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?
A is a cliche with awkwardly chopped off heads.
B is a playful image of a well known Paris land mark
So, for me it’s B all the way.
I tend to like A more. It gives us a story, an event, some intrigue, leaves questions unanswered (“why is this guy laying down?” – I really want to know). As it has been said – “a human is the measure of all things” – the pictures with human beings, people, beings with endless incredible possibilities in them, is always the most interesting topic to me. Also the composition is light and lively. B is just another street shot, with ok composition, but with few “sharp edges”. Maybe the composition is too centered or need a bit more detail. Still, the tivoli wheel gives certain mystery and evokes some distant longing. So, both pictures have their merits 🙂
Absolutely A!
I think that a picture have to tell something to the observer. When we see a picture, this one have to invite you to “walk along” at the same time you wander what these image try to tell you! In addition the composition allows you to see the image in a pleasant way. The A pic has that.
The B pic is an almost ordinary image easy to do by a tourist.
PS: sorry for my poor English 🙁
There is something very common in both pictures (perhaps its your vision as an artist that is working in your subconscious). Dynamism amidst stillness: that is the theme I see here. I think that speaks a lot about your vision as an artist/photographer. I choose image A. Why?
Although there are patterns everywhere on both pictures, the silhouette hid all the beautiful details in the buildings on image B. On image A, I’m sure there’s a pattern somewhere on the floor; I think that adds a mysterious taste to the image. The clear cut lines (is that the Rose Line btw?) on image A, disturbed by the men (the guy lying on the floor is very interesting btw) walking along talks to me to move, disturb, make a noise, while everyone is asleep. Even the human elements in the photo show that; while everyone is walking and going about their NORMAL business, one person dared to lie down and not be anyone else. Beautiful. Another good take Chase!
another vote for A. it stirs imagination