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When I was in Egypt, I had the pleasure of meeting Mohamed, he was a temple guide (self employed) at Kom Ombo temple right on the Nile. The temple was a really interesting one behind built for two Gods, so there was a special symmetry in it's design. Mohamed kindly pointed out some of the finer points of the temple in return for baksheesh(tips), we'd been chatting and I couldn't get over his bright blue eyes, I even question if they were real, and he opened his lids to show no contacts. In negotiating a price, I decide I wanted a few photos of him as his face and eyes were just portrait worthy. So I paid him a little extra for a few shots of him, and later a mate of his joined as well, but it was him alone that seemed to work the best.
(Overall I had a fantastic time, but enjoyed the tour, the culture, food and people so much I found it hard to keep getting the camera out, as it impede my experiences so photographically the tour wasn't as rich as I had hoped, but I came back with a wealth of memories and friends which far out weigh the photos I didn't take).


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Craig
That's a beautiful image! The colours are so earthy and the modelling on the face is supurb!

Wow his eyes are so blue that its almost eerie... did you add any saturation or anything to them or are they really the colour as you saw them?..

Fantastic image btw.. its very captivating.. tones.. background..pose and light... everything is just right...

I like it very much, the image got its own story and soul here

Awesome image

Those eyes are just amazing!

Bindii wrote:Wow his eyes are so blue that its almost eerie... did you add any saturation or anything to them or are they really the colour as you saw them?..

Fantastic image btw.. its very captivating.. tones.. background..pose and light... everything is just right...

The eyes are as I saw them but I have pulled back the saturation on the rest of the image a little to just add to the POP factor of his eyes, it was almost other worldly, it just seemed to bizarre and unexpected!

Fantastic capture, Craig. Well done. The eyes are captivating.

Alex

Excellent Craig

Did you say he was from Egypt or Arakis?

Wonderful picture Craig.

Great image Craig,

sounds like you had a great trip. This image certainly will evoke some great memories,

cheers,

André

Really nice Craig, one to hang on the wall.

Fantastic portrait Craig

Very nice shot Craig.

That is a fantastic shot Craig. Eerie such light coloured iris, but a fantastic image.

Craig, it's already been said by many, I too think this is a fantastic image!! Beautifully captured!

Now that's an awesome portrait Craig. I think I'll go check out your website for more.

Cheers
John

johnd wrote:Now that's an awesome portrait Craig. I think I'll go check out your website for more.

Cheers
John

I'm still importing them all into Lightroom, I hope to work on a few more over the weekend. These three were crying out to be shared, I haven't found too many more with the same appeal, so please don't get your hopes up!

Brilliant shot.

Alpha_7 wrote: <SNIP>These three were crying out to be shared, I haven't found too many more with the same appeal, so please don't get your hopes up!

You just need to be less critical. I am sure you have some other gems Craig.

The eyes have it Craig. A powerfully constructed image.
cheers
marco

Wonderful, this is POTW material, someone pick it please...

Ozi

I just thought I'd ask if anyone actually had some criticism, I have a few niggles with the image and was expecting someone out there to notice or comment on them (cropped off his hat, the lights (white OOF areas in the temple) etc).

No criticism from me, you cropped in good and close to get a great image. (You did crop didn't you?) If not, it's an even better shot!

Fantastic image.

ozimax wrote:No criticism from me, you cropped in good and close to get a great image. (You did crop didn't you?) If not, it's an even better shot!

No cropping, this is the full frame, I do have a few other shots, but this was my preferred one.

Alpha_7 wrote:I just thought I'd ask if anyone actually had some criticism, I have a few niggles with the image and was expecting someone out there to notice or comment on them (cropped off his hat, the lights (white OOF areas in the temple) etc).

I think it's a great shot too, but if I had to be super critical, I would probably rotate the photo a few degrees clockwise to reduce the lean on the buildings in the background and maybe crop a bit closer still, like this...

Thanks Phillip, I like how your crop has remove most of the white lights in the background that I found distracting.

Craig, I agree with Phillip about straightening the building, but I really like your original crop. I have no issue with cropping off his hat. Some portraits work best with a tight crop, but the temple background helps this image IMHO. Obviously the OOF lights are worrying you though. That should be a minor photoshop task to clone the lights out.

Cheers
John

Really great shot, man. The expression on his face is hard to figure out.. And his eyes just pop from the screen.

Is this better ?
Straightened and the lights have been cloned (fairly poorly)

Craig, you've kept the landscape orientation with the temple surrounds to give the portrait some great context. The cloning of the lights looks fine to me (not fairly poorly imho). The straightening has helped as well. I reckon this is a cracker image. Print it big and frame it. Well done.

Cheers
John

This is a masterpiece environmental portrait Craig. Your adjustments are well worth it and truly enhance the image. Congratulations.
cheers
marco

Excellent capture Craig (I missed spotting this one earlier). Well done.
Mick