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An eye on the cider press.
An eye on the cider press.
jjbeguin


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Masters' Free Study (Advanced Editing II*)
Camera: Sony DSC-F828
Location: Villette Switzerland
Date: Sep 22, 2004
Date Uploaded: Sep 25, 2004

 N/A

Statistics
Place: 17 out of 69
Avg (all users): 7.2325
Avg (commenters): 7.9375
Avg (participants): 7.1525
Avg (non-participants): 7.2463
Views since voting: 3913
Views during voting: 851
Votes: 400
Comments: 97
Favorites: 19 (view)

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AuthorThread
 12/04/2008 04:22:00 PM
Nothing even close to this in the current crop being voted today.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/04/2008 03:44:34 PM
Amazing work with tones on this one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/09/2004 08:27:42 AM
This reminds me of Ansel Adam's portraits...most of which are rarely seen. Beautiful.

Message edited by author 2004-10-09 08:27:55.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/09/2004 12:22:12 AM
this should have scored higher
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/08/2004 12:12:55 AM
I should have known this was you jj - brilliant. One of my three top picks in the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/07/2004 11:59:14 PM
great use of shadow
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 11:52:48 PM
The natural lighting and the use of negative space is great in this photo. This one is really nice. Good work and luck. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 11:07:35 PM
Great use of shadow.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 09:44:47 PM
I wish I had a fine photograph like this of my Grandfathe looking over his cider press.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 08:53:36 PM
Such a beautiful candid. Great tones and textures; love the emotive quality. :o)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 07:51:17 PM
In my top 5, very emotive.. Good Luck
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 06:00:58 PM
The lighting and shadows contrast well. The use of negative space also focuses the attention on the man's face and cup. The only suggestion I have is to darken the cup a little so as not to draw attention away from the eye. My gaze is drawn first to the cup due to its luminence (spelling?) within the scene.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 05:57:02 PM
I must compliment you on the lighting in this shot... this has that soft yet real quality of truly classic portrait shots. Thanks for sharing such a thoughtful picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 05:02:44 PM
Incredible lighting. Great picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 02:52:19 PM
I like this photo quite a bit. The hard directional light really works well for me in this image...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 01:49:59 PM
Very stark use of contrasts here. I like the sculpting your lighting accomplishes, but I am tempted to think that the lines between light and dark are a bit abrupt and harsh. Still, nice capture of an interesting person and moment.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 10:45:23 AM
beautiful. great composition. incredibly sharp for such a candid shot. first place.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 10:19:12 AM
Great use of shadows and contrast.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 09:33:55 AM
good use of light showing one eye fixating and highlighting the "character" in his face. The hand -cup is a little over exposed IMO; overall a good character study. Congratulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 07:18:58 AM
I praise you for your selection of subject. Very good composition with the aid of shadows. The light is harsh but it does not kill the texture in the old mans clothes. I can almost feel the fabric. The cropping is just right and I like that you choose to crop the middle of the hat and the top button on the jacket is a must. The lighting on the fingers is fantastic. Very good work. -10 (I just gave two 10s)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/07/2004 12:36:32 AM
exquisite image. you really nailed this one. one of my top picks for the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 11:01:01 PM
Nice diagonal lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 09:14:59 PM
Excellent! My number one pick for this challenge. Wonderful composition and use of negative space. Good luck.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 08:48:49 PM
Good job - I like the lighting and tones, they make this shot special 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 04:19:27 PM
At first I thought the shadow is too deep - especially on his face. After the second look I like it a lot. Moving the model to the most left side is a great idea :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 03:23:34 PM
Striking contrasts and great composition. Tone is very suitable for this shot.
Not really sure the title fits to us outsiders, and suspect that there was a cider press nearby. Well Done. ((8))
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 07:35:22 AM
Your use of light and shadow to set a story is so well done. One of my favorites this challenge
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/06/2004 12:28:20 AM
Superb lighting and composition! Great use of sepia.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 11:43:56 PM
8. Lighting, mood and capture are excellent. There's not much I can say here. I don't believe this photo can be improved upon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 09:58:23 PM
Vintage, yet modern, nice shadow, wonderfully captured emotion. Maybe a touch of overexposed sunlight, but you are the master!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 05:14:16 PM
Stunning!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 12:48:11 PM
Love this photo as he looks like an interesting old man that I'd like talking with.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 12:31:51 PM
Outstanding.

I cannot think of any other words to describe this.

Edit: Yes I can... if this were someone in my family, it would be an image passed down among the generations.

