Sitting and Thinking Photo

Photographer’s Note

This was taken at Ta Prohm, in the Angkor Complex. I believe this man actually worked at the temple, but for now he was just taking a break. Kinda centered composition, but was done like this to allow some of the details of the temple to be shown.

I guess this is a good example of using the selective sharpening method I wrote about in the tips and techniques forum. In this shot, his face is quite highly sharpened, some of the details of the walls are sharpened, but less so, and the black area behind the man has not been sharpened at all, as all that would do is to add noise.

eleparc has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Miks (1707) 2003-08-25 9:33

Very nicely framed and good use of DOF. As you are aware the guy is in dead centre. I understand that you wanna include the details of the site, but I think this is a case where you would be better of to 'kill your darling' as hitchcock put it. I would sacrefice the figure on hte left (and a bit of the bottom) for a more classic comp. Still a good and (as always) technically flawless shot!

Aegean (2567) 2003-08-25 10:03

Fantastic framing and a "photo in a photo" effect...DOF is excellent and the texture details on the temple walls are surounding perfectly the resting guy...Very well done!

SirWilliam (410) 2003-08-25 10:31

i agree with Miks: this photo has 2 subjects: the man and the figure on the left... they have no interaction, cropping one away is, imho , advisable here.

carolynanna (1324) 2003-08-25 11:18

I think there is a little too much going on here. I would have just liked to have seen the man within the frame. Good shot though.

Porteplume (3257) 2003-08-25 14:53

Everybody would love to find such a frame...
So I also wonder how it would have been in a pefect square?

Great picture and very good use of your digital dark room. I wish I had somebody here to explain again the "sharpning methode" on my PC... ;-)

gringofil (0) 2003-08-26 1:22

This is really well done, Darren, and reminds me a little of Steve McCurry's work in Angkor. But as other's have already pointed out, the man is a bit too much in the centre of things. I agree with you about the frame and the details, but I find the man much more interesting than the space around him. If you were to crop the left side off all the way to the edge of the man, this would solve the problem and you'd still be able to keep a little space on the right to show the details of the carvings on the wall. Nonetheless I see that you are pushing yourself with every shot and so far your images from Cambodia are a pleasure to look at.

touristdidi (8561) 2003-08-26 5:04

Very nice, I like to see other doors and windows within........

sunny (3068) 2003-08-26 13:53

A man deep in his thoughts, and two silent guards keeping away anybody tending to disturb him? :-) Perfect composition, texture details and sharpness!

forlife (892) 2003-08-27 9:45

so much was written,i would just like to give my compliments for a very well seen and produced shot.
well done Darren!

smael (2878) 2003-09-01 7:04

I like this picture, and you're giving out a good feeling with this pic. In this situation I wonder how the result would be if you took a more wide-angle lens and went closer to the subject... I think that inner window could be used even better in this motiv, perhaps created a paralell to the window he's sitting in. I think that could be more interesting than to keep those two reliefs... (some thaughts...)

Terje

eleparc (24059) 2004-05-05 5:04

great shot indeed Darren and very close in spirit to my post today;-)

kinginexile (2440) 2004-10-25 15:03

Hi, Darren. It really seems to me that all the ruins, without the people, are not giving out their secrets as much. I think it is because there is already so much life in them, thru the outcropping vegetation, the dancers/apsaras carved on the wall as well as decoration motifs whose ideas come from the organic world (plants, flowers), that it welcomes not just the gaze of the visitor, but also the presence of mankind. It adds up tremndously to the place, and of course, makes it a photographer's paradise.
In your pix, you show us that, even for a break, people can quickly get in a meditative mood, from all that surrounds them. Or it's my imagination.
Whatever way, it works!!!

TakiKO (115) 2004-10-28 12:59