which one??

ok...three pictures taken at the same time...elapsed time about 45 seconds....if i were at home , i would make three little prints,  thumbtack to my wall, have a cup of coffee and make a decision...but i have to pack for my trip back to new york in the morning....so, i am giving you a little job to do...choose one of these two or the one now posted in the sequence below...now mind you, i may disregard your "vote"!!  all of us should march to our own drummer....but since i cannot decide right this minute and since i am going to be editing some of your work, it is fair enough to get your opinion...

Comments

[Morgan Hagar]

David- I don't have any specific context to the images, but I prefer the first one (where you can see her face). This is based solely on aesthetics as I don't know any caption info or what the relevance could be to the whole story. Since you posted that one first, I assume your gut lead you there and I would respect that. Just for the sake of conversation, I would choose the one with the fella a close second.

Anyway, I'm one of the wksp people coming in late sept. I look forward to meeting you. Have a safe trip home...

[misp]

seoul_hair is rather spooky, reminds me of a
scene in a Japanese horror movie Ringu (The Ring).

my vote goes for seoul_hair_2 for the strong composition and mood.

[misp]

or was it Ju-on (The Grudge) ?

[Trent]

both good. #2 better.

[matt]

my vote is for the first one. although i prefer the light and dual elements in the second photo, i really wish his entire head was in the lighter blue. but i really like the loneliness and the hair in the first photo. i look forward to seeing more.

[Karl]

Since I am a fairly "classical" person and a scientist (if that has anything to do with my appreciation) my vote goes to seoul_hair_2. But it will be interesting to see whether you pick another one, and your reasons for choosing them, because you probably have the complete opposite personality/appreciation frame work compared to mine.

[Martin Fuchs]

without knowing how one of these fits into your story i am solely selecting as a single photograph, the one that makes me feel the most is seoul_hair.

[Christopher Wise]

I prefer #1 with the black running streams of hair.

The obscured, turned away face is a nice companion to the hidden/revealed portaits from the previous post. The other blues show more, but don't really say more...

PS: I arrived here following a lightstalkers post about your workshop in Bangkok with Jim Nachtwey. Have fun (it's my "home town")!

[einars o]

seoul girl blue for me, it feels like a goodbye to me

[johnny maher]

number 1 for me - seoul_hair.
what i like about it is the angle it shot at which enables us to see the rest of the stairway(or spooky lack of it). the light hits her shoulders perfectly so the head is defined from the shadowed body. the slim appearance and shine from the jet black hair gives a distinct asian feel to a photograph which otherwise is empty of any other signifiers

[bobblack]

D:

if you can wait a few hours, i'll give you my thoughts ( i need wine)...running to teach: i like all 3 for different reasons....why not a triptych?...

more later tonight...

b

[Giancarlo A. Mori]

David,

I like both Seoul_girl_blue and Seoul_hair_2 very much and I had to go back and forth quite a bit before deciding. In the end Seoul_girl_blue tells a stronger story for me, although as an image, Seoul_hair_2 has really great composition, detail, and light.

The blur in Seoul_girl_blue, the negative shape of the boy, some of the details (the greening hue on the wall...) really make the image for me.

I too look forward to seeing what you pick and why...

Giancarlo

[robert]

baseball cap//woman ++

[david alan harvey]

morgan....

actually, i posted kid with baseball hat first and then deleted and replaced with "seoul hair 2"....when i was actually shooting and "chimped" i liked "seoul hair"....hence the dilemma....

well, it is 1:30am my time...up at 6am, so no decisions yet since i am going to bed...

hope you guys get this all figured out for me by the time i get to new york!!!

many thanks, david

[LVM]

My vote goes for seoul hair 2, and i can't say exactly why. That's my problem:
- In seoul hair i miss the face of the girl wich is obviously the point of the picture, but still missing the face. makes me think at fisrt look that she was runaway of somenthing.
-seoul girl blue it's very strong, its like a goodbye, and its really a "harvey" picture.

but seoul hair two its everything; mood, a "harvey" picture, the expression in the face of the girl, the stairs... i loved it.

