Old Guard on the Wall

[ed9119]

1.in what area is critique to be sought?
I would like to have comments on these areas.
- Lighting...... is the overblown sky outside an image-breaker?


2.what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
I want to depict my visit to the Great Wall in a way that is different from most Great Wall images but yet add a stronger human element within it

3.under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Image was executed around lunchtime indoors (inside one of the watch towers) next to a window
Subject about 1+m away from camera
Spot-Metered off the lit corner of wall in background (did not want to spook the old fella with a cam taking meter readings off his face)
in-camera Fill-flash used at -1 to -1.333 EV (cant remember)
Cropped a TINY bit off the bottom of image
Panasonic LX-3 @ 24mm at 16:9 frame format


4.what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I like the image personally and have my opinions on what needs to be done....want to hear other advise and opinions too

 

[ziploc]

1.in what area is critique to be sought?
I would like to have comments on these areas.
- Lighting...... is the overblown sky outside an image-breaker?

2.what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?
I want to depict my visit to the Great Wall in a way that is different from most Great Wall images but yet add a stronger human element within it

3.under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)
Image was executed around lunchtime indoors (inside one of the watch towers) next to a window

4.what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I like the image personally ...... just that overblown sky .....

When I looked at this pic, the first thing I noticed was the wrinkled face of the guard. After that, the second thing I noticed was the bright light behind him. Not really an image breaker, but the strong light does steal away some attention from the subject. Not exactly your fault as the lighting condition is tricky in this situation. Perhaps you could reduce the brightness of that area in PP, by using layer mask?

Also, if to nit pick, would prefer to see the complete hat of the guard.

On a lighter note, my first impression after seeing the pic was that he looked exactly like the guard in those posters from cultural revolution! None the less, great capture.

 

[Ian]

Grasshopper,

You are churing out quality images, all that bashing you years ago has paid off haha.

The top of the cap should really be in the image, it's a minor but distracting element.

Unlike ziploc I like the bright view through the turret slit, it can be interpreted as a bright future ahead if one thinks out of the box a bit. The interplay of light and shadow on the wall helps set the scene as does the guard crumpling one end of the panorma, everything in the shot though leads to the guards face and that is brilliantly captured.

Overall a sterling and good effort without having to resort to oversaturated TV colours like many today.

 

[Guystqy]

I will like the shot even better if you step back perhaps two steps. This way, there will a complete hat and a tiny bit of background on the left of his hand. Those fingers remind me of E.T. hah. NO offence though.

 

[pokiemon]

one of the more interesting shots i have seen so far!

could be a blessing in disguise. if outside wasn't overblown there will be too many distractions. can't have both worlds given the circumstance unless wait for evening. did you use spot metering?

 

[limwhow]

Hello, ed.
Please allow me to share with you my views.
I tried using my fingers to block that triangular-shaped light on the lower right hand corner,
and found that by doing so, the rest of the wall becomes dull and drab. That trianglar piece
actually made the picture more lively and gave it a sense of reality, as the sun is definitely
shining down from that angle.

 

[ed9119]

Thanks for the feedback and comments fellas......hugely appreciated...

Yes I have similar thoughts about that deathly looking hand..... a little burn should help

Due to guidelines in Critique..... I'll wait a couple more days before posting a different image of exactly the same scene for u guys to compare

This was one of the rare occassions where I cursed "Where the hell's a FF cam and a 20 or a 16-35 when I need one..." because I was squeezed in behind with a wall flat against my back

The other camera in the bag came with an APS sized sensor with a 28-135 attached that was too long to work with after the crop factor

p/s Oh dont worry..... just fire away if you feel the need to nitpick or if there are elements/concepts/perspectives within the image that disturbs/bothers you.... I promise, I will not issue an infraction ha ha ha

 

[johnlim]

This is an interesting photo. :thumbsup:

First thing I will do is to crop away the tiny bit of wall protruding from the right side of the photo; It is a little distracting.

Second, increase the exposure(also lower the contrast a bit) to see clearly the other 3/4 of the face which is in deep shadow. I don't mind the extra highlight on the left side of the face. The right side of the wall also reveals more color and texture if color saturation is increase a bit.

The first thing I am looking at is the face, then to the hand at the right, and to the left and then back to the face again; It's a triangular movement, of course occationally I will look at the background.

A second subject of interest is definitely the panoramic photo he is holding; Sadly, it is too dark to be of interest. Increasing the exposure earlier as I have discribed will have solved this.

And lastly, if I want the background to attract less attention, I will burn certain part of it and also the 4 corners of the photo.

;

 

[night86mare]

i like this image, i 'm just not sure about the ratio format being used here.

also, the distortion on the hand is something that i would not seek to achieve. the image is better without it, so either liquify (pucker) to reduce the size, or when shooting note it, and reduce it. maybe stepping back a little, and moving to your left would give a more pleasant arrangement of the elements, i.e. guard, map + doorway with light - form a much more pleasant feel of space.

still , this image tells a story, and that is good.

 

[rronnie]

i like this photo. perhaps you could brighten it a bit so that we can see more of the guard expression.
one small detail is perhaps part of the CAP is missing, but it is a good photo

 

[cabbySHE]

Technically speaking, a little fill in to lit up very slightly to those eye socket would be perfect.
So, you're the disciple of that ShaoLin monk in the series of Kungfu. Beware, always expect the unexpected. But the Shaolin monk has become an ang moh.

Anyway, without the wrinkle face, the whole picture might have gone to waste.

 

[ed9119]

thanks for the feedback!

yes, those wrinkles are vital as is that red star

 

[dw8888]

This is the kind of picture that someone rich will pay to get it.

 

[itsy bitsy]

I'm no pro, just my 2 cents worth...

I like it that part of the Great Wall can be seem thru' the turret slit. It kinda completes the 'story'.