Contest of wits and strength

[ThrutheFrame]

A match that demand a lot from both men. In wits and strength.

[JamesScott86]

Fantastic shot!!! Really nice!

[Shadowman]

Very nice.

[DEAN01]

Nicely done.

[bnnrcn]

Nice image. It would be better to see it in a bigger size.

[ThrutheFrame]

Nice image. It would be better to see it in a bigger size.

I am still new to the forum, so not too sure how to attached the images in larger size.

The group of us (Ashish which is also a member of this forum) were travelling back from the village of Purushwadi, and we manage to catch the wrestling matches.

[Mike Buckley]

It's great to see that Ashish apparently invited you to the forum.

not too sure how to attached the images in larger size.

The details of this thread explain how to post images here.

[ThrutheFrame]

It's great to see that Ashish apparently invited you to the forum.

Ah, I have edited the post to show the picture thanks Mike.

Yes Ashish told me that this forum is good to get constructive feedback/critic

[Mike Buckley]

Such a wonderful moment in time well captured!

Consider cropping to eliminate most of the sky. The sky doesn't provide any information that is helpful in telling the story. Moreover, eliminating most of it brings my eye to the attention of the wrestlers and to the spectators viewing them. Cropping to position the horizontal line of the wrestler's backs and arms about one-third of the way from the top frame makes that common compositional technique work especially well in this scene.

For a greater sense of the viewer being inside the ring, perhaps also crop at the bottom to eliminate the area that is out of focus.

[rpcrowe]

Mike beat me to the sky and foreground remarks. However I think that with these crops, the image would be great!

I can easily see this as a square crop....

[NorthernFocus]

Excellent! Agree wit previous comments about cropping. Well done.

[ThrutheFrame]

I usually like to have negative spaces in my composition. But I think you are right. In this image, empty spaces has no meaning to it. Wish I had cloud formation. Below is the crop version. what do you all think?

[Mike Buckley]

That crop works much better for me. Interestingly, it really puts the spotlight on your highly effective use of a perfectly limited depth of field -- not too much and not too little.

On the use of negative space: I like using it as much as anyone but it's got to have a purpose. Otherwise, it's just there, is unhelpful, and is actually a detraction.

[Mike Buckley]

By the way, someone asked in Ashish's thread of the same scene about the presence of electrical wires in this community. They're quite evident in this photo.

[tbob]

The choice of black and white was good. Makes the image about the strength and concentration of the two men.

The tighter crop works to focus the viewer on the central theme

[flashback]

I like your second crop better. Overall, there's a grittiness and rawness to the image that works really well.

[bnnrcn]

I like the cropped version very much.

[ThrutheFrame]

I like your second crop better. Overall, there's a grittiness and rawness to the image that works really well.

thanks. here are some of the thoughts that was going through my mind when post processing this image.

1. I wanted to show a struggle of opposites. One of the wrestler is of lighter skin than the other. I had to lighten his shorts by tuning the color channel on the shorts.
2. I want to show the wounds and scars on the wrestlers body, to emphasis the toughness of the sport. I layered a high pass filter and use the brush to highlight their bodies.