Duck Man, LiJiang, Yunnan Provence, China

I think it's a nice portrait. The processing takes away a bit for me. The set up, the attitude, the details, all work nicely. I find the square crop a bit strange. It makes an otherwise dynamic angle and perspective somewhat static.

I too think this is an EXCELLENT photo rendered superbly in a square format (film used here is square?). The digital frame is bizarre indeed but the muted color and not-so-sharp image is appealing (don't know what Alex meant by "over sharpened..." what?).

Nice pose -- nice subject matter perfectly composed -- well done.

What memories this brings back. Back in the early '70s that was my favorite lens for my Hasselblad. The SWC only gave you a 2mm wider look, but without the ability to compose on the screen. This image is the perfect location for that lens. I used it mostly in tight interiors. Very nicely done.

thanks John A.. i am quite aware of what he is shooting in.... sam

The photograph is too over-processed to suit me. It's real, but not real. And although the frame isn't part of the photo, I can't visually or mentally ignore it...it's awful. I also would have liked a bit more light on the chef's face. There seems to be a good bit of sharpening artifacts, or "jaggies", or whatever you want to call them, but I'm not sure if that comes from the processing or whether it's a product of p.net's image compression or what. I usually like square compositions, but not this one. It feels cramped to me. The only thing that works for me is the way the compositional elements lead the eye to the chef. I'm okay with the overall concept of the photograph, it's the execution and the end result that falls short for me.

This image did not work for me either, many things here which did not connect me with this image, for example the top of the image is so confusing with the electrical wiring lay out and also the glass work on the left side of the image is distributing, indeed the face of the chef has not been correctly exposed while the sharpness here is over exaggerated, the post processing work is also done in a poor manner.
The square format for a 6X6 resulted image is just a normal format and has and having nothing special here, the different tones within the entire work is so solid and do not help the atmosphere of such place.
Michael is a great photographer and this is not his best.

If the intent was to create an atmosphere that is more motor oil than cooking oil, Michael hit the nail on the head. It expresses process rather than the usual pride and joy associated with preparing food. Great subject matter very nicely treated.
Regards, John

The composition & subject are great. From what I gather, what controversy exists comes from the post-processing decisions. I like the HDR-like (or actually HDR?) application here. It's not surrealistic, but more in that direction than a traditional picture. Blending the cooks skin from the original into this picture might give some credibility to the rest of the scene, which is beautiful but obviously edited. Try to blur the lines between the two a bit more.

The contrast has been jacked up, but that accentuates the effect the photographer wanted to express as the photograph being an example of what he saw. And I'm seeing the rule of thirds applied effectively, which is more difficult with a square image.

I bet the original scene is pretty gritty looking, even if the processing did heighten the effect to some degree. (Not every restaurant kitchen looks like it's attached to a four-star New York dining establishment.) As to the static quality of the scene, I see a lot of gathered energy; looks like a military unit ready to launch an offensive (in this case, when those kitchen orders start coming in).

I like the grayish tones and textures of the windows on the upper left; a nice contrast to the brownish tones that predominate.

I just wish the picture was a little bigger so that I could check it out a little more thoroughly.

I loved the shot. I didn't even notice the frame until it was mentioned.
I have tried to shoot many scenes similar to this through asia. There is usually very little light and a lot more people and smoke.
All I could think was. What will I have with my beautiful fresh duck. I bet the seats were just to the left of shot.
Sometimes these guys are so shy they are not quite sure how to pose or smile.
It may be one of the cleanest street kitchens I have seen for a while.
Keep taking true life shots

Love it.

The cooks body language mirrors my opinion. Nothing noteworthy, worthwhile, or lasting. But then, smoking ducks for a lifetime cannot be uplifting. Perhaps the image does work?

I like the fact that the photographer is showing a person in his work environment that does not look like a model with fancy make up. It also reflects the conditions where this man works everyday. I like the contrasts between the different areas of the kitchen, some of them are well lighted and some others dark. Everything looks in perfect order but I understand that it was for the sake of the picture: it is the portrait of a man in his work environment. Had the picture been taken while he is working, it would look pretty different, therefore, another type of photography.
The image is strong enough to need a frame. I do not like the frame.
Very good job, Michael.

A wonderful photograph with an intriguing story. I wish I could get past that awful frame, though.

The horror is documented here. The place is ugly and extremly dirty - frankly speaking it is the sanitary scandal. Model has the indifferent butchers face, the face of a person who  kills without hesitation. It is funny to hear about composition and other esthetic circumstances from persons who 'love' this photo.

This is a sad photo of great value.

Funny I didn't even notice the frame! One of the comments above indicated that this image was created in the classical mode. This is far from anything I would term classic. This is an HDR image or HDR-like image and it lends an air of grttiness to the already heavy-feeling environmental portrait. This technique really works well with this sort of image and is balanced nicely for composition in terms of points of interest and the primary focal point with the subject. The image draws you into the scene not demanding your attention but letting you browse the elements also framed within the image. Very nice construct overall.

I suspect from some of the comments that there are a few critics who haven't travelled much.

