davecollopy

Keep the shadows and lower the highlights. That is, only if your intention is to treat the subject with dignity.

Hi Gaetan and thank you. This is the same vantage point as the other I-70 photo only with a telephoto. I like this one better but my scanner doesn't like Fuji slide film. The slide itself is very nice, though.

Thanks Brian. And thank you for taking time to check out my portfolio.

Thank you, Rusla. And thank you for the sound advise. I went ahead and bumped the contrast on this one. After having a look at your portfolio I am deeply honored by your appreciation. Thank you again.

Comments welcome. Thank you for your time.

The effect here isn't grain or scanner noise, though it may have started out as both. The pattern is the result of an extremely low quality jpeg compression which gives the exaggerated grain the screen door or cloth texture. I'm sure this was a conscious choice of the photographer and if some find it distracting, it probably isn't as distracting as whatever it is it's obscuring. I for one like the obscure nature of this image, though I'd prefer more natural grain if given a choice. I do feel the elements and composition presented are first rate, and congrats to Ramaiah for this fine work of art being selected.

Your choice concerning the railing has made a great capture into a perfect photo.

In terms of gamma/brightness and or contrast, any choice you make would be fine. The problem here is there is a stain in the middle of this photo that is noticeably distracting. To correct, all the white shirts in direct sunlight must be of the same brightness and brighter than the skin tones in direct sunlight. All the Caucasian faces should be approximately the same tone and Nixon's suit left should approximately match his suit right. This can be fixed in Photoshop in a number of different ways. I'm not going to say it's easy, but I feel you're up to the task. I've only been using Photoshop a year now, and some things are already getting easier, though I still have a lot to learn.

 

John, I honestly get the feeling that you don't fully realize what you have captured here. Busy is a term used to describe wallpaper. Take a look at this photo again and just for a moment let's forget that this is a photo of the President of the United States. Without any famous people in it, this picture is a masterpiece. Just look at the facial expressions. No, forget the faces. Just look at the hand gestures:

 

(counterclockwise) the man fiddling with the ciroflex, the mother reaching in toward the President?s hand, the boy with the instamatic in one hand the other poised in a missed handshake, the presidents reluctant hand (this one is absolutely classic!), then there's what appears to be the hand of the secret service or somebody reaching around - protecting the President from inadvertent contact, the first lady's white gloved hand clinging to the president (another classic). And there is still one more pair of barely visible hands between the presidents left arm and the first lady's left arm in the lower right hand corner. Not sure, but this gentlemen appears to be wearing white gloves and reaching for something in his suit jacket.

 

Now lets look at the faces. Every single one has a unique expression, yet all the faces in the crowd are in stark contrast to that of the Nixons. The distress in their expression creates the tension in this photograph. Lost in the crowd they have become isolated. Together they are apart. And the handshake gesture bears witness to this drama.

 

But this isn't just a photo of anybody. It is a photo of President Richard M. Nixon and his wife Pat, and the isolation and distress we see here aren't just characteristic of an afternoon in San Francisco. They are characteristic of the final days of his administration. They are characteristic of the entire rest of his and Pat's life together. The are characteristic of his legacy. She stayed with him through it all. Together, they remained apart from the rest of society till his death.

 

All of that is what makes this photo so great. I don't think there's another Nixon photo that comes close.

 

John, my praise was sincere. I spend an inordinate amount of time cropping my images, in order to make the uninteresting interesting. An image like this one requires no cropping at all because every pixel triggers the imagination. There are probably only a dozen such photos on all of Photo.net.

This is the kind of photo that sets the standard by which all other photos are measured. Great work! You must be very proud.

Hi John

 

This is an absolutely stunning capture! ...like greatest photos of the twentieth century quality. Sorry about the negative damage.

 

To repair, first of all, I think you should be able to get a better scan than this. There should be either more shadow detail or highlights on the negative. However if time has taken its toll, PS can go a long way toward bringing it back to its original condition. Basically everything that Dennis said, that's about all it will take. This is a quick hack I did on the jpeg, you should get a lot better results working on the master file. But if possible, see if you can get another scan. Best regards.

This is neat. But what is it? This kind of subject is the most difficult to compose because it looks good whatever you do. But you've done a nice job here.

Well now I've seen two shots of it. 7/7 for being out there that late and freezing. I tried to get this shot. It was pretty amazing to see. Solar Storms must be getting stronger.

Patrick you get a seven for sure! I've tried to get this shot a couple of times and I've never seen anybody else photograph it. It's a wild thing standing underneath it. The whole thing is in motion. It sends shivers up your spine.

Thanks everybody for your comments. Thanks for the advice, Paul.

Once again thank you for your comments and time.

Thank you Rashid, Erika and Gerry. Thank so much.

Let me know what you think. And thank you for your time.

You're off to a great start, Niaz. Congratulations on this excellent portrait!

Love the stuff in your portfolio. All the originality is really refreshing. Kind of like an oasis in a desert.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks, Mike! Your work has been an inspiration to me. I had a lot of trouble cleaning up the blue sky on this one. Not sure if it was due to the camera, filter, film or something I'm doing during development.

This is a very good photo! I don't know what else to say.

This is the same shot that was used in the closing credits of John Boorman's Excalibur(1981). But his boat was carrying King Arthur. I think you've done a fine job here. Very nice work!

This is great! I would've never thought to crop it this way, but now that you have it's excellent. I wouldn't change a thing. You've made some beautiful choices here!