The Chief

...

Penetrating eyes and softish effect are powerful.  I also like the red blur on the left.

very interesting portrait. to be re-viewed.

thanks

Boris

i like your choice of framing

Interesting portrait, expressive eyes!

The portrait is of an actor, together with another two actors printed on a display & placed on a square. The portrait has been shot between two people passing by. The next day I did return for better shots. At the moment of arriving the display got horizontally carried away..! Near an old barn, the playground, I did shot the attached total display. Would have liked better chances, but that's all in the game. :)   

Boris

It's nice that the blurred foreground has such meaning and adds so much to the content and narrative of the photo, it being two additional people in the scene. It gives this portrait a wider context within which to be viewed and also gives the photo energy and movement. The central figure becomes framed and his engagement is visually supported. I am drawn into the dance and there's a sense of involvement of the photographer and through the photographer the viewer. We are not just bystanders or onlookers. We are in a moment.

I see no movement or energy. I see a man that looks pissed off. As far as the foreground blur, to me it adds nothing. But it distracts my eyes from the man, the black blur on his forehead is just bad IMHO.

I quite like it. One could argue, as David does, that the out of focus shapes do little to improve the photo, and perhaps, in a classical sense, this is a reasonable critique since they block the rest of the figure. But they do provide a sense of, who one has to assume, are the "chief's" interlocutors, and so add context. The only improvement I can suggest is that these shapes could be a little less out of focus which would aid instant comprehension of the image and therefore improve the photo's impact.

I'm not sure that the subject looks pissed off. To me, the position of his right hand and the upward glance of his eyes indicate that he is intently concentrating on whatever the two people standing in front of him are saying. Would it make a difference to the impact of the photo if the people in the foreground were in clear focus? I don't think so. I tend to agree that the blurred effect allows the viewer to concentrate on the subject.

In my opinion, Olaf deserves the POTW the Elves have awarded. It is a fine image.

I agree he may not be pissed off, but the eyebrows lead me to believe that he is. As far as the blurred people being in focus or out of focus, if they were in focus it would distract more I think. Robin may be right, a little more DOF might have helped. I understand the intent but to me it doesn't work very well. If the title for the photo wasn't given I wouldn't look at this guy and think Chief.

My critique is of this photo not Olaf body of work which I like. The Elves have a hell of a job picking a photo to discuss, and I agree this photo should create some discussion because of the foreground.

I actually like this, mostly for the effective color which the foreground blur brings out nicely.

Instant comprehension of the foreground forms might affect the immediate impact of the photo, which can be very important in Internet browsing terms. On the other hand, I like that those forms are at first difficult to distinguish and reveal themselves only with a little work and time. For me, that actually increases the full impact of the photo over the couple of seconds it took me to realize what was going on. The suggestiveness in place of the clarity of those forms adds dimension to the narrative and experience of this photo/portrait, IMO.

I doubt the photographer would have expected us to get "chief" from the photo itself. It seems added in the title as more of an accompaniment, perhaps an enigma of sorts. "Chief" may be a matter of fact, and relevant, but I don't think the photo is trying to convey "chief." It's a portrait that's conveying a sense of the subject's engagement with others and suggests to me a shadowy sense of others' presence which can at times be how others are experienced.

I agree there is some visual awkwardness to the inclusion of the others in this almost ghostly and conceivably distracting manner, and I'm not even sure I, myself, fully embrace it. That uncertainty is fine with me. It doesn't undermine my consideration of the photo and my getting something out of it. As a matter of fact, I find it provocative because of my unease with it.

I think this could as well be called "The Commissar." The eye is drawn to the penetrating gaze and the heavy gold and black onyx ring and the bald head. Someone of importance in a setting that shows intensity and interest in "something." But what something is a mystery, unsupported by anything but a red blur and a silhouette of black. Both close enough but of indeterminate distance. The picture breaks with traditional CEO face placement by being almost dead center in a horizontal frame and starkly lit, almost ghostly lit. The head is elongated and distorted. The lighting is stark and at least unflattering. But potent. I could see this as a cover page from Darkness at Noon by Koestler. Not a friendly face. But arresting. I am both irritated and intrigued by the ambiguous blurred objects which are given such prominence. And want to know if this is an actor who could be the shooter's dad or uncle playing a role. It has interest and a kind of illusion I think. Suggests authority, and centrality in his role whatever it is. As to the black dress shirt, it could be a Capital Records mogul listening to a song pitch, I mean is possible.....

Or "Il Capo": seems a bit flashy for a Bolshevik...

Regardless of appellations one may wish to give the subject, he appears to be looking at others from whom he needs some sort of approval. Perhaps they are superior to him, i.e., employers, or potential customers, or members of his family. Yet his hand and fingers convey a sense of reluctance or resistance on his part.

I think the composition is having some unpleasant points. The head is too"long" and is cut by the frame. The red part on the LHS looks just a stain, and does not have a figure form. The RHS black stain, has some human signs , but enters the forhead , and it takes some time to understand what is it ? !,and in the meantime does not look good at all. .
I like his eyes penetrating look (chief..?) and the way his hand/ fingers are touching his face, but I think the composition as a whole is awkward, and the feeling stays even after looking at it again

I like many of Olaf's potrtrait works , but this one ( for me)is not one of his good/ best ones...

I see a man listening, waiting for a demanded answer from the two people in front. He's not angry, neither is he pleased. He is just very strongly focused at the two people, waiting for their answer answer. He is emotionally involved. The blur makes the two people in front appear insignificant, of lower rank, so he is the chief, yes.

It is very interesting how this image was taken (described by Olaf in the comments under the original). Someone once said (I don't recall who) that photography is much about making relations between things that in reality is completely unrelated. This is an example of such an image.

I like this image, because it is almost impossible to not be moved by it.

Best wishes,
Frode Langset

(and excuse my English, it's not my native language)

Thanks fellow Graphers, the brave Elves included of course..!
Yes, I do recognize the feelings named 'provocative', 'unease', the term 'enigma of sorts' plus the discribed attractive side(s) of the image. Personally I immediately got impressed and attracted by the great shot (!) of the displayed person himself, already for many years being a kind of strong (humoristic) rebel in (also) our Dutch TV world. And yes, 'humoristic' talents in reallity often are the most serious creatures one can imagine. Haha, and myself in a certain way feeling related, just wanted HIM..! Perhaps more 'The Eye' than 'The Chief', but the overall impression was hard to translate in just one English word. In completing and dressing my (stolen) image, some persons (in blur) were needed, for the the actor only is watching you and me..! That afternoon the chances in completing the idea were minimal by the few people passing by. Things 'only' have to fall on it's place, how (!) can often be part of a surprise, coincidence or luck. The task is to 'prepare', recognize and grab the chance(s). I got just two of them. Only for different colors I did (the next day) return, too late. However, before posting the image I thought the face itself embedded in a satisfying way. The dark stripe is the edge of a hat. And yes: 'Hat off for reacting in these hasty days..!' Cool regards, it's rather hot overhere..! :)
Olaf.