[Simon Minshall]

my pick: "Seoul hair"

I can only see it and "Seoul girl blue"

the third is gone

[Simon Minshall]

i see it, forgot it was in the previous post.

S.

[cathy scholl]

Although editing my own work is like pulling teeth I seem to have no problem editing yours :) ...why is that? I don't know where everyone is getting titles from but the image I prefer is the man and woman #2. Why? Because what I LOVE to photograph and to see in photographs is a story about people. Both images tell a story but I just happen to prefer this story over the other one. I actually like the composition and darkness of the first one better but #2 still wins.

[Jeff James]

My vote goes for the one posted in the seoul search tryptic (I love the red, yellow, blue combo).I'm not exactly sure why; I just find it more compelling and pleasurable to look at. All three are really beautiful, but the 2 above don't have the same appeal to me, nor do they invoke the same lonely story. They're more scary and threatening.
Can't wait to see the rest of your work.

[Hanny Morales]

hi!
i prefer seoul_hair_2 because it makes you wonder about the mood of the girl, what's she thinking, why is she there, what is up there in the stairs, etc. and i think it has greater emotional content.
whereas seoul_hair doesn´t trasmit so much to me... i see it and i just wonder where is she coming from and where is she going. can´t see her face so it doesn't transmit her emotions.
and finally, seoul_girl_blue. to me it is not so mysterious... you can imagine a lot of things from that image i think, it doesn't make me wonder so much about what is happening, it's the kind of picture that kinda tells the story by itself.
saludos david!

[tom hyde]

My choice would be Seoul_girl_blue.

While I like Seoul_hair_2 aesthetically more, the juxtaposition of the sexes in Seoul_girl_blue advances the story set up in the first two. It goes more to underlying reasons for obsession with beauty, if I understand what has been written here about Korean culture, and the ultimate fear of ... being ignored - forever lonely, left standing in the stairwell alone and unwanted, turned slightly to the departing back, eyes downcast, reflective, sad, wondering what if, trapped, never to ascend the stairs to .... what, happiness? Who is she really, I can't quite see, or can I? It's an ironic image, the stairs are hers to climb on her own if she wants to, she stands there with a choice of direction but she is turned to the man as he departs ... where does she place her worth? What price for her choice?

Perhaps it says something about photographers too.

[Guido Steenkamp]

David, it's the first one, trust me, Guido

[Mike Berube]

David,

I like the first one however the second one adds a bit of mystery for me... I want to be there kind of feeling...

[Praveen Mantena]

David,

I like the first one by far. The lighting, composition and emotional undertones of the subject register most movingly. A perfect balance between clarity and mystery. It makes a great double-bill to your first shot of the girl on the roof-top, "more Kibbutz" heading from May 27th posting.

The second image is no doubt darker but is also more akin to a horror flick as noted. 3rd one is nice too but it feels somewhat more like a grab shot compared to the more thoughtful, considered and deeper feel of the first image.

Out of curiosity, any reason why you chose to use a zoomm lens this time around on your assignment, including telephoto focal lengths? Not that it makes any difference to the final images and change can be good, but I guess I'm surprised given your prior history against them.

Looking forward to viewing the book someday.

Cheers,
Praveen

[Praveen Mantena]

The extend the analogy from cinema, the first image looks like it could be a still from a moody Wong Kar Wai film (Fallen angels, etc), the second like a shot from an Asian horror film.

[Tommy]

I think in depends in what you want to show ... the first one its ok if you decide to choose to show some histories of pleople that are shy or maybe dont show their bodys or faces at all. In my opinion i like the combination of the three with the first one...

see you ...

[Amy]

number one on this post.

[asher]

seoul_hair_2. I can't explain why- just a gut feeling that the other two don't invoke in me.