This is a beautiful portrait by a very talented photographer. I understand some of the criticism, but in the end, we have a wonderful environmental shot in a natural setting. Three things bother me, however: 1) the frame; 2) the angle of the glass case cropped at the left, which I find distracting; and 3) since my eyes are led to the middle of the shot, I'm disappointed to see those buckets which, to me, are the most uninteresting elements of the photograph. On the other hand, I'm sure it was incredibly difficult to shoot this as not many of these cooks would stand for a portrait. I once walked through Tokyo's fish market before sunrise with my camera, and most of the guys threatened me with their gutting knives. A few didn't mind as long as I was gone within a few seconds. So I congratulate Michael on this work on many levels.

An interesting photo of the week (from 2008).
Its obvious strength is its composition - leading lines to the duck man, horizontal and vertical use of "thirds", both rectangular and round shapes, rythmic patterns of ducks, klines behind subject giving sense of depth, etc. A second strength (for me) is the contrast between the concrete, wood and metal kitchen (with the bloodstained plastic tubs) and the duck man in his white uniform with his chef's hat set at a jaunty angle.
Weaknesses? It depends primarily on what the photographer's intention was but also what was socially and practically possible in this situation. As an interesting situation (the kitchen) with the duck man as the main subject, the photo works well. The duck man is then a key element in the composition. On the other hand, if the intention was to "portrait" the duckman in his working environment, then the leading lines of ducks in the foreground (together with his passive, distanced pose) does make him a little remote from the viewer.
All in all, it's a wonderful photo!

Hi critiquers and lookey-loos. Well, like last time one of mine was chosen for POW (Baker of Asilah, Morocco) about 5 years ago, I did not go and read any comments until the end of the week (too nervous of how it will get torn to pieces- which I was surprised it fared quite well), and so I've not read any here yet either, just scrolled down to add this bit of info/story.
___________
Duckman, Yunnan Province, was created in 2008, and released in the gallery in 2009. It was one of 50 images I recently chose from over fifteen hundred I've released over the past 25 years from my travels (to some 55+ trips to varying parts of the world, TUL) to be shown in an exhibit I had entitled 'Life Elsewhere'. It was held at the Yuan Xiaocen Art Museum in Kunming, China in May of this year, so I thought it to be one of my best.
If you like to see the complete Yunnan series, (although the Duckman shown is from the next neg taken -yeah, I still shoot film, and not 'sharpened' for the web I noticed) along with links to three other China series: Tibet; Sichuan Province and 'China '87', as well as some photos from the museums 'VIP opening night' and 'opening morning' ceremonies.
http://www.seewald.com/china.htm

About Duckman.
We'd just been treated to a great duck lunch by a fellow enthusiast at his favorite restaurant; a Chinese man who was visiting from another province to shoot here himself. He'd followed us around for an hour or so the day before, at a distance, before coming up and introducing himself and offering his assistance. He said he also shoots Hasselblad (as I was- it's a 'medium format', 2 1/4" square negative) and wanted to 'hang' and learn (and would drive us around- which beats the busses) so I let him. Besides, his English was perfect, and that is worth the price of admission alone, not many do there, not like Europe.

After lunch, Jeffrey Sitcov, a student of mine whom also runs PhotoCharity here in San Diego (to raise money for homeless teens- www.SaveHomelessYouth.org ), went to use the bathroom and on his return he told me how he thought the light in the kitchen seemed really nice, that I should go take a looksey.

WOW, was it. BUT you can't do much with good light if you don't have a good subject too, and after walking around a bit I found the perfect spot to show, to me, the uniqueness of it all: the styles of duck -cooked, un, and hanging and drying for some sort of duck jerky; all the textures of the place- plastic, metal and bamboo pots, and the cement walls and dirt floors, the backdrop for the whole scene- wires and ovens, etc.. All it was missing was what? Something- a chef? Well after a little coaxing one of the three posed for me, while his buds made varying comments in the background, of course.

The scan does not do the image justice, but you get the overall effect OK. But you should see the original, it's a WOW. I look forward to reading all the comments and suggestions in a few days. (By the way, the Baker of Asilah, Morocco also hung at the museum!).
Blessings.
MS

PS I did invite a few hundred past students to this site today, and this page in particular. Maybe a few will join and post there 'two cents' on this image, as well as many others on this site. I personally think it's the best 'learning' site for photography I've seen around, and I know a lot of you are used to seeing me add my own opinion on many of these POWs and some of your personal images too.

I am quite willing to accept that the scan might not do this image justice and the the real thing might be a "wow." On the other hand, all we have to go on here is what we see. What I see here is something less than "wow." The contrast, the flat sepia tones very likely suck out a lot of the "wow" from the image. I have said that the left top is a dead space. With a better scan it is remotely possible that this dead space might be brought to life. I really don't know. I only know that what I see does not wow me. And the postings of several hundred of the photographer's students probably won't change my mind.

It's a kitchen, not a studio.

Atmospheric pix don't get much better than this. You can almost feel the grease.