The many Faces of Newtown

[biggerry]

Well, holy crap, it was a damn struggle to pick out 4 images for this one!

As mentioned in the original EOI thread, this is something that I would definitely not normally do, probably the first real time ever really having someone in front of the camera and I have to say it was alot of fun. I must say without the help of Filo and Craig to get victims/subjects off the footpath it would not have been so successful!

Things I learnt from the day,

1) Use manual, well I did not really learn that, Gary busted my nuts about it towards the end of the day, I was using aperture pirioty exclusively for the purpose of concetrating on the subject and composition without worrying too much about the camera. That said, your explanation and rationale makes sense gary.

2) In most cases, eye contact was key, this leads to the next one;

3) I think at most we need to stick to maximum 2 photogs at anyone time - the subject often got confused where to look and as one would expect, having 3 fugly men with cameras pointing at you, a bit intimidated.

4) Don't forget to have a chat to the people, people in newtown are for the majority, lovely people and have great stories to tell, I enjoyed taking the pictures of someone then following up with chat to find out a bit about them, quite a few travellers and locals out tehre today!

5) The recording of the peoples names was sketchy at first, toward the middle order of teh batting range things got smoother, a printed sheet with columns and rows for 'name', 'email' and description ie clothes to identify would be more pro and easier. Also a clip board would be helpful.

6) Have a unified story of who we are and what we are doing, people really like teh idea of a photo society/forum, I guess what i am saying is get out story straight first make it clear, simple and concise.

7) Lighten Gary's bag of the 85mm 1.4

righto time to stop banging on.. here are my 4 from the day. I struggled with composition, I found the standard portrait and landscape style very bland, probably because I was too far away, but i did prefer angled shots to really fill the frame, i know that is not everyones cup of tea so I would be interested in comments.





Damn this kid was cute...

[craig.rohse]

Very nice Gerry, the Mother and Kid one has my top vote, but they are all very nice!!!

[surenj]

The mother and kid shot is tops indeed. There seems to be a slight blue cast on their face one could remove, but I am nit picking.

I quite like the dynamic rotated compositions. I find that the general public are quite polarised on this one. Some love it and some hate it with a passion.

I feel that the second one is the strongest.

Well, holy crap, it was a damn struggle to pick out 4 images for this one!

Gary mentioned that he will make a gallery for us to upload all the good photos so people can email to get the larger originals...

I agree with having one photographer at a time. It will be easier to keep track of who has whose pictures.

[Matt. K]

Can't quite make out point number 7 Gerry?
That red background eventually got to me so I've decided to go B&W for most of mine. Great day guys....I'll post some tomorrow evening.....

[gstark]

1) Use manual, well I did not really learn that, Gary busted my nuts about it towards the end of the day, I was using aperture pirioty exclusively for the purpose of concetrating on the subject and composition without worrying too much about the camera. That said, your explanation and rationale makes sense gary.

It depends upon the circumstances of the day. Yesterday was just a glorious day, clear blue sky, no clouds, and we were working in the open shade. Whilstever we were in that open shade area, and the prevailing weather conditions remained unchanging, then our light source, too, was unchanging. Thus we could basically set and forget our exposure and wb values, and concentrate on the people.

That's how I saw things yesterday, at any rate. Others are free to offer their thoughts.

3) I think at most we need to stick to maximum 2 photogs at anyone time - the subject often got confused where to look and as one would expect, having 3 fugly men with cameras pointing at you, a bit intimidated.

This something that Matt and I discussed briefly during the afternoon.

On the one hand, the less people shooting at the one time the better; this might make the subject feel more relaxed, may be easier.

On the other hand, by having several 'togs shooting at once, there were two points that were observed. First of all, it seemed to make the subjects feel more importance, to be of greater "value" if you like. They're being paid a lot of attention, and that's sort of an ego boost for them. Second, that level of attention and activity attracts more attention and curiosity from passers by. In terms of getting more passers by to participate and have their photos taken, that can be only a good thing.

Any other thoughts on this? Any other observations from others who were there on the day?

And from those who were not?

