# yeeee haarrr...... archy the cowboy!...>



## Arch (May 21, 2006)

yeeeeee haaaarrrrrr!.......... yep so i was just playing around with my cowboy hat that i got brought back from one of the southern states.....  I know its a bit novelty..... but being a brit i always wanted to play cowboy when i was a kid..... but not in the brokeback mountain kinda way....... you know what i mean  ..... so try and get that out of head to start with...(begs the question why i even mentioned it)......

So these are just for fun..... thinking maybe i could give one to my mother as a very late mothers day prezzie....... but on the more serious side i do need the practice with using light etc..... and i aint got anyone else to practice on...... wonder if you could give your opinions on a few things....

Firstly is the light ok..... i thought it challenging to try and get the light even when wearing a large rimmed hat..... I used natural window light and white board......

Second..... is the processing ok..... i didnt want to remove too much and make it look unatural.....

Third...... i wanna know what your preference is for the last one..... b+w or sepia?..... (for my mother)  

First one i know the bg sucks. so i tried bluring it out a bit more.... 












B+w or sepia..... and yes (believe it or not) i am smiling in this one....











So how am i driving?...... any opinions would be appreciated...... bearing in mind i couldn't see through the viewfinder...... all these were done on remote release........ do you think my mom will like one of em?...... your still thinking about brokeback mountain arn't you.......... :er:


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## KenCo (May 21, 2006)

Erm!!!! never seen it.....
I don't know anything about people photography but these look good to me all except the second (why are you leaning over the bed like that??)
1st and 3rd for me.
And that's a smile...looks like your trying your hardest not to.
I think Mom will be pleased.


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## LaFoto (May 21, 2006)

I am tooto speak for the moment................................ :heart: ... where is my swoon-smiley?


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## Arch (May 21, 2006)

Thanks ken...... i chose that position in the second just cuz there was loads of light there....... and it was bouncing off the shiny bed surface..... and yea i dont like smiling...... its the only photo iv ever took of me were im not scowling.. but its for my mum...... so i thought i'd try and make an effort.

Lafoto....... you funny


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## KenCo (May 21, 2006)

By the way I didn't mean 2 was a bad shot just doesn't look comfortable. They are all good shots but I like the colouring of 1 & 3. Oh and nice hat....


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## PlasticSpanner (May 21, 2006)

Nice shots Cowboy! 

I prefer the sepia in the last two. The B&W looks more like blue toned to be honest!


BTW What is the reference to Brokeback Mountain about???


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## Arch (May 21, 2006)

....... thanks guys....... brokeback mountain is about two gay cowboys  ..... when my parents came back from america, they bought back two things for me, this hat and a 'San Francisco' t-shirt...... so i figured they might be trying to tell me summin..... i took em both in work and someone started a poll, which makes me look most camp....... luckly the t-shirt won........ just...... however both of my gay friends said the hat......


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## JonK (May 21, 2006)

tuff call on the last shot arch....they're both very good. think I'll go for the BW cos there's more detail in the shadows, not that your mom will give a hoot. she'll jus be glad to see her not-scowling son


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## terri (May 21, 2006)

um....I had no idea you were such a stud... :blushing: It's gotten so warm all of a sudden....  

Okay, all kidding aside (except I wasn't kidding) there's really not a bad one here. Your parents would be happy with any one of them, I'm thinking. You did a very nice posing job for not being able to "see" yourself, too. :thumbup: 

I like the sepia one the best, it seems to go nicely with the hat.


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## jemmy (May 21, 2006)

great shots cowboy! xx think my fave is the last b&w "SMILE" one ... im sure your mum will love it


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## Alison (May 21, 2006)

Fantastic self portraits! It's not easy to get a natural expression when you're worrying about timers and focus   Of the last two I prefer the sepia version. I think you did a great job with the lighting. Working with hats (esp. a large one like this) is hard. If you wanted to, you could experiment with a reflector to get some more light in your eyes in the first one. A great series :thumbsup:


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## Alex06 (May 21, 2006)

Ooo, I agree with LaFoto & Terri. You look great:blushing:  I like the sepia #3.  I think mom will be quite pleased with the smile.


