Life Chain 2006 Southlake

[Wendyp]

I was sent by the North Texas Catholic to cover this years Life Chain in Southlake, Texas. I've set up a gallery (one in bw and one color) on my Photosite here: http://photographybywendy.photosite.com/LifeChain2006/

This is my fourth assignment for the paper. I would appreciate any comments and critiques. Thanks!!!

[Wendyp]

No Comments????

I mean about the photography, not the subject matter. This is the first assignment I was sent on that was out in the community, not in a church or business meeting. I was hoping for some comments from the photojournalists out there!!

[Joe_Lorenzini]

Can't critique you as I'm not a PJ but the one that appeals to me most is image 2858.

Looks like a tough assignment when they're all spread out like that...

Nice job.

_/oe

[Wendyp]

Thanks, Joe!!!!!!!!

It was tough because of the distance between the participants. I could only get a few shots with more than one person in the frame.

[JohnT]

Not a PJ, but you did a good job covering the spread out group. When was this event?

[Wendyp]

It was yesterday (Sunday) from 2-3 pm.

[Stephen H]

It does indeed look like a difficult assignment.

The basic idea, of standing there with a protest sign, has just been done so much that it's hard to get any zip into it.

If you are working for the organization that did this, then I think you would have some additional photo possibilities in the making of the signs, or other activities that went on before or after the event. Activities that would be of interest to the organization, though perhaps not of interest to the general public.

Of the photos presented, I think 9402 is the best at showing what went on. From a photographic standpoing, I think 9398 is actually a better photo, but you can't see what the signs say, so you don't know why they're standing there. 9398 is a cleaner layout, more orderly row of people. I think 9375 is one of the better pictures because it shows someone actually doing something, as opposed to standing there with a sign.

If there were 100 or 500 people strung down the road, the overall event, and the resulting pictures, would be much more impressive.

You might consider getting someone to drive, then panning the photographers as you drive by- a way to add a certain amount of action to a static shot, and perhaps show it from the public's viewpoint.

[Wendyp]

Thanks, Stephen.

There were 126 people. But I could only get one block at a time in the frame. I wanted to shoot from across the street, but crossing on foot without it taking several minutes (lots of traffic on a busy boulevard) was dangerous and I needed to interview people because I have to write the story. I had seen lots of pictures from the event in previous years and really wanted to avoid photos of line of people standing on the sidewalk. I wanted to try to capture the emotion of the event. I hope the editor isn't dismayed that I didn't go the other way with this.

If I have to do it next year, I'm going to try your panning idea.