4) Don't forget to have a chat to the people, people in newtown are for the majority, lovely people and have great stories to tell, I enjoyed taking the pictures of someone then following up with chat to find out a bit about them, quite a few travellers and locals out tehre today!

Most important. Talking with the people helps to relax them, and that will come through in the images. The people we shot ranged from locals, kids escorting their parents back home after a visit to the local doctor, dogs taking their owners for a walk, tourists and backpackers, buskers, and even one lady sticking up handbills for her local theatre group's upcoming performances. Hopefully, there may be more to come on this, but be prepared for a short notice emergency minimeet.

7) Lighten Gary's bag of the 85mm 1.4

I was wondering where that had wandered off to.

Great images, Gerry, but where is the one of the child and his dad that you showed us as we were wrapping up?

I don't think it's the third of these, is it?

[Greg B]

I was expecting several photos of Bert Newtown

[chrisk]

#3 rocks man !! lmao
what an excellent photo ! gotta tell ya...these are sharp as a tack aswell.

[surenj]

On the other hand, by having several 'togs shooting at once, there were two points that were observed. First of all, it seemed to make the subjects feel more importance, to be of greater "value" if you like. They're being paid a lot of attention, and that's sort of an ego boost for them. Second, that level of attention and activity attracts more attention and curiosity from passers by. In terms of getting more passers by to participate and have their photos taken, that can be only a good thing.

While I agree with this generally, there can be exeptions. I was carefully observing one fellow who stated "This is very offputting" when 4 of us were howering around him like vultures.
I never got a good shot of him and he never seemed to relax. I think from memory, I asked for him to cross his arms so that he can be a little defensive and maybe a little comfortable being a little defensive. This helped a bit I think. I would like to hear what the others observed.

Some subjects love the attention as you mention and should be re-called for our 'model' shoot in Centennial park!

The other option is that every tog is given two shots (or 25 seconds) only, so everyone can have a go sequentially. We could play this on a shot to shot basis but that would be difficult to communicate to everyone.

I completely agree about the passerby reaction. My recruitement abilities were quite mediocre but when there was already a flurry of activity happening, it was definitely easier to get people to participate! We could get friends to help us with this aspect of pretending to be models.

One of the other observations is that Gary was very good at continuing the conversation with the subjects while he was clicking away. I could see the subjects relaxing within 1 minute of stepping up to the hot seat. The change in their expressions were remarkable! The rest of us have much to

Also, Gerry, you will be doing some recruitment next time; whether you like it or not.

Manual mode absolutely; at least for me. It was way easier to balance ambient and flash for each shot that way. The inverse square law got me a few times though.

[biggerry]

slight blue cast on their face one could remove, but I am nit picking

yep, nice call will address that in round 2 of the PP.

On the other hand, by having several 'togs shooting at once, there were two points that were observed. First of all, it seemed to make the subjects feel more importance, to be of greater "value" if you like. They're being paid a lot of attention, and that's sort of an ego boost for them. Second, that level of attention and activity attracts more attention and curiosity from passers by. In terms of getting more passers by to participate and have their photos taken, that can be only a good thing.

a two edged sword I think, I think some quick judgement depending on the subject is in order, for example the young lady byself was more intimidated than say the group of 3 blokes or two girl friends together.

Hopefully, there may be more to come on this, but be prepared for a short notice emergency minimeet

That would be great practice - i will definitely keep the ears open for that one.

child and his dad that you showed us as we were wrapping up?

I had two families (mum and son pictured) and another the dad and his son just out of RPA. I think the one i was looking at on the day was a tighter crop of a similiar shot shown in this thread.

I never got a good shot of him and he never seemed to relax. I think from memory, I asked for him to cross his arms

yeah I remember those 2 young chaps - if i remember correctly they did some film work and were used to be behind the camera, not in front!

but when there was already a flurry of activity happening, it was definitely easier to get people to participate! We could get friends to help us with this aspect of pretending to be models

very true, once people saw others there it did not look so strange and daunting - I did have the petticoat government and the 5 yro lined up but they never showed! Some people just to model in the slow times would be good.

