True Evil

[gahspidy]

It is with great reservation that I post this. It is an experiment that went wrong but I think there is something to it that is worth further delving into.
So, I want to know your thoughts on this. Does it make you scratch your head and wonder why I bother. . . or do you feel it is worthy of representing my work and style, or do you think it has possibilities but needs to be worked on some more.
Whatever the case, I do feel I will try a reshoot and see if I can get something more form this,

[OldClicker]

I think that this is a very interesting portrait, but the rims of the glasses going through the eyes bothers me. - TF

[w.slayman]

Gary,

It definately has potential. Something about the left eye bothers me (it may be defraction through eye glass lens), the book appears to be to far to his right, and the left hand seems to be in an akward position. Sorry but, IMHO this is not up to the same standards I have been voting 5 stars for every day.

Terry posted while I was writing and he got the eye thing right.

[gahspidy]

Thanks guys. this is exactly the things that i want to know. I too am bothered by the position of the left hand. The angle of the shot makes it diffficult as well to get the glasses to look non disruptive to the face and eyes, but at the same time i don't want a head on shot. I will have to work on placement of the lighting and also body and hand position.
I think too that the pose looks rather staged and not comfortable and relaxed enough, not sure on that though.
I really appreciate your time to think about this and offer me up your thoughts

[Greg McCary]

Gary I agree with you that the pose looks staged. But I do think that you are going in a good direction. I like the surroundings very much. When I first got serious with photography I read a book that said you need to try and capture some of the subjects personality for it to work. I am not sure that would help here but when I do portraits that is always in the back of my mind. I try and catch the subject a little of guard and unsuspecting until the last second.

[BlueRob]

My first mental word was WOW!
After reading the comments all have a certain truth or reason, but I will object, yes it looks posed but for my taste that is OK with the type of photograph you show, the glasses cutting the eyes does not bother me either...all in all I think is a fantastic pic with a very unique taste, color and mood.
If you are re shooting the only thing I would like to see different is the left hand it looks kind of awkward (no fingers)...I will like to see a more "natural" finger position. On the other hand I would prefer a bit wider crop, specially on the sides, the background here is key and its a most to see a bit more IMO.
Excellent!

[Frog]

I think the '"staged" look makes it look evil. The glasses and eyes might bother me if I study it further but didn't right off the bat.
The first thing that bothered me was the brightness of the window and I would suggest curtains...maybe some dingy sheer ones.

[Shebang]

Didn't plan it like this, but it happened -- opened up the thread, scrolled down only far enough to read your post but not see the photo. As I'm reading, I'm thinking Oh, no, what in the world am I going to see -- and it was something way better than I expected.

As noted above, the L hand is a bit akward, but the eyes don't bother me at all. In fact, I rather like the eyes mostly because the title of the book. The eyes and the expression give a sort of mixed feeling, I think. I can't decide if the reader is appalled or intrigued with True Evil -- or both. Kind of a good vs. evil, jekyll & hide contrast with the physical division representative of the division of concepts -- yeah, I'm rather crazee.

I would crop enough from the bottom so you have about the same space from the elbow to the bottom as you do from the hair to the top for a nitpick -- which will also eliminate that white, round thingy.

Your setting and the B&W are well suited for the theme.

[draymorton]

Say, aren't you that guy from Mystic River? lol

Awesome image, Gary. You don't look really like Mr. Penn, per se, but somehow you remind me of him in this shot. Excellent work, as always. The processing is just killer. Happy New Year!

[jetrim]

Gary, I've come back to this one half a dozen times before commenting. Original impression on first glance was pretty much the same as everyone else - left hand is oddly posed. However, the more I look at it, the more I like it. The reader is riveted by the book and clutches it as if doing so will provide some measure of comfort (like someone bracing themselves before an imminent car crash - not sure what's going to happen next but it'll probably be bad so they want to be ready). If the glasses bother YOU you could rotate the chair slightly to get the rim of the glasses just beyond the edge of the left eye, but honestly it doesn't bother me as-is. The use of sidelighting does work exceedingly well here, as it adds a lot of contrast and skews the shadows from the rims of the glasses in a manner that they don't become problematic.

[readingr]

Gary,

Jetrim said what I was going to say.

There is nothing I would really change in this image - it shows a reader gripped in a horror moment in the book, all tensed up and ready for what is about to come next (showed by the way the book is gripped) and in a frame of mind that is both aroused and tensed ready to react, which is emphasised by the glasses looking slightly off and the expression on the readers face.

