Here's my most ambitious DPC undertaking to date -- an "off the hip" candid shot one afternoon on my way to get lunch.
Post-processing was my first foray into both selective desaturation and masks. I processed the background differently from the subject. The background primarily got some contrast adjustments and a Gaussian blur over the top 80% or so of the image. The street sign got some extra blur as I thought it was distracting (and it still kind of is given its proximity to his head).
I'm still not 100% satisfied with it, but I'm tired of looking at it, and if it doesn't score well, it was an excellent learning experience anyway.
POST: That didn't go so well. I did the desat and blur to isolate him from his surroundings -- show that he was in his own world in spite of all the activity around him. Live and learn, I guess.
Here's a no frills version (and uncropped) which probably stands better on its own:
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Decided to have a stroll through your portfolio and reciprocate on the comments! FWIW, I gave this a 6 and would undoubtedly have scored it higher had it not been a bit soft. I love the composition. I do prefer the b&w, but then, I usually prefer B&W generally speaking.
I like what you did to the original. I just wanted to comment and say that I never even noticed the cigarette in the corner till someone made a comment about it. Pretty cool! Keep on experimenting - you'll have more fun that way. :)
I don't think you needed the selective desaturation here. My eyes keep going to his red phone. He's in focus enough and -more importantly- dynamic enough to draw attention without any trickery. Otherwise, this is a cool street scene. Good choice with the angle - makes it look like you snuck the shot with the camera at your hip (and maybe that's what you did).
I like your title - it helps give me an idea of what you saw when you took this. I like the color treatment/de-saturation and angle. Had it been a tad bit sharper (I like crips images) I would have scored it higher.
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