Accordionist

Very nihilistic

Brilliant execution of the concept of nothingness

Haha, I'm tempted to leave the 'nothingness' post as it is, but here's the photo.

I'm pretty sure I deliberately cropped this photo to what it is but it's a valid comment. At the time, I was drawn to the musician's expression. I also thought that 'part of the accordion' and 'part of the hat' were enough to set the context. But as you say, maybe the crop was much too tight.

Why didn’t you step back a yard?

I'm pretty sure I deliberately cropped this photo to what it is but it's a valid comment. At the time, I was drawn to the musician's expression. I also thought that 'part of the accordion' and 'part of the hat' were enough to set the context. But as you say, maybe the crop was much too tight.

I think it is enough to see the context but perhaps may not involve me in the context as much as including more. Interesting how sometimes a bit wider view with more inclusion of context and accoutrement can yield a more intimate portrait than some close-ups. I see the lighting here as the major mood setter and a major draw of the photo. Quite lovely and feels like it's both caressing the surface of his face and coming from within. The other thing perhaps creating some distance for me is what I'll call the iconic profile approach. His dress, his manner, the lighting, what he's doing have a personal and casual feel yet the pose you caught him in has that ring of heroic objectivity, leads me more toward awestruck than connection. The strands of hair and the way they play in the photo add to his character, and that character is a very strong element at work here. Very nice job.

Sam’s take parallels my impression. I also think the background plays well in this photo. I like the hat being cropped as is. It reminds me of a technique sometimes used in street & portraiture to connect a viewer more by gently cropping the top of a subjects head.

I do ponder the hand… would it enhance an already expressive well executed photo.? A hand playing an accordion can also be very expressive. And add another level of focus & depth.

A very nice photo Mike.

I do see where you are coming from. For me I do think a bit more inclusion of the foreground would have had potential.

I often see photos of darker profiles with very light backgrounds overlapping the face that interfere, compete with taking in the expression of the subject. This one not so for me. I feel the musicians contemplation communicated in part with the background and foreground lighting.

Many thanks for all your comments - very valuable!

This was one of the many photos I once took at a local music festival. The accordionist was accompanying a choir.

I looked up the original RAW photo and it turned out that I hadn't cropped it much at all. The original shows the whole hat (top) and a bit more of the accordion (right). So the photo is basically as I framed it at 200m on a crop camera at f/2.8. I framed other shots of this accordionist in exactly the same way. They showed much less 'heroic' expressions and at the time I decided that I liked this one the most.

What I've learned from your comments is to:

- frame these 'facial expression' photos much less tightly around 'the face' to show more of the context, in this case, particularly his hands but also the foreground and background: where he was playing, the audience, etc.

- use a narrower aperture to show more of the background (context); At 200m and f/2.8 the background (audience) is just one big blur

When I selected this shot from others, I liked the 'contemplative' expression. But I agree with @samstevens's comment that the photo has an 'objective observer' quality rather than engaging or 'involving' the viewer with the person or what's going on.

I'm a musician and I'm often drawn to photographing other musicians. But I agree with [uSER=10955656]@Ludmilla[/uSER]'s comment that the photo is 'ordinary' in the sense that I relied more on the 'optics' than on the content.

So thanks again for your helpful comments! I learned a lot from them,

Mike

@mikemorrell, I appreciate the gracious reply and your willingness to respond to criticism.

Though my comment was mostly relative to this photo, some of these critiques can be effectively applied to other photos of a similar type. Interestingly, though, there will be situations where an extreme close-up and heroic posture may work quite well. As a matter of fact, this could be a challenge to now find a situation where getting in this close on a portrait would seem appropriately expressive.

So the photo is basically as I framed it at 200m on a crop camera at f/2.8.

I'm interested in this as well. Though I didn't think about whether this was a telephoto before you mentioned it, I wonder if that is at all at play when I say I had a feeling of distance or objectivity. I wonder if telephoto-ness, which may not be consciously apparent to a viewer, has an influence anyway. The influence could be the way the photo reads vs. a closer shot with a wider angle lens. It might also make a difference with regard to the feeling the photographer captures when creating a close-up from a distance.

I'm not settled on any of this and would love any thoughts people might offer on the effects of a telephoto lens used for such a portrait.

I'm pretty sure that the focal length does make a difference to the way a photo reads. And it certainly affects the feeling of closeness and involvement I have when taking photos.

I've read that about 85mm -105mm on a FF camera (about 50mm - 70mm on a crop camera) is a good focal length for 'portraits'. So at an effective 280mm zoom on a FF camera, this B/W 'portrait' is an extreme 'telephoto'. I deliberately chose it for framing this shot and - to repeat - I learned a lot from the comments. I shot almost all of the other photos at this location at 70mm, the shortest length on my 70mm-200mm lens. I took photos at other locations with a wider-angle zoom lens (17mm - 55mm). Which suggests that I was just too lazy to swap lenses at this location:(.

For those interested, I've just found the photo below taken at the same location as the B/W but at 70mm. It's not as sharply focused on the accordionist but it does show more of the 'context'. It's also at f/2.8 which is too wide.

I'm interested in this as well. Though I didn't think about whether this was a telephoto before you mentioned it, I wonder if that is at all at play when I say I had a feeling of distance or objectivity. I wonder if telephoto-ness, which may not be consciously apparent to a viewer, has an influence anyway. The influence could be the way the photo reads vs. a closer shot with a wider angle lens. It might also make a difference with regard to the feeling the photographer captures when creating a close-up from a distance.

 

I'm not settled on any of this and would love any thoughts people might offer on the effects of a telephoto lens used for such a portrait.

Yes, I completely agree! Your comments and those of others helped me to re-evaluate my choice of the B/W as 'the best of the bunch'!

The second is definitely my favourite, it’s more of an environmental portrait which I think better for a portrait of a performer. It shows his impact on his audience

I like the original- then again I shoot a lot of close shots, so this fits my sensibilites well. Of course an additional photo for deeper context is always appreciarted and I like your 2nd shot too.

As it happens, I also shoot a lot of "close ups" from a distance with my 250mm Zeiss Sonnar lens- and it definitiely alters (compresses?) the background, compared to more "normal" focal lengths. I use this 250mm lens on my Hasselblad 500cm, but often also have my 35mm camera(s) along. I've shot the same things using both formats- so have seen the differences in background 1st hand.

I like the original- ... Of course an additional photo for deeper context is always appreciarted and I like your 2nd shot too.

For me, the second shot is great, more of a snapshot (I never use snapshot pejoratively, I think they're important) and represents the scene well. The original shot expresses more to me, is more abstract in terms of the use of light, texture, and mood and even with the hesitation I have about the tight framing connects me more to something vital and personal.