In the Act of Tourism, a photo from California, West

Photographer's Note

I took this shot as I was making my way around Alcatraz Island, just before I snapped a few pictures myself of the San Francisco skyline. This pretty much embodied the tourism aspect of my visit, one tourist taking photos while the other listened to a guided audio tour regarding the history of the prison and the island itself. The prisoners housed there definitely lived in a harsh environment, but they did have one thing going for them…a spectacular view of the bay and skyline!?

I had a hard time deciding which version to submit, so I’ve once again included a black & white copy as a Workshop.

snunney, macjake, ikeharel, jhm, No_One, krzychu30, ourania heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

DACRE (229) 2013-02-13 3:40

Great cause ...balanced. Love it. Thanks for sharing.
Gil

snunney (130967) 2013-02-13 3:44

Hello Jason,
I think both versions are equally good. A well composed daily life image using depth of field to good effect. Good light and colours.

macjake (98456) 2013-02-13 3:53

Hi Jason
this is for sure the right choice for the uploaded photo. its warm and colorful, seems to suit it just perfectly.
I was in SF last year, loved it.
also went on this tour, and it was a key highlight of the trip. Great to see alcatraz!
SF surely can be a cold city! and very Windy, its not your typical Californian climate! I guess its proximity to the Bay has something to do with that :)

this photo brings back some very fond memories, good use of the fg/bg seperation.
cheers
craig

npecanhuk (79329) 2013-02-13 4:38

Hi Jason!
Very nice idea for pov and composition! Sharp fg, blurred bg, exposure and colors also pleased me in this interesting and attractive picture!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

jhm (211736) 2013-02-14 3:14

Hello Jason,

We look at together with the photographer toward the blurred background.
But this couple comes very nice in images.
Sharpness and clarity are wonderful, also colors and composition are perfect.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John

serp2000 (47063) 2013-02-14 4:13

Hi, Jason,
I think the TE is the best place for publishing your archive. This is very interesting composition and very familiar scene. Just a spying on the spies theme )))
Best regards,
Serghei

fabianoleite (13575) 2013-02-14 16:17

Great perespective, the focus on the tourists give a great sense of depth, and places us in their point of view. Nice work, congratulations!

ikeharel (113483) 2013-02-15 0:38

First Jason, let me say that this is so typical when tourists taking pictures of impressive skyline on bg cities, and the young lady on right gave only a glace towards - maybe the heat was unbearable that day.
Than, I think the choise of B&W would be better to post, in order to get less blured view on town, due to mist and haze over.
SF is magnificent town from many aspects, and showing it from the notorius island is special.
Ike

No_One (4) 2013-03-17 3:22

Hi Jason,
Nice idea to take the shot of them taking the shot. I have to agree that it's a spectacular skyline, and even with focus on the tourists it doesn't stop my eye getting drawn to look deeper at the buildings. Would love to see Alcatraz.
On the workshop, the b and w one is very cool, and I do really black and white generally, though for this pic, I would go for the colour. For me, the flesh tones in the mans arm give a good colour and anchor the whole shot. The sunlight on his armis more apparent in the colour one too, contrasting well against the city which looker a little less lit. Great idea, cheers
Noel

krzychu30 (15512) 2013-04-03 2:26

Hi Jason,
in this case I prefer colour version.And just love your POV with this man taking picture of the skyline and so beautifully blurred background(I´ve tried to take similar photos in Hong Kong,but unfortunately without so good result as you achieved here).
You were able to create here very nice atmosphere,so it´s not completely as you wrote typical tourist(postcard) shot.

Have a good day
Krzysztof

ourania (51103) 2014-01-30 14:08

Hello Jason,
I like this scene very much, it's calm, casual and meaningful, shows us how people relate to this place and this view nowadays and makes us share the feeling. I love the sunshine, the moody colours, the sense of depth and the blurriness of the whole background. The immediate foreground is sharp, dynamic and interesting and shows that you had made a clear decision as to what your main theme was. I like the bright parts in the b&w version but think that the dark parts are a little vague. The colour version is wonderful, it allows us to enjoy the light and the wind more. Congratulations and thank you!
All the best, have a lovely day,
Ourania