Also a plan of attack when we had 3 odd people lined up would also be good, ie split into to groups to keep things moving, the last thing we need to do is waste peoples time, not that we did that on the weekend though!

Gary was very good at continuing the conversation with the subjects while he was clicking away. I could see the subjects relaxing within 1 minute of stepping up to the hot seat

all that talk of sex had the girls weak at the knees and the guys green with envy!

Also, Gerry, you will be doing some recruitment next time; whether you like it or not.

ahh man...i was doing a good job of recording details and doing followup chats I will however have a go next time..

[craig.rohse]

On the other hand, by having several 'togs shooting at once, there were two points that were observed. First of all, it seemed to make the subjects feel more importance, to be of greater "value" if you like. They're being paid a lot of attention, and that's sort of an ego boost for them. Second, that level of attention and activity attracts more attention and curiosity from passers by. In terms of getting more passers by to participate and have their photos taken, that can be only a good thing.

a two edged sword I think, I think some quick judgement depending on the subject is in order, for example the young lady byself was more intimidated than say the group of 3 blokes or two girl friends together.

I have to agree, I think a three man team is the maximum number for this sort of activity:
1. Recruiting
2. Shooting
3. Recording

It will make the detail recording much easier,if you have a designated time frame and only one photographer at the time.

I think now that we have some Images we should make up two signs in a least A3 showing off what we can do.

I never got a good shot of him and he never seemed to relax. I think from memory, I asked for him to cross his arms

yeah I remember those 2 young chaps - if i remember correctly they did some film work and were used to be behind the camera, not in front!

but when there was already a flurry of activity happening, it was definitely easier to get people to participate! We could get friends to help us with this aspect of pretending to be models

I don't think we will need this, we had soooo many people coming up, it wasn't that hard to convince most of them.

Also a plan of attack when we had 3 odd people lined up would also be good, ie split into to groups to keep things moving, the last thing we need to do is waste peoples time, not that we did that on the weekend though!

I think that comes down to more practice, if we can get the recorder a few meters off to one side so that people won't stand on the shooting spot, will fix this.

Gary was very good at continuing the conversation with the subjects while he was clicking away. I could see the subjects relaxing within 1 minute of stepping up to the hot seat

Strongly agree, he had it worked out and made the people feel more comfortable!!!

all that talk of sex had the girls weak at the knees and the guys green with envy!

What sex talk??? did I miss something (Sex is better than Cheese)

Also, Gerry, you will be doing some recruitment next time; whether you like it or not.

ahh man...i was doing a good job of recording details and doing followup chats I will however have a go next time..

True,true you did a fantastic job, only hope you got enough time behind the camera.

[biggerry]

True,true you did a fantastic job, only hope you got enough time behind the camera

truefully, i expected not even to get the camera out! so the 140 odd frames was purely a bonus!

we should make up two signs in a least A3 showing off what we can do.

I was thinking the same, something to put on the street to get people to look at as they walk past - suren's posters were not such a bad idea!

What sex talk??? did I miss something (Sex is better than Cheese)

[surenj]

the 140 odd frames was purely a bonus!

Dude, you have got me thinking. What the hell was I doing with only 84 shots. [ not counting the ones that I took with Craig's camera - besides I didn't think I took more than 60 ]

[biggerry]

What the hell was I doing with only 84 shots.

as the saying goes...quality over quantity.

I typically had 4-5 shots per subject

[gstark]

What sex talk??? did I miss something (Sex is better than Cheese)

There are some bloody nice cheeses out there, you know?

hmmm .....

A table with some wine and cheese on it for next time?

And a big table cloth, so that sex can be enjoyed underneath the table?

[surenj]

Gary, in Newtown, I wouldn't worry about having a table cloth nor bothering to go under it!

[devilla101]

Nice shots. Looks like everyone there had a good time and all the subjects looked really comfortable in front of those cameras. A testament to the type of people in this forum

[gstark]

Gary, in Newtown, I wouldn't worry about having a table cloth nor bothering to go under it!

Good point, Suren, except that I was thinking of not wanting to upset the locals too much.