Bene III

Outdoor with B鮩.

 

Your critiques and comments are highly appreciated

great capture, very moody, tells a story, like it

Just love the mood...great expression...duotone pushes the emotion yet further...

Super7/7

FrancescoM

Wonder what she's thinking?

I loved the expression.... very deep thought.

 

Nice woman.

Simply excellent, Great shot!!!, Regards George

beautiful!

One of the most fine digital B/W I've ever seen.

It seems to be shooted with a film. I like very much the mood and the depth of her thoughts... You've catch a part of her soul. Bravo!

I must say that this image speaks volume about the mood and feelings of the subject. Cheers!

Stefan,this is a fine shot with superb composition and capture of the expression.The only thing that bothers me is the two white borders..it gives it an unfinished look IMO.Anyway,really well done...

great mood ,exellent image

Enigmatic expression of pain blended with happiness when a bad story is ended.

Memories are coming out and new dreams are coming in.

Well done.

 

Strong and beautiful

very well done

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I remember seeing this shot a while back and being amazed at the fantastic processing and the model's powerfully emotional and somber expression. I found myself wondering then, as I am now, whether this image might best be portrayed in a square format that crops out the distracting highlights and helps to focus the viewer's eye on the model's face.I know very little about the art of portrait photography and am very curious as to what the benefits are of having slightly blown out lights behind the model's face. I will upload an example of what I would've done.
This is incredible work that is highly deserving of a POW award, even if it is a few years late!
Best regards,
Stan.

Stan, in a case like this I think that there is a big clue that this image isn't just about the face of the model. We know this was shot in 35mm format and we know that it has already been cropped from the 3:2 aspect ratio to what appears to be close to a 2:1 aspect ratio. This cropping is on purpose--not that full frame shouldn't also be, just here we have proof that it isn't a default cropping but planned.

The reason for leaving space is generally because the image is suppose to convey something more than just a representation of the person. Sometimes it is physical context and sometimes it is more of a psychological device. Here, I would see the intent as being the latter and Stefan wants to somehow embellish the vacant stare with that extra essentially vacant space. Because it is behind her, in can also indicate that the mood is supposed to reflect something that happened rather than something that is going to happen. Just visual clues and may or may not be valid, but one has to conclude it to be purposeful.

Personally, I think the image works a bit better with the extra space because it does allow me to wander off, as she is, rather than remain intensely on her face. I don't know that I find the highlights a distraction as I feel the tones of the face are strong enough to compete favorably with it.

The image is well done and presented in a style that I think works with the image. I don't know that more information would be helpful in the blocked dark areas in the face and I see the treatment as an intended device. I do think it balances well with the darker clothing on the right of the image.

I too think this is an excellent shot. The textures are amazing - from her sweater to the brick wall.
Stan - I liked your idea of a square shot but after viewing it, I believe the feeling of aloneness that I see in the original is lost. For me, it becomes just another picture.

I see what you mean John, thank you for the explanation.
Although it's highly subjective, I can see how the empty space can provide meaningful context for a photo such as this. I believe that aesthetically, the shot might be more pleasing to me in the square format I mentioned, but as an exposition of a memory or feeling, the author's choice makes perfect sense. Thanks for clearing that up.
Regards,
Stan.

It's technically well done, all the ducks are in a row, skin tone well handled, background and background light effective, fairly typical dreamy shot, head against wall, looking away. I would not call this an ambiguous or mysterious expression. I would say the face itself is rather expressionless, with something more given to it by lighting and texture. I think most subjects would feel quite flattered by this photo and most boyfriends of subjects would love to have this sitting framed on their night stands. In that sense, it's typical. It seems generic to me. Woman by photographer leaning against wall. Not THIS woman.

A different sort of approach could make it more textured or layered a photo, one that would make me (as a viewer who doesn't know the woman) feel connected rather than simply an outside admirer, one that might reveal her character. One way (among many) might be to suggest a story of who she is, even without much more physical information than is here. The portrait photographers (Steichen, Avedon, Karsh) whose work becomes also significant photography give us a little more.

