First Impression: (without knowing photographer or seeing comments) This is a shot from somebody who understands light and mood and makes the viewer sit and think a while.
Composition: Composition is ok but for more impact I think losing the top third of the image (almost to a square crop) would help.
Subject: Yes, its a strong portrait that meets the challenge well but am thinking the whole smoking idea would have put off a few voters (am a smoker myself).
Technical: The lighting/exposure is spot on with good detail in the smoke and subject, I think it might be better in B&W?
Final thoughts: A strong image but am still not sure if the smoke around the eyes is a good or bad element and the cigarette looks a little odd. I'm still seeing this as a B&W image cropped to a half inch above the right eyebrow.
This is the first of the photos that I've looked at so far in this challenge that I actually like. I love the lighting and the angle of the shot. My only criticism would be the blue blob in the top left corner -- I don't think it adds anything to the effect of this photo and it is a bit distracting.
Good idea, the smoke is dynamic and harsh lighting fits very well. Personally, I would have been tempted to neat image the smoke to make it more ethereal, but the current grain is good for the harsh message.
OMG .. so thats why i have a large nose .. wish i'd been told when i started smoking .. this is great by the way .. i'm not voting yet but just wanted to make a comment on this great image .. :)
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