An Old Man's Thoughts


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Photo

Title     An Old Man's Thoughts
Photographer     bsharpphotography/Brad (529) Send mail to this user
Portfolio     BSharpPhotography
F-stop     f/11
Shutter speed     1/125 sec
Categories     Emotive
Expression
Portrait
Lens     Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Camera     Canon EOS 5D
Content advisory     G (general audiences)
Submitted     November 2, 2009 11:40:24 PM CST
Views     396
Rating     14 Thumb-up

My father shortly before his death due to cancer.

Critiques

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Thumb-up Thumb-up    from ad6854/Anushka (169) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 2:01:13 PM CST (2)

You have captured a very lovely photo here of your father. The subtle light reflecting part of his face, the dark background and the thoughtful expression have caught a very special moment. A lovely picture to remember him by.

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Thumb-up Thumb-up    from robertbirkby/Robert (3,089) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 1:23:58 PM CST (1)

Brad, a really unusual but special image, I've not seen one quite like this before. It's so dark its more or less a profile. But it works great and I hope you keep the image safe to view in years to come. In terms of critical appraisal, I feel the facial features could be a bit sharper, but it's quite difficult to see at this size...and this really is nit picking, thanks for sharing. Regards Rob

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Thumb-up Thumb-up    from oheyhurricane/Juliana (317) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 10:57:38 AM CST (1)

It bothers me that we can't see his eye. I feel like there would bee more of a connection between him and I, emotionally, if i could just have a peak into his soul.
The silhouette though, on the other hand, is flawless.
I don't like how the top of his head is cut off though, makes him kinda mutated looked, and the picture's a little askew.

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From bsharpphotography/Brad (529) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 12:21:32 PM CST

Thanks Juliana,

I can see your point about the eye,but if you were able to see the eye it would change the feeling of the entire shoot, the lighting, the angles, etc.

As for cropping the top of his head (I didn't really cut his head off), that was one of those where you just try cropping at several different places, as well as no crop, and this is the one that looked bes to me.

Thanks for your opinion and comments.

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Thumb-up Thumb-up    from timaxxl/Ti (1,229) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 12:24:22 AM CST (0) Early critique

Ah - good! this seemed not like a portrait, but a line between two black parts. Idea is great, I can clearly read a person's face and a hand. Thank you for sharing!

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Thumb-up Thumb-up Thumb-up    from arjen/Arjen (14,991) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 12:15:56 AM CST (1) Early critique

Beautiful sudbdued mood. Well executed, very well in line with the theme. The only suggestion I have (which you can still do in ps) is to decide where in the black space you want the face. More to the right would give him more space to look at, more to the left would give it more weight from the (imagined) head.

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From bsharpphotography/Brad (529) Send mail to this user on November 3, 2009 12:43:24 PM CST

Good points. I tried moving his face to the right, but then the photo didn't feel balanced. When I moved it to the left, there was not enough space for him to look into. It's hard to tell without actually being able to try it one way or the other. But apparenlty is just seems a little off to you. So thanks for the suggestions. I will revisit the image to see if there is a better crop just waiting for me to find.

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Thumb-up Thumb-up Thumb-up    from jcragin/John (119) This user is a Premium Member Send mail to this user on November 2, 2009 11:55:02 PM CST (1) Early critique

Very nice image... the control of lighting is superb, it compliments the pose and conveys a feeling of deep thought. The composition and light fall off at the right of frame help to make this a very dramatic image... well done.

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