10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/05/2004 10:47:58 AM
Superb portrait - excellent use of "strage" lighting. Printing is also superb - very strong blacks and whites. I'm a little unhappy with the paper cup - don't know if it's the color or exactly why.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 11:40:13 PM
I really like how the deep rich and very dark shadows fragment the subjects face and shoulder as it really isolates his facial expression. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 11:00:40 PM
Love the duotone. Wish just slightly more of his face was showing. It would give you just a hint more about this man.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 10:21:37 PM
Timeless, love the tone and texture, a great portrait of sensitivity, well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 07:36:17 PM
Nice shadow and use of sepia and spontaneity in your portrait.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 04:23:10 PM
Great candid portrait. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 04:21:24 PM
I don't get the title, but that must be my bad English...
Great face, I realy like the shadows...
A good entry from a master...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 02:23:47 PM
Great shot, loads of character in the guys face. Pity we can't see more of his eye though. Undecided really about how he's standing... The angle that he's at just now kind of tells a story, he may be looking in to somehting. If he was straighter, I may not have thought this. Well done! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 01:34:19 PM
I love this picture. It's very emotive and I'm really drawn to this man. I'm giving this an 8, only because the shadowing off of so much of his face doesn't appeal to me as much as if I could see all of his face.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 11:23:11 AM
Interestin use of existing light, I feel a little overexposed though causing los of needed detail. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 05:35:54 AM
Great shot is all I want to say. A rare 10 :D
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/04/2004 01:08:00 AM
I hate being this picky but I try to relate the photo to the title in some manner and I just can't do that with this one. I see the man looking at something and I expect to see the cider press somewhere and I do not see it. Maybe I need to infer that it's there because of the type of cup he's holding but I am not sure. All I see are his eyes looking out of frame at something and it makes me want to see what's there. The composition, duotone and strong contrast are this photo's strongest points and they are used to their utmost. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 04:56:18 PM
Dunno about the cider press, but this is a great candid-type photo! I just love the shadows, and his outfit, too, it's classic! I think my grampa wore that exact hat :)

Thanks!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 04:19:20 PM
Awesome candid. Love the lighting! Love the duotones! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 11:08:46 AM
J.J.Beguin style. I like the great amount of shadow negative space.
Shame the "glass" seems to be a plastic goblet. The title explain the action, I wonder if you could maintain the great qualities of the photo with a composition showing the cider press?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 09:28:41 AM
Good candid. Nice, soft expression on his face...seems he like what he do.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 08:53:09 AM
Maybe to much shadow. The model seems to have a lot of character in the face and I'd like to see more of it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 08:28:07 AM
Nicely done situational shot. The shadow on the face is a nice effect, but might be just a touch too dark.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 07:08:28 AM
Wonderful shot, really amazing black & white.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 06:44:27 AM
Very nice shot, but I wish the face was as sharp as the suit, the texture you've captured is great! I'm not really sure a square crop works for me here... I think your idea may have been to have the cup as the pof using rule of thirds, but it is the face that I focus on, and it seems awkwadly placed in the frame. I would have liked the face just a bit better lit... the brightness in the rest of the frame is quite distracting. A nice moment captured though. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 03:26:58 AM
Nice portait. It may have been nice to have a little light on the left of the image istead of the black shadow.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 02:52:27 AM
nice tones, though it could use a little extra contrast in my eyes. Beautiful diagonals, and i love how they follow his gaze. very very nice. bumped to an 8 because it makes me smile.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/03/2004 12:45:37 AM
Nice lighting/effects fo shadows. Tone works well. I like the look in his eye.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 09:42:05 PM
i like this photo alot, particularly the colour and the shadows being cast! though the only thing potentially that may be changed IMHO is to slightly crop off the left hand side of the photo - being rather dark it seems rather consuming... possibly a bit over powering? i feel that if it was slightly removed it would give the photo a more relaxed atmosphere though i cant say for certain until i see the byproduct :) hhehe gr8 photo over all and a highly commended acheivement :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 08:03:02 PM
Great light/dark portrait. Would make an excellent print I bet,
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 07:53:29 PM
Somehow the strong contrast works on this. It brings out the signs of age in the man's face. I might have cropped a bit off the left to focus even more strongly on the man.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 04:51:19 PM
Ten. To me, this is perfect. I have been trying to shoot a photo like this but have had no success. But at least I can find a good example to emulate. This is just so beautiful - very distinguished-looking model, beautiful contrasts, lighting, diagonals, shadows ... I can go on and on.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 03:34:32 PM
a great character study. excellent light with a very wide tonal range. the highlights a blown on the cup and his collar, but I think it still works very well in this shot because it is composed so well otherwise.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 03:20:52 PM
I gave this photo a 9. Great lighting. Wonderful composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 02:56:29 PM
Great use of light here which gives the image it`s powerful effectiveness.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 02:55:30 PM
I like this portrait. There's good detail in the jacket and sweater, as well as his face. The only think I think could be better if the cup weren't a paper one. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 02:49:57 PM
The brick or whatever in the upper right should have been deleted...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 12:13:23 PM
A truly sensational portrait, but I wonder if the shadows are just a bit too deep. His face is clearly the most expressive element in the composition and it may be just a bit too indistinct.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 11:38:11 AM
Very nice sepia, but I don't care for the large shadow covering his forehead and right shoulder.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 08:18:08 AM
The sharpness of the picture and the contrast of lights and shadows is fantastic.
I just want to see what the man is looking at. Great job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 06:01:58 AM
This has great lighting and the sepia works very well. The composition within the frame is great too. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 05:54:48 AM
lightings a bit harsh, lovly composition
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 04:27:50 AM
I really like this image the textures and the detail and the half light shadows are excellent
I also like the title assuming that is what he is looking at when we cannot see anything it gives it a nice twist and good interest

