Next time, learn the words!, a photo from New South Wales, East

Photographer's Note

This mime was performing in the area near the station at Circular Quay. I thought he might make an interesting shot when I walked past, so I surreptitiously went behind a pillar to change lenses, setup the camera and poked my head around the pillar and took the shot :-) No doubt the locals thought I was quite mad...

Mime itself has a long history, and is thought to date back to the ancient Greeks. More on that here

hispic, Wanda1 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

momshu (505) 2003-07-23 22:41

Now that's special!

My fantasy is that while you were setting up he was prepping the crowd to introduce you. There's always one in the crowd. 'Interactive photography', could this be a new catagory? 3x's the :-)'s for this shot.

arunak (135) 2003-07-23 22:51

Excellent shot. I can not think anything negative to say about this. Well Done!!

Grae (22) 2003-07-23 22:53

I like this shot...clean, crisp focus on the subject, and the photo translated to b/w very well...the shading and lighting look very good. It's a bit dark on my screen though...I can barely see the contours of the hat. Given that that might be a problem at my end...full points :)

gringofil (0) 2003-07-23 23:47

I like it, but his hat blends too much into the background. Good choice of B&W, but I wonder how it would have looked if shot with B&W film instead of converting in PS, but I guess for that you gotta carry two bodies...one B&W and one color to have a choice between the two. But the subject is good, your compo works and the DOF is perfect. If not for the hat, this would have been perfect.

forlife (892) 2003-07-23 23:47

its a great shot Adrian,just wish the hat was not as dark as the background.

zorro (530) 2003-07-24 0:08

interesting shot!the position of an object is well done.

Mike (693) 2003-07-24 1:56

I missed a shot like this one only recently, in the old shopping town of Benidorm a similar mime artist was frightening little children by standing absolutely still for unbelievably long periods of time, how they do it I don't know, then when a child nervously went forward to look closely he'd suddenly move, giving them quite a shock, it's the one day I didn't have my camera with me and did I regret it!

Brilliantly captured, mind you, I bet you had no trouble getting him to stand still for long enough ;)

Edwin (188) 2003-07-24 3:23

What makes this shot so special for me, is that you captured two people here Adrian. A crisp and in focus subject in the foreground that you captured very well (a brilliant comment Mike :) but also a anonymous person in the background that could be sitting on a bench or in a wheel-chair.
A superb shot that gets my 6 out of 5 ;)

ornis (1271) 2003-07-24 3:25

Brilliant personality shot. My eyes focused on the hands first, then the face, then this particular way of bowing his body. This shot has something very lively, although I suppose, the mime was fixed in this position. Yes, the hat is an issue, but minor, for me. Well inspired shot... and title, Adrian.

Luko (14000) 2003-07-24 4:40

Adrian proposing a BW shot, that's an event in its own ;)...
But you were right, that character had to be in BW, color would have distracted from the necessary contrast this image demands. I have nothing else to say apart that its excellent!

Joining Mike's regrets, I have to say that on my part I also missed a pic with such a mime a few years ago at the exact moment a child was ready to kick the mime's *ss off, right behind his back. Unfortunately I had the shoulder of a friend just into my frame, the time i yelled him to move, the action was over. I hate him to death since that time...

Aegean (2571) 2003-07-24 5:24

Simply a masterpiece Adrian!

greg (2835) 2003-07-24 5:30

Excellent work, Adrian. The hat is just there - that's enough for me. The complete figure in the background is nice, too. Great!

htremblay (1666) 2003-07-24 6:10

Ces mimes sont toujours spectaculaires et vous avez bien r徼ssi � rendre ainsi votre photo. Bravo.
These mimers are always spectacular and you managed well to return so your photo. Bravo.

evilren (1395) 2003-07-24 10:40

It's hard to criticize u'r pictures..most of them are perfect.
perfect DOF,wonderful moment.there is somthing with the hat as fil wrote..if it was on a white background..or the hat itself was white..
but as we say here in israel.."supposed to is a name of a fish" (hopw it works in english)
daniel

Lizard-lady (235) 2003-07-24 14:17

Nice shot - I love the way the background is blurred and the mime is sharp, lovely.

adam (860) 2003-07-25 3:05

This is absolutely incredible. Everything just fits really well here, you have captured the inner-peacefulness of the mime perfectly.

hanawa (0) 2003-07-29 4:27

photo de jadis... ah oui magnifique
-----------------
photograph of another time... ah yes splendid!!!

Porteplume (4036) 2003-08-06 8:00

Maybe they are right about the hat lost in the dark background, I'm not sure it matters here, but this B&W, which doesn't look like a complete B&W because of the brownish-yellow in the suit (my screen?), is wonderfully photographed!
It definitely pleases my eyes...

agarcia (393) 2003-08-31 12:06

Wow!! This is just a perfect shot! I cannot see how it could be any better� it has an interesting subject, good framing, great contrast... :-D

flydragon (0) 2004-06-22 15:30

Hello Adrian
woww verry beautifull picture
this guy is amazing
and u took the pics in the right time
i like is hand position
your composition and black and white ,o) perfect
good job
Simon

pridel (233) 2004-11-12 4:18

Adrian
I have just discovered your photograph on the banner page it is a superb photograph, the b&w is really sumptuous
I like much the compo, with the man of profile, leaning like an automat.
About the compo, undoubtedly would I have to decrease the left side, which opens too much space for the stiff attitude of the mime
This doesn't remove anything with my enthusiasm
Congratulations
Pascal
in my fav box :o)

Jason_teale (717) 2007-01-30 16:31

Nice perspective on this portrait! The angle and the view are perfect! I mean seriously, the body position and the eye, along with the hands are extremely well laid out. You deserve to get a lot of points for this shot and you you don't it would be a shame. This is an extremely good shot!

Wanda1 (15142) 2007-05-14 1:37

Hi Adrian,
A brilliant mime shot, I love his positioning and your use of depth of field is great. Black and white really suits the character of the shot. Well seen and captured.
Regards
Wanda

Polonaise (5802) 2008-05-09 17:21

"No doubt the locals thought I was quite mad..."

Hey..!

Who woudn't be mad seeing a guy changing the lenses and then taking a shot...???

It happened to me once...
I even didn't have the camera on me and the crowd already went wild...

And it wasn't a mime but a telephone pole...!

.......

Cute shot, Adrian...
My kind of people...

Did you talk to him...?

have a great one, pal

george

PS: My bike went completely kaput after the pole attacked me... :-)))

horatiuTT (4570) 2008-05-12 11:06

extraordinary photo Adrian,the quality and the timing are fantastic,in my opinion it looks like the time stopped there,also
because of the retro look of the performer.Splendid.
Horatiu

Photo Information

Copyright: Adrian Warren (AdrianW) (2274)
Genre: 人物
Medium: 黑白
Date Taken: 2002-02-19
Categories: 日常生活
Camera: Canon EOS30/Elan7E, EF 200 2.8 L II USM, Fuji Provia 100F
Exposure：f/2.8, 1/1000 seconds
Photo Version：Original Version
Theme(s)：Standing Still, Street Theater, Street Performers [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2003-07-23 22:22
Favorites：6 [view]