Alan Kaplan
January 2025 - The Look
Original
Original 2
Original 3
About the Image(s)
When I travel, I enjoy taking pictures of arched doorways with and without stairs. I
prefer arches that lead to other arches that lead to the back of the image as is seen in Original 1. I used the Crop Tool in Photoshop to straighten the image. I took pictures of the 2 men at different times during my wife’s and my trip to India. I have many pictures of the man in the foreground as he walked at a leisurely pace next to our tourist bus that moved at a snail’s pace through traffic in Delhi. Before the photos of the men were extracted and added to the composite, I used Nik’s software Color Efex and Viveza to manipulate colors, contrast, and more aspects of the image than I can remember. I manipulated everything to taste so I can’t provide a specific formula to follow. The last step was to add the two men.
8 comments posted
Hi Alan, I love the intense interaction between the two men. It looks like the one in the foreground is warily glancing over his shoulder and quickening his steps while the other is appearing from behind the corner, following him relentlessly and getting closer. The originals are captured in mid-step with perfect postures and expressions, but I think it is their placing in the image that really creates the tension. The arches and doorways, as well as the respective sizes of the characters, create very natural three-dimensional alley scene, and I think that all your manipulations really make them blend seamlessly together. Posted: 01/06/2025 10:58:41
Thank you for your observations. You read my mind as you did in November. Posted: 01/06/2025 15:21:42
Hi Alan, You are extremely adept at incorporating these walking figures in your doorways, and this one is no exception. The shadows, perspective and placement are perfect.
At first, I wasn't sure if you were going for somewhat of a mirror effect given the desaturation on the far side of the door. I might have kept a bit more of the original color by the stairs for more of a continuum between the front and back.
As an image, the frames within frames are very compelling and enhance the intrigue. Very well done.
Posted: 01/08/2025 18:08:57
At first, I wasn't sure if you were going for somewhat of a mirror effect given the desaturation on the far side of the door. I might have kept a bit more of the original color by the stairs for more of a continuum between the front and back.
As an image, the frames within frames are very compelling and enhance the intrigue. Very well done.
Posted: 01/08/2025 18:08:57
Thank you for your feedback. Your observation about the stairs is the one sticking point I had about the image. I was really torn between the original color and the one I finally chose. I felt the final color offered more separation from the arch in the foreground. Posted: 01/08/2025 19:59:51
This picture is certainly worth a thousand words, Alan! It's so easy to imagine stories about what's going on here, and what the relationship is between these two men. They look very natural in your setting.
I love the arches and the stairs, and all the texture in the setting.
My one suggestion is to warm up the white balance a bit; to me, the men's robes and the desaturated mid-ground look bluer than the light on the nearest arch. Posted: 01/12/2025 19:51:08
I love the arches and the stairs, and all the texture in the setting.
My one suggestion is to warm up the white balance a bit; to me, the men's robes and the desaturated mid-ground look bluer than the light on the nearest arch. Posted: 01/12/2025 19:51:08
Hi Alan, Liked at soon as I seen it. Looked like one image until I looked closer.
Have to agree with Matt and Peggy. I prefer the natural colours of the background arches. A cool blue effect has crept into the composite.
The front subject his whites are bluey, so to the guy at the rear.
With the arches returning to the natural colour and the two subjects loosing the blue tinge, you are onto a winner !
The tension is the story and I love it, and looks so real. cheers. Posted: 01/13/2025 17:16:47
Have to agree with Matt and Peggy. I prefer the natural colours of the background arches. A cool blue effect has crept into the composite.
The front subject his whites are bluey, so to the guy at the rear.
With the arches returning to the natural colour and the two subjects loosing the blue tinge, you are onto a winner !
The tension is the story and I love it, and looks so real. cheers. Posted: 01/13/2025 17:16:47
Alan, You nailed it with this one. Simple, strong and compelling. It's the type of image you can go back to again and again in search of the message. Posted: 01/17/2025 23:27:48
Hi Alan,
Great image! I love how the different arches create a three-dimensional background that guides the eye through the composition. The placement of the men complements the scene perfectly and helps tell the story, especially as it seems one is moving away from the other while keeping an eye on his pursuer.
I agree with Peggy and Bruce's suggestion to warm up the colors of the stairs and arch. It would integrate that area better into the image and help balance the overall composition.
Great work!
Posted: 01/20/2025 11:05:37
Great image! I love how the different arches create a three-dimensional background that guides the eye through the composition. The placement of the men complements the scene perfectly and helps tell the story, especially as it seems one is moving away from the other while keeping an eye on his pursuer.
I agree with Peggy and Bruce's suggestion to warm up the colors of the stairs and arch. It would integrate that area better into the image and help balance the overall composition.
Great work!
Posted: 01/20/2025 11:05:37