Thursday, April 19, 2007
Fishing
Comments:
Sun, sea and, presumably, sand. Four weeks ago I would have said that you're teasing us but as the possibility of drought looms (not in Colin's corner of the UK) one could almost say that this is a familiar sight!
Concentrating on the back gives a surprising amount of power to the image; having the head turned for the threequarter shot of the face gives an added dynamic. Maybe that is because of the near-shaven head. The blue-grey of the sky complements the not-quite-burned skin. The handle projecting is a bit unfortunate as it looks as though a red-handled dagger has just been stuck into him and he is turning to see who did it. I am intrigued by the rail, which is obvious to the left of him but becomes fainter and is in two parts to the right. Did you crop to this, or is it as framed?
John -- I think I cropped a very small bit from the bottom and left. I see how the railing could be confusing -- he was standing in the front corner of a very large catamaran -- the front part of the boat is to his right and to his left is the side section, if that makes any sense to you. His body is blocking the joint where the two meet.
So no sand then?! Thanks - I can visualise the structure of the cataraman. It was more a question of interest than effect on the picture.
Switching subjects - you might be interested to look at the 'camera' menu in Dpreview and read the five comments on the f40. It doesn't seem to be quite as good in low light as the f30.
Hmm. Thanks -- f40 doesn't sound as promising as I thought so far. Maybe I'd better wait a bit longer for more reviews.
Another lesson in colour management :-)
As John says, there is a lot of power here. But whatever I think about the subject matter, I keep coming back to the colours. I'm sure that in my life, the rod would have been yellow, there would be a green safety sticker on the boat and he would have been wearing an orange bandana.
===
Oh, John, not too wet here either. Our spring isn't looking that grand. The valley bottoms are still wet, but a dry month has left the hillsides crisp.
===
That back makes me want to throw this guy a shirt, hat and a bottle of sunscreen.
There's something anonymous about this that's intriguing. Who is he? What is he looking at?
I wonder where you draw the line in manipulation? Given the comments about the red handle I am wondering what the image would look like with the handle coned out. I think it is distracting because it has no apparent link with the subject and it is not obvious what it is or why it is there.
The sky and skin give a strong impression of a very hot day.
I'm with Rex on this. That red handle (though it has a big challenge from the guy's red back) is rather distracting. I can only assume it's the end of a fishing rod but I'd need to see more out front for me to fell comfortable with its inclusion.
Having said that, this has a very simple feel to it. Limited (muted?) colour range and great texture in the back and head. I'm wanting to see a little more of the face as I'm sure it would be telling a good story.
Thank you for all the interesting comments. Although I am not anti-manipulation, I would not think to remove the red fishing rod handle, since it added something to the image for me.
This photo of the same subject might suit some of you better -- no red handle, and a bit more of the face:
http://cgstudios.smugmug.com/gallery/431463/4/17317272#17317272-L-LB
Post a Comment
Concentrating on the back gives a surprising amount of power to the image; having the head turned for the threequarter shot of the face gives an added dynamic. Maybe that is because of the near-shaven head. The blue-grey of the sky complements the not-quite-burned skin. The handle projecting is a bit unfortunate as it looks as though a red-handled dagger has just been stuck into him and he is turning to see who did it. I am intrigued by the rail, which is obvious to the left of him but becomes fainter and is in two parts to the right. Did you crop to this, or is it as framed?
Switching subjects - you might be interested to look at the 'camera' menu in Dpreview and read the five comments on the f40. It doesn't seem to be quite as good in low light as the f30.
As John says, there is a lot of power here. But whatever I think about the subject matter, I keep coming back to the colours. I'm sure that in my life, the rod would have been yellow, there would be a green safety sticker on the boat and he would have been wearing an orange bandana.
===
Oh, John, not too wet here either. Our spring isn't looking that grand. The valley bottoms are still wet, but a dry month has left the hillsides crisp.
===
There's something anonymous about this that's intriguing. Who is he? What is he looking at?
The sky and skin give a strong impression of a very hot day.
Having said that, this has a very simple feel to it. Limited (muted?) colour range and great texture in the back and head. I'm wanting to see a little more of the face as I'm sure it would be telling a good story.
This photo of the same subject might suit some of you better -- no red handle, and a bit more of the face:
http://cgstudios.smugmug.com/gallery/431463/4/17317272#17317272-L-LB