Saturday, May 12, 2007
Cretan at Mirtos
Comments:
This is not a natural for me because it takes me a long time to decide a photograph is worth to print and show to others.
I tend to use web forums as a method of obtaining quick feedback on images where I am uncertain about the image merit.
I print 10-15 30*40cm prints for a club competition year and I only use those prints once in club competitions. Therefore web forums are a useful part of my selection process. I admit to ignoring the input on some images! Some of those prints then get selected to represent the club and some I enter into national/international competitions.
The main limitation of web feedback is in the picky technicalities where the small web image may not reveal the problem that will be apparent on a 30*40 print.
Surely Crete is never cold enough for all those clothes!
An interesting background hinting at a high quantity of light.
There is a glint in the left eye which doesn't seem natural - a result of the downsizing/sharpening perhaps?
A great documentary portrait. That person will now live forever. The light gives the feeling of quietness.
I'm not quite sure what your preamble is getting at, Rex. Is this one that you want comment on before you print it or you have printed it and will "ignore the input"?!
It's a very modern portrait by which I mean that it isn't trying to set the man up in a 'folk' surrounding. I would say that he has a slight problem with his left eye that causes the catchlight to show that way. The tone of his skin suggests the brown of the Mediterranean.
I can hear some judges saying that the brighter white detracts but I think that it is held down just enough not to matter. What is slightly more difficult is the dominance, both in rendering and pattern, of the jacketed right shoulder; that check is quite a counterweight to the face. But overall, the appearance that the man is engaged in something - talking perhaps - without being aware of the camera is a big plus.
Perhaps I shouldn't have posted my initial comment here.
We had seen this chap wandering round the village talking non-stop. We were having a coffee in a café and our host (Vaggelis) invited him over for a cup of coffee so we could take his picture. He refused because he wanted a cup of coffee and a fresh orange juice. When the negotiation was complete he sat, drank and smoked his pipe whilst continuing to talk absolute nonsense. It was an excellent photographic opportunity as his expression changed continually and he was very passionate.
The venue was a canvas covering in front of a seaside café. The ‘window’ is plastic and the light was the reflection from tables in the next café. I cloned out some burnt out areas in order to remove the distraction.
My first conversion was a bit more subdued than this and his beard didn’t grab the attention. In fixing that I ignored the ‘improvement’ in the eye grabbing coat!
The eye catchlights have not been deliberately enhanced but I will check my work flow and the original RAW to see how much they got boosted during processing.
Vaggelis did translate for us between laughing uncontrollably. The chap was talking nonsense but not gibberish. I cannot recall the exact speech that Vaggelis translated but it included wishing us luck with our photography but overall the speech made no sense!
The title is so off-putting! I always read it with an 'i' rather than an 'a' in Cretan... Sorry.
This is such a strange portrait. There is contrast in the clothes yet the face looks surprisingly soft. The (his) left side of the face looks much more animated than his right. Perhaps the slope of the eyes makes this become apparent to me. Only minor quibble on the face is the nose moulding in to the cheek line. A very plain yet interesting background lifts this out even more. Even though he has space in front of him his posture makes him looked very cramped. As Matt said, there is a lot going on in this shot to like. Good work!
I like candid portraits and this is an interesting one. The jacket makes it less conventional, I think. The eyes do not really bother me, but that left eye catch light could be subdued a bit.
I love the details in skin, hair, and beard -- those things that add character.
Post a Comment
I tend to use web forums as a method of obtaining quick feedback on images where I am uncertain about the image merit.
I print 10-15 30*40cm prints for a club competition year and I only use those prints once in club competitions. Therefore web forums are a useful part of my selection process. I admit to ignoring the input on some images! Some of those prints then get selected to represent the club and some I enter into national/international competitions.
The main limitation of web feedback is in the picky technicalities where the small web image may not reveal the problem that will be apparent on a 30*40 print.
An interesting background hinting at a high quantity of light.
There is a glint in the left eye which doesn't seem natural - a result of the downsizing/sharpening perhaps?
It's a very modern portrait by which I mean that it isn't trying to set the man up in a 'folk' surrounding. I would say that he has a slight problem with his left eye that causes the catchlight to show that way. The tone of his skin suggests the brown of the Mediterranean.
I can hear some judges saying that the brighter white detracts but I think that it is held down just enough not to matter. What is slightly more difficult is the dominance, both in rendering and pattern, of the jacketed right shoulder; that check is quite a counterweight to the face. But overall, the appearance that the man is engaged in something - talking perhaps - without being aware of the camera is a big plus.
We had seen this chap wandering round the village talking non-stop. We were having a coffee in a café and our host (Vaggelis) invited him over for a cup of coffee so we could take his picture. He refused because he wanted a cup of coffee and a fresh orange juice. When the negotiation was complete he sat, drank and smoked his pipe whilst continuing to talk absolute nonsense. It was an excellent photographic opportunity as his expression changed continually and he was very passionate.
The venue was a canvas covering in front of a seaside café. The ‘window’ is plastic and the light was the reflection from tables in the next café. I cloned out some burnt out areas in order to remove the distraction.
My first conversion was a bit more subdued than this and his beard didn’t grab the attention. In fixing that I ignored the ‘improvement’ in the eye grabbing coat!
The eye catchlights have not been deliberately enhanced but I will check my work flow and the original RAW to see how much they got boosted during processing.
This is such a strange portrait. There is contrast in the clothes yet the face looks surprisingly soft. The (his) left side of the face looks much more animated than his right. Perhaps the slope of the eyes makes this become apparent to me. Only minor quibble on the face is the nose moulding in to the cheek line. A very plain yet interesting background lifts this out even more. Even though he has space in front of him his posture makes him looked very cramped. As Matt said, there is a lot going on in this shot to like. Good work!
I love the details in skin, hair, and beard -- those things that add character.