I was in Paris last week. Part work, but mostly fun. Eating, drinking, being merry, and of course, snapping photos my iPhone–as I do everyday–with no end goal beyond staying creatively engaged.
I was just now kicking through photos from the trip and stumbled on a couple of snapshots I thought were interesting for various reasons. I’ve posted stuff like this before and was really excited by the resulting discussion, so I figured I’d throw it out there again… These are of course just snapshots, but even snapshots have merit. AND these photos are VERY different from one another…. So, simply put, I thought I’d ask for your thoughts, which is better, A or B? And why?
Vote in the comments. Also love to know ‘why’ if you care to explain. 500 px wide images after the jump…
[ASIDE, since Paris reminds me of good food… if you like chasejarvisLIVE, I’m bringing in 2 special guests TOMORROW (Wednesday) at 12 noon pacific/3:00 eastern time. The goal is to combine a few of my passions and share them with you: photography, food, the internet. As such, join me tomorrow to welcome….
Guest #1 Penny DeLosSantos: Food/Lifestyle/Travel and National Geographic photographer Penny DeLosSantos (@pennydelosantos). Well talk about photo, food, and travel…photographing in the world’s most suicide bombed markets in the middle east, travels to more than 40 countries, and the art of combining your passions into a career.
Guest #2 Barnaby Dorfman: Barnaby is a legendary tech guru turned entreprenuer who recently founded Foodista [@foodista] – the world’s leading online food encyclopedia/wiki and an overall amazing site. Combine food, tech, and storytelling and you get a thick slice of Barnaby. Hope to see you at http://www.chasejarvis.com/live tomorrow ….]
Now go vote on those photos below. Tell me what you think…
Here’s Photo A:
Here’s Photo B: 
Which is better and why?
Photo B…
I feel as though you captured a photo that, traditionally, may be considered slightly cliche, but the Ferris Wheel just draws your eyes in and holds them hostage momentarily. Love this photo!
i love the way u combined the lines almost hitting the gold section of the images. and in the same way i love the fact there a symmetry in the person walking and the men down, its like a line. And at the same time u have one main focus of attention that is the men down, but you also have the two persons at the top sitting on the fllor, one of the persons looking the man down, on of them its going in the opposite way than the others. I just dont know to many thing combining just one great composition. 🙂 cool chase.
“A” is brilliant. My aesthetic tends to lean towards shots that are low key/highcontrast but “A” has so much going on. The bold intersecting and parallel lines, crazy texture from the stone/brick work, muted color everywhere except from the man laying on the ground in his red coat, who everyone and I mean everyone, seems to be making effort to make it seem as if they don’t even see him. There is calmness and tension in this shot at the same time. The more I look at it the more I like it and the more I like it it the more my finger taps away at that little camera icon on my own iPhone. Thanks Chase.
B: I like the way the lines lead into the ferris wheel. My favorite part of the picture is the car in the middle of the road driving away… If it didn’t have that element of current activity I would have to go with A.
For me Photo A because it could be a commentary on the world. People are in dire need of help and we go on about our business. Not wanting to find out. We keep our blinders on. Not asking questions. A could also be a religious statement. He lays on a cross and is ignored.
Photo B has nice structure and to me has it’s own beauty. The msg for me is PLAY. With the wheel in the background of a structured life. Play should be the focus but is left out of the order of life. Playing is where we should all be.
Great shots all around.
Great Tiffany, that even expands more on my feelings. Photo A can be seen as depressing as it shows how selfish and self centered we have become as a society. Our own needs outweigh those of others. I like how you use “play” with photo B. I too envision it as something we are missing. The lower half of the photo is busy and cluttered and as you progress up the photo you get a sense of freedom and the urge to open up and release the tension. Having the car move away from the clutter just adds to the effect.