Even the surrounding indicate a state of evil - "Day of the Triffids" popped into my head - which hightends the sense of evil for the viewer.

Personally I think this fits nicely into the rest of your series and does represent your work and style perfectly.

Roger R.

[gahspidy]

Greg, thanks for that. Good advice. This is actually going to be staged nonetheless, but the trick is just getting the whole thing to work. There are obvious flaws and mixed feelings and the suggestions from you guys is what I'm looking for.
thanks

Rob, I'm happy to know it has an immediate positive impact for some. My GF had the same reaction, liking it much. She thinks the rings on the left hand should go becuase they look too "hip" for this guy and his setting. I agree.
I agree with you as well about the left hand position, although it did fare well with some others here. I do think it could be improved. I thank you much for your observations and time to lay out your thoughts for me here.

Frog, I feel the same about the window. I can easily reduce it brightness and will consider that wehn exposing for the reshoot. Curtains is something to think about. i might be able to throw some up there quickly, although this is one of those locations where I'm not supposed to be so I can't get too comfy Thanks for the offerings here frog

Paula, Thanks for your thoughts on this. The hand is certainly controversial here its seems. I'll have to think of something equally tense but not quite awkward next time. I like your ideas about the expression being almost Jeckyll and Hydish I was hoping for some sort of twist like that, although it was not really planned that way.

Dray, loved that movie! I guess I can see the resemblance. I think the hair and glasses bring it on, also the distressed leather coat. Any association with Clint Eastwood is fine with me I hope to have some other shots eventually in the line up with that same rage emotionally as Mr. Penn in the movie. Thanks for your comments

Jet, I had the same initial reaction about the hand,. Did not like it right away, and then i started getting comfortable with it. I was thinking that it was my own bias allowing me to settle for something that i should not, but I see it has brought mixed feelings to the other eyes and minds here as well. In any case, I will try a different pose but with hopefully the same tension that it has here.
the glasses do not bother me here, but I do feel that i want somehow to get the eyes in there a little more. I like the side lighting too mainly because of the details and lobg shadows it creates. There was a long shadow across the eye from the glasses which I removed later in pp. Thanks for your take on this, Jet. Very much appreciated

Roger, I'm very happy that you seem to be able to sense the tension and allure that the subject is having from the content of the book. Sort of repulsed and gripped at the same time and bracing for the worst. . . I thank you for your opinion on whether this fits into my style and body of works in the end. I am encouraged to pursue this one again.

[GB1]

Gary - This is a very nice shot and it was well thought out. It's composition, lighting, contrast and most importantly its idea is quite good.

On the critical side, I would agree that there is something is slightly wrong with the image but I am having a hard time determining what that is. Let me take a swing. The image seems somewhat processed to me even for a black and white (I haven't read you posts to know if you already stated that). Could be sharper esp around the eye (the left hand is somewhat soft also). I want more space above his head, maybe.. The background window is a tad bright. His face and hands seem artificially lit and a bit devoid of detail. I might also put a slight vignette around him to focus the viewer's attention on what's important.

As far as the idea, I like it but I wonder if a stronger (book) title would add more interest to the shot? Something wild, like the Satanic Verses or related.

Anyway ...

G

[gahspidy]

Gary - This is a very nice shot and it was well thought out. It's composition, lighting, contrast and most importantly its idea is quite good.

On the critical side, I would agree that there is something is slightly wrong with the image but I am having a hard time determining what that is. Let me take a swing. The image seems somewhat processed to me even for a black and white (I haven't read you posts to know if you already stated that). Could be sharper esp around the eye (the left hand is somewhat soft also). I want more space above his head, maybe.. The background window is a tad bright. His face and hands seem artificially lit and a bit devoid of detail. I might also put a slight vignette around him to focus the viewer's attention on what's important.

As far as the idea, I like it but I wonder if a stronger (book) title would add more interest to the shot? Something wild, like the Satanic Verses or related.

Anyway ...

G

Thanks for your thoughts, GB. Yep, there is a lot of processing from my flow of desaturate and tone map (non hdr tone mapping) and then some diffused glow and grain added.
I think the strange appearance really might have to do with the fact that this is a very tight crop of a larger composition. I had originally intended to get more of the surroundings and myself and the cool antique bench i was seated on but un doing so the title of the book and some other details were just too far away. So, after cropping tight i realized that i'm going to go after this one again and get in tight from the start. That should get things sharper and more natural in a way.
thanks for the comments