The Next Big Star, a photo from Camaguey, East

Photographer's Note

It seems that children are playing baseball everywhere you turn in Cuba. Such a devotion to an American sport is a rare sight in Latin America. The popularity of the sport started ages ago when American sailors brought over the sport to this island nation.

Some say that football is the most common sport to play because all you need is a ball. After traveling Cuba, I would beg to differ that Baseball is even easier. All you need is a stick and anything that can thrown a fair distance. I've seen games played with table legs and film canisters. Try playing football with a film canster ;).

xavis, horatiuTT, Griet, Prisley, SWEBackpacker heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

xavis (3180) 2008-04-18 8:44

woao, woao, woao! The first time that I see your galery, and what a great dyscovering. Really nice work.
I begin for this picture, but certainly I will folow with others.
Simply perfectly composed. In the middle (as we don't have to do ;-) ), but is a good way to broke the roules. All the lines goes straights to the boy, and the background out of focus gives all the intensity to the boy, giving some information about the place.
Lights and colours are great.

After look at your galery I propose you to look at this web site: www.photoholik.com
I think that you will love it, I hope to see you there.

Hasta la vista,

javier

brandstaetter (15915) 2008-04-18 8:47

Hi Mark,
excellent DOF and a nice light.
Compliments, Chris

lousat (139220) 2008-04-18 10:05

Hi Mark,very nice pic,i see in the eyes of children the hope in the future..a future as a big star or simply a future whithout Fidel...wonderfull shot,my best compliments,thanks for share,Luciano

bnallama (3763) 2008-04-18 11:24

Hi Mark. yes i really love the light and the DOF. TFS. Bala

horatiuTT (4570) 2008-04-18 12:05

Superb scene,great framing good subject nothing to complain about
this one,it seems that Cuba is a great source of inspiration for
many photographers.Maybe I would have preferred a black and white
one and maybe a slightly more sharpened face,but it's a matter of
tastes no?Respect,
Horatiu

[workshop] [compare] +

Luko (14000) 2008-04-19 2:35

brilliant, once again.
A portrait with purpose, it hits the eye as surley as he will hit the ball. The background beam effect, centered around the kid gives him that heroic pose.

Normally, you should have received a long time ago your invitation to the site javier mentions... if not, send me your e-mail adress, I will transmit to who's in charge. ;)

Griet (506) 2008-04-19 2:59

Hi Mark,
Marvellous portrait of this promising baseball player. He has very clear eyes and you captured them very well.I also like his cap :))
Have a nice wkd
greetings
Griet

bwiti (402) 2008-04-19 10:35

Celle-ci est absolument superbe !
Le bokeh tombe comme il faut et le visage du gamin possède une certitude toute enfantine qui met du baume au coeur...
Ahhh je me souviens de mon enfance perdue...(;

Bogdan (205) 2008-04-19 11:23

incredible !!!

Prisley (1485) 2008-04-19 13:54

Excellent street shot Mark! I love the light, glowing around him. The composition and POV is brightly seen, with good lines of perspectives. Perfect for me!
Cheers,
Pris.

Xen (572) 2008-04-21 6:44

Beautiful photo!! i really like the lighting (was it twilight?). I like the way you have focused sharply on the boy and the background is slightly blurred. Beautiful composition!!

nicoz (1979) 2008-04-29 3:19

Hi Mark,
this one is brilliant too! He looks proud and strong there, and this is so well made with all these lines converging towards him, looks like one of these superhero cartoon ;-)
Well done!
Nicolas

SWEBackpacker (235) 2008-09-21 13:47

Hi Mark!
Great composition with shallow dp and nice lighting and color.
Best Regards from
Jan-Olof