A Shepard woman in Zanskar (Ladakh) Himalaya, milking a female Yak (rDemo)

[phuntsog]

Exposure: 0.025 sec (1/40)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 200 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Took it hand held. Focus is on eyes but I feel something is missing in this picture?


Phuntsog
http://www.flickr.com/photos/phuntsog-dorjay/

[swilliams61]

I think it's a good impromtu shot. The colors are nice. The details you've captured in her face really tell a story.

[Tnmtnviews]

I agree with swilliams....I like the details and colors. Her expression makes me wonder what she is thinking.

[Digidave]

The details you've captured in her face really tell a story.

True, but what story? We know the story because we are told so. Without the explanation though, this shot looks a bit off. Why is her head turned that direction? What is that behind her? These are just a couple of questions I would be asking if I didn't already know the answers. That may be why you feel it just isn't right. If it were me, I would darken the background, forget the explanation, & let people decide what they will of the shot. The woman's portrait will stand on it's own. Her face looks very nice & does have a story to tell. You just need to leave that story up to the imagination of the person looking at the photo. You need to darken the background in order to achieve that goal though.

Hope this helps a little bit!

[creativechaos]

I love this picture. The woman looks happy to be where she is. Her eyes are sparkling and she's smiling and that makes you wonder what she's thinking, why she's so happy, what she's looking at that's making her eyes sparkle. The lines on her face, her eyes and smile all make for an intriguing photograph.

I'm I'm a noob, what do I know?

[ericw]

I really liked this, I think the subject is great, and I really like the framing. Then I noticed the bright spot in the lower left and was like "what is that" then I noticed the detail of the fur in the upper left corner, then I thought, "is she leaning up against an animal? what animal is it? wtf is going on? Then I read the title.

I'm with digidave if it had just been a portrait with an arbitrary background I would've loved it but the fur really threw me for a loop without the title. In my opinion just clone out that fur detail and the bright spot to black and you've got a great image.

[phuntsog]

Originally Posted by ericw

I really liked this, I think the subject is great, and I really like the framing. Then I noticed the bright spot in the lower left and was like "what is that" then I noticed the detail of the fur in the upper left corner, then I thought, "is she leaning up against an animal? what animal is it? wtf is going on? Then I read the title.

I'm with digidave if it had just been a portrait with an arbitrary background I would've loved it but the fur really threw me for a loop without the title. In my opinion just clone out that fur detail and the bright spot to black and you've got a great image.

Thank for the comment and suggestions!

[AoxoA]

Hmm.. While I agree that as a pure 'portrait', applying some sort of demphasizing (blur, black fill, etc.) to the background would be the best, this seems so much like a photojournalistic capture that would like to see the fur brought into the photo a little more.

I have no issue with a picture needing context added in the for of mild explanation. That's the publisher in me.

That being said, the face is incredible. National Geographic incredible.

AoxoA