On Gestures - Jorg Colberg / Conscientious Photography Magazine (Tue 28 Jan 2014)

Untitled - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)
Jorg Colberg (*) writes On Gestures (*) and Photography (*):

Gestures (*), the way people use their hands (*) and facial expressions (*), are very hard to deal with photographically.

One of the complications appears to be that the moment we are made to look at a gesture (*), frozen in a photograph, we have to pay attention to something we usually do not think about.

And then it gets weird very quickly.

via Corinna Sauer: Home Story (*) by Jorg Colberg (*).

Untitled - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)

Hands and Gestures (1 of 3) - Detail (1 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (1 of 3) - Detail (1 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Yesterday's post (*) about the Eric Kim (*) cue on gestures and hands, reminded me to look at some of my recent, yet easily forgotten, photos, in a different light.

This photo is a detail crop of a nicely framed full size photo I took on the steps of The Met (*).

I really love the lady on the left - her hands and facial expression, they make it for me. It is the center of the photo for me and there are many other compelling elements to explore nice you force yourself from her gaze.

To follow is another detail crop and the original full-size photo from which both were drawn.

I also realised that I had posted (*) about this before through a Joel Meyerowitz (*) quote, which I will repeat here ..

So the idea is to walk and watch what is happening in any crowd and see if there is an interaction.

A gesture or a hug or kiss or goodbye.

Something that is a significant gesture that makes it interesting for people to look at in a photograph.

On Gestures - Joel Meyerowitz (Sat 22 Aug 2015)

cheers - Kayleene - Venice (Mon 08 Sep 2014)

Joel Meyerowitz on Photography and Gestures:

Physical gestures are the matrix of photographs

via Gesture by Joel Meyerowitz.

Hands and Gestures (2 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Hands and Gestures (2 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
And the tables to my right.

Hands and Gestures (3 of 3) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (3 of 3) - The Full Frame Photo - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Note to self - get a little bit closer in scenes like this.

Hands and Gestures (1 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)

Hands and Gestures (1 of 2) - Coffee Shop / Sanjo Dori / Kyoto (Sat 15 Sep 2012)
On the table to my left.

Hands and Gestures (2 of 3) - Detail (2 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)

Hands and Gestures (2 of 3) - Detail (2 of 2) - The Met / New York City (Mon 15 Aug 2011)
Not quite as compelling as the earlier photo detail (*), though it does demonstrate a lot going on with the hands and even a kiss.

The full-sized photo to follow.

Ordinary - Bernadette Jiwa / Story of Telling (Fri 08 Dec 2017)

Crossing / Intersection - Fremantle (Mon 27 Nov 2017)

Bernadette Jiwa on Ordinary:

Thoughtful, human acts carried out without applause are worth more than grand gestures made under bright lights. The ordinary is underrated.

via In Praise Of The Ordinary by Story of Telling.

Eric Kim / Street Photographer - Talk - University of NSW / Sydney (Fri 20 Apr 2012)

Jo and I attended a talk (*) by Eric Kim (*) hosted by the University of NSW Photoclub (*).

Eric is a young (just 24 years old) and enthusiastic street photographer and blogger (been following him for a while now), and a great presenter. The talk was well attended with at least 300-400 people attending and Eric was treated like a Rockstar.

Eric Kim - The Flyer - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
The 2 hour presentation was split into two parts with a brief break where Eric was more than happy to photographed with anyone and by anyone who had a camera, and there were a few.

Part of of talk included a slide show of some his Projects with some background to the photos. I hoped he would present the flyer photo and for me it was about the hands.I waited for him to do the obvious with his hands. When the obvious moment came, I pressed my shutter release and I heard a couple of other shutters open and close at the same time.

Eric explained the importance of watching for expressions, gestures and hand movements to create an engaging photo. This is often reinforced to me when I watch a speech or media conference and you will only hear the voice of the presenter, and when a gesture is made, most often with the hands, the voice is often overwhelmed by the sounds of the assembled media pack shutters, and the strobe-like effect of the flashes.

Eric Kim - The Hands - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
At the end of the talk, the Camera Club's Committee presented Eric with a copy of the Bruce Davidson (*) book titled Subway (*). I flicked through the book after meeting Eric and I would highly recommend it and it is now on my wish list.

Eric Kim - - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
While Jo and I waited to meet with Eric after the talk and book presentation, I grabbed a couple of photos of Eric. The one at end of this post I feel is best as I have captured Eric in a moment where he is not performing for the camera.

In some ways I feel I have captured the part of Eric where he struggles with his new found, and well deserved, celebrity status. As he said in reply to a question towards the end of the talk, he found traveling rewarding and at the same time very challenging, mentioning the impact it had on him physically, mentally and spiritually.

Eric, thanks for the great talk and inspiration you provide to 1000's of people across the world. Your success is well deserved and I wish you all the best as you pursue your dreams.

Geoff, Eric and Jo - Jo shows Eric perfect holdout photo technique with the only holdout photo of the night with Eric - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)
Eric Kim - Reflection - UNSW (Fri 20 Apr 2012)