God Is Us

colour or b/w ?

color for sure. B & W would lose the eyes. Nice picture

Great sharpness and nice portrait.

Another great work!

My camera can do that? Every now and the a photo comes along that reminds me that I have so much yet to learn. The color, detail and texture all drive home that point. Also liked Beautiful Soul. Very nice.

Love the photo but the title bothers me a great deal. God is 'in' us. But if you think we 'are' God, I believe you've been greatly misled.

Striking image, no matter what the title! I agree - color because of those incredible eyes. The rest of the face is rough and somewhat unappealing, but the eyes capture you right away.

Excellent work!

Great composition, but you went overboard with the sharpening (and it does not seem like it was your purpose in the picture) and burning. When burning human skin too much (in color) the results start looking grayish and strange. Excess digital sharpening makes the noise of the pic come out too much, and also excess "fake pixels".

The "oversharppen" is the secret of the digital process applied here. It makes it look different than a typical portrait, and that what's attract attention, some viewers may like, some others not.

 

But since this is a photo learning site, the photographer should give at least some minimal technical details on the work done.

 

I didn't need to read the title to think about Jesuschrist, I think this portrait goes well with the most generalized image that we have nowadays of him.

 

If God is Us or not, it's a non-photographical matter that none should discuss here. It was the author title selection, period.

I also noticed that the image was oversharpened. Personally, I would prefer less because it appears too harsh, however if this was a deliberate artistic choice, well then it is entirely subjective - I still prefer less :-) With that said, I feel this is an exceptional portrait - the expression in his eyes says a lot. The characteristics that come to mind when looking at his face are humility, compassion and acceptance - although with some disappointment. And this has nothing to do with the title, it's entirely based on his expression.

Just one thing - he has 2 strands of hair, one in particular right across his left eye which is a bit bothersome. I would prefer to see the image without these. I don't think it would take away from the image since the rest of the image suggests enough already.

Tremendous! Love the color! The over sharpening aspect doesn't really bother me that much. Very nice work!

Darren, this is a very moving shot. Color does enhance the mystical quality of the eyes...very haunting...nice shot

Here is someone who really knows how to handle the sharpening tools. As Nestor Botta commented above, sharpening is essential to the quality of this image and cannot be simply dismissed as an "overdone" manipulation. This comes last in a row of fine and visually stunning portraits by the same photographer. Personally I prefer the B&W version, which fits better with the rest of the portfolio, but the image is great also in colors.

This is a remarkable image. I would like to see a softer version too. Well done!

I think it's clear Darren has chosen the level of sharpening he has, not to overcome the inherent lack of sharpness of digital capture at the pre-digital-darkroom stage, but merely as a kind of "filter" . Try not to think of it as "sharpening", but as more of an "effect".

I love this picture. Unique and incredibly well lit. Otherwise, I would like to ask John London to give us a break trying to analyze the title. If you want to get into the debate on God (and assuming you believe in God)... weren't we supposed to be the creation of God? Therefore, like it or not, God is a part of each and every one of us, just as Darren Levant is a part of this photograph. Great title, and fitting for the image.

How do you get a sharp immage with digital photocamera? I am learning right now and my pictures seem to be too "pixely". Some one help!

Such a striking portrait - but as soon as I viewed it, the over-sharpening killed the appeal - sorry!

 

Barry Needle.

 

Very well done!!!

Yeah !

Darren, congratulations. I'm sure a number of people critiquing this image must be viewing it on laptop LCD's for them to comment on sharpening techniques and burnout. This is almost 3-dimensional in nature. The INCREDIBLE depth you have created here is awesome! The shadows, the "humanity" in the face and the even the stray hairs add up to a really wonderful piece. Well done, period.

Every so often a picture will be displayed on photo.net that moves me and spurs me on to dreaming bigger when it comes to this medium of photography.Thank you for sharing with us this picture!It gives me something to study and keep on moving in perfecting this medium.It's a life time of learning but oh so much fun!Cheers!

Awesome shot! I give you a 5 stars for this shot. Congrats!

Another amazing photo from you Darren "takes the crown from the Golden Blind Man". Love the one with color. Love the pose