Psychological Portrait

Extremely nice and worthy. Too bad about the watch, but to me it proves there was little ps'ing--or that watch would be gone.

Impressive. Great control of the photographic elements. I agree the watch is unfortunate, but it's a minor point. The image presents a consistent mood throughout its entirety: the "grain" of the screen, the softness it creates, the hand position, the lighting, the expression. Wonderfully evocative and, yes, painterly in execution.

 

I also find interesting that the hands are, in many ways, the most compelling single element. While the face is undoubtedly expressive, the brighter highlights of the hands draw our eye (well, mine anyway) first, and effectively convey the mood of the subject. We are given only hints of the subject's eyes, which tend to be our first focus seeing another person, and that both allows the hands to be dominant and reinforces the sense of the picture.

 

Excellent image. Enjoy.

I'd have to agree with Lance's comment. There is no evidence of the jacket on the right arm. The hand just ends above the wrist. It appears, as did Yuri's previous POW, to be heavily PS'd to me, as does most of his portfolio.

 

Don't get me wrong. It's a great image. I love it, but if you're going to make extensive use of PS you should state that it was used and how it was used so that others may emulate the process.

 

There's no shame in using PS you know.

Beautiful ! And very interesting... It tells us a story about a sorrow we know well, and face day after day - Man's fate.

It looks extreme and at the same time extremely natural in a way, almost familiar... That's a little miracle to me... Congratulations on what I believe to be a VERY deserved POW...

Not a lot i can add to all the above viewpoints,just wanted to say Well done Yuri.

P.S.Thanks for the encouraging ratings on my shots.

Why not exploit the strong points of the medium? Too many photographers have imitated painters for too long. -- Samuel Dilworth

Up to now, as far as I know, Samuel's statements and my own have coincided constantly - and I'm sure we will be on the same track again. In the meanwhile, I beg to differ. His statement above reflects, of course, the ideas of Alfred Stieglitz in his groundbreaking journal Camera Work - in, what, 1908? As you may recall from your studies, Camera Work was, at the time, very effective in destroying the Pictorialist approach to photography, in which photograhy was thought of as painting and in which it tried to emulate painterly modes. At the time, the end of this approach was a good thing. Photography became "photographic", more hard-edged; and has largely remained so - photographic - to this day.

What has been lost in the history, however, is a fact that never went away: photography really is a kind of painting - even as it is also both more and less than painting. Now, one hundred years after Camera Work, photography has without a doubt established its viability and independence from painting; now, one hundred years later, photography can afford to explore that part of itself that merges with painting. It no longer has anything to fear from painting. Which is why a painterly photo, such as this week's POW, was yesterday reactionary but is today valid.

Exceptional work. Definitely POW material!

Awesome colors, composition, effects and originality. I really love this photo.

Very creative, capturing a state of being as well. Definitely art. I have felt this at some points, having gone through some rocky times in my relationship. Although, this person looks a tad bored. Maybe the point of it? Tired of being bored, now wiping off the dirty window and having a look outside? Nice...evokes thought.

An interesting picture, I haven't seen windows this dirty since I was a student.

 

Personally I would have shot vertical, the shape and form of the hands around the head would have worked better in a tighter vertical crop.

 

This pic also screams for the rich tones of a good BW print, why colour? Yes it's bleak but it's almost monochromatic without really cashing in on the soft colours of the pallete.

 

The subjects left eye distracts me, at first I thought his little finger was disapearing into his eye socket, obviously not.

 

I think if you're implying sadness or depression then you need more than just hands and body language, in this example you need more reference in the eyes.

 

This pic looks slightly cold, the subject's eyes are too lifeless to really mirror how he, or the Photographer thinks, he feels.

 

In conclusion, a wonderful creative leap for Photo.net but the eyes don't have it.

A rare exception to the steady stream of mediocre or just plain bad POW. This photo needs to be printed in the rich sepia tones of Edward Curtis to make it even more effective. Portion deleted by moderator. Personal and not useful comments towards other members or admin. go against policy and will be deleted as they add nothing to the discussion of the image. Author: See folks? The editors at Photonet can't take it-- they must resort to censorship of comments they don't agree with.

This is a 10/10. Absolutely riveting.

Yura, why do you scare about "line" critics after all this "congrats" about you picture here? :)

Such atmosphere... An incredibly compelling image!!! Bravo!!!

I don't know what to think of it, one braincell in me tries to convince me I like this picture, the other braincell tells me it's too artificial to be acceptable. And unfortunately I don't have a third braincell to make the decision. So I call it a draw. Anyway congrats again Yuri.

dag, this is nice...I actually like the wristwatch in the shot, it acts as a foil to the eye and the rest of the flesh.

This photo should appear next to the dictionary entry for "despair."

 

Nice work, Yuri. You are an inspirational photograper in so many ways.

