# Blacksmith



## jcdeboever (Aug 12, 2017)

Very nice man. Taught me a lot today about various farming tools. Very kind and hard working, simple man. He said he used a camera like mine in Korea, he said it was the same one. I looked at him and thought Van Gogh. So I adjusted my camera and went with it. Life is grand when you can see a Van Gogh in a moment. I thank the Lord that I am breathing and able to be taught.

Fujifilm X-Pro 2, 60mm 2.4 macro. I love this camera every time I pick it up. It has a little MOJO to it that the XT2 doesn't,  haven't nailed it yet but it is there, for me anyway. SOOC jpeg, minor 4:3 crop.

Van Gogh and @TMorrow inspired. He has been a wonderful inspiration for me.


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## tirediron (Aug 12, 2017)

You nailed it!!!


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## jcdeboever (Aug 12, 2017)

tirediron said:


> You nailed it!!!



Thanks bud. I had a moment, it felt good to capture someone how I seen it.


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## BrentC (Aug 12, 2017)

Wow fantastic!  and SOOC too!


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## Gary A. (Aug 12, 2017)

Possibly your best.  Absolutely wonderful.


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## Derrel (Aug 13, 2017)

A very nice picture! Simple, beautifully done, compelling face, lovely rendering.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 13, 2017)

BrentC said:


> Wow fantastic!  and SOOC too!



Thanks Brent. It's a wonderful camera to say the least.



Gary A. said:


> Possibly your best.  Absolutely wonderful.



Thanks bud. I think it may be. The setting was perfect really, light shining it barn on his face, he posed for me, background was dark. Just glad I seen the potential for a good render. Q button, custom standard simulation 1 (People), manual focus, spot meter, frame, focus, fire. Converted to jpeg using shooting condition, simple and quick. 



Derrel said:


> A very nice picture! Simple, beautifully done, compelling face, lovely rendering.



Thanks Derrel, really digging these Fujis.


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## fmw (Aug 13, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> BrentC said:
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> > Wow fantastic!  and SOOC too!
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Fantastic!  Seriously great image.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 13, 2017)

fmw said:


> jcdeboever said:
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Thanks bud. Right place, right time, right light, right frame of mind.


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## fmw (Aug 13, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> fmw said:
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And the right subject!


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## goooner (Aug 13, 2017)

Lovely shot mate.


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## otherprof (Aug 13, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> Very nice man. Taught me a lot today about various farming tools. Very kind and hard working, simple man. He said he used a camera like mine in Korea, he said it was the same one. I looked at him and thought Van Gogh. So I adjusted my camera and went with it. Life is grand when you can see a Van Gogh in a moment. I thank the Lord that I am breathing and able to be taught.
> 
> Fujifilm X-Pro 2, 60mm 2.4 macro. I love this camera every time I pick it up. It has a little MOJO to it that the XT2 doesn't,  haven't nailed it yet but it is there, for me anyway. SOOC jpeg, minor 4:3 crop.
> 
> ...


 Great image!


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## Derrel (Aug 13, 2017)

I /brought /the /shot /into /LR /cropped /it /to /move /the /eye /direction 

 /a /bit, /and /burned /down /that /pencil /a /bit. /Better /or /worse ?


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## Low_Sky (Aug 13, 2017)

Derrel said:


> I /brought /the /shot /into /LR /cropped /it /to /move /the /eye /direction View attachment 145032 /a /bit, /and /burned /down /that /pencil /a /bit. /Better /or /worse ?



I have to say, I like Beav's version. I agree the framing and eye direction look like they need to be "fixed", and that's what makes it really work for me. It looks imperfect enough to perfectly match the subject... perfectly.  Rough around the edges, so to say. Not sure if that makes sense or not. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## DanOstergren (Aug 13, 2017)

Great shot. I hate to be that guy, but the skin tones look way too saturated to me. The red is a bit overwhelming.


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## Black_Square (Aug 13, 2017)

SOOC - excellent image


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## jcdeboever (Aug 13, 2017)

DanOstergren said:


> Great shot. I hate to be that guy, but the skin tones look way too saturated to me. The red is a bit overwhelming.


His face and nose were naturally red. Additionally, he didn't look you in the eyes when he was talking to me. He was very nice but slightly odd.  Thanks bud.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

Derrel said:


> I /brought /the /shot /into /LR /cropped /it /to /move /the /eye /direction View attachment 145032 /a /bit, /and /burned /down /that /pencil /a /bit. /Better /or /worse ?