The only thing I think would have been nicer is for him to be holding his favorite tankard or glass rather than the paper /plastic cup

Very nice work well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/02/2004 01:54:38 AM
Excellent portrait. What an expressive subject. I think the shadow goes just a bit too far on the dark side. I would have liked to at least make out the outline of the other side of his face. 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 09:46:38 PM
returning for comments.
This is a very nice character study but the viewer immediately tries to guess what bevarage the cup contains. Which brings the eyes to the blown highlights on the fingers. Yet this image remains strong and the lighting accomplishes its intent for the overall feel. Very well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 08:28:08 PM
Nice negative space and clarity/tones. Sorry, but paper cup really pulls me out of the picture....ugly anachronism which spoils the effort you have obviously put in.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 07:16:12 PM
Wow, really well done I love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 05:55:40 PM
the facial detail that's visible is very nice - I want to see more - too much negative space for this type of photo, in my opinion, probably due to the direct sunlight vs the heavy shade
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 04:35:41 PM
Great 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 03:41:03 PM
Good application of shadow, negative space, and off-screen expectation. Effective use of available light to create the effect of stark single-source illumination.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 03:36:33 PM
I love the composition and lighting on this one. I'm not even sure if he is smiling but the way this was taken, it appears that he is very happy. Great job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 02:42:12 PM
While I like the lighting, there are a couple shadows that I wish weren't there, and I supose you can't have both. lol. The shadow from his collar is so very sharp that it draws my attention greatly. And I wish I could see his eyes. He's a lovely old man. Much personality in his face and lines. It makes me smile. ~Heather~
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 02:36:07 PM
The longer I look at this image the more interesting it becomes... The highlights are a bit harsh, but it's a very compelling shot for its emotional appeal. Great work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 01:59:36 PM
I don't the name of the technique used here but I like how his face, shoulder, and arm disappear in the shadow. One thing I find too noticeable is the dodged eye and lips (5).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 12:52:08 PM
I like the negative space here...another plus... doutone
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 12:50:29 PM
Wonderful lighting and great subject - 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 12:38:11 PM
I love the use of shadow to create an interestingly shaped negative space area. It makes the portrait more interesting overall. My only criticism would be that I can't see the detail of his eye, which I would really like to be able to see more clearly. Black and white works well with the subject. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 12:21:43 PM
This is a great image. The textures are phenomenal. The only thing I don't like, which is of course a matter of opinion, is the shadow and lighting on the face; it gives the appearance that the cap is sort of floating in mid-air. The focus on the face is also a bit soft, which I understand is intentional to bring the eye to the cup which is the actual subject, but the light combined with the focus makes it hard to read the man's expression which I think is an important part of this sort of image. Nonetheless, this is an outstanding image. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 11:57:22 AM
What stands out in this photo for me?
Lighting and texture. The strong side lighting adds shape and depth and brings out the textures on your subject. His face, the cloth in his sweater and jacket.
Very nice photo especially use of available light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 09:40:27 AM
Nice lighting. Good color tones. Top 10 pick!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 08:50:32 AM
I LOVE these kind of photographs - I wish I could take more myself! I love the positioning of your subject and a great use of negative space. Great sepia toning! Congrats on a fantastic shot!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 06:32:54 AM
A fantastic portrait filled with character. Everything is perfect here. Great job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 05:15:01 AM
Excellent pic - one of the best in the challenge - 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 04:26:29 AM
GREAT TONE AND SHADOWS!!! NICE
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 04:05:21 AM
Great lighting, love the atmosphere you've created here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 02:44:36 AM
Pure classic. Superb capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 02:43:29 AM
Wow, really love this one. Like one of the classical masters. The hard shadow fits perfectly with the pose, with the diagonal created by the arm. Great empty space as well. I don't like the title, it explains too much what is going on, while the image is open for so many interpretations. I think you should have left the viewer wonder what he is looking at or what he is thinking about.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 02:00:01 AM
Very nice photo, nice lighting...good luck
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/01/2004 12:50:54 AM
Lovely detail and toning. Excellent composition. I like how the light falls on his left eye, and it looks transparent, while the other eye is in the dark. There are many good shots in this challenge, but this is one of my favourites (for what it's worth).
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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