Sadly, when I have very little free time the blog posts are what suffer. I have still been taking new photos, just not posting them. As an offering of appeasement to the gods of blogging I added a new portrait to the gallery today, along with a detail shot.
|
|
|
||
|
|
|
||
Man, I love the detail image.
does that mean you would like it printed where you could see that detail in the regular one, or does that mean you would have liked it better if it was actually cropped and shot like the detail one?
oh, and thanks for the compliment.
Initially I had written something asking if there was anything that you wanted to say about the pictures, like decribe the process or thought. But it sounded snide and/or sarcastic so I dropped it. I also thought about saying how I never want to have my picture taken with your camera because I don’t want to see my pores but I dropped that too.
I like the detail for a lot of reasons. I like how it is cropped, though I might like it better without that little bit of stubble on the bottom left but maybe not, it mimics the shadow on the other side well. I like how intense he looks and how focused the image in. He has a real Vincent Gallo vibe. The quality of hte image and the texture of his face are great.
I like the full print too. Although, my fixation on lines make me not like how the backdrop comes to an end on the right edge of the picture. His eyes pop out so much more in the full print, I think because there is so much more dark in the full thing. I like the imagery in the background, I like the off-kilter pose, I like how his knees stick up.
Would I like the full image blown up to the size of the detail? I’m not sure. That would be, what? 20×20? I like big prints. Certainly the detail that shows up in the inset would be good for anyone who wanted to take a close look at the image but I’m not sure if I think the whole thing would gain anything from being that large. You know, some photos work better big while others work better small. I think that right edge would make me really crazy in a full size print but I really need to get over my desire for symmetry. I’ve been fighting that urge since I was a kid.
If I had to choose between I’d have to go with the cropped version. But, I think the initial sentiment behind the comment was that I loved that level of detail in the image, which could have appear in a large full negative print or a smaller cropped one.
Anything I wanted to say about the pictures . . . that is so wide open. The model was amazingly cooperative and willing to fold their body up and hold poses at my whim. The model has a tattoo (and beliefs) that I felt tied in with the hindu/indian bakcground. Their personality is very laid back but also meshes well with the intensity of the gaze.
There is no “backdrop,” what you see on the right is actually a curtain ( laying on top of the wallpaper). However I understand that you probably would like the composition better without it, but you also like some of my pictures better without power lines.
I think the texture of all the surfaces visible in the print would make a large print work, but I love to see texture details.
I might post some tighter cropped shots to see what you think of them too, if it is ok with the model.
I was using terms pretty loosely. By “backdrop” I just meant that thing in the background, I really had no idea what its status was.
Also, I recognize my own dissatisfaction with power lines and errant other lines and tried to not have that be the extent of my discussion; I just couldn’t help it.
I guess my original thought about “anything you wanted to say” was about process. Recently, I’ve been trying to think about the process. So hearing about how the model responded, what they were and weren’t willing to do, is a big chunk of that. But, also, I wonder what you were going for, trying for. And what you think of how it came out. Did you capture what you were aiming at or did you capture something entirely different but just as valuable. I guess I am striving for context.
I like them side-by-side like that, actually.
What I was going for . . . the model as a person has a very laid back yet intense quality, which I felt his physical form amplified. I leave it to you guys how it came out. If I captured something different I have failed to recognize it personally, but often others see things in my work I either never noticed or never intended.
Thanks for all the positive feedback . . .