Portrait of a hillbilly

[gahspidy]

One from a series of portraits with model/actor Henry William Oelkers.
He does a wonderful work of creating various characters. This one he calls a "lower hillbilly" as opposed to an "upper hillbilly" which is one of a bit more sophistication. . .
Thanks for your thoughts

[Mandagrl1]

Wow, great shot. The emotion on his face is priceless. Very authentic and well lit/colored. Good job!

[draymorton]

Excellent. What is there to critique?

[daq7]

That is really funny. And a good shot.

[GB1]

Ha - I love it. Excellent straight on shot. May be too sharp if that makes sense.

I think the close in look works well, but I also think it might be stronger with more context, like a chainsaw, pitchfork, 12 gauge, ...

Guy looks a little rough here

G

[clayhaus]

12 gauge is too mild for this chap...8 gauge looks more his style. Fine portrait regardless of his shotgun proclivity.

[Overbeyond]

It's excellent Gary but I am understanding GB1 when he says it might be a little too sharp; perhaps even a little too perfect. Sometimes the imperfect is more interesting and I am wondering if this might be the case here. I'm not sure.
All you most recent batch of portraits are excellent.

[PhilF]

powerful portrait.... the background adds a certain oooomph to the mood.

do you have other shots ... like profile perhaps of this person... just curious.

[armando_m]

Awesome, i like the perfect focus, like the guy is about to say: "what are you looking at?"

[gahspidy]

Thanks all for the time to comment.
GB, yep, I did a bit of rough processing with this one but also I think I sharpened alot on this web version output, so perhaps a bit too sharp as noted. the other stuff would add to the subject no doubt, but I am finding that I like to keep things as simple as possible. . .also a lot easier on the "set budget"
Phil, I don't have any straight profile shots, but there are some others at various angle, mostly 45 deg or so in my PR gallery.

[Greg McCary]

Nice work Gary. The hole in the hat is a big plus. I am sure he will be happy with the results.

[Don Schaeffer]

Perfect shot. I would watch calling people "hillbilly." It might be disparaging.

[Liz]

Great shot, Gary. I love your work. This one is no exception. I wouldn't change anything. Love the expression - the eyes.

Liz