1. Yanidel
Yanidel photographs unique and foreign countries and the people that inhabit them. His photography has the capability of transporting the viewer to those foreign countries (India, Paris, Cuba). He captures honest, candid moments of these foreign people that gives viewers a true feeling of what it would be like to be in that unique land. He does this using dark and rich or light and bright colors depending on the setting. His Paris selection is very romantic and luxurious compared to Cuba, which is more grungy and raw.
The contrast between the bright and grungy colors creates a color blocking effect that captures interest. The lines of the boys body helps to lead the eye from the bottom left to the top right, or vice versa. The top and the bottom halves of the photo have a nice asymmetrical balance. The attire of the boy and his expression gives viewers an idea of what it is like to live in this area, but this contrasts with the bright, vivid blue of the wall behind him.
This photo gives off a peculiar feeling from the expressions of the subjects and their attire. The photo is not very balanced, with the right side feeling "heavy". There are pops of color with their clothes against the neutral background. I mainly like this picture not because of the composition, but because of the people themselves. Their attire is peculiar and their expressions make the viewer wonder what the background story is.
This image has a romantic and mysterious feeling, which suits the setting, Paris. The pop of color with the red coat stands out amidst the bland, neutral colors, creating the focal point which follows the rule of thirds. She, in the bottom left, is balanced out by the archway in the top right. The archway is dark and mysterious, contrasting with her.
2. Lee Jeffries
Lee Jeffries's street photography is solely made up of portraits of the homeless and he titles it "Lost Angels". He zooms tightly into their faces an creates this deep contrast with rich shadows and bright highlights. They look similar to drawings. He mainly focuses on people with deep wrinkles or interesting differentiating characteristics. His subjects often stare directly into the camera. The portraits bring up an emotion of sorrow or even pity because they make viewers feel as though they are sharing in the subject's emotion.
The subject's eyes are cast up with his hands placed as though to protect his head, making viewers wonder why. The dark background contrasts with the highlights of his head, arms, and beard. His beard and wrinkles create some interest in his face. The placement of his arms create nice symmetrical balance. The expression of his face and the dark shadows bring about a feeling of sorrow.
This photo is startling with the extreme expression that gives viewers a deep feeling of sorrow and a desire to comfort her. The way her hair is moving creates leading lines that draw the eye across the frame. There is contrast between the shadows of the black background and the deep lines in her face and the highlights in her hair and face. The expression is captivating and memorable.
3. Rui Palha
Rui Palha is a Portugese photographer who focuses on the architecture of foreign cities and the people who live there, with more emphasis on the architecture for the most part. His work is solely in black and white. He often uses leading lines to create interesting compositions that lead the eye across the frame. He also uses high contrast with dark shadows and bright highlights. He seems to use very few people in his photographs, but he does seem to have at least one in most of his photos. He puts most of the emphasis on the architecture rather than the people.
The main interest in this photo is the composition. The leading lines that move into the photo give it a three-dimensional feeling and they lead the eye down into the picture. They also contrast with the curved lines that are almost perpendicular. Where the tunnel leads also uses the rule of thirds and the one person creates more of that interest.
The almost zig-zag direction of the staircase create an interesting composition with the sharp angles leading up the photo. There is also a lot of contrast between the light coming through the windows and the shadows from the stairs and also creates a backlit affect with the woman on the top of the stairs.
There is again leading lines created with the stairs which directs the eye towards where the person with the umbrella is at the top, backlit by the bright light from where the stairs are leading. This light also contrasts very well with the majority of the photo which is primarily black. The other focal point besides the person is the bright sign on the left of the picture, which balances out the light towards the top right of the photo.