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Nick My son in whom I am well pleased. Matt 3:17

© Peter W. Marks

Nick My son in whom I am well pleased. Matt 3:17

Uploaded: March 05, 2011

Description

1/125; f4; ISO 100; 50mmfl


Exif: F Number: 4, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/125 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 100, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 50.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS 50D

Comments

Dale Hardin March 06, 2011

Peter, you should not only be proud of your son, but of this excellent portrait as well. Wonderful composition and good DOF. Good to go as is but still can be tweaked a bit probably.

Would suggest opening the shadows just a bit and in a feathered fashion all around the eye socket area with more lightening on the eyes themselves. Clone out the two small white specks on his shoulder and de-saturate the yellows on the teeth.

Finally call up a levels layer and move the outer black and white sliders in to meet the main body of data, to brighten the entire image. Subtle changes all, but ending with a crisper rendition.

Really like this a lot. #1358667

Debbie E. Payne March 07, 2011

Only Dale would see the two white specks on his shoulder! LOL
I like your POV and the diagonal comp and of course, the nice smile on his face. Nice work, Peter #9277549

Anthony L. Mancuso March 07, 2011

Great portrait Peter! Such a different kind of image for you and very well done, your son seems like he has a lot of character. WLTSDS...Did you get new glasses Dale, or maybe lasik surgery? Those dots are so small I didn't even notice them til you pointed them out. #9277643

Peter W. Marks March 07, 2011

Thank you so much Dale, Debbie and Tony. Those two dots are cigarette ash I think, and more about that later! I don't know about 'new glasses' I think it was Sherlock Holmes magnifying glass!
This image I cropped from a vacation shot of Nick and my daughter Tam sitting on a sea wall above Port Mellon beach in Cornwall. I liked his expression as I related some unlikely anecdote to them which made them laugh.
#9277891

Peter W. Marks March 07, 2011

I have made the adjustments Dale suggested.
Nick has just turned 40 last December and he has smoked since he was in his early twenties and as far as I remember he was holding a cigarette when I took this photo and had just removed it from his lips when I called out to him so I think that was why there was ash on his sweater. This is also why he has yellowed teeth and I had already desaturated them a bit but deliberately left them looking natural not gleaming white. My philosophy of candid portraits is to change as little as possible. If a male subject has yellowed teeth, has grey in his hair or beard, has a bald spot, wrinkled eyes, or any natural 'imperfect' features, so be it, I leave them. I completely understand why a studio-type portrait, like for instance, Aimee's recent one of the girl in the blue dress would have pp work done to enhance it if needed to make her and the image as beautiful as possible (and she succeeded) but for me to mess around with what is a character-study would remove what is meaningful to me and perhaps other viewers.
But being very appreciative of the time and thought that our friend Dale gives so very generously to our images I have attempted to follow his suggestiions with Nick. I have kept the adjustments to a minimum amount so that we are still looking at Nick not a magazine illustration. I am hoping you good folks will agree with my viewpoint and to reinforce what I am suggesting would be to ask you to consider whether if we made an image of a down-and-out sleeping in a derelect building we would make changes to the image so that he appeared to have just washed his face, combed and trimmed his straggly beard and found matching socks. Oh my! Why do I just know there will be at least one who puts their hand up and shouts "me, me!"
So, mes amis, let us see if I can load the "gospel according to Dale".
#9278095

Beth Spencer March 07, 2011

I can see the resemblance. It must have been a good story. I like the diagonal composition. The smile looks genuine and really makes the picture. I like it.
#9278784

Rita K. Connell level-classic March 07, 2011

what a great capture of your son, it looks like the apple didn't fall to far from the tree in looks and personality...LOL
I actually like the original post better than the edited one because now all I see is his teeth that is very white now....but I do like the over all brightness of the edited one. #9278980

Jeff E Jensen March 07, 2011

Yup, I'd cut back just a bit on the change to his teeth, otherwise, looks good. Well done! #9279064

Aimee C. Eisaman March 08, 2011

I really like the personality you have captured in this image. The changes were very good for this. I must agree with you that not every photo of a person needs to have perfectly smooth even skin and no wrinkles or grey hairs. I just got an EP of a shot I took of my husband and I did very little to it. :~) Wrinkles and grey hair can tell stories of their own! #9279689

