It looks like you caught him pre-sneeze. I agree with the sharpness comment, extra detail would lift the image. In a perfect world the person would not exist in the foreground, but hey, it can't be helped sometimes.

CTC: I disagree about the person in the foreground. With her in the shot, you have a conversation, without her it's just a bloke and a strange expression. You're right about the sneeze though, I hadn't thought about it in that way.

Very well caught. Was he getting ready to sing?
With that aperture it's very natural that the photo did not turn out so sharp, but the framming compensates that issue and makes this photo very interesting.

I think he was about to do a huge huge sneeze, great capture!

He looks sad...or like he is about to sneeze. Intresting pic!

Haaa ... This is much better than yesterday's picture. No offense :-) Again, great B&W with great tone. The expression is of course what works best in this picture. YOu were at the right place, the right moment. Henri-Cartier Bresson would be proud ! :-)

Fred @ 400iso.com

This is the key of the photography. The right moment to shoot.

It looks like a face of pain.

The framing is actually quite good, it feels like you caught a stranger walking down the street. Its black on the right, and lighter on the left... but your eyes are focused on him. The texture of his wrinkles and skin. I admire this shot greatly.

I dont think it needs to be sharper it could be but it would add nothing. The framing over the shoulder is good once you have figured out that it is indeed a shoulder. His concentrations could be other emotions you know cos you were there but it could be bad news or dissapointment or even relief. Its good.

this is a great image... it really made me stop and appreciate it.

seems like you were really inspired during your trip to china (and you've got tonnes of great photos to show for it), but - as you've been saying - you're finding it hard to take good shots recently. I too feel this way when I've returned from a very different and new environment back to my old state... maybe you need some 'change' in what you're photographing in order to find some inspiration.

I agree with Fred; the decisive moment.

Looks more like a 'Oh... s*%t'! Would a vertical crop have done a better job?

BTW your nicetitles seems to be acting weird on my Firefox 1.5RC1 - blinking, showing up with no text once in a while etc. Not sure if it is a FF or 1.5RC1 specific problem.

expressions captured.. u sure nothing hit him - i mean this reaction to a talk.. gawd..

Brilliant Dave, and I really do think so.

To me this is what photography is all about. The ability of the camera to freeze a moment in time that we would not otherwise see. Yes it may be funny to look at but in all seriousness if more people stopped and thought about the implications of what a camera can capture then we would all begin to forget about this fixation we have with perfect sharpness colour balance and so on.

Those technical details are extremely important with certain photographs, but with others such as this, the success lies more in the feeling created.

well done.

Yes, I agree with John amazing photo, taken just at the right moment. Had he been just looking in your direction with a straight face, it wouldn't have created such comments about what he's thinking or doing. I also like the person in the foreground, it adds a bit of depth, and I find myself wondering what there expression is :)

Forget the sharpness, this is just a bloody good photo.

Fantastic, I wouldn't change a thing. Is he about to sneeze? People sneezing might make an interesting series of photos - it's such a violent act - or it is when I do it. A moment you don't really have control over. The difficulty would be predicting who was going to sneeze. You'll have to add a pepper shaker to your camera kit :)

Wonderfull site!!!
Nice shot.
What about my site?
http://www.pisaniphoto.com

Bye

OK.. the sharpness. OK.. the framing (actually, I like it). But wow, there's something so *real* about this guy, I can smell him, right here. It's almost as if there's no photographer, no camera. I can't think of a higher compliment, personally, for a documentary picture. I think it works better on screen that it would on a print.

For me, the photo works because there is an untold story within its frame.

Excellent shot and very good timing. Great post processing as well.

There's not really much to say that is just repeating what everyone else has said. It's interesting to see the different ideas about what exactly is going on.

Great expression captured.

not much to add other than it's not very flattering to him.

Pain?

Thanks everyone.

Tristan: I don't think it's unflattering. Sure, it's a 'side' of him people might not normally see/notice, but I don't think it does him a disservice.

I like this just the way it is. It's not a moment that would have lasted very long, but will last forever now in this image. Excellent work. By the way it looks to me like he's trying to remember something or he just remembered what it was in the first place. - [Chuks]

Great moment and timing! Everybody knows what did this man after this shot:)

Bad headache!!!

;-)

Cant believe that this got less comments than the hobbits.
Best shot since middle earth - ahh the Hobbits again ;-) and scene of the crime

I thought I knew the story: the story of Winston Smith. Excellent shot.

Fascinating. I love the expression on his face; can practically see a whole story there. The Black and White really makes it.

This is a really late comment but i do want you to know that among all street and candid photographs i've seen, this absolutely made the deepest impression on me - so much so that i'm returning two months later to make this comment.

My initial interpretation is actually a stressed and exhausted modern office worker amid the evening rush, and not an imminent sneeze. Even when truth is told i'd still like to believe that.

Man it does look like he's going to sneeze! Stand back! ;)