Head priest, a photo from Kyoto, Kinki

Photographer's Note

This portrait shot is of the head priest of the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. He is observing the thousands of tourists crowding through this popular temple but doesn’t seem too perturbed about it. I did consider cropping this shot much more closely, but decided against it as I wanted to show his robes and also something of the weather-worn timber frame of the temple and the forest behind the temple in order to add some atmosphere to the shot. Focal length was 95mm and this is as shot except for some slight cropping and sharpening.

REPOST: In response to the helpful feedback from my friendly critiquers, I have used PS curves to reduce the paleness, increased colour saturation and adjusted colour balance (blue -9, red +6). I think that improves it quite a bit. Thanks Manny and Ken!

fadingstar78 heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

kevinos (7517) 2005-07-13 12:00

It's a great portrait. Wonderful colour and full of character. Yes, you were right not to crop more. Regards Kevin.

wishnugaruda (1305) 2005-07-13 12:05

Very nice motive.
It has such a peaceful spirit.
I like this priest wearing such beautiful colours. The background gives a good contrast.
Thanks
Sabine - wishnugaruda

ameyer (47) 2005-07-13 13:02

I like this photo too. And I think you did the right thing by not cropping it. A cropped shot of the man's face would be a nice portrait and would more clearly emphasize the man rather than his role as priest, but it tells more about the person and conveys more information as it is.

Photos like this aren't just abstract compositions. They're _about_ somebody. So I like the extra information given by the fuller image.

kensimage (8563) 2005-07-13 16:03