[Lee Guthrie]

My vote goes to Seoul_hair_2. Seoul_hair is nice yet I miss the element of the face. To me the face in hair 2 makes the shot. The one with the baseball cap.....marginal in my mind but 2nd choice. The hair_2 tells me more about the girl than the one with the baseball cap. She looks shy yet happy to have her photo taken and the stairs are sharp which is an important element in the photo.

Lee

[bobblack]

david:

indeed, theyre like an a frame from Kar-Wei image...in fact, seoulhair2, is really akin to some of the pics snapped by Christopher Doyle (friend of my friend holly and ka-sing, who i hope to introduce u too someday :)) )...christopher once described to me how he shoots women ...the way he drinks gin ;))))...more about that at a later date (maybe in nyc ;)) )...

anyway, I've never liked the idea of "singles" (wrote about that at LS last week), so it's impossible for me to see images without their collision: against other images within a story or thought...

as i wrote on other post, while i think seoulgirl2 is "classic harvey": the deep sadness, the womb-water blue, the erotic longing, the ache of just-past-missing, the wide spaces within the moment, the fever blue (diebenkorn blue ;)) ), for me it's almost too Perfect. It is a technically beautiful photograph and I LOVE HER EXPRESSION TOO and the crescent of light beneath her left eye (right of image) and her stilled face (sadness and anger), the object on the wall or earing, the asymmetric composition and angle, and the black hole over the stairs. It is a gorgeous image, but she is too static, here, for me. The color speaks to me of emotional movement, sadness, longing, she's just too still there, given the color: b/w yes, i'd go with that one, but here, i think its another...

but, if you group it with the other images, it makes sense to me, but, if its about the single image i go with seoul hair. I would love some small point of light on her face, but that didnt happen and so be it. I love the movement and i particularly love the composition of the stairs here: flight, absolutely flight and withdrawl: that image already suggests the image with the boy, only minus the boy, it's more powerful, 'cause the emotional content suggests that: =minus, absence....

i like seoulgirl blue and the 2 figures, though i hunger, in this kind of visual juxtapositon, to have one either in focus or one with rich blur-grain (but that's a personal aesthetic ;)) )...I love the spike-line of light on his back and that he blocks the visual space (my friend John Vink is a master at that kind of obfuscation: blocking space with people/objects in the foreground/midground :))) )...and i like that foregrounding "problem" (i love images cut: disorientation)...but, the emotional seems significantly less in that picture than in the other 2 (conveying the same absence, conflict, sadness)....

in the end it's between the 2 seoul hairs....while i love love seoulhair and the movement and the black hole and the composition, in the end, even with the static nature of seoulhair2, i think her face is the clincher....face is so so important there, that i'd take that one...in the end, for me, a story about koreans still must have some face, even if a thumprint of light.....

sending u somehting to thing about ;)))

hugs
b

[bobblack]

in otherwords, as much as i love the 1st image in this post, i'd go with the original one you posted on last thread...seoul_hair_2 .....b

christ, was my post longwinded ;)))))...

[Rodrigo]

David, which one has a different history, a different "momentum". The first, she waits. The 2nd (hair), she's running alway (from someone?), the 3th, it's the final of a romance... I like all the photos. Each one has the same girl but a different character. Which history you want to tell us?

[asher]

I'd like to change my answer to seoul_hair.

The more I look at it, I sense an intriguing, mysterious, almost ominous presence. chilly...

['Pong]

Seoul Hair 2 has her face expression, Seoul Hair looks more mysterious and Seoul Girl Blue interacts with the boy in cap emphasising the context. To me, Seoul Hair 2's got a deeper touch. I'd go with that.

[Kevin German]

I'm gonna reach hear, but what do you think about a diptych? With seoul_hair on the left and seoul_hair_2 on the right? I just kind of like the feeling it gives.

But if you have to chose a single photo then I would lean towards seoul_hair_2 as well.

[Mark Adams]

I vote for the first one.

