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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Best of 2009 (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: Oct 10, 2009
Aperture: f/2.0
ISO: 250
Shutter: 1/100
Galleries: Portraiture, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Jan 21, 2010

 My friend Derek and his 2 week old little girl, Zoe.

This pic was a "test" shot during a session I was doing with Kerri, Derek, and Zoe. In between setups and letting them get ready, I was firing off some shots, getting flash bounce and intensity levels tweaked.

...this turned out to be my favorite shot of the day.

I chose this as my Best of 2009 for a few reasons:

1. I was pleased with the final image (generally rare, overall)
2. I felt it captured and expressed both Derek and Zoe in a beautiful light
3. I've never been comfortable shooting people. I don't do portraits, I don't do candids, in fact I prefer if people aren't around to watch me shoot. This was my first experiment in dabbling with this type of photography... I think I really enjoyed it.
4. This was my first time working with a flash or artificial lighting of any kind.

For those four reasons, I felt this image was the Best of 2009. I liked what I created and I really pushed my envelope of comfort.

Tech Details:
* Single image HDR (-1, 0, +1) in Photomatix v3.x
* Noise Ninja, USM, Dodge, Burn
* Resize, Convert to 8-bit/sRGB

Statistics
Place: 144 out of 445
Avg (all users): 6.0600
Avg (commenters): 6.8333
Avg (participants): 6.0410
Avg (non-participants): 6.1273
Views since voting: 1038
Views during voting: 429
Votes: 250
Comments: 28
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 02/13/2010 04:20:55 AM
@Nuzzer: Thank you (much delayed, I know...) for the detailed critique. It is very much appreciated.

@Dr.Confuser: Thank you, as well, for your vote of confidence and evaluation.

@All: I found all of the comments regarding the "tough guy" rather amusing as Derek is one of the most gentle and softspoken people I know. He's a big softie... He's just rather sizeable and happens to have a lot of ink. The carp, btw, are representative of himself and his wife, Kerri. Since this picture was taken, he has a new outline of a smaller carp in the works on his left forearm for Zoe... :-)

Message edited by author 2010-02-13 04:27:50.
 02/13/2010 02:17:03 AM
Underrated in my opinion. the juxtaposition of power and vulnerability is superb!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2010 12:01:18 AM
Hi from the Critique Club

First impressions are that this is a great shot. Composition is fantastic, DOF perfect, the B&W processing is spot on. The one thing that stands out as holding it back is the tat's at the right seem to be such a main element. This is of course something that the subjects and those that know them will love but for DPC I suspect a lot of voters saw that as a negative.

This deserved a 6.x and it got that. I think it deserved higher but that's just my opinion.

This is great work, keep it up.
Gerry
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/28/2010 11:16:26 PM
They must truly love having this as a keepsake photo. Such a tiny one too. Great pose.
 01/28/2010 08:38:11 PM
very nice!
 01/28/2010 11:22:51 AM
This appeals so much to me. I scored it highly because of the superb b&w conversion, and the extremely shallow DOF. Great catch!
 01/27/2010 09:14:09 PM
Great shot--love the little hand and the tats.
 01/27/2010 06:48:59 PM
I think the slight grain goes well with this. Nice job.
 01/27/2010 02:02:30 PM
The effect of this rough and tough dad made soft by new life in his arms works for me
 01/27/2010 11:40:22 AM
A beautiful portrait - the intensity of the love shared here just jumps off the screen
 01/27/2010 09:15:56 AM
Very nicely executed portrait.
 01/27/2010 07:37:07 AM
wow ! the contrast here is amazing. Great job with the B&W processing to retain the details , 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2010 07:47:06 PM
A very warm and powerful statement......7
 01/25/2010 11:19:16 AM
this is precious
 01/25/2010 09:39:14 AM
Though I'm a fan if high contrast, I feel a little less would have been beneficial in this image. To me it seems a little hard on the eyes. Love the concept however.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/25/2010 08:34:06 AM
great as a b and w...nice inkwork
 01/24/2010 11:36:03 AM
.. Don't care for these types of photos personally, but technically it's a well done shot.
 01/24/2010 08:13:48 AM
great tenderness and wonderful (in this case is what makes the photograph) contrast between the tattoos and the little creature that is held in his arms... a great photograph, you have to be proud of this. 8
 01/24/2010 01:32:57 AM
Even the fish are watching over him. Sweet portrait!
 01/23/2010 02:57:11 PM
Wonderful detail, B&W works well here.
 01/23/2010 10:34:25 AM
But who's saying it! I think the tight DOF and high contrast works to good effect here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/22/2010 10:38:25 PM
WOW, just wow. I hope they have this gem hung in the house.
 01/22/2010 10:13:57 PM
Nice contrasty b&w. Really makes the tat jump. Also cool to see a tough guy melt!
 01/22/2010 07:47:37 PM
nice capture
 01/22/2010 05:16:36 PM
Beautiful b&w-very clean shot. Also it's very tender. Love it.
 01/22/2010 11:56:17 AM
So much brawn for such a delicate little one
 01/22/2010 09:30:20 AM
A contrast in ironies/stereotypes and emotion is what this photo captures best. The tough guy with the imposing tattoos which make one think of the rough crowd or gangster. Then the tiny life of the small baby; an innocent a helpless little one in need of protection. This tough man gently cradles the small baby a look of affection in his features and his body posture. The child reaches out to touch the heart of this gentle giant of a man - this man who pledges to be this child's protector. All the technicals aside (lighting, composition, and detail are perfect btw) this is a very strong human interest photo. An absolute 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/22/2010 02:13:34 AM
Love the emotion in this.


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