Smokin'

[draymorton]

[Greg McCary]

Nice work. Yor gonna have to start paying tool man.

[GB1]

Excellent shot, and even better crop. I am not sure that I like the fact that I can see the source of the smoke -- why not show the cigarette? His eye sure is powerful here.

G

[Frog]

You're very good at this, you know!

[draymorton]

Thanks Greg and frog. Compensation - yes, we're in talks.

GB - thanks! I was trying to keep the original source of the smoke somewhat ambiguous. But I would consider showing the cigarette - if only there were a cigarette to show!

[PRB]

And see, as memorable and unique as your photography portrays him --- I think he ought to pay YOU!!!

Another Hot Smokin shot---:thumbsup:

My Best to You,
Penny

[draymorton]

Haha... thanks Penny! Being that I'm at the point where I'm the one asking (and, in some cases, begging) them to be photographed, I don't think I have the leverage or the stature to be demanding recompense just yet.

On another note, the reason I posted this image is that something really bothers me about it and I'm not sure what it is. It strikes as a silly experiment at best, rather than a legitimate, polished image and I really wish I could figure out why.

[Frog]

Could it be that it seems a bit unbalanced?
Sorry if that's the wrong term. The position of the subject, the rather empty right side?
Not sure but maybe that's why.

[CHUM]

NICE!......ok....i'm a noob to the forums and photography...but i gotta figure out how you shoot your portraits!....it's gonna take me a while...

simply hella-killa!

[AmberC]

I definitely do not promote smoking and am actually very much against smoking... but

I think this is a very intriguing photo! The eye is extremely powerful and even more so by the way the smoke seems to circle around the eye. I really like it! Great job!

Reminds me of an old cowboy movie. :thumbsup:

[stephljones]

this picture is intriguing...but disturbing at the same time

i like it...but, something about it makes me not like it...

don't know if that makes a lot of sense...but, sometimes art should cause conflicting emotions

[draymorton]

Thanks CHUM and Amber. Sam Elliott in Thank You For Smoking is what came to mind for this one. The "smoke" itself isn't real, though (unless it was coming from the White Lightning battery pack, which, to be honest, it could have been...).

Frog, I see what you mean and it could be. I'm not sure. This is a very tight crop - took a lot out. Maybe I'll post the original comp?

steph, sure, that makes sense. Tension in art can be a good thing, though I can't say that my intent was to cause uneasiness or make a statement. This intent was just basically to mess around and see what happened.

[cm_mtb]

I really like the subject, but not the execution. The eye is great, but its position in the frame doesn't really work for me. The smoke doesn't really seem to... flow?... with the rest of the image, either. Like some of the others said, it is hard to put my finger on what exactly is not working here.

I would be interested in seeing the original.

[opus]

with your photoshop expertise, you should be able to add a cigarette hanging off the lips. It needs to go right around where the lips actually are...in fact, the black color of the lips right now bothers me, as if they're dead or something. I think a cig or a pipe would make this guy look like a tough old cowboy just sitting back for a smoke at the end of a hard day, lung cancer bedamned.

[shootme]

Dray I'm always worried now to see your shots as they put mine to shame. On the flip side I like to think that maybe I'll be able to take stellar shots like these before my hands start to tremble and I'm confined to a tripod and remote clicker. Not much for me to critique, just admire. Cheers, S.