American portrait, a photo from Pennsylvania, Northeast

Photographer's Note

Well, I thought I would post something different today, so I scanned a black and white print taken with a Pentax 67. This was taken in Philadelphia during my peak interest in photography. I fell away from photography a little after this time period and regain interest in photo this summer when I went to India and started using digital.

This man is actually a musician and singer. I liked his rough demeanor and thought his chain smoking was interesting to capture. The main source of light is the sun behind him, so I bounced some light back into him. It made him squint, but I like that!
Anyway, just felt like posting something different today.

MiguelP, jboj, kikvel, merpb, masdog, sohrab, pulezan ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

MiguelP (14470) 2004-10-16 9:58

Quiet a change, Christina!!!!! An a good one. He look like Benicio del Toro. Once more, you show us how good you are doing portrait. I can imagine how he is, his way of life. Keep photographing.

everlasting (19680) 2004-10-16 10:44

Yes, its nice to post something different once in a while, otherwise you kind of get stereotyped. :)
This is very good use of B and W, not too harsh and well scanned for an old print.

maciekda (19895) 2004-10-16 10:48

nice portrait, good composition and nice light. but the picture is a bit over processed for my taste - too strong USM in PS I guess. anyway, it is a good stuff

jboj (251) 2004-10-16 11:25

this portrait has a great atmosphere, I like it being overprocessed,makes the man look ever more rough. I would just crop a little of the bottom part, his shirt takes too much space in my opinion.

Roly (2024) 2004-10-16 13:02

The portrait is promising, the model is well chosen and shows a lot of personality. However, the aura around his head is unsightly and hints at course processing. Cropping below the left elbow would be a good idea and the file needs to be posted in a larger size - 50 k is too little and leads to the ugly artifacts in the sky.

kikvel (4784) 2004-10-16 14:01

so you will add this to the hunt?

great model here, this can be used for an ad of cigarrettes..

;)

Maybe a different crop can improve the picture, maybe

Nice results

K.

merpb (2001) 2004-10-16 14:34

Nice portrait Christina, plenty of presence and poise that works well in B&W.
The contra jour light adds a gritty feel that seems to compliment the subject.
The PP work lets it down a bit but you should try and tidy it up as the image is very strong otherwise.
I'll try a simple workshop for it doesn't need much.

[workshop] [compare] +

RGatward (20108) 2004-10-16 14:38

Great character portrait here Christina. Good to look back through ones archives occassionally, certainly worth finding this one.

vapours (8264) 2004-10-16 15:15

Good photo, you seem to have captured the stereotype American quite well. The squint in the eye makes the shot for me.

flydragon (0) 2004-10-17 5:34

hello Christina
nice black and white portrait ;o)
tis guy look cool and also something
menacing in his gaze
i like this picture
well done
••simon••

woww u have a pentax 6X7
i had one long time before
verry heavy camera ,o)

clodreno (0) 2004-10-17 6:12

a change coming from you.
Wat an intense look.
A nice portrait. Great pose he has with his hand on the cigarette.

sohrab (7439) 2004-10-17 6:57

heyyyyyyyyyy
what a cool photograph christina . try and get back to your peak stage. to be honest this is far better than your other posts in terms of techniques and stuff.
infact you're talking about bouncing the light and stuff hehe. thats serious photogrpahy
you have the potential so get back to photographing serious :)
how did you manage to get that kind of an aura around this man?

kinginexile (2598) 2004-10-17 14:29

Ooohh, Christina, you like rough guys with tattoes, hein? ...I mean for portraits!
I am sure he would also like the squinting in his eyes, very movie star, very Bogartian!

PS: So...What happened after? ;-)

sn00zie (2384) 2004-10-18 9:56

this is quite a portrait Christina. love it!
p.s. how did you get the aura around the man?

pulezan (841) 2004-10-20 5:05

Good portrait. I like how you managed the light. The atmosphere in this picture is great.

vedran

darimarc (905) 2005-01-21 3:03