An unexpected light Photo

Photographer’s Note

One of the nice things
when you travel across Pakistan
(I meant about my last trip
in northern areas and NW frontier)
is the friendly attitude of the people
along the way.
Several times I stopped
in small chaikhanas
for a chai
as I jumped out of the jeep
the people always stared at me;
it was enough
just to greet them politely
with a smile
that on their eyes
suddenly appeared
an unexpected welcoming light.

_______________
Asa set on 1600

Floydian, leo61, happypoppeye, john_c, marcan44, atif_ge has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Floydian (30970) 2007-08-04 8:06

Hi Luca,
It seems your Pakistan trip was more than succesful. You bring us some very nice pictures with good quality...as useall i would say.
The light you captured here and the pose of the man is truly wonderful. His skintones are wonderful exposed with a great eye for detail and sharpness.
A beautiful photo...great piece of work.
Regards, Henk

Burberry1 (6041) 2007-08-04 8:12

Great quality, wonderful light and U captured a great, nostalgic moment.

Agnieszka

ben4321 (9809) 2007-08-04 8:19

Excellent portrait Luca - the colourful wall hanging makes a great background, but most importantly it's the indirect eye contact and the expression that you captured that make the shot a success.
I like the off-centre framing too.
Good work.

Cheers,
Ben

Dpbours (220) 2007-08-04 8:23

Hi Luca,

Nice DoF, wonderful expression, background and very nice light. Iso 1600?! Wow, my pictures on my D200 get too noisy with 1600. Did you use any noise reduction on this shot?!

Have a good weekend!
Dennis

leo61 (44112) 2007-08-04 8:37

Hi Luca!
A great portrait and a very nice background with this carpet.Good placement and amazing sharpness and fine details at his face.
Have a nice weekend,
regards,Leo

happypoppeye (4064) 2007-08-04 9:36

This is a great portrait Luca. The lighting, skintones and overall color palette are superb. The DOF and background looks great. The man's expression conveys a nice sense of calmness and his eyes staring up, sort of parallel to the camera, convey a sense of hope or intelligence behind them. The image is really "smooth" looking for ISO 1600. Overall, this is a very good photo. Technically, just about perfect. Aesthetically, even more so.

This photo actually makes me question whether I have a "soft" copy of the 18-200. It makes any one of my portraits look like total garbage. Now, I know your a much better photographer than I am but how and what did you use to PP this? I read your note to Dennis but did you shoot in RAW?, how did you sharpen?, should I just throw mine away? or just stop taking pictures altogether because I don't ever think I could get a photo to look this good.

Great work.
I think I will go dig a grave for my 18-200 now. Always loved that little guy, until I saw how insufficient my work has been with it. I promise it will be painless for him though, I will make it quick.
John

baba_flies (8191) 2007-08-04 10:02

Hello Luca! This is a wonderful portrait, and it sometimes does not need a lot to understand each other ... if we only let it happen and take a little rest enjoying a chai together maybe. I guess you took your time otherwise this photo would not be as it is ... just excellent. Have a wonderful night, Barbara.

Iva_R (1296) 2007-08-04 14:28

Bonsoir,
Magnifique portrait... et quelle galerie! Moi qui suis nouvelle, je la découvre et je suis époustouflée!
Iva

john_c (24635) 2007-08-04 20:22

Hi Luca,
Well composed with superb lighting and clarity on the man's face. His hat enhances, as does his facial expression. I also like the slightly blurred background very much. Very fine work. Cheers.
John

PierreMorel (1168) 2007-08-05 7:50

WOW!!! A really great lightning!!! it give a full expression and beautiful tones to the face.
Well done.
Pierre

jjcordier (25468) 2007-08-06 23:47

Très beau portrait, Luca, de très belle qualité avec un très bel arrière plan.
Amicalement
JJ

everlasting (10942) 2007-09-21 8:18

A lovely portrait luca, the light beams at him and from him.
peerfect quality.

marietom (32284) 2007-09-22 6:31

Hi Luca,

Ton portrait est expressif, sur un joli fond coloré.
Marie

marcan44 (3211) 2008-05-12 13:00

Ciao Luca,
mi ha colpito questo ritratto per la tecnica perfetta di esposizione.
In un ritratto cosi espressivo non si richiedono effetti speciali.
A mio parere quello che conta nei ritratti è la pulizia dell'immagine, cosa che hai realizzato senza fronzoli in modo eccellente e saper scrivere con la luce che è il compito precipuo del fotografo.
Bravo
Buona serata
Mario