This is an image that that I caught while walking around the Santa Monica Promenade near Los Angeles, CA.
I really enjoy the faint no smoking sign in the background.
The model was having a short smoking break and did a few quick poses for me. If editing were allowed, I'd probally tone down the bright text in the lower right hand side.
Statistics
Place: 42 out of 188 Avg (all users): 5.5709 Avg (commenters): 7.6667 Avg (participants): 5.3981 Avg (non-participants): 5.6835 Views since voting: 1726 Votes: 261 Comments: 26 Favorites: 11 (view)
Thanks everybody for the comments. I'm really suprised that this image came in so low.
There were some questions about process:
In Photoshop, I Unsharp Masked --> Color balanced ---> (decided to go B&W) Desaturated---> Edited Curves (more of a S curve) ---> Contrast Adj ---> Croped ---> Bordered--->Submit.
It took some playing with to get this image to to really pop.
Subject matter:
I thought this fit the challenge because we see a guy standing out front of, from what i could tell, his workplace having a smoke break. If i've ever seen anyone "let go" on a regular basis, it's smokers on their break. That's the moment when they have time to think and reflect on their concerns. IMHO.
A strongly expressive portrait which evokes more questions than answers, despite an apparent context.
The contradictory subject, while demonstrating reasonable comfort in his environment, radiates an intensity which betrays his casual gesture and overall demeanor. A haggard, unshaven appearance clad in shirt and fish-bone jacket suggest a gritty character both at ease and at odds with social conventions. The title does little to clarify either subject or the circumstances of the encounter. It does, instead, suggest a somewhat contained reaction to an intrusion on part of the photographer.
Yet, it is precisely via the contradictory nature and the tension conveyed in this well-timed capture, that it comes alive. The journalistic manner and close proximity of the photographer add both credibility and a certain kind of flair found among the best examples of the genre.
I value this photograph for a convincing realism and an oddly commoting quality I cannot define.
You've really captured a great expression/look on this guy. The overall photo contrast matches well with the worn look on his face. Sticks in the memory.
This is a great capture... I love this type of 'street photography'. I have been looking at a lot of it lately. I don't know if this guy is homeless or not but the dirt under his fingernails really seems to stand out for me... along with the unshaven face. The 'kramer' hair and the 'i don't give a dam' look on the face really creates some punch for me also. There are all sorts of subtleties in this image that are nice... I wonder how many people will notice the out of focus 'no smoking' sign in the background :) If I should forget to add this photo to my favorites, please remind me :) Excellent capture...
i love this picture... going to become one of my favorites.. the person and his expression is trully remarkable.. and how he posed with the cigarette in his hands.. i generally have hard time explaning what i like in a photograph, but i like to say this one is really a winner for me.. i gave it a ten, my only ten in this challenge. i think you well deserved it... but as far as making a critique: his white shirt is a little overexposed and the background is a little busy, might have been better blurred out.. and may be i would have liked some more detail in the eyes...
really great subject you have here. love the wrinkles on his forehead, the stubble his jacket..it exudes coolness to me..and the fact that its black and white helps the background not to take away any of this.
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