Carla Capra Anderson March 08, 2011

Hi Peter;
I'm a big fan of up close and personal portraits. So, I'm really lik'n this one. Well done!
I could probably suggest you back off your adjustments a bit; not so white on the teeth, not as much shadow reduction/levels. Maybe the edited version could use a de-sat in the red area. But, I think I'd only aggravate your good nature ;D
So, you'll be pleased to know that I like and prefer the original, as is with no adjustments. Very, nicely done, Peter.
;) CC #9279773

Peter W. Marks March 08, 2011

You are all very kind and I thank you.
I wanted to do what Ol' Father Time Dale suggested because we need to amuse him but I still prefer my original but maybe with just a tiny bit of playing with the levels slides, but not as much as I did in my second version. Everything else I would leave as they were.
As for teeth, visitors to the UK from the USA almost invariably comment on how bad Brits' teeth are and I have to agree there is a perception that this is so. However I think this is because here in the US we spend fortunes on cosmetic work to our teeth and they are not necessarily healthier but are just straighter and whiter. Here there is an obsession with appearance, so perfect boobs, butts, tans, chins etc, are rated higher than literacy and numeracy. I have just opened our Yellow Pages and there are many dozens of entries for 'dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, oral and maxillofacial surgeons, and even prosthodontists; all making fortunes off the self-image obsessed! The negative perception of Brit teeth also comes from the fact that the very people from the USA visiting the UK are the financially better-off and they focus on the less well-off Brits with ratty teeth although crooked and tobacco-stained does not mean unhealthy.
And what has all this got to do with photography? Not a whole lot but I'm having fun!
#9280097

Dale Hardin March 08, 2011

If I have this right Peter, you're saying that the edits "Old father time" suggested would have been OK if you hadn't gone so far with them? :o) LOL! What part of "just a bit" confused you old friend? Oh, this is sweet!! Now I know why you have so much fun socking it to me. :o) #9280159

Aimee C. Eisaman March 08, 2011

LOL....O you boys! #9280207

Joan E. Hoffman March 08, 2011

Peter... your son's personality shines through! He looks like someone I would like to know. My son just turned 40 also. He has now surpassed me in age (I, of course, am a youthful 39). I like your original post as well, although a reduced portion of adjustments might work very well also! #9280375

Peter W. Marks March 08, 2011

That's us Aimee! I haven't told Dale yet but I am thinking of writing the script for a new show to pitch to CBS now that Two and a Half Men and Charlie could be off the air. Dale and I will star in it but with me of course as the lead star. I am thinking of calling it Point 'n Shoot with me having all the funny lines and Dale, I mean Shoot, as the straight man and singing the occasional song. I think he will have difficulty in remembering his lines so I will give him a couple of catch phrases which he can repeat every time he forgets the script. "It's slanting, it's slanting" "Use a blend, use a blend" :0)
Thank you Joan. I was talking on the phone with him today and arranging a get together when we vacation back there in the summer. And yes, we had plenty to laugh about.
#9280677

Michael Kelly level-deluxe March 08, 2011

Great portrait shot Peter! I think you captured the essence with this one and the original looks very nice. You already said it but I agree that the original with just a bit of slider adjustment to brighten it slightly is the way to go. The white specks on the shoulder certainly could go too, but they are insignificant either way so up to you. You may get a finalist with this one. #9280688

Peter W. Marks March 08, 2011

Thanks Mike. The original has just been tagged with an EFP so I will wait a bit before I resubmit one with the half-adjustment we have talked about. #9280737

Dale Hardin March 08, 2011

ROFLMAO!!!! :O) #9280999

Christie R. Bielss March 09, 2011

First, I really like the original. He's got a rugged handsomeness about him, much like Robert Redford, and wouldn't change the photo.....well, except for those specks that Dale talked about - and which I had to then go and get my new reading glasses to be able to see them.
The idea for the tv show sounds intriguing. You could call it "The Odd Couple".... #9282168

Debbie E. Payne March 09, 2011

What a fun thread. But I know better than to take this any further. #9282419

Susan M. Reynolds level-addict March 10, 2011

This is a wonderful portrait of your son that captures not only his rugged good looks, but what looks like a great personality too. I absolutely LOVE the composition...up close and personal! Great job and you guys are just a riot :) #9283696

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