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Tired of clicking to see a large version? Upgrade to e2 to browse all photos automatically at their largest size.I'm already in one challenge (group 2) but decided to have another go. This one is using a budget ceiling light I bought a few years ago and modified into a ring light. Total cost less than £30.
I placed it on my knee pointing upwards while I took the shot. I started out straight portraits but they looked rubbish so I introduced the hands. I converted to black & white and added a blue fill layer. I like blue!
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| Title: | hands - Buddy Group 5 - self portrait |
| Username: | 
Pete |
| Uploaded: | 16 Jul 2009 - 1:45 AM |
| Camera: | Nikon D700  Check out Nikon Nation! |
| Lens: | Nikkor 24-120mm  Check out Nikon Nation! |
| Recording media: | RAW (digital) |
| Tags: | Portraits / people |
| Votes: | 27 |
| Group Event: | Critique Buddies July 2009 - 5 |
| Modifications Welcome (Upload a Modification) |
 | Variant - Tests |
Comments
What happened to the mild mannered guy portrayed in the previous version 
The blue tones, tighter crop and rotation all help over the original and I love the intensity in those eyes.
Great scary stuff, but if this is your normal look when framing possible shots it might explain why there aren't any smiling kids in your portfolio 
Tim
....jesus, no one's going to give you hassle about the site once they've seen this!
The catch lights in the eyes make them leap out from the rest of the scene - especially on the blue version of the image.
position of the face, just off right, with the hands filling the rest of the scene is spot on - I'd maybe have gone for the middle,. but having seen this, I prefer the off centre look.
so is this the group for people with hand fetishes?
Quote: but if this is your normal look when framing
Lol.. no, in light of what Ade and co have been doing, I decided to change from me normal mellow-friendly look as another variation on a self portrait. You should have seen some of the rejects.
Btw this was done in the small home office against the wall. I took this approach to illustrate you don't need expensive kit to do this kind of thing.
This raises the one question for me - does a truly great portrait need to do more than just show the image of someone; should it not portray their character too and capture something of the essence of who they are?
And I'm not saying that this doesn't Pete; there's obviously a side of you that likes doing these fun inventive shots; or maybe there's a whole other side of you beneath the mellow-friendly exterior
Tim
V2 for me Pete, somehow the mono shadows add to the scariness.
Just needs long fingernails now
Chris.
Great idea, Ive joined this group and will post my contribution up over the next few days. Not sure where to start and portraits are not my forte , so I suppose its good to practice.
I like the processing you have done on this one and the darkness to it. The only thing I cvan see that I would change is the positioning of the hand on the left, but thats probably just me.
Looks good to me Pete.....)
Maybe I shot you one day in my studio....lol
Carsten
V1 is my fave. I love the feeling that it portrays, it makes it kind of spooky. I know that with SP's, it's sometimes difficult to get the correct focus point and it's spot on in this photo. Well done!
I have a hard time critiquing which is why I usually don't. To me, this photo is perfect as is. If I had to change one thing about it, I guess I would crop a slight bit off the top of the photo but I am not sure that it would improve it.
Got to go with V2 here as to me, that one is the spookiest.
If that's what you were aiming for, you have got it right...
Hilary
Its V3 for me, have you no pics of padded cells from your asylum trip, would make a great background.
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