Turkish Dancer Photo

Photographer’s Note

You are probably wondering what the heck is crazy Stan up to now? First he just completes a series about the rodeo cowboys, then an Aztec woman, a New York waterfall photo, and now a Turkish dancer? This photo was actually taken at a Turkish festival in Rochester, New York. My wife and I spent the night at Geneva, New York, after returning from our tour of the Fingerlakes area and going back to Buffalo. We had breakfast at a local cafe and I saw an article from reading a small regional newspaper about a Turkish festival in nearby Rochester. This I had to see!

My hometown of Denver (Lakewood), Colorado simply does not have a sizeable Turkish-American population. We have many ethnic festivals, but I have never seen a Turkish festival. I was simply not going to pass up this opportunity! We enjoyed this festival very much. The people were very nice, the food was delicious, and the ethnic dancing was superb! Unfortunately, the dancing was held inside of a large tent canopy. I was handicapped with my digicam and my indoor photos were ok at best. Some of the lovely young dancers were very happy to pose for me out in the open shade. Digicams are a lot of fun and lightweight, but I needed an SLR both for the indoor dance and for the outdoor portraits.

Digicams simply don't work like SLRs. They are great for scenics because F/7.8 (my maximum) aperture on my Coolpix 5000 is actually more like F/16. It is hard to get a soft background with these cameras because of the lack of the selective focusing advantage of DSLRs. I had to spend quite some time softening the bushes in the background in Photoshop. They would have been too distracting otherwise. For the next trip I am going to take both my digicam and my DSLR.

plimrn, avene, japiey, AROBN54, emjleclercq, JPlumb, jwmunro, zmey, fulvio52, gunbud has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

cak (3809) 2008-02-14 18:14

she is wearing Bindallı costume in Turkish.it has very nice details .thank u

plimrn (19600) 2008-02-14 18:39

Hi Stan,
Amazing work for a digicam, The model's sharpness and co9lor is spot on. I can see why you would want to soften that BG; having struggled with it myself, I know it is a difficult task to make it natural.
HLJ, Pat

[2]

avene (10940) 2008-02-14 19:50

hi Stan,
I like the bright and saturated colours. I like how the silk material of her clothes catches light, I find it emphasises the festive feeling. I like her look straight into camera that makes the photo so much more engaging. I like the ease of her pose and how it feels she's about to dance. and I like the effect of the fill-flash, that's a tool I know next to nothing.
but at least on this screen the blurred leaves and grass makes the shot feel a bit flat, a bit 2D. as Pat says, it's obvious why you wanted to deal with the background. I guess it feels strange that the grass just beneth her robe is blurred. and I feel a bit awkward to say all this because I wouldn't be able to get the result half as good as your work :)) so, don't mid my babbling :)
take care,
Kristine

AROBN54 (10721) 2008-02-14 19:50

Hey, Stan,
See now?? Even with this you get those fabulous colors. The light is excellent, great contrast and detail, and she has a really charming look to her pose and her smile. Well done! Thanks and have a good one,
Shelly

emjleclercq (14213) 2008-02-14 22:57

The dress is really beautifull, with plenty of colors and great sharpness (but I was thinking of "crispness", which could have a negative conotation). On the other side, there is some softness of the face, not bad as such (better have a soft face for a lady than a rugged one...), but a bit surprising for me compared to the costume.

All the best,

Emmanuel

japiey (9491) 2008-02-15 1:22

Dear Stan,

Explosive colours, exciting pose, lovely smiles..
This is also important to show here, as you share a portion of their culture and art. The technical details you mention gives a thought of learning in me too. Thank you for that.
Now, my wish is to see some more shots from you with this Turkish Dancer and her dance..
All the best, dear friend.

jean paul

JPlumb (3153) 2008-02-15 1:44

Hi Stan, you had problems on this one with that grass. You understand that better than any of us looking at the shot, so I'm going to concentrate on the dancer. Actually I wasn't wondering what crazy Stan was up to, in fact we're getting to know your work. This is another excellent example of your "style" in presenting an entertainer, be it dancer, rodeo star or whatever, in the best light. This shot of the Turkish dancer glows. The shot is sharp (without being oversharp) and colourful and the pose you've captured is wonderful.

Thanks, John

mesutilgim (36615) 2008-02-15 3:41

Hi dear Stan,
What a nice surprise ! Great capture, very good pov and very nice info's.
I hope that your way will bring you soon to my country, where I personally can guide you through those beauties.
TFS
And best regards
MESUT ILGIM

jwmunro (6571) 2008-02-15 7:00

Hello Stan -

I think you did a very good job at softening the BG with only one spot evident, that I am sure most will overlook. Don't get spooked, it is not a distracting point in the image. sharpening is spot on the money.

Now this is the way to travel and adjust your plans to meet the situation. What a way to stumble upon something unique and different. We both know photographers who would never experience something such as this as they are so focused on their plan and never stop long enough to enjoy the countryside and the people. This is travel photography at it's best. I hope you have more images of the festival itself.

Well done crazy Stan! And thank you for sharing.

John

ayansadhu (1497) 2008-02-15 7:48

After I read the note I understood why this image is so...
well, at least full credit to you for having a attempted to make it presentable amidst the handicap you were in...
hats off to your courage & the fantastic note...

zmey (7244) 2008-02-15 8:20

hello stan

i have to apologize. i am a slow critiquer these days. lots of work :) ok, back to your foto, friend. first, love the capture of the lady, how you have placed her in the frame, the expression, the gestured, the colors and the attire. wonderful! second: sorry, friend, but that blurring part does not seem to be done that well? why? the foreground is blurred and the blur seems uneven (see the spot in the grass by her gown?). the way it is now, it almost seems like she has been placed into this scene from another fofo. my suggestion: blur everything (gaussian blur) and then history brush the blur off the subject and the foreground plane (i would unblur the grass all the way to the bushes). hope you don't mind my nitpicking here :)

warm regards,
kristaps

fulvio52 (8314) 2008-02-15 9:24

Great job, Stan.
The picture is vibrant with colors, those silky textures marvellously alive!
Excellent choice to soften the bushes in the background, the contrast between them and the lady dancer is perfect. This composition really pops out the screen. And I like that!
Great complementary note too, buddy.
Cheers,
Fulvio.

gunbud (27763) 2008-02-15 11:43

Hi Stan,
Brilliant colors and fantastic details to this coat of many colors. Her yellow pants contrast wonderfully with the lush green grass. Lovely capture of her proud expression as she celebrates her culture. Rochester Tech has a college for the deaf and its has the largest per captia deaf population in the country.
Regards, Tom

Didi (35998) 2008-02-16 18:43

Hi Stan
Intersting DOF setting on the subject with a blur background, the lady has a good position, but I think that you should gives a little bit less colours :)
Cheers.
NB I have some Turkish origins :)