfect focus, but it is not, and that plays badly on our eyes distracting us. I so wish this had been in sharp focus, because I would have given it first place for sure. I can’t help wondering if your “Solaris” might not have been a better choice – it’s dramatic, stunning in it’s simplicity, and places a single figure squarely in a massive urban context.


Desolate Walk by Noelcmn
Although this image has a single person in a city context, it is far more about the city than the person. The person is lost, and is really just an extra in a wide angle cityscape. It is at the other end of the scale to many of the images too closely cropped and looses all impact by taking in too much.


WAITING... for someone? by darlene
Although it may not be, this image has a decidedly posed feel to it and has almost no “city” context at all – it could be anywhere, and almost certainly indoors and possible in a residence. Being as close cropped as this means its focus is solely on the individual, and not the person in an urban street context. The photo is sharp and the exposure perfect, and the subject has a lovely wistful expression, but she is removed entirely from the “city” context.


Semi Final by AxelLuther
This is image satisfies the brief perfectly – it is dramatic in scope and composition, artistic in colour palette and shouts isolation and alienation. The underground shopping mall is deserted and cold; the blue/green hue accentuates the unhuman or “alien” feel to the space; the 18mm focal length widens the view to create a vast, empty cavern completely devoid of humanity except for one, single person trudging, head down, along the side of the space to who-knows-where, on a mission we can only guess about. This uses all the creative tools in the camera to evoke a mood and to embed meaning. The only improvement I might mention is in the positioning of the woman – had she been about 1-2 metres to her left, her outline would have been better defined against a plainer background. But this is a minor quibble.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.

I have chosen this as the winner because it uses image compositional metaphor to clearly depict the sole, isolated person very much alone in a cold, unfriendly city. Thank you Axel for answering the brief so well. This is exactly what I had in mind.


Single man by Dr. Mhuni
This images has a very good aloneness feel to it however, the out of focus handrail in the foreground dominates the frame and detracts too much from the power of the image and the embedded story. It would seem to me that it would have been easy enough to lean forward or reposition to take the shot again to eliminate this distraction. The composition without that railing would have been excellent: good mood, body language, exposure and story.


Havana is Home by peterm23
This is a great documentary portrait with depressed surroundings to enhance the mood. The two main problems I have with this image, purely with respect to this competition, are the fact that the photographer and the subject have interacted, and that the “aloneness” of the subject is not clearly defined by the image. The subject has reacted to the camera and photographer, and therefore the essential quality of “aloneness” has been lost. I love this street portrait for its colour palette and composition, although I think it would be improved by cropping the remainder of the car quarter-panel out even at the expense of the green door frame. However, for this particular competition, at the moment of capture the subject was too conscious of the photographer and therefore not alone in the city.


Bus stop angst by alun
Another great street image that satisfies the competition brief very well. It is framed well to give us the benefit of the empty bus shelter and negative space to the right. The dark frame of the shelter and the scratched, grimy glass. The woman is rugged up against her situation and her almost stunned expression seems to say “how did I get to here and how will it all end?” There is a sense of having been assailed by the dirt city and her circumstances, lost dreams, melancholia and aloneness – it has strong meaning, context and story. This is a wonderful street photo.

When I reached my final assessment this image was in my top 6.


fuzzy old man by stephanie0812
Everything about this image is interesting: subject, setting, framing, posture, hurried movement... but it is let down severely by the poor focus. Almost nothing in the frame is in focus. This technical fault can’t easily be ignored because it interferes with our appreciation – even if we know the image has great potential. Not being in focus really distracts us. Motion blur can always be acceptable provided something in the image grounds us (background, other people,.. etc) but if nothing is sharp we can’t establish relative movement. It would have also been better if it had have been taken more from behind revealing a long empty street. Whatever you do, don’t throw it away.


music of loneliness by ArsenAl
This image is your classic street busker, alone with his music, and as such gives the subject an obvious reason for being where he is. I don’t get much sense of aloneness, isolation or alienation from this photo. If the shot was wider, revealing an empty square with a lone busker playing to no one, the image would have more meaning.


