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Portrait of an Unknown Writer
Portrait of an Unknown Writer
Elemmennope


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Coffee Shop (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Location: Random Order Coffee House, Alberta St, Portland OR
Date: Oct 1, 2005
Aperture: 4.5
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/125
Galleries: Urban, Portraiture
Date Uploaded: Oct 1, 2005

 Cropped.
Levels and contrast.
Played with saturation levels on various colors - boosted the magenta, decreased everything else.
Sized.
USM.
Border.

No, not staged. This was a candid.

It's something new for me, to take photos of people. I tend to stick to landscapes and still lifes. I'd like to be braver about using my camera in public. My boyfriend and I were out shopping and stopped in this place so he could get a cup of coffee. I don't drink coffee myself and while he was ordering, I turned around and saw this man. I liked the lighting and the way the man's foot was on the ledge -- snapped a few quick shots while hoping he wouldn't give me the evil eye. However he was so absorbed in his writing, he didn't even notice me and my shutter clicking just a few feet away.

Also played with my photoshop skills, doing something different with the levels and color saturation. I'm not a huge fan of selective desaturation but I wanted to draw attention to the flowers by the man's seat and decrease the distraction of the stuff outside the window. The colors in the original were pretty glaring and ugly.


The out of camera shot.

Statistics
Place: 7 out of 154
Avg (all users): 6.2492
Avg (commenters): 7.8235
Avg (participants): 5.8382
Avg (non-participants): 6.3597
Views since voting: 2296
Views during voting: 481
Votes: 321
Comments: 30
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
 10/12/2005 11:29:05 AM
Thanks Sal. No, this was on Alberta street near where Valerie's art thing was. I took this right after I bought your birthday present in the shop next door!
 10/12/2005 11:18:54 AM
good job! I think you did well. I had no idea it had been photoshopped, but now seeing the difference, i understand why. Is that the coffeeshop S took me to on Mississippi Ave?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 10:19:42 AM
Seventh place! Great showing. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 10:17:44 AM
this is wonderful! love the norman rockwell painting look to it. just wish i could see him writing a bit more.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 09:14:48 AM
Congrats on 7th place. Love the whole photo but the colors really made it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 09:06:46 AM
Congratulations....it was in my top 5 for the Challenge. Very well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 07:02:51 AM
I like the shot but I LOVE what you did with the colors- it makes me think of the 1940's. I wish he didn't have that darn juice sitting in front of him! For some reason I fixated on it a little.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 06:09:04 AM
Like this a lot. Congratulations on 7th place!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 12:32:57 AM
man i was hoping this would get a ribbon! finished high though! great work! goin into my faves!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/12/2005 12:16:31 AM
A study that impressed me. Congratulations on your top ten finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/10/2005 01:29:30 PM
I really like this picture. Most of the other entries were pretty generic. This picture actually has some emotion tied to it. I like the lighting and overall contrast. Good job. I'd be surprised if you were not in the top 5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/10/2005 04:31:59 AM
My favorite shot of the challenge. Very well done in every aspect including depicting the coffee shop theme! <10>
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/09/2005 02:14:11 AM
Framing and layout work, but image seems flat or lifeless, would like to see a little more to draw me in.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2005 10:15:40 PM
I think that a shallower DoF would have served you well here, helping to both freeze the motion of the author as well as blurring the shop across the street. Aside from the flowers and the red neon sign, the colors here are fairly unsaturated. While selective desaturation can serve as a powerful compositional aid, I can't see any reason for it here. If it was intentional, having some clue in your title would help to bring it out. If not, reducing the saturation on at least the red/magenta channels would help to make the image look more uniform. See [url=//www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=25]this[/url tutorial for info on how to selectively desaturate under Basic Editing rules.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2005 12:30:19 PM
There's an air to this image, well framed also!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2005 09:11:41 PM
Very nice
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2005 04:55:32 PM
I would prefer it in B&W. Ther is something about it though, having those fade colours.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2005 12:07:45 AM
Good exposure with the light in the back ground to the foreground of the subject, interesting shot.....well done....7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2005 09:55:00 PM
Pleasant in feeling.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2005 09:48:17 PM
One of my favorites of the challenge. Great take on the challenge, and great photo overall.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2005 06:17:41 PM
I like the angle of view, the contrast and depth of field, very good photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2005 11:30:23 AM
OK, if my entry can't win, this is my blue ribbon pick. Nice and crisp, the coloring is slightly desaturated to give a feeling. It's a perfect capture of the "coffee shop". Perfect enough that I can't tell if it's a candid or posed. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2005 01:27:48 AM
good job 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 11:08:39 PM
the thing i really like about this is the feet. keeping the feet in the shot really conveys that absorption in thought...almost like watching someone playing with their hair while reading. like the composition and the slight desaturation too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 07:24:39 PM
Except for the fact he is 100 pounds lighter, this is me every morning. Nice job with the desat.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 05:33:00 PM
i would have loved to see more of his face other wise i dont really consider it a portrait
 10/05/2005 03:21:51 PM
Excellent. Really enjoy the soft tone and approach you took with this image. Great job -- should ribbon
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 01:50:12 PM
i love the vibe this photo gives off. the only thing i dont like are the buildings in the background but i know u could not do anything about that. i love the positioning of his arm and the way his foot is resting on the window sill. the flowers definitely add to the photo as well. great colors too! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 12:47:31 PM
Captures the perfect mood of a coffee shop.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2005 02:51:08 AM
Excellent adaptation of the theme! Very original.

-Bigfrog
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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