Wow just WOW! What a bunch of self righteous blather that was. Who exactly are you to call another photographer out. I know I have been MIA here for a good while but if this is considered constructive criticism then I guess I will not look any further to see how my old friends are doing here.

Shine the image invokes feeling, lots of it. Deep morose sadness and uncertainty in the subjects future. The bitting of the lip and finger further reinforce what the eyes are telling us. Overall it is a wonderful and emotive capture that carries its message clearly.

From a technical standpoint it is not your strongest piece. The retouching has created a muddy tonality that pervades throughout the image. The attempts to bring back detail through whatever sharpening methods you elected to use ( High Pass Filter?) have created significant artifacts that further hurt the technical aspects of the image. Again though from the emotional aspect the piece is a work of art and a success.

Keep in mind if you are truly looking to create journalistic images they can not be artistically retouched. That said I believe I know you well enough to know that you are coming more from an artistic angle to carry your message that the homeless are human too.

I have been away too long, perhaps I will start popping in on a more regular basis. Since my move to Colorado I have refocused my work on Art and Wildlife rather than portraiture and glamour.

Shine11 this is in perfect harmony with your visual statement on www.shinegonzalvezphotography.com and speaks of your mastery of he craft.... Photojournalism is a unique genera which is indeed a world of it's own... A world where beauty is defined by the vision of a publication's editor... It is they whom one is working for (and thereby have lost copyright to imagery)... Albeit most staff photographers have been released and the profession is in a steep waning mode... it has in effect been replaced by cellphone videos... btw, I'm only the messenger here...

Please allow me to share the wisdom of commercial photographer Dean Collins... "Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder"
As one who has struggled for legal tender I am a prostitute who will compromise my very soul to make rent... enough said...

My sincere thoughts... absolutely masterful graphic rendering, but not a photograph...
I'm old school which holds dear that if the hand of the retoucher is visible in the image then you have failed...
However that does not detract from the superb rendering you have thoughtfully provided...
Yet your lack of response to the time others have invested in sharing thoughts detracts from your credibility...
Do you feel at your level you must remain aloof and unapproachable? Sadly I've seen this "attitude" all too often within the industry and it's simply inappropriate to say the least...

All the best on your journey...

Greetings Shine,

As Dave had said, long time no see and good to see you are among the living. Nice to have you back.

Someone had said they would have liked the eyes more focused. Quite frankly, when looking at the download, I would say the eyes are over sharpened; or, possibly just need to selectively have some noise reduction performed on them. The facial skin is the same, but not as noticeable.

In fact, upon further observation on my 27" monitor and enlarged a little, the entire image looks the same way. I would say it was over sharpened possibly due to not getting the image in focus from the start when it was taken and trying to make up for it?

I seem to recall that you like to shoot in B&W and use darker tonal characteristics, kind of like PalePictures and Dave Chin, as well as myself when doing B&W conversions from RAW images using digital artistry.

In any case, you captured the subject well, and it definitely offers much room for thought provoking ideas about the person, and certain hypotheses for the specific mood, and what the person may have been thinking. The image is a great representation/presentation for a vast array of personal innovative story telling.

Best Regards,
Tom