A portrait of my son. I've been trying for something like this with my Mamiya 645 ever since I got it three years ago, but somehow my imagination was always thwarted by dull, lifeless negatives. I just got a new 645 body, and I'm happier now. But I'll see what others think.
Just as a side note: my son is mid-functioning autistic, and suffers also from intellectual deficits. But he gladly hauls my tripods and other gear around on photographic expeditions we undertake together, and he (usually) patiently poses for me in the studio when I've got a new film or new gear or a new technique to try. Not that that this anything to do with the artistic or technical merits of the shot, but a bit of back-story might inform criticism.
I think it went pretty well, I like this portrait, your son is having a very (now my english is not enough for this) interesting "look - gaze - eye", kinda "I have a secret and I wont tell".
Thanks, all, for the responses. I'm not sure why I wasn't able to do something like this with the first 645 I owned, but the results from that first camera tended to be inconsistent. At first, I blamed myself and lack of experience with developing, but soon I recognized patterns that couldn't be explained: why would one roll of film turn out beautifully but another not so well, when I was using the same developer, same film type, same procedures in the dark room? Perhaps the truth lies in the middle, as it usually does. Regardless, I'm looking forward to using the new camera and seeing what results.
Great work, I feel I know his personality from the picture, love the eyes. Even though his right side is shaded, you managed to get seemingly even light in the eyes to give more intensity..
@awty Thanks, awty. I've always treated shadowing, or Rembrandt lighting, as a standard technique in portrait photography, but I guess it doesn't resonate with everyone. FWIW, others have commented on the way I treat eyes. One of the frustrations I had in earlier attempts to produce portraiture like this was problems with focus, especially on the eyes. I'm hoping that I've solved that issue, and your comment suggests that I've made some progress in that regard.
@Ken Bingham I dont know much about art or Rembrandt, but I love the way he works light into each subject, very hard to do well. Your sons expression is fun and his eyes are calm and gentle, the portrait brings this out well. Mamiya make some wonderful lens, nice contrast and graduation between focus and out of.