[Hanny Morales]

now that i think of it... i agree with rodrigo. each one of us will like one picture more than the other two based on what we see...and how it makes us feel. but isn't it more important the message/feelings/mood you david want to transmit in general with the picture?

anyway i can't wait to find out which one you finally chose!

saludos!

hanny

[Rafal Pruszynski]

Its tough, on the one hand I think seoul_hair is awesome. very graphic, mysterious but maybe it doesnt fit in the sequence you posted as well as the other one because you cant see her face. So for me Seoul_hair is the best on its own, but 2nd favorite as far as fitting in the sequence. seoul_girl_blue is my least favorite from the 3.

[LwS]

I prefer the first one after some consideration. I find the composition the strongest of the three - there is a great sense of mystery to the image as she appears to emerge from the darkness of the stairs - where has she come from, where is she going. I like the relationship between the two models in the second image and the blur adds to the sense of separation, but the image seems a little dirty (for example, at the top of the stairs it looks like there is a smudge). Image 3 is a bit of a poor man's image 1. Hope this helps.

[Andrei]

If I were to pick the 'best' picture i would choose "seul_girl_blue"; it cought my eye, the other ones i think are lacking something, but i don't know what.

I also have a question, it's sort of a techincal one and if you want to (knowing you would like to keep this forum tech-free) you can e-mail me the answer at andrei.spirache@gmail.com .

Here it is: what are you trying to obtain in the post processing part of your workflow? i mean, i suppose you shoot raw-files, do you try to get them to look as natural as they can be, or to look as good as they can? (i'm sure this is a beginner's dilemma)
I'm also curious about what software do you use for developing the raws. (this was the tech part)

[Eva]

It depends on what you want to say with the picture. And where it stands between the others, if it has to fit into a sequence.

[Rosemary]

Seoul girl blue spoke to me--hard to define--but I feel more a sense of loneliness and sadness than with the other images. Seoul hair is wonderful--action, mystery. I think Seoul hair 2 fits the best with the series Seoul search--the expression on her face, the steps leading where? . However, I would like to see how it would look with Seoul hair in third position. The face of the first woman is covered by her hands, the second image the eyes are strong. Would the face being covered by the hair in the third image work as well? I don't have answers, only questions

[Rosemary]

Seoul girl blue spoke to me--hard to define--but I feel more a sense of loneliness and sadness than with the other images. Seoul hair is wonderful--action, mystery. I think Seoul hair 2 fits the best with the series Seoul search--the expression on her face, the steps leading where? . However, I would like to see how it would look with Seoul hair in third position. The face of the first woman is covered by her hands, the second image the eyes are strong. Would the face being covered by the hair in the third image work as well? I don't have answers, only questions

[David McGowan]

My "two-second instinct" likes seoul_hair best.

[Mónica]

Seoul_hair...
If I'm not mistaken, you are working on youth, and when I think of that, I think of confusion, mystery, beauty, self-consciousness... and I get all that from this image... I don't need to see her face to know that she is young...
This is a very playful and intriguing image... like youth should be!

[michelle]

seoul_hair

dark, scary black hole at the top of the stairs...and the big dark spot where her face should be. both are mysterious...perhaps you could get lost in either one. depth of blackness, descending a staircase, confusion of youth...a bit of hope (light on her shoulders, light on the crown of her head) the whispy hair that seems to hint at wildness and freedom....

[janet]

Seoul girl blue for me. I think they are all three fascinating, but the one I want to know more about it seoul girl blue. The dark shadow in front of the guy makes the composition for me. It keeps me captured as I go round and round, wondering...I kept wanting to lean towards 'voting' for the others as this one is what seems familiar to me of DAH work from what I know, but maybe this is an example of what you do so well, but I want to know more, where these people went, did they speak to each other, you? etc etc. It's a curious photo. Thanks! ~ from Janet, November 2006, San Miguel. Great blog!

[Akaky]

Seoul girl blue; there's tension there, something has happened or is about to happen and you cant help but wonder what's going on.

[Arie]

david...none of them...the second one is not balanced enough, the first one, Iam not sure about what you are trying to say...

arie

[Jeff James]

Seoul_hair_2...definitely!