b&w Michael

Jeff, what a great shot, point. And than I want to give a comment.

Uh??? I must scroll and scroll and see al kinds of horrible crops and bla, bla.

What a waste of time for a photo that is good.

Sorry, but this what I think of it.

With greetings

Fred:  I think your list of suggestions is a great one.  Distinguishing between what I like and what I appreciate is a hard one.  Some photos just are what they are and may not require an extensive comment.  Others pull for more.  There's so much to look at, you know?

Emmanuel:  I like your version.  It has your sense of grittiness to it.  Nicely done.  You solved that bothersome glare.

Joke:  Hey.  Thanks for the thoughts.  My stuff is fair game.  I noticed that each version brought something new out of the photo.  I found it to be a fun activity.  I still like my original because I thought it conveyed what I wanted to say, but others' versions were interesting, instructive, and made me think.  I'm okay with others tinkering around with my stuff.

Jeff, on your reply to me: ;-)

With greetings

Hey whats up Jeff?!( Disclaimer-just my opinion. )  I find the space on the right is unnecessary. For me the most appealing crop is similiar to Pnina's...from the left then over to just past his ear. The glare is interesting and annoying at the same time lol. it looks like a "hand" is touching his forehead. Not sure if it works for me but I didnt notice it so much till I read a little. The strongest aspect overall is the DOF. Good, thought provoking image.

The first thing I thought about when looking at this portrait was the great humanist photographers of the past and I found the composition, the expression on his face as well as the feel of the whole image very well presented. The various crops suggested by other posters have taken a lot of the soul and core of the image. It had to be left as Jeff posted it. It can be OK at times to use tight crops, but here placing the character in his environment added meaning and atmosphere to the image. I liked Gordon's version which offered something different without betraying the spirit of the image. Emmanuel's looked a bit too dark and "graphic" in my opinion.

What can I add? Only that this is in all possible ways a magnificent portrait, cheers Jana 

very striking portrait and it seems obvious that a lot of people would prefer a crop. Personally I think it would be a mistake because his presence fills the whole frame. The strong lights could be mistaken for technically wrong but in fact do a great job of bringing that great expression to the foreground. I think it's a very strong portrait. I do think however that a bit of sharpening wouldn't hurt.