Submitter's name:	Matt BenDaniel
Title:	Kristi
Gear used:	OM-4T + Zuiko 90mm f/2 + Tripod + cable
Diaphragm:	f/4
Shutter speed:	1/125
Film used:	Fuji Velvia
Subject information:	I'm a lucky man.
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Comments:

Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Good picture, and interesting framing. Personally I think the Velvia overdid the reds a bit though...

Comment left by: Barry Bean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

Beautiful bokeh - I have to get a 90/2!

Comment left by: James Kiker (jwkiker@home.com)

Very nice shot! I agree with Olaf about the Velvia. Love the bokeh starting at the side of her face and going back, with the important things(eyes, nose, teeth) in sharp focus.

Comment left by: Barry H (bhinderks@sprint.ca )

Well done -- the eyes say it all!!!

Comment left by: Andy Beals (bandy@cinnamon.com)

Yes, the framing is great. Is this cropped from the original or how it came out of the lens? This is the sort of shot that defines a Good Photograph. You really get the feeling of what her personality is like, just exactly Who She Is.

Comment left by: Joel Wilcox (jowilcox@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu)

I like the composition, the placement of the left cheek more to the center of the frame and the somewhat close perspective of the lens. This seems almost in the macro focusing realm of this lens rather than the more customary portrait realm. It makes for a strong, interesting image. The Velvia palette adds a kind of attractive quirkiness for me.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

Fuji Velvia would not be my first choice for a portrait due to its saturation, but you did surprisingly well with it! The side lighting is excellent with some nice catch lights in the wonderful blue eyes . . . it draws attention there immediately. The exposure is very good to keep the upper right highlight on the forehead from "blowing out" and keeping some detail in the shadow. You are indeed a lucky man!

Comment left by: John Pendley (jpendley@mail.tds.net)

Honest, direct. The eyes have it. Shallow DOF really works. Animated; the one highlight animates it even more, just touching her eye. I think this picture disproves any absolute evaluations of Velvia as a portrait film. If it works, use it.

Comment left by: Charles Packard (packardc@hiwaay.net)

I like the full face composition. I agree with others that Velia makes skin tones a bit red, but OH those eyes!

Comment left by: Chris Barker (imagopus@threeshoes.co.uk)

Lovely girl, lovely pose and nicely focused.

Comment left by: Bruce Hamm (bhamm@magma.ca)

The 'eyes' have it...lovely shot.

Comment left by: Barry Bean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

I've been looking at the gallery daily for several days now, and I have to say that this portrait has really grown on me well beyond my initial reaction. Not only is Kristi lovely, but your portrait really projects personality, and suggests a lot about your feelings towards her. An excellent job - I hope you have an ilfochrome of this on a wall somewhere.

Comment left by: siddiq (siddim01@student.ucr.edu)

most striking to me is the fact that a lens know to be very sharp (and thus unforgiving under certain uses) renders this so smoothly due to the very limited dof; only the eyes are in the plane of focus, everything else just melts away so nicely. from my experience, quite hard to do, requiring a fine eye for critical focus and patience...a suggestion (not that anything is wrong with THIS shot!): try the same on Kodachrome (or Provia, something neutral) and also on something like Tri-X. it should be just as charming.

Comment left by: Hans van Veluwen (hcvanveluwen@chello.nl)

Velvia for a portrait? For fashion, ok. But for a portrait? This one also looked better to me after I converted it to greyscale.

Comment left by: Jodi Jakeway (jjakeway@iserv.net)

Love this shot.....a bit too much red (said enough) but this lens is superb and the composition is great.

Comment left by: Mtat BenDaniel (The Photographer) (matt@starmatt.com)

The "red" issue is a red herring. The red can be reduced in 10 seconds in Photoshop. Also note she was sunburnt that day. See more pix at http://starmatt.com

Comment left by: neal jones (njones@caer-hs.powys.sch.uk)

Seems like I'm not the only one to notice!! What beautiful eyes.

Comment left by: Peter Leyssens (no e-mail specified)

I see I didn't comment on this one yet, despite the fact that, after coming back to the TOPE site from time to time for a couple of months now, it's still one of my favorites. "There's been a lot of talk about this next photo, maybe, maybe too much talk" (to quote U2), but I think I can add a bit. There are two reasons, I think, why the picture gives so much of a dynamic effect. I don't count the eyes, that's not under photographer's control (except he's willing to change girlfriend). The first is the out-of-focus parts. It's not just the side of the face and everything behind it, it's also the tip of the nose. A small detail that does a lot. The second is the direct light on her short hair which adds a lot, though very subtle, rythm. It's the fact that these two strong points are so subtle, and therefore aren't obvious when you look at the picture, that make it so great. Add to that the great framing, and the fact that somehow, she looks natural and spontaneous even if she's obviously facing the camera because her photo will be made... Everybody can take a nice looking girl and make a bad picture. Not everybody can show a nice looking woman as someone who maybe isn't as young anymore as she once was, but who's tremendously enjoying life. Or at least, that's the impression the photo gives me :-) About the Velvia fad : I like it, it adds to the liveliness.

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