There are two monthly evening events in the Ft Myers, FL area, a crafts "walk" and a music "walk" Our camera club recently did an outing to the music walk. This event closes several streets and for the evening we attended, hosted about 6 bands or singers. This musician was on a slightly elevated entry with a small amplifier, a little led side light, fighting the loud rock band around the corner. I liked his weathered features and stern expression. Nikon Z7, 24-120 f/4.0. Shot at ISO 3200, 100 mm, f/4.0 1/80 sec. In Lightroom, I adjusted the white balance, highlights, shadows and added a little texture. In Photoshop, I straightened the background verticals, cropped to the square format, cloned some spots, added a slight mid-tone contrast adjustment, sharpened with a high pass filter, and did a final levels adjustment. I did not do any noise reduction since I felt the noise added to the character of the image.
This round’s discussion is now closed! 8 comments posted
Kirsti Näntö-Salonen
Hi Terry, my husband looked at the monitor over my shoulder and said that he can hear the chords of "Knocking On Heavenīs Door". I think that you have captured the genuine spirit and intensity of the moment, and the certain unpolished roughness. - I wonder what even a tighter crop might look like, cutting off the microphone at the right edge, and maybe adding a slight vignette? - I think that the image would also look terrific in B&W. Posted: 03/08/2025 23:58:41
Mervyn Hurwitz
Terry, you have captured his weathered and aged features so perfectly. His concentration shows his obvious love of what he is doing. And it was a good choice to remove the 2248.
I agree with Kirsti's crop. The extra microphone is an un-necessary distraction. Posted: 03/17/2025 10:52:45
Terry Palmer
I agree that Kirsti's crop is better
Posted: 03/17/2025 11:41:00
Terry Palmer
A local judge suggested a more natural skin tone. I also did a version in BW. Your thoughts ? Posted: 03/17/2025 12:57:57
Terry Palmer
BW Posted: 03/17/2025 12:58:14
Tony Au Yeong
Hi Terry, I like the B&W image. I believe B&W can make an image timeless. The singer's face is light up and so he stands out nicely from the dark background. I think removing the other microphone helps to improve the composition. Posted: 03/22/2025 17:11:54
Jose Cartas
I also like the features and expressions of the singer. Despite the judge's comment, I prefer the warmer tone of your original, it's what you expect under artificial light. I don't mind the extra space on the left, but I would add a little space on the top, so his head has more separation from the frame. Also, eliminate the extra microphone. Posted: 03/25/2025 15:59:14
Bob Benson
I prefer the color version, although the B&W is good. I think just removing the extra mic is enough and it does not need to be cropped. Posted: 03/25/2025 16:25:11
