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Sharbat Gula. Afghan. 1972-...
Sharbat Gula. Afghan. 1972-...
Prash


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Famous Photograph (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Location: Moreno Valley, CA
Date: Jun 12, 2010
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/40s
Galleries: Emotive, Portraiture
Date Uploaded: Jun 13, 2010

 I know I am taking a big risk by attempting a legendary photograph. But I do not know any other way to learn but by expanding my wings and trying tougher things.

This is my sweetheart, who was dead tired after a 30 hour job shift, but co-operated for 10 minutes, enough for me to click a few shots.

I may get killed (among other reasons) for not depicting the mysterious eyes of the original subject. But I couldn't help it within the rule set of the challenge. Regardless, my wife tried a lot to open up her eyes quite big, but that started looking unnatural.

By the way the subject showing more hair in this version is intentional. It relates to the title: "If the Afghan Girl had a choice". It shows her being a little liberal, more confident (compare her gait/tilt and the brows to the original portrait).

I honestly do not care how this image does with the scores. Because after almost 8 hours of on/off processing, I am already in love with this picture.. specially because this makes me gaze into the eyes of the love of my life!

I hope it can connect to at least one other person (voter) and can convey what I see in this face.

Good luck to everyone!

PP Details:
Shot as NEF (Large) + JPEG (Fine).
Opened JPEG in Photoshop.
Duplicated the original layer, one each for the following, and masked out non-relevant pixels:
- Face - main, highlights, shadows
- Eyes (Core), (Iris-Border)
- Hair-main, Hair-line
- Scarf
- Background

Adjusted hue/saturation/dodge/burn individuaally for each layer
Merged
Saved as PSD
Downsized for web
Saved as JPEG.

ETA POST CHALLENGE (06/24/2010): Looking at how many people thought these eyes are scary, and considering that I see her heart in there, I gotta say: I married the right person. I love her so much that I see love in her green pupils;-)

Statistics
Place: 81 out of 92
Avg (all users): 4.9662
Avg (commenters): 5.2727
Avg (participants): 4.4773
Avg (non-participants): 5.1731
Views since voting: 10894
Views during voting: 542
Votes: 148
Comments: 13
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D700
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/20/2010 11:45:52 PM
Hmmm...I like these shots but this one looks a little blurred in the important eye area.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
 06/20/2010 11:20:59 PM
Scary eyes... is she using contact lenses? The light is nice, and so the composition... I just don't like the halo around her...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sigma DP1x
06/20/2010 04:56:54 PM
It's a very harsh treatment and goes far beyond the subtelty seen in McCurry's photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO
 06/18/2010 01:30:22 PM
Looks an awful lot like the Afghan girl photo, but seems heavily and obviously edited to achieve that.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/18/2010 11:57:10 AM
It looks like there is waaay to much photoshopping going on here. What were the original colours?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm X-T5
Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1.4
 06/16/2010 08:54:50 AM
The eyes look really weird - the sclerae are too white, pupils look unnatural. There is also haloing around the scarf. Compared to 15 other similar shots, I just can't justify giving you a good score sorry. 4
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70s
 06/15/2010 06:01:38 PM
Much closer than the previous version of this girl. Head tilt wrong, lighting needs to be more diffuse.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 06/14/2010 08:29:37 PM
Her eyes... look almost blind. I suspect this is due to the processing, not the model. (not voting)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R6
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 06/14/2010 04:46:34 PM
Overall, a very good reproduction, especially the eye color. One thing I don't like is what appears to be some haloing around the scarf. Kind of gives it an un-natural feel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
 06/14/2010 03:06:54 PM
You have the colors down pat and her green eyes are captivating. Kudos to your model .. and you too as the photographer :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
 06/14/2010 01:17:08 PM
This one looks angry not intimidated...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II
06/14/2010 02:20:25 AM
my 2nd fav of this reproduction 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 06/14/2010 01:52:17 AM
arggghhh SO many attempts at this shot, and many, like this seem to have over the top processing on the eyes
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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