Old boy & his pint

DG Phototraining

DG Phototraining

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Dave
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I had a trip with wifey to Manchester last week, so naturally as the long-term loving couple we are, we split up immediately we arrived !!!

Off she went shopping and I went for a walk with my camera. At such times I always like to challenge myself a bit, so this time I chose to use ONLY my 35mm f1.8 prime and also ONLY wide open at f1.8 - I'll blog more about that trip in a few days with a full set of images, but for now...

So after a couple of hours snapping away I became thirsty and in deed of some water, coffee, juice etc. AMAZINGLY I couldn't find a single shop or cafe that was open and hence has no option but to venture into a pub !!!

My FAV pub was the nearest (its less than £2 a pint usually), and as I sat at a table I noticed this old chap nearby and couldn't help but take a snap of him :)

For the techie stuff - 1000 ISO f1.8 (obviously) and 1/80th sec. No fear of camera shake as it was sat on my table and I let the camera focus itself using its facial recognition function in liveview; it did pretty well didn't it

David Goodier Photography -016 BW WM - WEB - TP.jpg

Dave
 
Funny how you meantion that you were drawn to the old boy at the table, whereas i'm drawn to the man with his face illuminated by the window.
 
I like this very good.
 
Nostromo said:
Funny how you meantion that you were drawn to the old boy at the table, whereas i'm drawn to the man with his face illuminated by the window.
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Yes but which one would you rather fight if they took offence at being photographed :D.

Back to the op.
It's a great shot and stands up without the two at the bar also. Nice.
 
Nostromo said:
Funny how you meantion that you were drawn to the old boy at the table, whereas i'm drawn to the man with his face illuminated by the window.
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He was actually loud and boring - the old boy was calm and introverted, that's what attracted him to me; that and him being lit better and in focus lol

Dave
 
a super candid - what character in that face ---

alone in his own world and enjoying the company --------stories to tell methinks................(y)
 
•


I think the sitting ol' chap is so interesting I
would be tempted to try cropping a second
version of the image to frame his character
alone… just an idea. Great take… or two!!

 
Kodiak Qc said:
•


I think the sitting ol' chap is so interesting I
would be tempted to try cropping a second
version of the image to frame his character
alone… just an idea. Great take… or two!!
Click to expand...

I agree if there's enough in the file to crop in I think this would be a super portrait.
 
Great contrast between the old guy and the other pair ... I suspect there was someone sitting on the other side of his table though?
 
You pressed that shutter just at the right moment here you couldnt have wished for a better posture.


Gaz
 
juggler said:
I like this a lot, especially the framing. There's something odd about the processing which I can't quite put my finger on though. The skin seems exaggeratedly bright but the highlights in the window are a bit muddy.
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I pushed the contrast quite a bit Simon, but the 'muddy' window is defo more muddy online than on my mac. There's also a heavy vignette covering the window area too so that's partly it, but you're right that the other bloke's face especially shouldn't be as bright/brighter than the window (which is pretty much blown) - good spot :)

Dave
 
Lovely picture. As others have said, it could also produce a great picture if cropped to show the old boy on his own.
 
Going against the grain here, but you've added the two people to the left which add no additional context to the main subject. He's looking at something, maybe fresh air, we don't know, and because of this it doesn't work as a portrait for me - sorry. It's a shot of two people at a bar and an old fella looking out of frame with a pint. Who's he looking at, what is holding his attention, why not stick him left of frame looking into empty space? Sometime rules are there to be broken, this isn't that time.
 
Morbid said:
Going against the grain here, but you've added the two people to the left which add no additional context to the main subject. He's looking at something, maybe fresh air, we don't know, and because of this it doesn't work as a portrait for me - sorry. It's a shot of two people at a bar and an old fella looking out of frame with a pint. Who's he looking at, what is holding his attention, why not stick him left of frame looking into empty space? Sometime rules are there to be broken, this isn't that time.
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Why did I do it like this? Because to me the couple on the left engrossed in their own world compliment the old chap being in his own world too, they are both relevant to each other and also have nothing to do with each other. To me, there's far more story behind this than a mere portrait of either party would have been

This is just a nice example of how different people see & interpret the same thing differently, so thanks for your comment, you're right of course but then so am I :)

Dave
 
This is a superb candid you've captured. The old boy sat with his pint has oodles of character, deep in thought....but about what teh couple standing up are the 2nd part of the image for me, again can't help but wonder what they are talking about.

Camera did really well, focus is nice and sharp on the old boy sitting down which is where it must have chose his face as the focus point? Well done
 
Emja said:
I like this a lot - the traditional look of the pub, people's clothing and the b&w make it look so timeless. Great pose and lighting on the old man.
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When commenting I always try to make my own comment given my own feeling/thoughts about the image. But Emma's comment mirrors that of mine so...
:plus1:
 
DG Phototraining said:
Why did I do it like this? Because to me the couple on the left engrossed in their own world compliment the old chap being in his own world too, they are both relevant to each other and also have nothing to do with each other. To me, there's far more story behind this than a mere portrait of either party would have been

This is just a nice example of how different people see & interpret the same thing differently, so thanks for your comment, you're right of course but then so am I :)

Dave
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Thank you Dave, that's a fab explanation of your thought process. As a candid shot rather than a portrait I think you've nailed it. Pub life, people watching, never knowing the interaction points, what is being discussed etc.

So different to your other work on here, perhaps that threw me a little, who knows....
 
Morbid said:
Thank you Dave, that's a fab explanation of your thought process. As a candid shot rather than a portrait I think you've nailed it. Pub life, people watching, never knowing the interaction points, what is being discussed etc.

So different to your other work on here, perhaps that threw me a little, who knows....
Click to expand...

No probs bud. Without knowing what I was after your comment was spot on. But that's kinda what often happens in a subjective matter like photography, we don't know what the thought process was or what we're supposed to be seeing

Its what makes my role as a Photography Judge so tricky sometimes

I might just crop it down to the old boy as a portrait too, just for the Hell of it lol

Nice to throw in a curve-ball then :D

Dave
 
Those were far from boring. A good set of interesting photos and made all the better from the commentaries. Nice work.
 
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