Richard Siersma
December 2025 - Piped in music
About the Image(s)
This photo was taken at a Scottish Gathering & Highland Games event. The gentleman pictured was one of several bagpipers being judged on his performance. In post-processing, I cropped the image from the left side and used Topaz Photo AI to automatically denoise and enhance the details. In Photoshop, I removed a telephone pole, then isolated the subject from the background. Finally, I darkened the background and applied a Gaussian blur to create separation and draw focus to the bagpiper.
Exposure: 1/800 sec @f/8 ISO 5000
4 comments posted
What a fantastic portrait that beautifully captures the character and tradition of the bagpiper. The lighting on his face is flattering and highlights his concentration. The vibrant tartan and rich blue of the bagpipe add wonderful color contrast, and the shallow depth of field helps separate him from the background.
Here are couple things to consider:
Cropping a little tighter on the top to reduce empty space can create a stronger portrait composition and bring more attention to his expression and instrument.
The background is busy in a few spots, especially the bright bokeh patches that pull attention from the performer. Softening or gently darkening the background would help keep the focus on the subject.
The blue bag and red tartan are beautiful-slightly increasing clarity and texture (just on the subject, not the background) would make them pop more, especially in a print.
His left sleeve is slightly over-bright. Bringing back a bit of detail there keeps the exposure more balanced. Posted: 12/03/2025 03:05:02
Here are couple things to consider:
Cropping a little tighter on the top to reduce empty space can create a stronger portrait composition and bring more attention to his expression and instrument.
The background is busy in a few spots, especially the bright bokeh patches that pull attention from the performer. Softening or gently darkening the background would help keep the focus on the subject.
The blue bag and red tartan are beautiful-slightly increasing clarity and texture (just on the subject, not the background) would make them pop more, especially in a print.
His left sleeve is slightly over-bright. Bringing back a bit of detail there keeps the exposure more balanced. Posted: 12/03/2025 03:05:02
Hi Richard, I think it's so important to document diverse cultures and pipe music has found so many niches around the world. It's an amazing tradition that the Scots have exported around the world and it's interesting that it has taken root in so many countries, including here. I think your edit is great and have nothing to suggest save for some fringing that is visible on the boundaries of the blurred region (eg his beret) Posted: 12/03/2025 21:01:44
Hi Richard. I like the side-on view as that gives us a good perspective of the costume and the bagpipes. I'd consider cropping to the waist. I know you will lose the kilt but consider whether you want the focus to be more on his face and the bagpipes. I'd also consider darkening down the background a little. Posted: 12/08/2025 00:33:10
Hi Richard. I like the emotion on the face of the bagpiper. I agree with softenning or darkening of the background in the left upper corner to make it stand out less. I think all the colors are balanced well. It's a great capture and I wouldn't change anything else. Posted: 12/10/2025 17:18:53