[Leica] Different street chats

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Luis Ripoll has been showing "Street Chats"
Subject: RE: [Leica] Different street chats

Hi Luis
You are collecting some very interesting "chat pictures" to say the least
with the ambiance of the street surroundings giving them an "old world"
look. Obviously it is old world in Barcelona.

Some are absolutely perfect where the visual communication between
individuals is so strong we almost hear them speaking. :-)

>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Barcelona/070308-10w.jpg.html<<
Or this:
>>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Barcelona/070305-15w.jpg.html

However, this one doesn't fall into the, "chat" look. It appears like
several people walking along the street. They are not visually "chatting"
They may have been talking and walking, but they are not looking at each
other or giving the visual effect of communicating.

This one for example:
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Barcelona/070308-04w.jpg.html<<<

This is excellent simply because we see the facial expressions adding to the
"chat" effect:
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/luisrq/Barcelona/070303-30w.jpg.html

I notice several LUG members have said you should do a book. This of course
is much easier said than done. You must ask yourself who would buy the book
or where is the market before you begin spending a great deal of money on
film and processing.

May I suggest you continue shooting until you have a collection of about 50
to 100 very strong drop dead classic images, then take a set of prints to a
publisher, you may have to go to several before any interest is shown to
publish a book.

It isn't the easiest thing these days to have a "Photo book" published
because the buying public are usually other photographers. Or in the case of
Kyle Cassidy's book a national interest in the subject. Or my medical book
buyers are medical professionals.

But a book about people chatting on the street wont be as easy a sell to a
publisher because as beautiful as your pictures are, it may not have a
strong enough buying power for sales to satisfy the production cost and
profit to the publishing house.

Look at it this way, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." I'd keep shooting
and editing hard for only the most interesting with a strong visual chat
look to them. There can't be any doubt when a viewer looks at the picture
they immediately know the subjects are "talking-chatting!" Certainly where
you capture strong facial expressions adding to the "chatting" impact

Edit on the basis of... "if in doubt, OUT!"  

ted