men at bar

Great lighting and composition.

good composition, interesting subject matter, interesting lighting. The men just seem a little blurry. low light and long exposure? not enough DOF? Can't quite put my finger on it.

 

 

I was first drawn to this picture by the "mirror" effect of the man (more of a distorting mirror).

But when I saw the slide, their way of looking at each other was the thing that caught my attention.

 

As usual my scanner isnt perfect....

 

&nbsp&nbsp Thanks in advance....

&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp&nbsp Itai

I have a similar photo (shameles plug : http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=434447) which gets the same reactions. A lot of people find it really good, but some (mostly more advanced photographers) find it pretty boring. I'm torn between the two.

 

The explanation I get most from the people who find it boring, and that's also applicable to your picture, is that there's no contact with the people. The photo by itself is greatly executed : the exposure is nice, and the atmosphere jumps at you. But the one thing missing is personal contact.

Itai,

This is a case where I think the symmetical composition really works for you.

 

It's kind of funny as both of the guys have similar stances, similar hand holding their beer glass, similar facial features, similar hair cuts and receding hairlines and similar amounts of beer in their glass. ;-)

 

I sort of disagree with Peters 'contact' comment here... as they're standing at a bar talking. So I think the implied contact is strong enough.

 

The exposure and lighting is well done here.

I like it.

The exposure and composition are good, but I understand your problem with it. There is nothing involving about the situation. You can just look at it and turn away.

There's just something about it that I love. My imagination got me wondering WHAT they were talking about. The emotions on their faces leave it pretty open. When I look at this, I see "the average Joe" x 2. The only complaint is that all the bottles are just a bit distracting. I love the lighting in this shot. Very warm.

i love the tungsten lighting

:-)

I can almost overhear them talking about their wives, football, money...

The tungsten lighting is ideal here, it gives the warm feel of the place. Good shot.