Lookout

I'm currently reading the biography of Dorothea Lange, and this photo immediately reminded me of her work. That one photo can say so much is testimony to the power of photography.

The torn screen being raised to look out and the rough appearance of the siding and the door/window frame hint at poverty. The appearance of the boy further conveys this with the mouth pressed against the wood frame, the unwashed face, and especially the grimy hand clasping the frame.

The eyes are, IMO, completely non-judgmental, but they convey a sense of having seen much already in his young life. I may be reading too much into the eyes, but if so, its only because the image as a whole has led me to that interpretation.

Even in very good photos, I try to either find something that might be improved or at least an alternative that is not necessarily better but just different. This one from Istvan leaves me only marveling at its power to tell a story.

Istvan has been with PN for less than two months and has posted only six photos so far. All of his photos (IMO) portray the rural life surrounding this boy.

From my point of view, the elves have goofed. They have traditionally selected a relatively weak photo from a stronger portfolio. That didn't happen this time -- documentary portraits just don't get better than this photo of the week, IMO.

Wow. This is so visually interesting. There's emotion, there's beauty, there's a story to be told (at least an inferred one). Really great photo. I'm intoxicated by all the detail in this.

A great story-telling photograph. Long time we didn't have on the POW.
Congratulations to the elves for this choice and to the photographer for this so dense, moving and strong picture.
This is a timeless portrait of unhappy childhood.
Best regards,
Marielou

this pic is a masterpiece i like it thanks for critique on my happy new year gerolamo

Is this black & white HDR?

Wonderful capture. Beautiful black and white, great subject and expression. Chapeau!

I've been looking at that upper hand for days, wondering about its size. It's huge, especially compared to the head of the child and the other hand. I asked someone else about it and he suggested that it may be an adult standing alongside the child. That could be an interesting explanation. If it is the hand of an accompanying adult, I'd like a little more visual evidence (not a verbal statement from the photographer) to support that story line. It wouldn't have to be made blatant, but some more suggestion. Instead of just looking strange, it would add a great deal to the depth of this photo.

I love everything about this photo. The tones, the feeling it evokes, the story it tells.  You create amazing images.

redux

Fred, I wonder if it isn't just an optical illusion. If I measure my own hand, putting that first line of the wrist at the tip of my nose, my fingers pass well beyond my hairline (I still have it all!). If I measure the child's hand in a similar fashion, the fingers come just to the hairline of the child. Granted, there is a little bit of an angle to the hand here, but I think it falls within the realm of the norm.

Of course, this doesn't mean that they don't look big, even the other hand appears large to me. But there is nothing in the geometry or positioning of them that makes me feel they are not integral to the subject here. I have noticed this effect many times in photographs, where the hands just seem enormous but when dissected, normal--sometimes it drives me crazy, especially if I need to deliver the image to a client.

Otherwise, I really haven't had time to comment this week but have read some of the best comments on a POW that I have ever seen here on a collective basis. Not because they all are glowing, but because they seem complete with observation and conclusion. There really isn't much to add.

Fred
No, I think the hand is totally the kid's. If you compare it to the other one holding the fence, considering that it's a bit more far from the lenses, it looks fine. I guess this kid has very big hands... I looked at Istvàn's portfolio and wanted to add that I really like the way he captures the intensity and story-telling force of moments or expressions. Nevertheless, I am impatiently waiting to see more and especially different subjects and situations.

That it's not the kid's hand is just a guess, for sure, and not something I'm invested in. No matter how I look at it and what I compare it to, it looks incredibly large to me, strangely so.

OK, so no one is going to answer my question about B&W HDR. So I'm going to assume that it is. Personally, I find HDR comic-bookish. I prefer photos that don't clobber me over the head KABAM, POW!! BOOM!!! - either with color or B&W. And I would really love to see this one without any post-processing. Whatever is going on with the hands might not be so obvious if the photo was unaltered. It's a compelling composition and a most interesting subject.

Alberta, HDR can be made to look "comic-bookish," or it can be made to look so completely natural that it's difficult to know that it has been applied. It's entirely dependent on the goal and skill of the person doing the HDR. Personally, I think HDR is one of the greatest applications of digital processing; it can overcome the limitations of film and sensors to capture a broad range of light in a single exposure. In doing that, it can render a scene (or subject) much as the human eye would see it. I don't know whether it has been applied in this photo, but I think human subjects are usually poor candidates for HDR because they move between exposures.

Alberta, I didn't see your question I guess, but was actually expecting some to question the sharpening here--which is sometimes produces similar artifacts to HDR. I think the image is tweaked, to be sure, but I am not seeing it out of bounds to what I have seen in analog prints--at least on my screen. I am not sure it would hold up in a larger format, or at least I wonder about it. Most notably, the artifacts appear in the white paint on the vertical wood and possibly a bit on the thumb to our right. It isn't objectionable to me at this size though and may be the result of over sharpening or pushing the contrast a bit too far in that area (the paint).

Very nice shot. A little crop from the left side will put the subject more on the thirds however, a stronger composition. I tried it for you. Hope you like it. Congrats.

Hello everyone!
Thank you everyone for the comments , I really appreciate the time you spent on me and my photo!
There's a saying in Hungary: if an image is loved by everyone it is loved by noone, therefore I'm glad that a little bit of discussion is going on around my photo! :-D
Fred: I can assure you that both hands belong to the child and it is not my style to manipulate the images nor can I see the reason for doing so!
Alberta: This is not HDR! During processing I applied a B&W filter to express more details. The image is digital and not scanned and I am sorry that some of you see it as a comic-bookish one.
The way I wanted to express it was this form and I think B&W suits to the meaning of the photo best.
As for the cropping: some people suggest cropping but I never crop. I wanted you to see the surrounding walls as well because they are also part of the image in my opinion.

Thank you again for sharing your opinions!
All the best for everyone! István

István, thanks for letting me know the hand is the child's.

BTW, the reason one would manipulate an image is to get the result desired. Like choosing a particular conversion method to create a black and white photo, for example.

Perfect , great to see a photograph win photo of the week . Would hang it on my wall in a heartbeat.

sehr gute Foto!...

Any crop/editing is always a personal matter, but I think the original as presented is still the strongest composition.

This reminds me of the work of Sabastio Salgardo in some respects. It's a very, very fine shot indeed and thoroughly deserves the PoW award.
I think I like Raymond's crop, but it works all ways. I think that it equally doesn't matter whether the bedroom is visible or burnt out, again it works both ways.
Excellent work and many congratulations Istvan!
:)

This is solid, good-old-days B&W photography. Clear, to the point, great taste. Conservative and very powerful. Congratulations!

Fantastic composition, eyes, hands all working well, and the hole in the tarp, through which we can see the window on the other side. We cannot see the whole face but the expression cannot be mistaken.
My only comment is that I would reduce the contrast a bit.

It's difficult to "critique" this, because it's just about perfect.  The only thing missing is the story behind it.  I know you've already been honored on this one, but I'll add my own "bravo" just so you know people on this site are still looking at it.  Great job!!!