My Old Friend
Possible the most amazing man I have ever had the great pleasure to meet and call friend. He really isn't as scary as he looks.
This man has designed Spac...
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Possible the most amazing man I have ever had the great pleasure to meet and call friend. He really isn't as scary as he looks.
This man has designed Space probes and other equipment for Nasa, designed camera lenses for multiple manufacturers and has even shared the stage with some of the greatest folk legends in the world! Never without an amazing story to listen to. A true life inspiration to myself.
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This man has designed Space probes and other equipment for Nasa, designed camera lenses for multiple manufacturers and has even shared the stage with some of the greatest folk legends in the world! Never without an amazing story to listen to. A true life inspiration to myself.
Read less
Apr, 2015Views
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Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
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Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken inside my small local pub in Shropshire called The Wrekin Inn. Amazing little place for lovers of live music, real ales and traditional ciders!! ;)Time
It was taken at late afternoon early evening, about 5-6 pm in the summer.Lighting
The lighting for this was very simple and what I try to use for any portrait, natural sun light. Just above the man's right shoulder was a large window which helped to diffuse the light slightly. As it was the summer the light was still harsh but I think this adds to the effect of this harsh weather beaten face that could tell thousands of stories.Equipment
Nothing but natural light, a Nikon D7100 and a Nikon 50mm 1.8g. All taken handheld with a drink or two if that counts? Ha!Inspiration
I had seen this man many times in my local area for years. He always intrigued me with this almost wizard lI've long straggly white hair and beard. We started having conversation about a band that had just finished playing. I found out that as music plays a big part of my life so did it for him as a folk violin/fiddle player. Eventually I just had to ask if I could take a photo of him. The first photo I took he had possibly the biggest smile I had ever seen, despite being a nice image I wanted him to be a bit more fitting to his appearance when he just had this vacant but intense stare and that's when I decided that it was the one.Editing
I edited this as I do with all of my images in lightroom. I started by trying add more texture to the image by increasing the contrast and clarity. I then decided to convert the whole image to black and white. I still wasn't happy with the overall feel of the image so decided to add a very subtle spilt tone to the image with a cold blue cast, then I added a heavy vignette to bring emphasis on the man's face to finalise the entire image and feel.In my camera bag
As much as I and I'm sure many others like to say and think..'I'll only take the minimal amount of gear'....this is never a reality for me ha! Usualy in my bag I'll have my Nikon D750, a 24-70mm, a 50mm and my absolute love the 85mm 1.4. Depending on what I'm doing I sometimes pack a 70-200 if I'm doing an event or show and sometimes I use my NISI V5 and 10 stop ND filter when out on landscape shoots.Feedback
The best advice I can give is when doing these sorts of street portraits is to engage with people. Talk to them, smile and be happy. People mirror behaviour they see, If you come across to strong most people won't like it and say no to you. Even if you don't speak the same language as the person or model be confident but open with your mannerisms, smile and laugh, this will be rewarding in return.
