Comments or suggestions

[YellowstoneCowboy]

[Laurenbiz]

Critique Forum Rules

[wulf]

Yes - it helps a lot if you can give the key EXIF data. That is easy to do - you can copy it from the Flickr page:

Exif | Copy (2) of MG1D3871 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Camera Canon EOS-1D Mark II
Exposure 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture f/4.5
Focal Length 145 mm
ISO Speed 100

If you can enhance that with the lens you used, that also helps. All of this gives us an idea of what was possible for you with the available equipment and then you can round it off by indicating why you are asking for critique on the picture.

Personally, I'm interested that the guy is playing a banjo guitar because I was jamming around on one last night and will be taking it to a folk session next week... but that is the kind of comment you could have got if you posted in the Share Your Shots area whereas critique indicates you want more about the photo.

Wulf

[Photologyst]

Interesting shot!

My eyes gravitate toward the banjo player so I would probably blur the background and a bit of the clothing, ultimately focusing on the head and the instrument.

[Bindu]

Here's my two penny bit. Its an interesting photo, but I feel that the player has been cut off abruptly at the legs. I am also interested in the scene where he is sitting.Perhaps if we could see the area into which he is looking, it would enhance the composition. Where is he sitting, who else is there, what's around him? It may be blurred with DOF but may have contributed more to the scene.

All the best!

[BigFuzzy]

In the end, it's a well exposed, sharp and fairly interesting shot of an interesting man.
Having said that, to me, it's not much more than a snap shot.
The angle is the standard "I'm standing here taking this shot from eye level" vantage point. Get creative, don't just snap what you see as interesting from the first position that comes to mind. Get lower. Get higher. Tilt the camera..otherwise you'll take a shot that every single other person has/can take.
Also, looking at the original size on flickr, it's apparent that focus was not on the face but somewhere along his right arm and/or right leg.

And because the background isn't that blurry, it's also a bit distracting. And I don't like how the legs are cropped off.

So, I understand why this was an interesting photo to capture, though in the end it's not much more to me than a standard snap shot that could have been more with a little creative composition though.