The Tabacco Seller

[Manfred M]

In a small market, in the Dorze area of Southern Ethiopia that is home to the Dorze people, I took this picture of a woman selling tobacco. She is sampling some of her own goods. Generally, we did not see cigarettes, but rather people either chewing the cured tobacco or burning small mounds of it and inhaling it through a long reed.

I separated her from the background by shooting with a fairly large aperture setting to throw the background out of focus. I've used a medium vignette to darken the corners of the image and draw the viewer's eye into the woman's.

[FootLoose]

Good composition, Manfred. I like the way the pipe leads up to her face and those penetrating eyes. I think the background is a little too light, though, particularly on the left hand side near the subject's head. And I wonder if the bright spot on her nose needs to be toned down at all? The pores on the side of her nose (and everywhere else) are clearly visible but have disappeared here. I like the subtle vignette, too -- very effective.

[Mark von Kanel]

love it, wouldnt change a thing great texture tone and light. is that you nik 70-200 shot at a long focal length?

[Donald]

I viewed this at full size via the Lightbox. It's a beauty. Beautifully sharp. Wonderful tones.

[John 2]

That's a superb portrait. The highlight upper left is a bit bright but interestingly I uploaded the image to my computer and in PS the highlights are slightly more subdued. I've noticed this before with some of my own images. Beautiful shot.

[deetheturk]

Wonderful image Manfred!

[bnnrcn]

I would say excellent for this shot, although I'm not an expert. Everything seems balanced

[Jeffbridge]

That is beautiful! Excellent Shot!!!

[Shadowman]

Very nice, lighting, tones, and patterns really make the image,

[ajohnw]

That's great as it is Manfred. Some one might also say the woman's cloths are too bright on the same basis but actually the whole aspect in that respect helps frame the face. If anything I suspect slightly less background blur would make the face etc stand out even more but it's fine as it is.

John
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[Haver Lemez]

Wonderfull!

[ied]

I like it as is. beautiful composition and capture.

Irene

[juznobsrvr]

In a small market, in the Dorze area of Southern Ethiopia that is home to the Dorze people, I took this picture of a woman selling tobacco. She is sampling some of her own goods. Generally, we did not see cigarettes, but rather people either chewing the cured tobacco or burning small mounds of it and inhaling it through a long reed.

I separated her from the background by shooting with a fairly large aperture setting to throw the background out of focus. I've used a medium vignette to darken the corners of the image and draw the viewer's eye into the woman's.

Blurring the background would have been my choice as well. There is enough information about her on her attire that any more information on her surroundings would have been superfluous. Nicely done.

[Normo]

Great shot, very well done.

[mammarazzi]

Amazing - would expect to see a shot like this in National Geographical

[thegman]

That is one very powerful image. Those eyes show a life that's been lived. :-D

[Mike Buckley]

Now that I've returned from vacation, I'm working through your images that you posted while I was away. This one is just gorgeous. It would be even better for me if you toned down the bright tones in the background near the left side of the subject.

[truonda]

Very nice capture Manfred!

[MarieV]

Just wonderful Manfred and this image works beautifully in black and white!

[pnodrog]

Well done Manfred.