Saturday 7 March 2009

a worthy opponent


Olympus SP500UZ | 1/100 seconds | f 3.3 | ISO 100 | 15.8 mm
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“Most gods throw dice, but fate plays chess, and you don't find out til too late that he's been playing with two queens all along.”
Terry Pratchett [English Writer, b.1948]

... I don't actually believe in fate. I believe in God. But I like the irony.

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Absolutely Love this image. This man's expression of total absorption and concentration is excellent!

Anonymous said...

A fascinating, and very nicely captured, photograph.

Anonymous said...

Lovely BW shot but little oversaturated on the left. Expression well captured and apt title to the image. Well done on this one.

Anonymous said...

Great capture. His expression tells everything.

Anonymous said...

Great shot. For the reasons Marcie said. I think Ankush is referring to blown out highlights but they don't bother me here at all.

Anonymous said...

I could just echo what everyone else said about how great this shot is and all...but I won't. Because you should already know that it was a great shot.

Damien

Tudor said...

i like your option for the framing, the cut hat in particular. and his face expression is just memorable.

Anonymous said...

great natural portrait !! great work

Anonymous said...

thank you all for taking a moment and commenting on this one.

@Ankush: the blown out highlights in the left corner were intended that way. actually in the original you could see clear the corner of the table. also the chess pieces are overexposed with intention.. it was my vision for this shot what can i say :) as i said in other occasion it's a matter of personal perception

Anonymous said...

Concentration captured in a face that has so many stories to tell. All that matters in the world, right now, is there on the board in front of him.

Superbly observed, a wonderful photograph

Anonymous said...

love the black and white in this shot, very good tones, and a surprisingly happy subject

Anonymous said...

great moment for this people, great

Anonymous said...

great character, i like the concentration on his face
fantastic shot!

sherri said...

I like this. He's going to figure it out:-) I agree with you on the quote and your remark too:-)

Anonymous said...

Very nice portrait, with a wonderful light comming from the left. Cheers.

Pere Chuliá said...

Bonito retrato. Me gusta la sensación de concentración del hombre. Buen trabajo. Saludos.

Anonymous said...

i love the look of concentration on his face. Nice shot.

Debra Trean said...

outstanding BW and love the eyebrow the hat and the expressive pose...love it... fabulous

Anonymous said...

Wonderful study of an old man. We do not feel particularly one way or the other for the overexposed parts, but it is interesting to have the idea pointed out. The B&W works well, colours might have distracted from the idea.

Anonymous said...

M-ai cenzurat?...lol

Anonymous said...

This is an excellent image to show the concentration required to play chess. You've created a fine composition and done it with a nice range of B&W tones. Well done.

Anonymous said...

superbe noir et blanc cpour uen belle concentration!

Anonymous said...

...it's difficult for my eyes to quit the photo contemplation. Bravo for catch and share this unique moment.

Anonymous said...

Great choice for b/w. Excellent capture.

Anonymous said...

Oh I really like this alot! Perfect in B&W and I can almost hear him think :)

Paco said...

muy buena, lo interesante seria saber si gano o no..


saludos

Anonymous said...

looks like he is involved in a pretty serious game.. looks like he is well ahead too looking at the board.

That is a great quote!

Anonymous said...

A very nice portrait.

Unknown said...

The image gets very interesting once I read your byline. Especially the 2 queens part !!!

Anonymous said...

Muy buena captura, me gusta la nitidez en la figura del señor, asi como la cara de concentración para su nuevo movimiento.

A l a i n said...

l'instantané !! ce moment divin qui fait naître la photo avec le détail né pendant le déclic...cette toute petite chose qui transforme un cliché..bravo.

Anonymous said...

I actually contemplated to take a self portrait of me playing chess, but it would never come of as good as this. Your writing add an extra dimension to this photo.

Fabrice said...

Concentration! Do not disturb ...
Another beautiful portrait Romina.

Chris Chisu said...

Nu ai mai postat de mult.

Ulrich said...

a good portrait, well framed and composed, I like the b/w too

Alex said...

Maravilloso retrato, esa expresion en la cara de tener que decidir una gran jugada para atacar al contrincante.
Saludos, buen trabajo.

Darietto said...

Great shot! i love the serious look and the sharpness over all the picture. I've watched also other of your works... Really good mate

Santiago Bedoya said...

Great portrait. I love the way you captured the concentration of the player.
You have a wonderful photoblog here. It's full of nice and creative images.

Andy said...

Wow I really like this shot! Great candid moment expertly captured!

Francesco Gallarotti said...

How not to love this image? I love the diagonal composition, the expression of the man, everything is so perfect that it almost look posed... he looks like he is thinking "what the heck is that black little guy doing there???" :-)