This photo should appear next to the dictionary entry for "despair." Mark Bentley

I agree; it is a conveyance of information so surgically precise, so lacking in ambiguity, so utterly devoid of subtlety or nuance that it would fit right at home in a dictionary.

If an image must rely on the superficial for its effect, I like to see strong reasons for its doing so, or evidence of deliberate travesty. This picture fails to any arouse pathos (in me), and actually verges on insulting the viewer who attempts to probe beyond the obvious.

The rest of Yuri's folder reminds me of the images by innumerable photography authors who write books on how to "compress perspective", "choose a 35mm system" and "pan with action", among other dubiously useful topics. They always seem to leave out a chapter on "feeling".

That means - 'way to go' in Hebrew.

 

This picture is subtle, meaningful without being overpowering. A conduit to one's soul.

Looking forward to more from the same artist.

 

This picture is skillfully done and is a nice choice for POW, for what it is, IMO. But for me some of the unique photographic qualities are lost in this painting-like treatment. There's an apparently angst ridden guy seen through a dirty window. The clearing in the window isolates and cuts him off from any context. His gaze seems empty, but it's hard to say if he's contemplating some existential dilema or just tired. Who knows? OK so maybe that's the point. I don't really care for this, it's a sort of voyuerism. There's little energy, it seems to sap energy. It's depressing. I prefer to attend to my own dispair. I'd like more contextual and visual contrasts to deal with and it lacks that kind of interest. It could be a painting or a photo, it doesn't seem to matter which and I don't think that's necessarily a good thing. It's a little too artful for my taste. A deserving POW nevertheless.

Obviously out of place. If the watch is okay, why not a wedding ring? Why not a college class ring? What is good here is the way the photographic style resonates with the inner dimension. The watch (or any device) stands outside that and is clearly pulling lots of eyes. Possibly, but just possibly, a non-casio-ish type of watch might not have been so distracting. If there was no choice, then good job under the circumstances.

Obvious though it may be, I never saw the watch until it was pointed out to me in other comments--the image is too powerful, and the face is everything.

 

What a great photo, and a great folder!

...by now you should feel pretty confident about approaching total strangers with your camera.

So how about moving onto 'emotive themes'.

 

Emotive themes are a great way to get out and about, meet a few more people and try and capture what really makes them tick...or not, as the case may be.

 

When approaching your emotive subject, be gentle you don't want to scare them off and miss out on that Prize we all dream of.

 

Remember, if the person is smaller than yourself don't be afraid to stoop and project your voice in a firm but direct manner and speak slowly.

 

Example.

 

You're happily walking through a foreign village when a Prize shot appears at a window;

approach the subject without startling him, don't be afraid to smile.

 

If time permits use Tripod No.3 with Flash and Brolly stand 2b (ref: Chapter 7 'Lighting and the joy of Alluminium supports').

 

Now here's the interesting thing, remember all that complicated stuff you read about 'decisive moments' and 'candid photos', well with todays fast lenses and spot metering you don't need all that to slow you down. Simply approach the window and with a firm knock say,

'Excuse me Sir, could you please remove the watch?'

 

On National holidays you may want to add,

'Happy thanksgiving', or 'Happy Valentines Day' whichever occasion suites.

 

Happy Shooting, and remember 'There's a prize waiting for all of us, yes even you...'

 

In foreign countries (eg.central Asia) you may feel more comfortable with a Telephoto lens and 4WD.>

 

Alright, let's address Mr. Dilworth's concerns about the actual content of this image. If we really delve into it, how much pathos is actually there? The left hand grabbing the top of the head, and the fingers of the right spread under that, appear at first blush to be a sign for some sort of deeply greivous emotional state. Now, since we are provided no preparation or context that would make us care for this man or his situation, if this were a portrait in morbidity, let's say, it very well might be gratuitous and melodramatic.

But look at that face. I see thoughtfulness, pensiveness maybe, preoccupation. What I don't see is any sign of histrionics, or even agitation. I see a face and a posture onto which I can project any number of scenarios and causes and emotional states. Which means, to me, that the careful viewer is limited only by his own imagination, or, perhaps, by his own state. Given then the enigma of this image and the elastic narrative possibilities set up by it, we are forced to ask: if it appears to you to be histrionic and weak, is the problem with the image? or with the viewer and his reflexive presumptions?

Reality is neither posed nor perfect! Look at the most beautiful flower and you will find some imperfection - a blemish, an insect, a split leaf, etc... These "defects" help us determine reality from fiction.

 

This photo is a treasure because it captures a real and intense emotion. The act of imaging subatomic particles changes their behavior -- however, the act of photography changes the subject only if the subject knows he or she is being captured. Knowing this, I wonder would it have been appropriate to ask the subject to remove his watch? If we want to capture reality, we must be as non-invasive as possible. If we pose the subject in any manner, we change the moment; does this photograph capture a candid reality or a staged performance? Regardless whether this shot was posed or manipulated, it is clearly founded on a magnificant photograph and is a wonderful piece of photographic art.