Angry Men of Antiquity 18

Comments, ratings appreciated --thanks. Part of a series on Greek

statues: others in this folder.

A few questions about the whole series (which IMHO by now deserves a folder of itself).

Was there any dodging/burning in the post-processing of this series?

What about the idea behind the diffuse softness? Is it meant to convey age, or has some technical rather than aesthetical rationale?

Did you have the series in mind when you entered the room, or did the idea struck suddenly?

What about some composition of more images? I see a diptych, called Hot debate in the Agora where you put face to face some of your Angry Men...but I dare not doing it myself!

since it was asked I'm wondering too... did you dodge this after the fact to get the achieved look or is it as is?

Dr. Mele and Knicki, thanks for your comments/questions.

 

Yes, there was a some burning, but only on the left side to cool off the highlights. The major shadows here were from the museum lighting and some "leveling" of the image. The light eye was dodged slightly.

 

I tried some diffusion on this (and some of the others) for a few reasons: a sense of timelessness and un-reality. Technically, this was shot a 1600 ISO in very, very low light and it has some digital artifacts that can't be fixed. Diffusion helps mask this. Also, most of these were shot at f2.8 or f4.0 so I could shoot at 1/15 or so.

 

I like to try to shoot things in museums, but there's no reason to try to reproduce what's in books or catalogs shot with pro lights and tripods. When I started encountering these busts, I knew I had something I wanted to shoot. My wife, who teaches some Greek literature, was looking at me a little funny when I was shooting these, as were the guards (with a 20mm lens, I was getting fairly close!). By the way, this is really an amazing museum, on par with the best museums in the world. I had been through the museum 20 years ago, but it didn't make much impact on me then.

 

Dr. Mele, grouping these is a terrific idea: I had been planning to cram them into their own folder when I finish them, but a diptych or triptych is a great idea. I even like your title. Of course, now I wish I could go back and try shooting these guys a few more times.

 

Salvatore, thanks again for your insightful comments, questions, and suggestions!

My opinion... you have almost brought them to life. These have more the look of a portrait now... than of a picture of a statue. I think the 20mm has a bit to do with this... but the wide apertures are what made them.

I like the lighting. It almost makes it look like it is underwater with the color cast and the faint shadows from above. Really great photo.

Derek and Clayton, thanks for your comments. I'm enjoying working on the series and hope to finish it in the next week or two.