The Lunch
Another view from last Sunday’s visit to the Borderers re-enactment group that comes together at Buittle Tower-house, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. An example of opportunistic photography. You sit yourself down and wait to see what happens. I tried an HDR with this guy who was sitting quite still, but in the end went with this slight underexposure.
This has the feeling of a painting which suits the period feel of the shot.
Hi Mike, thanks, much appreciated.
it looks like a painting, indeed.
Thank you, thanks very much.
Vermeer.
Well thank you….. Vermeer, Franz Hals or Rembrandt all painted sombre looking pictures. I suppose you can’t help the similarity when he is wearing a costume of the period. Thanks again.
For me, it is the light. Where it comes from and how it hangs on the subject.
Yes, John…it does rather have the appearance of a Renaissance masterpiece…very nice. I like the underexposure…shadows can be good things….
Hi Scott, yes, shadows are typical of Caravaggio as well………… just needs a bowl of fruit and a lute.
Thanks very much, regards, John.
Very welcome….
This is a beautiful image John, great capture, I love the lighting and the clothing the guy is wearing, just make it.
Hi Leanne, have just been looking at your fabulous photos. I am stuck with more or less ‘straight’ images with a little vignetting……. how would you process this image, I wonder…. ?
That is a really interesting question. I think the composition is great, though if he had looked up at you and you could see his face more, that would have made it perfect, The background, his clothes and even what he is eating his lunch with give a place in time, which isn’t right now. I remember seeing this and it really caught my eye.
So processing, I wouldn’t do very much at all. Maybe soften it a little, very little, like using a diffusing filter, maybe bring up on the highlights ever so slightly on the face, hands and spoon. I probably would so more vignetting on the bottom, draw you in more. These are not very much and very subtle ideas. Like I have said, it is a fantastic image, and as it is, it is brilliant. I love it and would be so happy if it was mine.
Hi Leanne, and thanks very much for your thoughts. Posing a figure in a public place is always possible though we don’t always have the confidence and you risk embarrassing the person involved, but what’s good enough for Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson ought to be right for you and me as well. In this case, of course, I didn’t tell him, but next time ….
I have gotten out of the habit of softening… used to filter landscapes often….. its generally true that we aim for sharpness rather than the opposite, but it does help to contain and focus on the salient bits….. yes, a good idea. Certainly a stronger vignetting at the bottom is required though I find the settings in Adobe Bridge not quite comprehensive enough to darken the lighter parts of an image and probably need to use a multiply filter on these areas.
Very interesting. Your time and consideration are very much appreciated Leanne; I know you lead a hectic life, but your commitment to photography is highly valued.
Thanks again, regards, John.
Very Holbien, super light
Thanks Lesley……
best regards, John.
An Old Master by a blogging Master, well done 🙂
Thanks Mark. Blogging becomes habitual…….its a bit like publishing in a way………. giving your ideas an airing and hoping that people will be honest, but kind with their comments. Am in the middle of preparing a set of work for exhibition, and using some of the pictures posted here which I wouldn’t have come up with if I hadn’t been blogging.
Regards, John.
Good lucik with the exhibition my friend, I wish I could be there to see it.
Regards
Mark
Thanks Mark
Good luck with the exhibition my friend, I just wish I was there to see it.
Regards
Mark
Thanks very much Mark, its putting me behind in visiting all the great blogs that I follow, including yours……. love the wall pictures.
Regards
John
This has such a timeless, candlelit quality to it. From the blue cap down to his boots with the spoon in the middle, you have caught him so thoroughly at home in this space of shadow and light. What a beautiful shot!