Muldovan Violinist

7/7
My applause !!! Really wonderful immage! Look at this expression ! Congrats!!

To say that both the violinist and the image composition are really lovely would be like calleng a Bentley a 'nice car'. This image transcends the mere capturing of a moment and becomes a story of art fused with beauty and skill. And I'm talking about both the musician and the photographer ;)

Best regards from Kenya,

Mark Anthony Kathurima

This image has been selected for discussion. It is not necessarily the "best" picture the Elves have seen this week, nor is it a contest. It is simply an image that the Elves found interesting and worthy of discussion. Discussion of photo.net policy, including the choice of Photograph of the Week should not take place here, but in the Site Feedback forum.

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Fantastic sharpness on the eyes maintained whilst showing movement. Lighting is also very effective.

Playing or modelling - thats the question.

Great technical execution, and I love the lighting (and posing).

 

Which leaves me to what I don't like. First, if this we're my shot, I'd be a bit more aggresive with the tonality. This shot screams desaturated dSLR, and I prefer a bit more bite with my mono dSLR work anyways.

 

Next, perfectly greyscale portraits from digital capture or film scans is some of the most boring, and synthetic looking photography in existence. Warm it up!

Example:

I frankly like the black and white treatment, but, if I were to try it in monochrome, I might try hue = 19, saturation = 50.

 

This is excellent work, in any case, Mike.

 

--Lannie

I agree with R.E. - the girl is beautiful, the photo, is striking, and she may well be playing. But I get little sense of the drama or tension of musical performance which normally absorbs a player far more than this shot depicts. So - a nice portrait of a pretty girl - but for me the music is absent.

I'm with Colin and RE - I don't feel the connection to the instrument. Very nice portrait, though. Usually musicians are deeply ingrossed in their music and are oblivious to things around them. This girl is very aware of the camera, so to me, she is posing and not playing. That said, I do like this portrait - her eyes are very appealing.

Like some previous respondents, I definitely see the raw materials of a very attractive vanity portrait here. The eyes, in fact, consume so much attention that I can't begin to look at the violin as anything other than an incidental prop. This is not in any way a bad thing; I'm sure any classical recording artist would be thrilled to have an image like this on her album cover. But with the gaze fixed so sharply forward, I don't feel any connection to the music in this photo.

 

That said, this is an excellent technical accomplishment and a lovely composition.

R E is right, as are several others that posted after him.

 

If it's a performance, let us see more of the environment and the emotional involvement with the music rather than the camera. If it's a posed shot, as I suspect it is, get the distracting strand of hair out of her face and increase the DOF to make her hand sharp.

Hmmm... Why either portrait or playing. Why not a little of each with dash of MOTION and DISTANCE. With the steely and frozen backdrop of her compelling face and cativating eyes, motion of the bow, blur of the bow strings, her whimsy and floating hair, DOF compression with frontal blur and rear focus; The image captures a human interest, an expression of action and illustrative of technical skills of subject and shooter. There is much to see and enjoy. As for contrast, choice of tint and tone -- many variations work. Regards, Scott

I love the work. When I first saw it on the main page as "photo of the week" I thought to myself that it was one of the better ones I've seen in a while. I just thought "WOW!!" and gazed at it for a bit. THAT is what a good photo should do, I guess.

 

What I don't like about these discussions is that sometimes I feel it detracts from that... all the analysis flattens and sterilizes any emotion the "portrait" invoked in the first place.

 

A wonderfully beautiful flower is no longer a flower once it's been disected.

 

Shame, that.

 

WONDERFUL PIECE OF PORTRAITURE!!! nuff said imho. ;o)

Well done - wonderful shot.

 

The focal plane is spot on, which for me makes this a very captivating image.

Scott Eaton's first modified version brings about a timelessness to an already brilliant image. Thanks to both for sharing.

