The Old Smith Shop had an open house today, and since it's not far from our house, we went for a little walk there. I was fascinated by the smith doing the presentation - he was all energy, muscle, concentration and a sense of purpose in all. He really seemed to have stepped from a different time. I hope this picture captures some of that. I do like it more on black.
Since portraits, and especially portraits of strangers are not my favorite genre (as I am figuring out), I would be very happy to hear your thoughts, opinions and critique. Thank you!
P.S. Oh, and on a humorous note: The guy kindly made a spear tip for my older kid (by request), and told him to go and fix it to a long wooden pole and then go "spear up some chickens". I hope we could skip the last part.
Vera, I think this is a wonderful portrait. But since you ask for feedback on improving, I'd add more different ones but keep this great one. I'd add one that shows a closeup of the tools and work being done, another at an angle that captures his profile, and perhaps another that shows more context of his workshop. But I do think this one shows exactly what you describe -- energy, muscle, concentration.
@jyokota Oh thank you for all the suggestions! I actually do have all those things you mention - while the family was watching, I was taking pictures of the place. Quite a difficult task, as it was very dark inside with bright light beaming through the huge open door (hence the side-lighting on the smith, and I had to tone down the highlights). I was actually struggling which photo to post today, as I felt that no matter what I would pick, it leaves out so many aspects of the place as it was in its entirety. I picked this one because he was indeed the absolute center of what is going on in the shop, but I felt the portrait doesn't provide enough "context". So your suggestions actually make lots of sense! Thank you so much for your input!!!!!!
@vera365 thank you for your appreciation of my modest ideas which you had already considered! I'm having a HUGE dilemma today. I have the same struggle you had of having so many to choose from of the same subject. Stay tuned -- Nigel Kennedy coming up!
I think you have captured this so well. You have the subject, (the blacksmith), his work, you can see that it is in a forge without that part of the picture overpowering the image and you have captured the concentration on his face. A lovely shot and the b&w really gives it that step back in time feel.
Thanks for the comments on the Blacksmith! I very much appreciate your input - and all the suggestions on what I could have added, or comments on what you liked. I am happy that his tension and focus came through in this picture. It was a great opportunity to see the fascinating craft - and for the kids, it was an eye-opener in many respects. If you see, how much time and effort it actually used to take to make one nail, you (hopefully) start to look at those things differently. Thanks!!!
I think this is quite strong -- closeup, but not too tight. You have good space at the top and we can focus in on what he is doing. The b&w tones/contrast work well.
Вера, хороший жанровый портрет (на современные часы не будем показывать пальцем :-) ). Но Вы где-то тени перетянули, на голове слева родимое пятно как у Горби....
Thank you so much for your comments on the blacksmith!
Taffy @taffyr, I am glad you mention all those aspects - it's one thing to just have done it "by feel", and yet completely different to have someone go through various points so that you actually realise what is in the image. Thanks!
Thank you for stopping by!
@roulin Спасибо! Да, с тенями там было все сложно - свет сбоку через открытую дверь в очень темное помещение. Двигается от ОЧЕНЬ быстро, и у меня получилось только очень светло с одной стороны и очень темно с другой. Пятно я тоже заметила....
А часы - и часы, и его спортивная футболка с пуговицами и полосками на рукавах ну никак не вписывались. Из-за этой футболки я и попробовала черно-белый, чтобы не очень отвлекало.
@roulin Положила. Там, на свежий взгляд, не так уж и плохо - я пыталась, главное, убрать сияние со светлой части головы - и, теми способами, какие у меня были, получилась довольно странная вторая половина. :)
@samzee @swillinbillyflynn @annekelleher @flowerfairyann @seattlite @dmcoile @joselect @pistache @vstap @sueb47 @lxxx @jack4john @susanalena @ditzy @onewing @danette @annied @dragondreams @basqgirl
Thank you so much for your comments on the blacksmith!
Taffy @taffyr, I am glad you mention all those aspects - it's one thing to just have done it "by feel", and yet completely different to have someone go through various points so that you actually realise what is in the image. Thanks!
Thank you for stopping by!
@danette @phil_howcroft @abroadwood @taffy @888rachel @whimsicalgrateful @btwebb @taffy
А часы - и часы, и его спортивная футболка с пуговицами и полосками на рукавах ну никак не вписывались. Из-за этой футболки я и попробовала черно-белый, чтобы не очень отвлекало.