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Divine Eyes


Divine Eyes
Photo Information
Copyright: David Larson (DaveLarson) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 76 W: 0 N: 144] (798)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2003-03-23
Categories: Daily Life
Camera: Olympus Camedia 750
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): TE Trieste exhibition: “Viaggiando Immaginando”, Guaranteed to Make You Smile, Unforgettable Expressions [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2004-03-16 7:41
Viewed: 3387
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 34
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
P.S. Please see Deus' WS. I really like what he did - this is EXACTLY the kind of help that I'm looking for.
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Her name is Divine Kilolo. She lives in Kinshasha with her aunt. The sadness in her eyes may be from being separated from her parents - who are themselves separated from each other due to poverty. Dad fled to nearby Angola to look for work. Mom just couldn't put food on the table...well, there is no table, actually. So, she asked her sister to take care of Divine while she looks for work somewhere.
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Background: This is my third posting. I'm especially looking for advice on post-processing. I just bought Paint Shop Pro 7 yesterday and am overwhelmed with all the choices. I especially appreciated the workshops on my second photo, "Kabuli Man 2." Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
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Help! I welcome advice. I am a senior official with a young international humanitarian organization, "HOPE International." I work on the programming side -designing programs and supervising and training staff to run them.

Before joining HOPE, I had always worked with larger groups that had art departments for photographing and promoting their work. Now, with a younger, leaner group, I've basically been handed a camera (and vidcam) and asked to get whatever I can during my visits.

Bottom line - I'm a rank amateur. Thus, I'd grealy appreciate your help so that I can improve in telling the story of our work to help men like the one in this photo.

Thanks,

Dave

Deus, Darren, Rinie_Hoff, Jeppe, devushkaHo, sunny, sulucas, ChrisJ, elena, everlasting has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
1 advicesohrab 1 07-15 06:57
To elena: ReplyDaveLarson 1 06-19 17:48
To Deus: Thanks for a great WSDaveLarson 2 03-16 09:06
To Darren: Will do.DaveLarson 1 03-16 08:33
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Critiques [Translate]

Dave
Thank you very much for placing this photo.
It´s an excelent portrait that sums up the anguishes of a large portion of our world mixed with the naturaly prevailing innocence of a youg childs eyes.
It is beautifull. And at the same time it´s a cry for help.
Allthough there is very little that can be done to improve this particular picture I did a WS just to show you how little, I would like to respond to your request for help.
I have many years of experience in post processing pictures and developing lines of comunication with them in advertising, marketing and such. And I am specialised in post processing them digitally.
You can count on my help whenever you feel it might be usefull. If there is a way that I can remotely help you prepare, enhance or post-process pictures for your organization just contact me and tell me so.
Congratulations and Welcome to TE.

With shots like this you really ARE telling the story of your subjects. This is powerful and poignant. You have captured a wonderful pair of eyes. Keep posting, please.

  • Great 
  • Darren Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1561 W: 120 N: 1061] (6795)
  • [2004-03-16 8:13]
  • [2] [+]

You certainly have a knack for catching intimate, emotional looking photos. You are three for three that department. I think Deus has pretty much steered you in the right direction with his workshop. This shot is very good, and only needs some refinement in post processing. Such eyes.....

This shot is much better, but it still suffers a little from what both of your other shots were hurt by. It appears to be of limited resolution to me. Like I said, the other two were worse, but, especially around the eyes, there is a little fuzziness that appears to be from a lack of resolution. In your response to me about your first photo, you said that you had resized the shot down from an original 650K. Why are you shooting such low resolution? your camera has a 4 megapixel sensor, but you are clearly not shooting at the limits of its capabilities. My 2.1 megapixel camera produces about 750kb files, yours should be closer to 3 megs each I would think. The more you start with, the better your end result can be, whether scaling down, or when it comes to printing, or presenting at a large size. I would check your settings on your camera and ensure you are getting the most information from each photo.

I probably should have made this a part of the thread from my original critique, but I am also assuming you will read it here. e-mail me if you have any questions Dave and keep taking these impressive shots.

This picture is really beautiful. The eyes are so pleading, so irresistable. Darren is right, you should shoot in a greater resolution, your pictures will increase in quality tremendously. You really have the features of a good 'portrait' photographer.

Very impressive picture! Very nice technically, but the main thing is the girl itself. It seems that she is not very happy, but that can just be the moment, although your description is not very hopeful. You have taken an impressive shot. Looked at your other pictures just now, very good!
I like your notes, good TE notes, good WS of Deus!

Those eyes are absolutely hypnotic. You have done a wonderful job and the information behind the photo really adds.

  • Great 
  • Jeppe Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4587 W: 393 N: 4175] (18494)
  • [2004-03-16 11:43]

Very fine portrait - I love those eye's - and a toutching story - thanks for sharing - I agree with the WS - well done both.

WOW!
So nice and impressiv eyes!!!!

  • Great 
  • sunny Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 1177 W: 2 N: 981] (3068)
  • [2004-03-17 14:12]

Wonderful capture! There is always a door to another dimension in every child's eyes.. Your notes make her expression even more vivid and moving. Thank you for sharing this picture with us!

Beautiful child... I wish he could have a reason to play to smile and to laugh.

  • Great 
  • elena Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 206 W: 60 N: 253] (1046)
  • [2004-06-19 17:16]
  • [+]

dave, i am happy i found you and your photos here, i agree with darren you should change to a higher resolution, my camera has 5 options for me to chose, and i chose the second to the highest, with which I get shots of around 2 MB.
I think your photos are great quality, even great photographers need to do the simple post-proc steps Deus has done so well in his workshop...
arranging composition with a little crop, adusting levels and using unsharp mask... thats a basic 3 step adjustment you will end up doing to all your photos, i am learning as well, and i don´t know how to apply unsharp mask yet... oh! well! step by step i guess....

amazing eyes.
cant give you any technical advice , as i don't work on digital cameras.
shoot from your heart.

  • Great 
  • ChrisJ Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 8647 W: 911 N: 11403] (55282)
  • [2004-07-19 7:55]

It's good that you isolated the subject with a narrow dof, & had an uncluttered, neutral background with a lighter tone.

Beautiful shot of this sweet girl with haunting eyes. Very well done. The DOF works here because it makes the viewer focus only on the subject.

  • Great 
  • faubry Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3504 W: 352 N: 4203] (27199)
  • [2005-01-08 7:14]

ouahhhhhhh this eyes!!! i like, also i am in hope humanitaire, do you talk me wher you are working, me i am working in Romania, Yakoutia, Mauritania and next time naturly in Asia... very strong
thanks
francine

Hi Dave,

Incredible capture! Her eyes just pretty much sum up all the feelings she had: childlike innocence, disappointment yet still hopeful, surprised but dull... just incredible.

Wilbur

Your portraits are beautiful!! This one is one of my favorites!!! Great work!!

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