I just couldn't resist this since the challenge details said N/A
Post-Challenge:
What I'd really like to see is the exact definition of the criteria of N/A.
In any way does the title or the description of the details say Black and White IMAGE??????
This was one heck of a ride and I hope this stirred the pot enough to make more people think before they judge an image.
I agree that this is probably too far out on a limb, maybe a stretch for interpretation, BUT.......just because you don't like my interpretation or because it's not a B&W image doesn't mean that this entry is a DNMC.
Thanks to all who participated in the voting.
Statistics
Place: 403 out of 491 Avg (all users): 4.4857 Avg (commenters): 4.2500 Avg (participants): 4.3950 Avg (non-participants): 4.5528 Views since voting: 2551 Views during voting: 486 Votes: 280 Comments: 73 Favorites: 3 (view)
I saw the thumb, read what you said in one of your forum posts and it *still* took me a full 15 or 20 seconds to realize what you had done. I didn't vote in this challenge, but I wish I had. This is a wonderful take on the challenge. Wish we had more like this.
Well I certainly like this enough that I would have been happy to have taken it myself and to have had the moxie to have entered it here, but I am not a portraitist and I am always in danger of placing any kind of wit before win.
sometimes I just wanna smack a fellow dpc'er in the face.
im not violent, i just get that mad.
the fact that so many people can not think outside the box, and not think in general. The challenge never said a black and white image. I thought ppl were not supposed to vote down on DNMC anyway. Oh well, at least I do not see any respectable names down voting you.
I think you did a great job on the image, and the i love how you can not see the eyes. He looks like hes in the sun and sweaty, its awesome.
keep up the good work man, i look forward to seeing more of your photos.
I voted on the image, but never really commented on it. In reality you were very very orignal with this shot. It is a shot that breaks the grain yet works because it still fits the challenge. I love the idea!
However, being honest here I dislike it as a portrait. Even if the portrait was in black and white I still wouldn't vote it high. It's just not a good portrait, at least to me. Harsh light, awkward/downward pose, skin too shiny, and it is hard to see the eyes. The model almost seems to be squinting/moving away from the sun. Did you use a fill flash? I think some added lighting would have helped. Don't get me wrong, the subject has strong interest just the setup is wrong to me. I do like the background color choice, good use of depth and focus. I am being a little harsh here, I know... Of course take this lightly, I am horrible at taking portraits.
What I am saying, if this would have been the same colorized idea but setup as a traditional portrait it would be an easy and rare 10 from myself. As it stands it is just average even though the idea was awesome.
i love these types of shot. you can almost ask this guy a question. pity about the DNMC but hey ho. Not sure on the border though
The only thing i might have done was to sharpen again and make it a little raw.
Jeb, I think this is certainly a nice portrait. I guess black and white can mean different things as represented by your shot. I would have to say this is out of the box and I actually think it was a neat idea. Keep up the good work.
I wouldn't have considered it DNMC but I'd have preferred it to be either shot in or processed to Black and White as most photogs understand the term. And that's mostly because I prefer darn near everything in B&W most days. I figure you knew exactly what you were doing with this shot - by that I mean entering a color photography showing black and white. (There was a challenge a while back called "black and white in color" for which this would have been quite appropriate.)
As a portrait - the gentleman in the photograph has character and draws my interest for that reason. The lighting is a bit harsh and didn't quite make it to his eyes, which is one thing I do like to see in portraits - eyes. (They're the window to the soul and all that.) The red of the background is nice to add color, complementing your subject well, but I'm not fond of the wooden thingamabobs - a smooth texture would probably be better. It's a good picture, much better than a simple snapshot, but not a "great" portrait. I'd suggest you shoot this gentleman again - he's a terrific subject.
But what do I know? You're up to 63 comments and two favs! And you have a ribbon!
Actually I think, given the limited nature of some of the voters, that you did pretty well. Why? Because you didn't come in in last place, and that's what often happens to colour images when they end up in a "black and white" challenge - even when the challenge spec doesn't say that it has to be a black and white image.
wow, 27 1's and 25 2's? that's harsh and if I remember correctly from my reading of the guidelines of the site, it is recommended NOT to give extremely low scores just because a photo (in anyone's own humble opinion) does not meet the challenge. Thinking outside the box is what we need more of in this world of cookie cutter houses and mass production. That is a gorgeous BLACK and WHITE photo, Jeb. Look at that perfect bald head and that lovely cocoa skin. Come on people... why don't some of you give Jeb some positive comments. Just pretend for a moment that it said N/A in the description of this challenge. Oh wait... it did.
Hey, Jeb, I think you did exactly what you wanted to do. You took a good pic, you tested the boundaries, and you got out with your skin intact. Certainly you have plenty of positive comments to go with the DNMC folks. I must admit, I probably would've leapt for a low score had I voted this challenge, but your title would've made me think, and I probably would've ended up on 6.
Strong character coming from this portrait. Good capture in that sense. It's too bad you didn't make this B/W as the challenge called for. :( Good luck.
Well this image was quite the shock opening up. Having just voted on almost 100 black and white images to see this image full of color come up was a stunner. Had I not spent the extra second I did compared to many of the other entries my finger probably would have hit the 3 button quick. I expect that you are recieving many DNMC votes and comments on this one. But not here. No where in the challenge description does ot say that your entry must be a black and white converted image. While a bit out of the box (just a bit) I think that you met the challenge well and in a gutsy way. The image is strong and pleasing, the red background really makes this stand out even more than in comparison to the images around it. My only real complaint is the border. I am not too keen on the design and the orange strip just doesnt really go well with any of the colors that are in your image. I hope you arent getting hit too hard here. You get an 8 from me counting the extra point awarded for sheer balls. Good luck and I look forward to seeing where this image falls.
Did you .... submit the wrong version? Or do you mean to say white beard on a black man is a black and white photo??? A bit stretched in that case, but hat comes off for being brave!
This is a VERY BRAVE photo to enter into a challenge called "Black and White Portrait"! THAT along with the fact that the OTHER attributes of this photo are bang on! ... I have to give you a 10. I hope other voters "get it" too.
I like your interpretation of the challenge theme. It is true that it did not really state that the photo HAD to be black and white. However, I think it would have been neat to see it in black and white, to compensate for the loss of some detail on the right side of the face - maybe it would have created some mood lighting there. lol
Great shot, great clarity, focus, lighting! And, I get where you're going with the title "black and white", but.........why not just turn it Black and White to meet the challenge criteria?????
you could easily have desaturated this portrait and leave away the distracting border. The you had at least a top50 shot: good detail, good crop, good lighing, character comes visible. As is, it just DNMC
Well...I see what you are trying to do here, but you still could have gotten away with it by making the photo an actual black and white...you could have titled it "double meaning" or something. And where are his eyes! A very Beautiful man. Keep on taking his portrait! But I'm going to have to give you a 2. sorry
Hehe... clever. Cant fault this one, as the challenge is "Black and White" with no qualifiers. Bonus points to offset some of the DNMC dickheads out there...
I think I see where you're coming from, but I see this challenge as strictly black and white in terms of the output colour. As a constructive criticism, I like the image, but I feel the shadows around his eyes are distracting (particularly the right eye). I think you need to adjust the levels to increase or reduce the shadows dramatically, or adjust his position relative to the light source.
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