you may want to watch the cropping of the peoples feet at the bottom

good point

This was taken from inside the train with the camera lens was pressed against the window. I just get what there is because there is very little room to move the camera around. Still, it would be better if their feet were not cut off.

I'm sorry, but my opinion is: this photo belongs in a family album rather then here, just like the one with Sylvester. I read your writing above, but for me it seems to be another family trip. Moreover the beige pillar is to much dominating. There are to much objects wich don't have a supporting role in the scheme (suitecaces, the round hole in the wall, the sign in the upper left corner, the calling woman who doesn't has a nice facial expression etcetera).

I'm just a beginner in photography, but my advice is to make a shot what's telling a story by itself. Or one which is having interesting colours or contrasting area's. For example: by making a picture of this platform, just capture the moment when one of the travellers looks directly into the lens, while the others are busy doing other things. A shot like this would have made your picture something more interesting to look at.

Wow, I think Tamara doesn't like this one too much...? My comment would be that it feels a bit flat. I would boost the tonal range a bit.

I'd have to agree with Tamara.
I think that the main problem of this picture is that there is no primary focal point... what are we supposed to look at ?
The picture is flat, not depth to help determine the foreground from the background.
and then the scene is very crowded with no clear interest...
Maybe if you could define what you like about this shot and have it stands out it could help...

I don't wanna be an ass, but I just think the photo is not well considerationed. To make it more intersting I have another suggestion: www.edelsmidhansmulder.nl/Sufkipje/c55cc9b0ab63c46...
The beige pillar has a function in the scheme now. It seperates both persons. Seeing this, I can make a story around it... just let my thoughts go.

I appreciate all the comments. I do not feel discouraged, defensive or offended in any way. It takes time to think about a photograph and comment on it. So, I am grateful for everyone's input. I'm impressed Tamara took the time to edit the photograph to show me what creates meaning for her. Tamara, that's the opposite of being an ass... that's constructive communication.

This genre (which is street photography) is often criticized and many people just don't like it. Others do.

This photograph is one extreme in the tension present in all art, the balance between form and content. My photographs for this project are all about content because I have very little control over the form. And, the content involves people we know nothing about, except what's in this photograph.

One of Tamara's first comments ("this photo belongs in a family album rather then here") surprised me the most. In family albums the photos are planned and composed. In family albums people are told what to do. People are told to smile. The birthday cake is in the center of the frame, the tall people are told to stand in the back and the short ones are in front. What I see out my window when the train stops at this station during my daily commute is random. I have essentially no control over anything but focus and exposure. I look out, press the lens to the window, move the camera as much as I can (a few inches in each direction) and push the shutter. The pillar is there because that's where the train stopped.

This leaves content. Content is the most important aspect for a family album photo, and the content is unambiguous. We know whose birthday it is. We know who's sitting at the dinning room table, and why they're sitting there.

We know much less about the people in this photograph. We have no memories to guide us. Are the man and woman on the left traveling together? Are they lovers, or brother and sister? Where are they going, and for what reason? Is the man upset (and what is he upset about?) or just impatient? Who is the woman talking to, and why? Where is the man on the right going. He wasn't getting on or leaving my train.

Interestingly Tamara's crop (which is entirely reasonable) changes everything. Her frame's four edges impose something on the content. The the four edges of the un-cropped photograph depend on where I'm sitting, where the people chose to stand, and where the engineer stopped the train. What we might imagine about the strangers in the photograph is determined by random events. Not by the photographer or editor.

CouCou asked what I like about the photo.

I can not answer any better than with a quote from Gary Winogrand (1928-1984).

"For me the true business of photography is to capture a bit of reality (whatever that is) on film…if, later, the reality means something to someone else, so much the better."

Coucou, You are not supposed to look at anything. A focal point can not be imposed on the viewer by the photographer when the photographer doesn't control the form. I understand that the viewer's eye falls on the pillar first. But then it's forced to look elsewhere (or just give up). You have to work a bit to get anything out of this photograph. If the reality it captured bores you, I accept that. However the reality doesn't bore me. It motivates me. I enjoy "the mystery of the banal".

From an interview of Winogrand. (Q = questioner)

Q: What do you look for?

W: I look at a photograph. What's going on? What's happening, photographically? If it's interesting, I try to understand why.

D: And how do you find the mystery in the banal?

W: Well, that's what's interesting. There is a transformation, you see, when you just put four edges around it. That changes it. A new world is created.

I thank everyone again for their time and comments.

william

Hi William
What an interesting answer from you..

However, I feel there is a misunderstanding. Nobody here is criticizing your love for reality shots. And when you say that some people don't like Street Photography (as if it was the reason why your pic was criticized), I do not agree at all.

In my humble opinion, you can take as much snapshots as you like, if they give you pleasure and tell you stories.

However, by posting them, you take the risk to be criticized about the quality of the whole result, especially the framing (remember Winogrand : "There is a transformation, you see, when you just put four edges around it."), and as well about the strength of the message. In that respect, I prefer Tamara's version.

You say that this image inspires lots of questions to you : "Are the man and woman on the left traveling together? Are they lovers, or brother and sister? Where are they going, and for what reason? Is the man upset (and what is he upset about?)"
Sorry, but these are not interesting questions.

Please understand I do not want to be rude, just to explain : Anybody can take a hundred shots in the street with the same questions. Any stranger you cross by brings a lot of questions. But this does not involve automatically "interest", "art" or "emotion".

Actually I am a lover of street photography. I admire the work of some other photographers and try to get inspiration from them. But I know it will be a long way for me before I succeed in capturing in the same pic the 3 qualities mentioned above. In the meanwhile, I try to get at least one of them. That's a good start. ;-)