Many thanks everyone.

Hi Rhoufi - this was a nice, surprising christmas present. I loved your topic as I often do such kind of isolated, moody, critical pictures - When I did this semi final shooting, this was exactly my intension, to show the isolation in a big city and actually, the Germans lost the game 0:1
Your reviews are great - very detailed but focused, very open and constructive - and very prompt as well.
Congratulations to the others on the podium - your, but also many other entries were some very strong portraits reflecting isolation.
.... and finally to all - Happy Christmasa

Well done Axel, and thanks to Rhoufi for your detailed (and remarkably early) comments.

Well done to a very fine judge and also a very fine winner. Prompt as well, despite it being this time of year!

Rhoufi that was an excellent subject and so very well judged with first class comments. Congratulations to Axel whose picture really does say 'Alone in the City' and to the other podiumers Alun and Sandinista.
Thanks for my HC and congrats to my fellow HCs, John and Mudge.
David

Well done the winner! FWIW, yes my shot was candid. It's easy to take candid close-ups with a bit of practice: DA 21mm, focus preset, exposure preset, judge distance, raise camera to waist with one hand (I use a wrist strap), pause, click, move on. I doubt he noticed. The moment the subject does notice, you've usually lost the shot.

Many thanks for the judging Rhoufi and the detailed comments - particularly given the timing. Congrats to Axel and all those you've singled out.

Re. mine - I don't recall if I could have composed without the rail, though I intentionally included it as an oof f/g element. IMO it adds to the structure of the image - though I can quite understand if you feel otherwise! Whatever you think of this, I do think mine certainly ticked boxes a-d though (it's obviously an urban shot).

Thanks for the my HC Rhoufi, and for your excellent judging of a well chosen subject
Well done everyone else, in particulary other podium nominations

Thank you to our Judge....I loved the way you explained your thoughts and detailed the outcome. Thank you so much! Very wonderfully judged!!!

Congrats to all our winners and runners up.

I know that time was short for the comp this week, but hopefully we will all have a wee bit more time.

Do not forget the Fortnight and Monthly comps....They are great learning experiences....and lots of fun!

Happy New year to One and All.

Best Wishes:
JA

@mecrox
Yes I thought it may have been a hip-shot; and since it was that makes it a triumph. It's sharply in focus and nearly perfectly framed. It is amazing what skills we need to use to get some street photographs. Many photographers who do not take them do not appreciate that technical faults must be regarded as compromises that often cannot be avoided - the shot is often taken under very difficult circumstances: camera moving; subject moving, background too bright or too dark; camera in the wrong place; no time to zoom; or prime lens too long or too short;... the list goes on and on. The studio or landscape photographer does not have these problems. So when we catch a compelling, moving, unique once ever, street photograph that moves people, it is 80% anticipation and camera craft, and 20% pure luck. And that's what makes street photography so engrossing. When I see the work of the masters of this genre, I am often just struck dumb by their skill. Yours was a great example mecrox.

Congrats Axel on a great winning entry. Thanks for setting an interesting and challenging competition Rhoufi and awarding me an unexpected third place, which I highly value against such strong opposition. Must agree with the comments about the fence, this struck me after uploading it, but it was too late then.

Thanks for your detailed judging and comments and well done to places HCs and all entrants.

Congratulations to Axel for an excellent winning shot, like wise two great shots on the podium. Congrats also to the HC's. My entry was a bit OOF as you say, I think I may have accidentally had he A/F off, which is something that happens quite often unfortunately with the lens I was using at the time; it has a zoom lock too close to the A/F switch.

Nice entries everybody, interesting comp. I like your street shots Roufi so will value opinions. I uploaded this one a little quickly in response to John's forum request and thought straight away I'd uploaded the wrong one, oh well

Well done Axel I remember that one from the Gallery