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## allyv (May 21, 2006)

great photographs, or as my girlfrend who is siting on my lap looking at these with me said "He's cute" lol (fight). great shots buddy :thumbup:


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## Chiller (May 21, 2006)

Great shots Arch. Ya should be in movies man. For your Momma, I think the sepia shot is cool.


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## JohnMF (May 21, 2006)

they all look spot on. so is the processing

BTW Arch, just cos you've got a cowboy hat on you don't have to spell it "Mom"


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## Randog (May 21, 2006)

Ok Arch, I do like these shots and not in a brokeback mountain kinda way! I know nothing about portrait photography, but I can see that these are good and I think #3 in sepia would be nice for Mom. 

BTW Arch you have that Cary Grant like "mans man" appeal but that&#8217;s all, nothing more.


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## MommyOf4Boys (May 21, 2006)

wooowooo!!! I love these..being a bit of a cowboy (unbrokeback mountain kind) lover myself!    I really love the last two and it is kind of hard to decide, but the sepia really goes well with the cowboy feel.


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## Christie Photo (May 22, 2006)

Alison said:
			
		

> Fantastic self portraits! It's not easy to get a natural expression when you're worrying about timers and focus



I'll second that!  It's a tough task.

As mentioned, I think the second view is a miss due to the setting.  I like the first.  The background isn't all that bad...  maybe loose the bright areas?

As for the the "Brokeback" concerns, "Methinks thou doest protest too much."   hehehe

Pete


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## ElectricHarmony (May 22, 2006)

Great shoot! Handsome dude...

I think your mom will adore the Sepia version


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## Antarctican (May 22, 2006)

<--- Hee hee, hope Lafoto doesn't mind if I use her oh-so-funny (and, umm, apt) smilie.  Loookin' goooood there Arch.

Nice shots.  It's tough to do self portraits, and these are really good. I, too, would vote for the sepia one for your mum.  She'll be thrilled to see you wearing the hat brought back for you from the US.  And if that's what passes for a smile over in the UK, she'll be thrilled with that too.  [C'mon, you must really _smile _sometimes?]


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## Arch (May 22, 2006)

...... its funny reading these.....  It looks like theres a few more votes for sepia, so unless that changes i'll go with that one..... thanks for commenting guys


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## JTHphoto (May 23, 2006)

great shots, arch.  i really like the stern look in #1, with the eyes in the partial shadow of the hat... very nice.  but the lighting is best in the last two...  great self-captures!  i'll reinforce the vote for sepia just because it seems to match the theme with the hat... :thumbup:


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## redneckdan (May 23, 2006)

#1 is the closest.  #2, not really cowboyish.  #3/4 are okay, seem kinda posed to me though.


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## AprilRamone (May 23, 2006)

I personally like the first one the best and I prefer the B&W in the last one.  I bet I'd really like that first one in just plain old B&W too.  I think you did a really good job with your posing in that third one.  Especially since you couldn't see.
Great job!


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## MommyOf4Boys (May 23, 2006)

oh and did I mention, being a big John Wayne buff, you look so much like Dean Martin when he played in Rio Bravo with John Wayne (in these photos).  No kidding!  You should watch the movie! LOL


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## JamesD (May 24, 2006)

#1 is by far the strongest shot, IMO, though I'm a little iffy on the background.  Don't care for #2.  #3 is better, I think, than #4.  Sepia captures the western tone and says "cowboy" better, I think, and also lowers the impact of the light area on the background behind your head. Seems that perhaps either crouching or standing but leaning on something would add to the feel.  Not too often we sit on the ground in that particular manner (or at least get caught at it), so it looks a little odd to me.

And not to be picky, but it says "gunfighter" to me more than "cowboy" lol.

Nice work, especially for being on the wrong end of the lens.  That's always hard to do.


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## Arch (May 25, 2006)

Thanks for the feedback guys..... much appreciated, as you know i dont often wonder into this gallery..... so its good to hear it.

I'll have to check that film out mommy!


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## Digital Matt (May 25, 2006)

I love the pose and framing of 3 and 4.  I think I like 3 for the sepia, which works for the cowboy look.


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## Rob (May 25, 2006)

Great shots cowboy dude. All great except the bed one which is a bit odd.

If you give a copy to your mum, she'll probably give you a copy of Brokeback Mountain for your birthday. 

Yee-haaa and all that.

Rob


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