Hi Alan,
thank you for your detailed comment. I'm glad the image works for you as Human Interest.
Regarding the focusing, I honestly don't remember the exact AF mode I used for this particular frame. During Pride I was switching between different AF settings depending on the situation. When I use Servo, I usually work with a single AF point and place it on the eye of the main subject, so that may have been the case here.
In any case, my focus was on the person in the center. The two people in the foreground were actually much closer to me than the photograph may suggest, and at 62 mm and f/3.5 they were already outside the plane of focus.
Personally, I don't mind them being out of focus. On the contrary, I like the way they create a natural frame around the main subject without competing for attention. But I understand why their apparent distance from the main subject made you wonder about the AF mode.
Thank you again for your comment and for taking the time to look at the image so carefully.   Posted: 09/02/2026 07:19:21

Your response explains why the on-lookers are out of focus. In fact, if your intent was to make your subject stand out, as you indicate it was, your choice of the spot AF setting was good and you achieved your goal. The problem is, if this image was to be entered in competition, would the judges, in judging your image, come to the same conclusion as a reason for only the subject being in focus?

Not doing any editing of my images at all (I believe if you couldn't do it in the age of film,you shouldn't be able to do it now), I tend to look at the technicals of other images with a greater focus on the technical aspects..   Posted: 09/02/2026 07:45:31

Alan, you are the exception to the rule......and you have chosen to remain in the past. Of course there are still purist photographers today, and in fact there has been a trend to return to film, with the difference that now the negatives are scanned and processed digitally. Oh well   Posted: 09/02/2026 13:07:50

Hi Isaac,
you made me smile. 🙂 I think Alan and I simply approach photography from slightly different directions, and that is exactly what makes these discussions interesting.   Posted: 09/02/2026 15:13:48

Isaac, you were courteous using the word "purist." The word you were looking for is curmudgeon. And there is a difference between scanning a negative to produce a digital copy and manipulating the digital image itself from the get-go. And why? Because you learn nothing about photography and how to use the camera tools to produce the image you want, with the creative aspects that your eye tells you if you use editing programs to correct your mistakes after the fact. I may not be the greatest amateur photographer, but I do get my share of acceptances and recently one of my images just won a PSA gold medal, but at least I can say my images were honest. If it didn't come out right when I created it, critiques, such as we get here in the study groups, give me insights to correcting the next image. That's the learning curve you don't get when you edit.   Posted: 09/02/2026 15:22:53

Hi Alan,
I understand your point. In reportage photography, though, I often work with depth of field quite deliberately. If I want to draw attention to one particular person or moment, I will often let the surrounding elements fall out of focus so they support the scene rather than compete with it.
For me, the opposite can sometimes be more distracting. If everything in a busy environment is equally sharp, the eye can start wandering through elements that are not important to the story. That is something I would personally be more hesitant to submit to a competition.
Of course, it always depends on the particular situation and on what the photograph needs.   Posted: 09/02/2026 15:11:44

Karel, my point was advanced only from my perspective, which is not yours. Your creative eye wants images using that technique, and you've used it well. In fact, I'm going to add it to my book.   Posted: 09/02/2026 15:24:47

Hi Alan,
thank you, I appreciate that. :) And that is exactly why I enjoy these discussions, we can look at the same photograph differently and sometimes take something from each other.   Posted: 09/02/2026 15:37:34