The eye contact with the viewer is suberb and to catch such

a natural and penetrating expression is a tribute to your exceptional skill. To me this photo has much more to do

with a terrific portrait than it has to do with music or the

violin in particular. It has to do with the person you have

captured so well. Was she actually playing when the photo was

taken or was she simply moving the bow while she communicated

with the photographer? The detail in the hair and eyelashes, etc is

magnificent.

I like a lot this potrait, the eyes are amazing. I agree that maybe it is a little more posed than it should be. But I do not agree that there is absence of music. I do not think that music exists only when the person playing is oblivious to his environment. I like tha hand that it is out of focus and for me is a very important element of the picture. Also i prefer the strands of hair on her face.

I love this shot, but choose not to comment on whether or not I see music in it. To me, that sort of interpetation is purely subjective.

 

I will say, however that learning some of the technical details is quite valuable. Once explained, the effect of combining hot lights with a strobe is readily apparent. Great execution of a classic idea. Note how the vibration in the bow is seen while at the same time wind blown hairs are frozen sharp. I'd like to learn more about balancing multiple sources of light for my own photography.

 

My final thought or suggestion would be to try a shot with her eyes focused on her hand. If she looked down just a little bit like this she would be engaged with her instrument and not the viewer, but the question is, would enough of the eye be visible to see the catch lights? Perhaps not.

The light is very good and I appreciate the fact that both photographer and model took the time to pose the picture. However, in so doing, some elements are distracting (the lines created by the moving bow & the headrest) while others are missing (right hand, music, passion...).

 

The fact that the player is looking at the photographer and that the right hand is missing (a key element) take away the feel of the music, the passion and concenctration that most if not all violinist demonstrate when playing.

 

In other words, if we take the violin away the picture will almost make more sense.

 

The right hand of a violinist produces the sound and follows the dyn. of the music. As the hand moves the bow we get an idea of the music/sound it's producing, when looking at a photograph. ABsent that key element the violin becomes irrelevant.

I have to agree with those who don't see the music connection. The girl is very beautiful, and my first thought was that she was a model posing with a violin. If she is in fact that beautiful and as talented as noted by the photographer previously, then no fair! Her eyes are stunning, but to make the connection with the music, I would expect to see her in a pose similar to what Joe notes above, but perhaps with her eyes closed and her face a bit side-facing. I am a musician as well, and know the feeling and expression that comes with connecting to the music. So, in short, I think this is a beautiful and well executed shot, but the violin is superfluous.

 

Congrats on photo of the week.

 

Bill

I like the fact that she's connecting directly with us, looking directly into our eyes. I like the focus/depth. It's probably consciously posed, a rich demonstration of skill.

 

The brown toned version is heavy-handed, actively negative.

YES.. this is the one picture that will sty in memory for a long time..

well capture and timing.. good crop too

 

Longatng John lin 7/7

This picture is amazing, but I do agree with Scott the warmer tones do make it more appealing.

>>Why either portrait or playing<<

Because the photographer chose to have the musician in motion. That cannot be overlooked, if we did then, the blur of the bow would be even more of a distraction than it is now.

If the subject had been posed in a still position (perhaps holding the bow and violin in her arms, etc...) then, the portrait would have been successful. Having the person play requires that other elements be carried out accordingly otherwise something is missing, and it is.

We can't just dismiss the absent right hand (the most important part of producing the violin sound, which in turn explains/justifies the motion). IF you take a picture of a boxer in motion, that is in the act of his profession and don't show the hands the viewer would certainly be confused.

As it is , the motion of the bow is in fact very distracting because it leads the eye to the edge of the picture. At least, if the right hand was present, such tension would find a point of origin, a cause if you will, and both the eye and the mind would justify it. Right now, it almost looks as though someone else, not the subject, is holding the violin because the connection between person and instrument is missing.

That connection is vital when making a portrait of a musician, imo.

The idea and lighting are good. With a few changes the portrait could be greatly improved.