He looks very much less than pleased but makes for a provocative image. I really like the way he jumps out at you due to the shallow DoF. I like this alot.

Cool shot. Looks like this guy does not want to be messed with.

I always love it when you add the original... I know the "end result" is really what this site is about, but for us rookies it is insipring to see the original and then the "magic" you do with it.

Did he confront you other then the threating look?

Tahnks for showing the original image. Watching your photographs i'm always curious what is the difference between the camera image and the post processed one. I won't comment the photo itself, for the reason's that i like all your images, and i'm deeply impressed and inspired with them and with things that you do to them. My favourite is the "SG-Blackpool" from August the 8th. Aha. And please, never stop! :)

Too flat.

Rick: I guess the thing about this shot was that I wanted to isolate him from his surroundings, and as you can see from the original this did take a bit of work.

As for confronting me: no, he didn't. Actually, my impression was that he was just curious.

Robert: the background was darkened and flattened, while the guys face was lightened and the contrast was increased. Obviously I think it works (despite it being a deviation from my usual high-contrast stuff), but what do the rest of you think?

This is a totally different photo than the original. Who says the camera never lies? They can now with a little help from Adobe ;-)

Adobe had nothing to do with it, nothing you couldn't do in a darkroom with some contrast filters, double exposure, and dodging and burning. My opinion is that people get too down on photoshop, people have always edited photos, just took more skill before.
Oh and great shot, good idea to bring out the face, put the background to dark end.

His eyes are somehow really compelling. But he's not someone I'd like to bump into a dark alley ;o)

But sometimes you have to point the camera at somebody for a very long time before they do notice....

Contrary to the earlier comment about too flat, I think perhaps the face has been slightly over brightened. I'm looking around to see who is holding the spotlight.

Nice to see the original though. Would have been very easy to pass over it in editing I guess.

What I like best about this photo is how well it is balanced considering the fact that the subject is so tightly held to the right side (which normally would make it visually too heavy on that side). The direction of the man's gaze brings me back into the frame and adds to the tension of being watched by him.

And a word about the expression of the face of the man... I don't know why some of you people see him like angry or something... For me he looks rather curious, maybe even pleased in some way - like he was going to smile in a second just after the photo was taken... And with the flatness - nice effect, like he's speeding onto me, hypnotizing.

i like your man there, it's like he's about to show some kind of emotion, like he's in-between thoughts...

It was a great idea to show the original photo so we can see the difference between them. It's a great composition, well processed and visualy pleasing.

I see that the old discution between the analog and the digital treatment of the photos is still very vivid. Purist seem not understand that it's a different way of achieving the same results.

The face seems to have too much of a glow. Its almost like its pasted onto it, blurred and dodged.
But then it does isolate him from the environment.

I'll admit i'm still on the fence with this one, but i'm sure no one could come up with better from the original than you have.

I wouldn't call that "extensive" editing. You toned down the distracting elements and brought out the focus. Nothing wrong with that. I do it all the time :)

Perfect use of Black & White. (Also, a lot of credit goes to your post processing skills)

This is a great example of how a compositionaly strong photo can look much better in black and white since the eye is not distracted by the background colors, leaving the viewer to focus on the form alone.

I don't want to be seen as contentious but... I chose to look at the original first, and I wish I hadn't. Flipping between the original and the edited final, I think he has been quite poorly 'dodged' (or is it burned? Keep confusing them!). The halo effect around his face is evidently an artifact of that lightening, perhaps too soft a brush, or maybe some ineffective feathering of a selection, and in the comparison it shows up really badly and spoils the shot for me. The comparison highlights the heavy lightening and makes it seem unbalanced with the background.

Looking at the final shot alone, I'm not sure I'd have questioned the difference in lighting unless I was being really picky, but I'm confident I'd have found the halo glow effect just as offputting.

What makes me feel like I'm being contentious is that the comment above, that "no one could come up with better from the original than you have", is in my opinion wrong. Unless you WANTED to create that halo effect, I'd say you most certainly could have done better as usually your editing is invisible. I also feel like the background could do with being just a TOUCH lighter, to balance it out more without spoiling the contrast.

Composition-wise, and in terms of the tone/mood of the shot, I think it's great, and specifically love how far over to the right he is.

With the blurred and darkened surroundings, I think JD is right; the face does seem too highlighted, especially on the edge of his hat and upper face where you get the glow. You could have maybe toned it down just a bit and still retained the impact.

Still, the dark edges and somber black and white draw you in-- it instantly makes his surroundings a little more menacing.

