new -- color & b&w 'The Guy With the Interesting Face'

I pass tens to thousands of people weekly, sometimes daily, and of

those I often ask just one or a scant few to take a minute to three to

stop and let me take their photos because they each have 'an

interesting face'. This is one such person who obliged my polite

request. Your ratings, critiques and observations are invited and most

welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically, or wish to make a remark,

please submit a helpful and constructive comment; please share your

photographic knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks!

Enjoy! john

Please try to compare the mass of darkness (right) with that of relative lightness (left) and the lines (mostly dynamic and diagonal) in this photo to see if a technical analysis is satisfying or revealing, aside from this guy's face which to me was interesting.  Overall, look for balance vs. dynamism in this photo; you may be surprised.

john

John (Crosley)

John, as you know, I cannot say much about this portrait, that you would not know already.

It is marvelous guy you have got here, with very telling two eyes and a beautiful expressive face (beard, skin hair) waiting for you to appreciate his efforts. A very good subject to shoot.

What makes the portrait more than just that, is your mastering of framing. Again you have chosen to shoot the face from a low point, using the corner of the ceiling behind as frame - brilliantly seen. And not only that, the position of the head creates a bi-conic form that perfectly fills out the designated frame. The bright open space to the left is obviously necessary for "preparing" the scene. I'm full of admiration !

Sometimes I look at my various frames from a short session with a stranger and tasked with picking just one, (I always pick just one), I have reasons for the choice that I can't always put my finger on.

In this guy's case, I would have bet my explanation at first would have been 'his expression' as well as his interesting goggles and getup.

I worked hard in post processing this image because there was enough light that post processing would not destroy the image and he had interesting facial features that benefitted from the little extra help and my own 'interpretation'.

I don't know why I go for a 'low angle' or sometimes a 'high angle' but I weary of my photos looking like anybodyelse's or everybody else's, so I just move about until it 'looks right', and snap as I go. I often am rewarded for being bold in hitting the shutter at odd moments. 

On a formal analysis, made after posting, I noted that the mass of darkness, lower right, almost was complemented by the mass of lightness, upper left, as though I had preplanned that, and in my inchoate mind, maybe I did exactly that, aided by a judicious crop.

It's a real challenge to approach a guy, a stranger, adorned thusly, in a fast food restaurant and try to make a work of art -- a portrait -- a honest to gosh genuine work of art street portrait -- from a two or three minute encounter, and have it be worthy of such kind words as yours.

And your words carry special regard from me, as now one of Photo.net's greybeards (metaphorically speaking) with eight years on the service and a wonderful portfolio with some amazing shots that show wonderful talent.

I was lucky to have a good camera capable of capturing High ISO and at the same time to have enough light to use lower ISO and use it fully in post processing -- this is something new to me for indoor portraits.

Anders, your words are specially significant to me, for which I gladly say 'thanks from the bottom of my heart' but there's nothing 'brilliant' about such a meager effort.  It's just a mere daily piece of work -- I do have some much better work for those who are willing to look through my portfolio, but I am so glad this caught your eye, because I like it too.

I also like the lines -- the angle of his head and how from the point of his jaw/beard to the back of his head and the top of his head down to his jaw there appears to be intersecting lines . . . . . for a geometric approach . . . . . it's amazing to me that such things arises from such short sessions -- as though I sat down and preplanned a shot with a computer or some sort of calculus, when in fact I just moved a little bit this way, then that, to make the best capture I could, aided by the feedback I saw through the viewfinder, then in the camera screen.

With great thanks, Anders.

John

John (Crosley)

Look at it this way -- his entire head is a parallelogram.

Did you imagine that?

Look again.

Can you see that?

I love geometry, and I know you do too.  Whenever I can incorporate little geometry into a shot, I find it seems to add a little insousciance, or maybe just a touch of 'magic' to a photo -- something that causes viewers to look a second time, not exactly knowing why they like but somehow causing some sort of internal reaction among viewers.

A great expression can 'make' a photo.

A great expression or arrangement of subjects, (or both) with some great geometry  (see my photo 'The Bike Trick), can win over viewers, even if the geometry 'just happens to be there' and wasn't entirely preplanned.

;~))

I'll take any kind of lucky accident I can get, after all I suffer all sorts of bad ones, and it prevents some otherwise great photos, so why not take the good accidents with equanimity?

john

John (Crosley)

John, the key word is surely that we shoot when something visual "looks right". Some make brilliant shots regularly just by following that line of action. You are among them.

When this is said, we have the whole challenge of trying to understand why one shot, that "looks just right", is special. What are the crucial features of the image, without which the shot would just be one among many other average shots around? That's where photography moves away from being just behavior of people with cameras, to becoming something else and more artistic.

I agree with your analysis and statement wholeheartedly, yet deny this shot itself is 'brilliant'  though it is workmanlike.

I have hundreds of far better shots, I think for those willing to search them out, a few of those may compete with top artists of 'street', but only a few.

You also are right about photography and art.  While certainly right now well over 99 per cent of today's photography is NOT art, some of it certainly is, and that includes some of the better work on Photo.net.

I've looked into the 'gallery/museum/exhibition world and find they have different standards for 'salable' or 'exhibition' art than most here would understand, but that doesn't mean exhibitors have a lock on what is 'art'.  

After all when a certain Dutchman was painting sunflowers before he cut his ear off, he was disdained and couldn't sell but one painting.  His work simply was not salable, though now it's considered worthy of an entire museum in Amsterdam, together with his letters, drawings, etc.

And I feel that museum is more popular at times than the rival Rijksmuseum.

Certainly better loved, because it showed painting 'art' in a new, colorful and 'fun' way, compared to the old brown staid Dutch masters, almost all of which were sponsored and so, so conservative.  

That artist painted what he wanted, just as I photograph what I want, rather than taking on commissions, as the Dutch Masters did.  They got wealthy, but this upstart, who was self-tortured, created works of priceless value and comparable to no one's or any extant 'school'.  His work was 'sui generis' for the time.

Maybe long after I'm gone, some will appreciate my work like you do?

And then it will be salable?

I'd like to do that now and get a head start, but my mentor who had all the keys to all the doors went disabled.  Zut Alors!

I've enjoyed this colloquy -- let's have some more some time soon.

john

John (Crosley)

Very expressive eyes and interesting character!

How nice to see you have browsed my photo.  Thank you for the compliments.

I often get only a few seconds to a scant two or three minutes with a subject, so I must work fast.  This is absolutely the best I could do there in a fast food restaurant in America.

I am pleased to see your comment.  Thank you so much.

john

John (Crosley)