Consider Karsh's portrait of Winston Churchill. Churchill's expression is a visual party. The background isn't a whole lot more full than the background of Stefan's portrait, yet the geometric and wooden walls imply a very particular formal and officious character which do relate to Churchill. Little gestures, such as the chain of his pocket watch, the bow tie, are details which fill out the photograph. The hanky, the pin-striped pants, all adding to a statesman-like rendering of this man, a commitment by the photographer to who this man is. Finally, the two very different hand gestures, pulling the viewer this way and that, moving the viewer, giving life to the image.

Please accept Karsh's portrait as just an example. Not what I'm suggesting Stefan should have done with this portrait. It's meant only to give a sense of the kinds of things I find missing in this portrait (not the specific things). And I think even a portrait with less details than Karsh's, more of a face shot, can give us these sorts of additional emotional cues. Consider Annie Leibovitz's portrait of William Burroughs. It is through the photographer's gestures, focus and depth of field, dodging and burning of facial characteristics, and the more personalized expression of Burroughs himself, that the viewer is invited into the photo rather than being left as a spectator.

I look at Stefan's photo and might get lost in the ambiguity of the woman's expression and my imagination might wander from there, which is certainly a good thing. But I think I want a little more of the photographer's and the subject's personal and intimate imagination to work off. A commitment to who this woman is, even if committed, and deliberate, in its ambiguity.

best photo of the week I have saw here since 5 years.
humanity is here so sensitively captured
congratulations
balthazar m.

I especially like the 'truthfulness' of the image. Looks clean, nothing of the 'plastic' skin we see too much of these days.

I think this Stefan's outdoor portrait is a good & strong photo, but in my opinion, he's a good photographer and has lots of excellent photos in his portfolio, and I maybe wouldn't have chosen this one from his portfolio. But I'm not making those decisions, just sharing my thoughts about this photo and Stefan's portfolio.

This the best photo of the week I have seen in some time. I believe this is an excellent photograph. More than that, I believe it is perfect. By this I mean that nothing can be added or taken away to improve it.

Why do I think it is excellent? A good photograph has a tight single effect. It creates an epiphany. That is, intrinsic to it is something that causes a revelation and changes your perception of life.　This takes place here. Why do I think it is perfect? Every element in this photograph contributes to the single effect that it creates. This includes not only the subject but also the brick wall and the blurred space behind her. That blurred space is absolutely necessary, which you will see when you look at the square format crop, which in essence kills the vitality of the photograph.

I will look at the major elements in detail.

The face is enigmatic. Most importantly, the subject is not attempting to ingratiate herself with the camera and the photographer. She is in her own space. Or so she appears to be. This is different from most portraiture where a posed stance is self-evident. What we see here is something akin to candid or street photography. Yet it is presumably posed.

The woman's face is sharp. Her expression is stark. What emotion she is feeling can be debated endless and I'll leave it aside. (Perhaps she is only tired of posing.) What is important is that she has powerful stage presence.

The brick wall is both a counterpoint to the the model's expression. It is stark and cold, whereas the model's face is stark and full of passion. The blurred area is also a counterpoint. It offers the eye relief from the intensity of the subject's face, and in doing so it makes the primary focus on the model all the more emphatic. (This is the primary role of blurred background in portraits.) Cutting of the blur only overdoes the intensity of the face, making looking at it fatiguing and in the end annoying.

Very possibly the photograph would be made-in-Heaven perfect if the bricks were a bit more out of focus. But in terms of mortal endeavor, the photograph is perfection as far as the human conscience can allow.

This is in no way a novelty photograph. This is a photograph that one is drawn to return to and contemplate and reinterpret.

Her expression & processing are excellent. I do think there's too much space, to the right. I, for one, like Stan's cropping. It makes her face & expression more powerful