The diffrence between the two shots is amazing. The mood you've created is so dark, brilliant picture.

Great DOF and a very nice point of view. A shot at the right moment.

Ah, a new version!

Yes, that's MUCH more like it as regards the removal of the halo. Now it's seamless. Great work! Can you explain more precisely what the problem was that created the halo? Was it just a rough selection or have you merely changed the order of your layers around? Do you keep your PSD files for all your shots, then?

If I was going to be REALLY niggly, I'd say that in the process of fixing, the edge of his hat has got a little darker - the edge still somehow looks a little unnatural to my eye, but then totally untouched photos of my own have that look sometimes, so I know that sometimes it just turns out that way - I think it's the beauty of the DoF that exaggerates the difference. And I also still think the background would have benefitted from being a tiny, tiny amount lighter rather than his face and hat being that tiny, tiny bit darker.

But now I really AM being picky and overly subjective. I vastly prefer this shot and had I never seen the original or the first version I probably would never have had any criticism at all!

The b/w has much more impact. I like this version much better.

owen: did you get my email?

Anyway, as for the problem. There were two masking errors: first, an error in the mask I'd used to darken the background and another in the one I used for the Channel Mixer to lighten his face. And yes, I have all my PSD files. My normal workflow is to work on the full size image (using adjustment layers as much as possible) until I'm happy with it, save it, flatten it, resize and sharpen it, then create the images for chromasia.

I loaded up three tabs in firefox side by side. The differences are noticeable if you look at each on their own, but really jump out when you cycle through the images. May be just me, but now his black eyes are the center of interest, instead of his head in general.

i prefer the original, in colour, it needs some of the work you did for the b/w to highlight his face but i think the colour version would be better, the flashes of red are too good to lose! great shot!

I almost wish there was something else in the shot to help the transition between the sharpness of the man and the blurriness of the background. Much like the seagull from a few days ago, to me it almost seems like it came from two different shots, and you just cut-and-pasted the man and building onto a blurry shot of some other background.

Overall though, I like the image. The coldness of grayscale adds a great deal to an already decent shot.

Love the composition. Thanks for posting the original as well.

This is one of my favorites of your shots of late. The final version after you fixed the halo is definitely much better. I never have the courage or audacity to take pictures of strangers, but this is a great example of the rewards that can be achieved when one does.

I also think it's very cool of you to provide the original. As has been said, it helps for those of us who want to know how you achieved the results you did. I hope you continue to do that in the future.

The vignetting you often add in post-processing can sometimes look a bit fake because it's perfectly even on all sides (and rectangular -- real lens vignetting would be circular, no?) but it works very well on this shot.

Hi Dave - got your email, yes - many thanks but now I'm scratching my head looking at how *I* use the channel mixer and wondering how I would go about using it to in effect 'dodge' an area... Interesting!

I like the facial espression, but in my opinion I think you flattened the background too much. It kinda looks like the man is glowing/ superimposed.

Love the use DOF here, some might say it would look even better with no people in the background; but I think it works well here as it offers depth and scale to the image.

Not sure why you post-processed it so extensiively. In my opinion the original colour image is far stronger. You have made a different - and much weaker - image in the post-processing. Shame.

Nice shot. Looks mean

love it, the small DOF and the lack of anything in the centre of the picture makes it powerful.

Love to hear about your process on this and thanks for posting to couple extra images. Great idea! As for the shot, I love the expression you've captured. I feel there's a mix of anger and eagerness for some reason. I love those ones where there all kinds of stories one can tell from a shot! Thanks for this!

I think the third figure--at the pole--lends a triangulation which
makes for a pleasing balance among the subject, the woman and
the indistinct man.

Cool pic, as ever

Glad you took of the halo, looks better like this

Well I wish I had your editing skills Dave.
Nice one.

IMO:

The original image has a kind of tension between what we know as being the subject and the remainder of the image including the blurred female.

It is similar to Uta Barth (spelling) who tends to confuse the point of focus and from that point of view it works well for me.

The PP version probably puts the image back into a state that we are familiar with - with the emphasis being on the male. I do prefer the posted version because I can almost feel what this guy is thinking.

Either way it is a nice piece of work.

Thanks all.

i love the mood here.. the breathin space to the left addds tremendously to the feel.. good pp too! ;p

Cool shot. The selective DOF works well here.

He is not upset for sure! Infact u should have simply asked him...........forget mona lisa ,check out the depth in his smile ,sorry eyes...brillint!!!!