Enjoy :)
I saw this one on Worth, and Congrats on the trophy! I love the lighting on this one and your choice of subject. The fact that he is not smiling adds a definite charachter to the photo as well. Great shot!
Composition: Wonderful example of a properly composed image. Not only that, but it's a portrait as well. I don't know if it is intentional, but this image would completely fall apart with out the eyeglasses. The hand and the head would seem so disembodied without the glasses pulling them back together. Creativity: At first glance I would yawn and say it's a cliche b&w portrait with some sense of composition. But I must really applaude the effort of creativity regarding the use of the eyeglasses along with the floating head and hand. Subject: Excellent subject. A mature gentleman such as himself is begging to have a b&w photo made of him. The texture and character in his face and beard are key here. It's really a shame that he didn't have that same character in his hands as well though. Technical: Nicely lit. You took great care in the lighting of this photograph. While keeping the direction of lighting somewhat natural, you were still able to control the lighting to specific areas. From the previous comment, it seems you won an award for this image. It was well deserved. Image Quality: Great contrast and sharpness.
I really like what you have done here Carl, The Critique has said some of my thoughts and a lot more. The subject in your image has great character which really helps make this image work. The only negative part of the image that niggles at me is the cropping of the side of the head, I can’t help but wonder if we should see all of the head/hair in the shot.
awesome portrait!