The Fisherman's Son, a photo from Palawan, Southern Tagalog

Photographer's Note

I had a holiday of a lifetime. Last week, I went home to the Philippines and visited an island that is an ultimate vacation place for me: El Nido in Palawan. With 8 other photo hobbyists, we went around Palawan's lagoons, mingled with their beautiful and friendly people and took some of the photos of our lifetime. This is my first post... a friendly fisherman's son who allowed me to take a lot of photos of him.

Here's my first post from that trip. I will eventually post some landscape pictures.

marknunnerley, andeweg, luisafonso, shirgold, Neelu heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

roamermark (1592) 2006-10-30 7:35

Manny,
pretty easy to tell who this was from before seeing your name attached to it (I hope that's a compliment) You have really carved out a niche for yourself even in terms of portraiture. Those reflective eyes (though slightlyunnatural) sure are a magnet for the viewers eyes
Nice one
Cheers
Mark

Curioso (9271) 2006-10-30 7:37

Great mood with all these nets around. The light is subtly mastered (as usual). Just love the portrait with the little tropical flower as a nice touch against the green dark nets.

marknunnerley (2780) 2006-10-30 7:42

Quite a nice portrait of the child with a good exposure and an excellent DOF. Look forward to seeing more.
Congrats.
Mark

andeweg (139) 2006-10-30 7:46

What a beautifull child. His eyes are really sparkling.

I look forward to your photo's of the surrounding area.

Kind regards,
Hans

AnaFrantz (636) 2006-10-30 8:07

Uauaua! Your portrait is great! The mirro reflex in this angel eyes is just amazing! What a expression of life and beuty! THANKS FOR SHARING WITH US!

leiju (1697) 2006-10-30 8:19

I am always amazed at the smooth texture you are able to produce in your shots. I know you probably won't share your secrets, but I'll dare ask: what in the world do you do with your pictures to get such a smooth yet detailed surface on everything? Things seem to be glowing with inner strength and the colours are just out of this world.
I especially appreciate the way the right hand side of this picture is out of focus. I wonder how you manage to keep such a good DOF on the face and yet as soon as we are out from its curves there is a brilliant OFF area :) Really perfect work. Quite simply blissful :)
Thanks for sharing your vision of the world once again :D
Julia

isabib (1953) 2006-10-30 8:24

Hi Manny,

Nice clear portrait shot. The blur is just enough to focus on the face. I saw the focal length you used was 35mm. Well done.

greenpinkorange (167) 2006-10-30 9:49

I always love how you photograph their eyes. Very mesmerizing and captivating. Like mark mentioned, it's very easy to tell that a picture might be yours because you have a trademark. And it's a very very good and unique trademark. Your photos have been a joy and inspiration to view.
This is great sharpness and exposure.
Thanks for sharing, once again.
STeph

luisafonso (862) 2006-10-30 11:05

Great portrait Manuel! But you already know that... Love how you included the green net in the compo. It wouldn't be the same without it. It presents some context (crucial for me) and adds the chance for a more relaxed take on the kid itself. Love how you boosted the sharpness in his eyes while leaving the rest of the face's skin smooth. Great color tones, perfect aperture choice, superb light. Thanks

erdna (5713) 2006-10-30 11:34

Wow! His eyes is not only sparkling, it looks like a flashlight, so white that it do not look natural. The rest are all very good, top notch portrait work.

Andre'

rdiaz80 (319) 2006-10-30 12:24

Hi Manny: El Nido is indeed a paradise! Hope to see more of your photos! The colors are great and blended well all together. There's a nice glow on his finger tips? Some post processing and sharpening on the eyes probably?

ndb1958 (9289) 2006-10-30 12:51

Hi Manuel,
the boy looks so nice with his big and dark eyes. A beautiful portrait. I like the composition with the flower next to him.

How about the contest? I did make my vote for you.

Nino

jerjer (50) 2006-10-30 20:50

Fantastic. I think I will learn much from your pictures. Technique-wise and the world as a whole. salamat sa pag-babahagi

faubry (35447) 2006-10-31 6:04

what glance!!! i am impressionned! very cute portrait, thanks a lot for this beautiful shot!
soon
francine

shirgold (2485) 2006-10-31 6:38

Hi Manuel,
What a beautiful capture. I just love the child's face and expression. The details around are great as well, the net, the flower and the reflection in the child eyes.
Looking forward for more!
TFS - Shir

Albrecht (11283) 2006-10-31 7:24

Hi Mannuel
Lovely portrait and the net as detail in the bottem is nice too. Good colours ad DOF with the natural light.
greetings from Holland
ALBRECHT

Wanda1 (15142) 2006-10-31 14:01

Hi Manuel,
A wonderful clear portrait, there seems to be so much feelings in his expression. I like your composition with the net in the foreground, and there are some nice splashes of colour.
Regards
Wanda

savask (1891) 2006-12-05 13:08

excellent portrait. I love the way you shoot your images. Expressiveness, sharpness, full of images. Portraits are my favorites too.

veronika (6058) 2007-03-04 8:41

Hi Manny,
he has such a wonderful eyes, magic, that was the first "thing" what caught my eyes, so strong..
Looks little bit a like a girl - mainly thanks to the red flower growing from behind his ear - but never mind, great portrait anyway.
Vero

Leilani (1385) 2007-05-16 4:27

What an amazing photo! His eyes are like magnets. You are just drawn to them. However I find the flower actually distracting. The portrait only needs the boy with those soulful eyes. Well done!