It's fine. I guess I could do the same but I prefer the original. I could even goes as far as to adjust the perspective but then the face would distort. I like it that he didn't look into the camera, it adds a mystery about him. I took a few other images of people at this museum and they didn't look at the camera either. Maybe something to do with their culture or so many people taking their picture over the course of their time there?.


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## smoke665 (Aug 14, 2017)

That blind squirrel struck again!!! LOL. JC this is really good


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## Designer (Aug 14, 2017)

Derrel said:


> I /brought /the /shot /into /LR /cropped /it /to /move /the /eye /direction /a /bit, /and /burned /down /that /pencil /a /bit. /Better /or /worse ?


Restart your computer, dude.  You've got some kind of option key setting going on there.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> That blind squirrel struck again!!! LOL. JC this is really good


Lol, thanks bud.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

Designer said:


> Derrel said:
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> > I /brought /the /shot /into /LR /cropped /it /to /move /the /eye /direction /a /bit, /and /burned /down /that /pencil /a /bit. /Better /or /worse ?
> ...



I don't understand? Are you referring to Derrel or me? If me, I didn't use a PC. Just imported into tablet, cropped, posted. I am not really into editing yet. I'm still focusing on sooc images. I am not opposed to doing it, just not satisfied on a consistent basis with my skill level in camera.


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## Dean_Gretsch (Aug 14, 2017)

Great subject. Whenever I see an old man ( outside of the mirror ), he is usually muttering profanities and scaring children.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

Dean_Gretsch said:


> Great subject. Whenever I see an old man ( outside of the mirror ), he is usually muttering profanities and scaring children.


Lol, not this one.


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## smoke665 (Aug 14, 2017)

Dean_Gretsch said:


> Great subject. Whenever I see an old man ( outside of the mirror ), he is usually muttering profanities and scaring children.



Have we met?? My memory isn't good


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## DanOstergren (Aug 14, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> DanOstergren said:
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> > Great shot. I hate to be that guy, but the skin tones look way too saturated to me. The red is a bit overwhelming.
> ...


I understand and assumed so, but when looking at the image on my calibrated display I notice what distinctly looks like oversaturated reds, often a trait of in camera JPEG conversion in my experience or too warm of a white balance. It's still a good sooc shot, but to me it's still a detail that detracts from the overall picture. It's minor but still catches my eye as something I would consider adjusting.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

DanOstergren said:


> jcdeboever said:
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I'll work at it on PC. I understand. Probably worth looking at it a little closer. Thanks bud, appreciate the feedback.


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## Black_Square (Aug 14, 2017)

In the RGB channels red has a higher wavelength so in effect travels faster than the other two colour channels. This means it is exposed for longer resulting in oversaturation. This problem isn't helped by the Bayer sensor which is designed to be more sensitive to the green channel to reflect that the human eye is more sensitive to this channel (it has twice more green photosites than red and blue). So, irrespective of jpeg conversion, your RAW file will naturally oversaturate the red channel. When taking portraits this issue is most evident in white caucasion males as 'white' skin reflects more red than any other channel. Conversely, asian skin reflects more yellow and black skin the blue channel. However, all skin tones, regardless of ethnicity, need to be compensated for the red burn.

Fortunately it's very easy to correct. Simply select the red channel in a saturation adjustment layer and reduce its saturation accordingly. 

Hope this helps


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## Derrel (Aug 14, 2017)

jcdeboeve said:
			
		

> It's fine. I guess I could do the same but I prefer the original. I could even goes as far as to adjust the perspective but then the face would distort. I like it that he didn't look into the camera, it adds a mystery about him. I took a few other images of people at this museum and they didn't look at the camera either. Maybe something to do with their culture or so many people taking their picture over the course of their time there?.



I have no problem whatsoever with the way the man is not looking at the lens and is avoiding eye contact with you....the issue I saw was that the SOOC shot had positioned his hat almost perfectly centered in the tall frame...with almost equal space on either side of the hat, so cropping of the left side of the frame made that the "short side" of the frame, and created a tiny bitmore space fopr him to look into. which IMHO improves the overall aesthetic balance of the shot, by making his line of gaze direction just a bit wider an area than the other side of the frame.

