Critique Style: Initial Reaction
Please share your first response before reading the hidden notes below. The photographer is looking for an unbiased initial impression.
Feedback Focus: Artistic / Expressive
Questions for Viewers
Before reading my notes, what is the mood and story that comes to your mind as you look at this picture? After reading my notes, how close was your initial impression to my intention? To the extent that you feel this picture succeeds (or fails) to capture my intention, what do you think or feel it is that makes it so?
About This Image
This photograph was part of a wonderful afternoon experience. My wife and I hadn’t been in Newfoundland long when we felt we really needed to cook ourselves some fresh cod. We arrived at the little fishing village of Conche on the northeast coast of the island and immediately drove down to the dock. There we spied an open door on a small shed with four men inside and figured “this must be the place”. We walked in to find the four of them working a little assembly line – the first fellow selecting and cutting off the fins, tossing the fish over to the next guy who cut off the head and passed it over to the next who removed the guts, and then finally over to the fourth who filleted and tossed the product into the bucket. All the while they were joking with one another, enjoying the patter and the obvious camaraderie. We were warmly welcomed inside and when, after a bit I asked if it would be okay to take some pictures they were delighted to oblige. After twenty minutes or so of joining in with their banter, my wife asked if we could buy fish for our dinner. They immediately stopped what they were doing and started prompting each other about finding a nice fresh one, pulled out a beauty and put it in a bag for us. When I asked what kind of fish it was I was told, “When you wants salmon, you asks for salmon. When you wants flounder, you asks for flounder. But around here when you asks for fish, you gets cod”. Then I pulled out my wallet and asked about payment. Seeing this, the leader of the group says, “Well, my son, if you wants a hundred pounds of cod, we charges you for it. But one fish dinner comes with our compliments”. We were so touched by the openness and generosity. So, we said our thank-yous and goodbyes and took our fish back to our truck and were just about to head off to find a camping spot when I realized I had to go back and spend some more time with these four gentlemen. I walked back just as they were finishing up for the day and were emerging from the shed. I sat down on a bench, pulled out my camera and started gabbing with them while taking pictures. I shot this scene as the fellow in the picture was waxing eloquent about how much he enjoyed finishing a long day with this, his favourite brand of beer. I managed to catch this moment as he cast his eye lovingly on the open can before taking his first sip.
Technical Details
Hi Kerry,
I think you captured the feel you intended. When I first looked at this image, I thought, “Ah, end of the day, a little tired and dirty, but happy and eager for this daily reward.”
As for what elements succeed: The way he is looking at his beer, and his careful handling of it, which suggests it is full.
ML
“Can is kinda small. Guess I’ll have to have a another.”
Nice image. I like his expression and that apron really leaps off my screen.
-P
Been cleaning fish all day. I deserve this (and probably more) cold can of beer.
This is sweet, Kerry. I was thinking the same thing as you were trying to express, so I’d say you were successful. The dirty apron, the man’s expression, and even the somewhat worn looking building all contribute to the feel of a hard day’s work and the satisfaction of completing it and enjoying the evening with a very nice start.
Kerry,
Exhausted comes to mind.
After reading the story, I think your photo was a success.
Since I saw the title first, I can’t unsee that but regardless, it feels like a hard life, labor intensive, without a lot of perks. He sitting not at a table with chairs, but on the edge of the building and maybe not even sitting at all. Hard to tell. He had wood chips or some sort of debris all over his red apron (which I love with the blue shirt) and he has the start of a smile appearing on his face. As he looks at that can of beer, it seems reward enough for another hard days work. He wants to savor it, drink it slowly and appreciate what it gives to him. He’s contemplating. Cherishing this very moment. He’s appreciating this little gift and the world he’s in. He likes his life and is content with simple pleasures. He’s relaxed.
I really love this image, Kerry. I don’t usually stop for a closer look at non-nature images but this one grabbed me. I love the composition, the open door and the other man standing in it, the bright red apron and blue shirt, the worn hat he’s wearing, the watch that he’s had for maybe his whole life, and the battered and well worn building he’s sitting on, leaning on. Terrific image!! Bravo! Now off to see what you wrote…Well, well. Cleaning fish. I can see that now. I think you nailed this one Kerry. I ouwldn’t change a thing.
@Marylynne_Diggs , @Preston_Birdwell, @Jim_Gavin, @Dennis_Plank, @Youssef_Ismail - thank you all for taking the time to look and comment. I loved making the picture and I’m glad you all found some pleasure in viewing it.
@David_Haynes - I think it is fair to say, David, that this is a man who is indeed content with simple pleasures. I appreciate that you took the time to look at this image even though non-nature images are generally of lesser interest for you. I confess, I am the opposite. If I were to make a list of my favourite books of photography or my favourite photographers there would be almost no representation of landscape or nature photography. For me the pinnacle of photography is that of people particularly through the great Magnum photojournalists like
Werner Bischof or Abbas or the less political photographers whose images nonetheless speak to the human condition like Keith Carter, Bruce Gilden, Eve Arnold, or Elliot Irwitt. And by the way, this is not a statement of universal truth but just my own personal bias 
Kerry,
If you like people portraiture, you might find the work of Peter Sanders from England to your liking.
Peter Sanders
@Youssef_Ismail - Thanks for the tip, Youssef but my reaction to Sanders’ work is “meh”. To my taste the work, for example, of Bruce Gilden, Keith Carter, and Alain Laboile is far more gritty, risky, and meaningful: https://www.brucegilden.com/work, https://www.keithcarterphotographs.com/50-years, https://laboile.com/la-famille . Laboile’s work is particularly interesting because it puts to bed the canard that you can’t take “important” photographs in your own backyard. The “La Famille” series is just pictures of his own family that are utterly mind-blowing. Take a look. I’d be interested in your take.
What a lovely story! And yes, I get the feelings you intended! The guy just inside the door is a wonderful touch, making a much more nuanced story.
The story reminds me of the time a friend and I were somewhere in very rural France and a donkey-drawn cart approached on a small dirt road. The farmer was in the driver’s seat and his wife was seated on top of a huge pile of huge apples! We were helpless with the language but made some sort of gesture trying to ask if we could take pictures, and the farmwife grabbed two apples and handed them to us with a proud smile! We tried to offer some money but they waved us off and went on their way, both with big smiles – probably evenly split between pride in their apples and amazement at the fools you find on roadsides. We didn’t get much in the way of pictures but the apples were delicious!
@Diane_Miller - I appreciate your noticing the guy’s arm just inside the door. I also thought it added a lot to the picture.
Great story on your side as well. The language thing can be an issue here in Newfoundland as well because the accent and local idiom can be so much different than anywhere else in the country. I had the same experience with that once when travelling in Somerset, U.K. I got a ride with a local truck driver while hitchhiking. This guy is talking to me, ostensibly in English but I can’t understand a word he’s saying except occasionally, something about Somerset apples. All I could do was nod my head and smile like an idiot.
Oh, I can SO relate to that! In her parents’ quest to find a good school in California, our granddaughter attends Lycée Français (which she loves!) and occasionally speaking with teachers, who are exceptionally bilingual but still native French, I’m sometimes not sure if they are speaking English or French.
My reaction is that he had a pleasant memory or thought which he now is reliving.
The most interesting part for me is the arm of a man in the dark room behind the subject. I’m weird that way. I look for things I’m not supposed to look at.
