Shaxi Blackboard Photo

Photographer’s Note

On the way to the Shaxi Valley in Southwestern China, we stopped in Shao Ping. This old lady was standing in front of the community blackboard, next to her steaming buns. I used spot metering to properly expose her face and darken the background.

sevy, omerozden, rasto1893 trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

omerozden (1241) 2009-04-06 6:50

hello josh,
she loooks great in the dark environment.
her eyes and lips are in complete darkness, this creates a very misty atmosphere.
warm regards,
omer

sevy (13698) 2009-04-06 6:51

Hello Josh,

Very interesting photo, well in the spirit of journalism because showing the environment in more than only the portrait.
Good light management.
I find the portrait a bit missing of angle view. I would have like to see more of the suits of the lady.

Yves.

sayeed_rahman (2295) 2009-04-06 7:17

Hello Josh...prefer this composition to the other one..on this page..think this is a more balanced compo..with the inclusion of the script..the chalk on black holds the elements..but is see loss of details below the face..could have worked on the shadows and highlights..

Overall pretty good

Cheers
SAyeed

vagabondtravels (6115) 2009-04-06 7:24

Great image from Shao Ping. Great background that this woman is placed in front of. Some real interesting faces here. Can't wait to get out and shoot more with you.

rasto1893 (1770) 2009-04-06 8:25

Hi Josh,
A nice portrait good captured I like a friendly expression, nice
My best Regards
Rastislav

sayantan20023 (164) 2009-04-06 10:22

Hi Josh,

This is a very striking photograph, mainly because of her face and excellent use of the lighting. Thank you for sharing the photograph and metering details with us.

Regards,
Sayantan Mukherjee

Morac (20649) 2009-04-06 13:31

Hello Josh,
Very interesting photo.
A nice portrait good captured.
Regards
Marc

MichaelLevy (617) 2009-04-07 5:51

Hello Josh,
Very good portrait with the subdued light on the blackboard adding atmosphere and context.
I agree with Sevy and Sayeed on the idea of bring out just a little more detail below her face.
Really nice work.
Best,
Michael

dcawker (5691) 2009-04-08 7:08

It was worth the trouble! :) Excellent exposure here and really nice subject too! Regards, Doug

Manamo (3474) 2009-04-08 7:18

Josh,
this picture is absolutely amazing!
I like th elight on her forehead and the light writings on the backboard. You were clever to place her on the right third of the frame to include a wide part pf the writings
I wish you had been able to recover just a bit more info on those dark cheeks...Just a tiny bit!!
I love the light, I love the context. Very good, it's a shot I'll remember for a long time.
Marc

delkoo (34550) 2009-04-14 0:54

hi josh
thanks to leave a comment on my last picture, that lets me the opportunity to discover a new gallery and it is a good one.
your portrait job is excellent and shows very well your sensitivity in general and in particular when approaching people.

best regards
didier

mattharvey1 (661) 2009-04-21 6:39

Hi Josh,

This stands out from your TE gallery as the best shot, the loghting is perfect and the wise expression on the old lady's face is a picture ;o)

This could come from 50 years ago but the blackboard content brings it bang up to date.

Cheers

Matt

Luko (13894) 2009-11-22 7:43

Yep, I absolutely love the lighting. very good portrait.