Kazakhs Three

Very powerful image.

Well presented.

Thanks for sharing it.

My complements.

Andy

Hi Paul,

Thank you for sharing!  I don't often say this but what a near perfect image!  WOW.  I think you've absolutely capture the essence and story within a single image.  As a portrait, the man's expression is beautiful and honest.  As a documentary, you've presented a beautiful mood and a complex narrative.  as a westerner, i appreciate inclusion of the sign that gives it a sense of geography..yet the man's expression is everyman.   I'm curious as to how you got such bright skin tones while in the shadows...very interesting.  This is what photojournalism should aspire to.  Overall, I could see this image in a NatGeo or part of a Getty collection.  Great job!

--PatrickD

Story telling picture, bravo, cheers!

very well done Paul,  Bernardo

I like the way this image is set up. We have the gentalman, filthy looking past you, sitting at the opening of the bus with the curtain bleeding down as if it was sun rays beeming towards him. Next we have the vast left expansion of the bus to carry our eyes off the prin and neatly situated in the foreground are jars of dough. You could have NOT done this any better in a studio.

Bravo!

I wish there was a simple answer Patrick regarding the tonal range in this photograph. First of all I always shoot in RAW which gives me great latitude in recovering highlights and shadows even with my stealth camera (Canon G12). I strive for producing a perfect “negative” (I come from film) in RAW including the above, WB, distortion, fringing, contrast and color saturation. I then open as a tiff in CS6 and rubber stamp distractions as well as begin to use adjustment layers as necessary. I then go to my Nik collection plugins. If the image is too noisy I use “Define”, then I open in “Viviza” and get the image as perfect as I can in color.  Then back to CS6 for a bit more tweeking. Finally back to Nik Silver Effects Pro for conversion to B&W. Then some final tweeking in CS6. Of course there is always variation, but this is pretty much my routine. I have gone almost completely to Nik for B&W conversion. Really powerful tool.

Thanks for the insight into your workflow.  I've never used Nik, but i'm going to check it out now (i typically shoot HDR panos processed with PTGui and then over to On1 for lens tweaks and finally into CS6 for BW conversion and "darkroom" techniques).  As for the G12, i think you've proved that it is the photographer and not the equipment that makes a great shot.  I have been looking at some of your other work and think your portfolio is fantastic. I look forward to seeing more of your work.

--PatrickD

I'm not into heavy post-processing applied to photojournalism as it often deforms reality too much but here content and form work in perfect harmony. This is one of those rare photos whose each pixel seems to have its meaning. Thank you for sharing, wish you all the best for 2015.

Thanks for the compliment Wieslaw. I agree with your comment on journalism, but I don't view myself as a journalist, but rather an artist. That gives me as much freedom to express myself as a painter. I never post under the "fine art" category because art is art. It doesn't need its own heading. Providing a special "art" heading for photographs begs to open the old argument that photography isn't really art......yawn.... Please don't misunderstand, your comment did not annoy me in anyway, but it did stimulate me to reiterate my opinions on art and photography. Thanks and Happy New Year !

Thank you for your response and for sharing your thoughts. You’re right, we don’t need to talk much about what photography is and what it isn’t. After all, they’re our photos that speak for ourselves the most. And your pictures, including this one, prove you’re a great photographer and you have a soul of artist beyond a shadow of a doubt. No pointless arguments needed. Best regards to you.