The fact that he avoids eye contact is pretty useful here, since that allows the viewer to look at him without any social constraints, IOW, to view him in a voyeuristic way. Direct eye contact with the viewer usually makes many people feel slightly uneasy; poses where the sitter avoids eye contact often make for better portraits than ones where the sitter is looking right into the lens.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 14, 2017)

DanOstergren said:


> jcdeboever said:
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Black_Square said:


> In the RGB channels red has a higher wavelength so in effect travels faster than the other two colour channels. This means it is exposed for longer resulting in oversaturation. This problem isn't helped by the Bayer sensor which is designed to be more sensitive to the green channel to reflect that the human eye is more sensitive to this channel (it has twice more green photosites than red and blue). So, irrespective of jpeg conversion, your RAW file will naturally oversaturate the red channel. When taking portraits this issue is most evident in white caucasion males as 'white' skin reflects more red than any other channel. Conversely, asian skin reflects more yellow and black skin the blue channel. However, all skin tones, regardless of ethnicity, need to be compensated for the red burn.
> 
> Fortunately it's very easy to correct. Simply select the red channel in a saturation adjustment layer and reduce its saturation accordingly.
> 
> Hope this helps





Derrel said:


> jcdeboeve said:
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Thanks men for the direction. I bumped things around, did a little crop. I have so little experience in editing so this is good instruction for me. Here is what I came up with.


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## smoke665 (Aug 15, 2017)

On my uncalibrated android device the edit might be slightly better, especially the crop. As to color I dunno, I've seen a lot of red faces (skin issues includeding my own rosacea) on older folks so I didn't find the first one objectionable. The second is okay as well. No disrespect intended on others who have commented, but this may be getting into the realm of personal preference.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 15, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> On my uncalibrated android device the edit might be slightly better, especially the crop. As to color I dunno, I've seen a lot of red faces (skin issues includeding my own rosacea) on older folks so I didn't find the first one objectionable. The second is okay as well. No disrespect intended on others who have commented, but this may be getting into the realm of personal preference.


I agree but I was glad by dialing down the red channel, didn't hurt it. I think his bandana was reflecting on his face. It was useful commentary though because I wasn't looking at it. As TMorrow suggested, just brought that down the red channel a little and I could instantly see the difference. Derrel was right, more room for the eyes too peer out improves the image and to be honest, if I were painting him, I would have done the same, why I didn't correlate is beyond me.  Dan said it was to red but I didn't know how to fix it so by all the commentary, I conclude it was fruitfull. Thanks again.


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## smoke665 (Aug 15, 2017)

There's another method I use in PS for my "older" subjects that utilizes the eye droppers in hue/saturation adjustment to isolate a specific color then by using the sliders you can minimize that specific color. I use this method a lot to minimize the effects of reddush age spots without changing things across the board


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## Black_Square (Aug 15, 2017)

For those of you who are interested, here is an excellent tutorial on how to undertake targeted red reduction:






It's by a chap called Lee Varis, who has an excellent book on skin and its implication for photography and photoshop:

https://www.amazon.com/Skin-Complete-Digitally-Photographing-Retouching/dp/0470592125

Cheers,


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## smoke665 (Aug 15, 2017)

Black_Square said:


> here is an excellent tutorial o



I have this book. This was the method I was referring to earlier, but couldn't find it  with  limited phone access. Highly recommend this book as there are several good editing techniques. Clearly written with illustrations and photos. His skin softening and reconstruction techniques are great also.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 15, 2017)

Black_Square said:


> For those of you who are interested, here is an excellent tutorial on how to undertake targeted red reduction:
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Did my edit work ok?


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## Derrel (Aug 15, 2017)

Your edit imtroduced a green tinge to the straw hat. I dunno...I thought his face was ruddy, had some rosacia (spelling?), maybe a bit of sunburn. I thought the original face coloration was "him", not your camera.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 15, 2017)

Derrel said:


> Your edit imtroduced a green tinge to the straw hat. I dunno...I thought his face was ruddy, had some rosacia (spelling?), maybe a bit of sunburn. I thought the original face coloration was "him", not your camera.


I'm at a loss. I give up. One person says too red, you say to green. I thought the original was fine. I haven't a clue anymore. I take images in camera but y'all pick em apart. I do what you say and it ain't right. Maybe the original was correct after all. You guys make my head spin. Y'all are to into post.


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## Black_Square (Aug 16, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> Derrel said:
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> > Your edit imtroduced a green tinge to the straw hat. I dunno...I thought his face was ruddy, had some rosacia (spelling?), maybe a bit of sunburn. I thought the original face coloration was "him", not your camera.
> ...



I preferred your second edit, and to be honest didn't really notice any green tinge to the hat. If you're familiar with the layer masks, then add a mask to the red de-saturation layer, and just paint over the hat to restore it to its original colour. Or, even easier, just reduce the opacity of the re-desaturation layer, which will restore some of the red colour.


