John is someone I've met and photographed on Nicollet Mall several times. Although we've never had much more than brief interactions, he's always friendly and happy to have his picture taken. This isn't my favorite shot of him but I think it gives perspective on his story and fits the 1 in 7 billion theme.
This was a brutally cold day in Minneapolis. The temp was 6 degrees Fahrenheit. I was out walking for about 20 minutes and I was very cold. John was in for a much longer time outside. He was dressed warm in a snowmobile suit, but that hardly does the trick in this type of cold.
I did my part to help him out. We chatted for a minute as I took a few photos. He was in good spirits given how cold it was. Hopefully he has a warm place to sleep.
Post Processing
- Primarily Lightroom - sharpen, selective exposure adjustments, various color and contrast adjustments
- CS4 - add border, size for web, sharpen more
Statistics
Place: 22 out of 99 Avg (all users): 6.1697 Avg (commenters): 7.8333 Avg (participants): 5.6000 Avg (non-participants): 6.2606 Views since voting: 1420 Views during voting: 374 Votes: 218 Comments: 9 Favorites: 1 (view)
First of all, congratulations on a wonderful shot!
I liked it very much, and it fit the spirit of the challenge perfectly.
Regarding the techniques:
Composition
Perfect framing of the subject, and a very intimate perspective.
The people in the back help to extend this feeling of abandon, and the bokeh is really great, giving more emphasis to the subject itself.
The blown out sky could have been a no for some users,but your attention is really drawn to the man, so it really doesn't have that much negative impact.
Processing
White balance is on the spot, giving the image a very realistic, cold look.
Even at ISO 1600 and 1/60 no noise or blur is visible, that 5D is really something (also, great steady hand :)
The focus is on the spot, and probably it could use just a little of selective Highlights and Shadows, you used selective exposure adjustments, but I still see his face a bit dark.
Overall
A 7.8 score from commentators really shows you that you hit the spot with some people, and a 6+ score is a very good one.
Congrats again!
If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
Regards,
Joao
This is a great, emotive portrait. Really captures his story in his eyes. The low angle is perfect, seeing the street from Johns point of view and not being patronising at all. Being slightly lower than Johns eyelevel also brings out Johns dignity. In my top few of the challenge. 9.
Great shot. Like the low point of view. Like how you framed him and included the sidewalk and surrounding environment to give the image context; good DOF. Even without the title, the image has a compelling story behind it. One of a few 10's from me. I think this should ribbon.
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