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## smoke665 (Aug 16, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> Derrel said:
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> > Your edit imtroduced a green tinge to the straw hat. I dunno...I thought his face was ruddy, had some rosacia (spelling?), maybe a bit of sunburn. I thought the original face coloration was "him", not your camera.
> ...



JC you have a wonderful image that as I said earlier could work either way, and to repeat what I said earlier, " No disrespect intended on others who have commented, but this may be getting into the realm of personal preference." 

Post is always an attempt to improve what the camera saw, by bending it to the image formed in the brain. As such each "imagined image" will differ, making it important not to lose sight of the most important "imagined image" - your own.


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## Black_Square (Aug 16, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> jcdeboever said:
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Well said - couldn't agree more


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## DanOstergren (Aug 17, 2017)

jcdeboever said:


> Derrel said:
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> > Your edit imtroduced a green tinge to the straw hat. I dunno...I thought his face was ruddy, had some rosacia (spelling?), maybe a bit of sunburn. I thought the original face coloration was "him", not your camera.
> ...


"Post" is something I do for a living and can have seriously good results with just a little bit of work, but simple color corrections are far from extensive post production and I don't see how we could be "too into post" by making only these suggestions.  No one is trying to make you do anything, all we are doing is making suggestions to help you get the most out of the photograph.


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## Peeb (Aug 17, 2017)

Loved the SOOC and all the re-imaginations of it since! 

Not posting this as a proposed 'improvement'- just my take.  Selected only the clothing and de-saturated a bit (his kerchief was so vibrant that it could potentially distract)- then desaturated the whole image a small bit.  This one also makes a glorious B/W as well BTW.  

Such a classic shot!  Thanks so much for sharing.  Really inspiring.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 17, 2017)

DanOstergren said:


> jcdeboever said:
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I appreciate it. I was being sarcastic is all . Doesn't come out in text I suppose. Seriously, I know post is a process and I will eventually dive into a little more in the future. I guess my current feeling when doing post is that I'm not confident if I'm improving the image.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 17, 2017)

Peeb said:


> Loved the SOOC and all the re-imaginations of it since!
> 
> Not posting this as a proposed 'improvement'- just my take.  Selected only the clothing and de-saturated a bit (his kerchief was so vibrant that it could potentially distract)- then desaturated the whole image a small bit.  This one also makes a glorious B/W as well BTW.
> 
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I like the edit. Thanks. I did do a conversion in black and white. Almost posted that instead. The person that runs the museum's news letter asked me to do all the images I captured that day to be in b&w so they can use them in their newsletter. She also wanted them in color for their Facebook page.  She loved all the images I sent and wants me to be their resident photographer now. Apparently, the other person is not reliable and she thinks it's because they are not getting paid. They do three events per year. Next one is Pioneer days in the fall. Should be fun.


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## mwilson263 (Aug 17, 2017)

Beautiful picture - love the colors in the original, but do like the crop that Darrel did.  The only distraction for me isn't the pencil or its color (to me it adds to the "hard-working man" vision), but the green tag on the overalls distracts me a bit (I'm sure that's just me).

The "story" of this image goes beyond the frame for me.  I find myself wondering what his hands look like.  Are they rugged, wrinkled, and calloused as I would envision them to match the rugged & worn look of his face?  I'm also drawn to the look of contemplation on his face.  What's he thinking about?  He looks like he would have a million life experiences to share.

Again, great capture.


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## birdbonkers84 (Aug 18, 2017)

Lovely portrait JC, 

I actually prefer the original, his skin tone looks fine to me on my calibrated monitor at work, my brother is generally red faced (due to a narrowing of his aorta) so I personally just assumed that is the gentleman's skin tone.  He has that hard working liked a gin or two type of face and nose.  I would love to see this in B&W.  

If I was to be really picky it would be to remove that stick sticking out the left side of his hat if I was to do any editing on it.


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## jcdeboever (Aug 18, 2017)

Peeb said:


> Loved the SOOC and all the re-imaginations of it since!
> 
> Not posting this as a proposed 'improvement'- just my take.  Selected only the clothing and de-saturated a bit (his kerchief was so vibrant that it could potentially distract)- then desaturated the whole image a small bit.  This one also makes a glorious B/W as well BTW.
> 
> ...




Here is the black & white version. Converted to custom Acros simulation in camera. I only burned the pencil, no crop.


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