I don't think that another beerbrand would change the expression of his right thumb :)
but you're right... there is no better beer than the german beer :)

@king
this was taken in rungis, near paris.
he was happy to get a beer after working so hard :-)

Vernon,
Surprise, surprise!
Congratulations!

I just left a comment on João's "JESUS" image saying I was surprised it was featured, and I have to say I have the same reaction to this one. Obviously it's me...Something's going crazy with my eyeballs!! HELPPPP!!!!

George,
Jesus can get featured any time he wants to.
Vernon can get featured any time he wants to.
What's the big surprise?

Pity you didn't get the make of his watch in the photo too. Sorry to NOT be so sentimental as the others, but I don't happen to think this is feature-worthy, not because it isn't an OK photo, but because the subject has done all the work for you, the actual image is far from the quality expected in a portrait such as this. This is a good snap, nothing more. It's a bit naff, just like the LOVE photo you posted, Vernon (that was also a snap. Seems like you can chuck any old photo up and it gets a feature. I must be missing something...

I reckon the Jesus I posted, didn't want to get featured, then!

@psychodudu
it's ok with me. if we were lucky to have a beer or two together, then maybe we will have the time to be sentimentral :-))

for the "composition":
"This theme should be open to all interpretations of the word "sign"."

I see his "thumbs-up-sign" relevant enough to post this image. not cropped (just the thumb), because I have never cropped an image taken with my hasselblad.
any other digital image, is no problem for me to crop.

relevant enough like the "FY"-sign of nadine (#11). I'm wondering why there was no comment of "isn't worth for a feature"?

the quality of this one, is the best you can achieve of an 1983 expired 400 asa ilford b/w film.

@all thanks for your feedback. very much appreciated. :)

I have to echo the sentiments of those who wonder why this was featured. Automatic featuring algorhythms, eh? Hmm... ;)

Nice smiley face but there's nothing remarkable about the shot otherwise, for me.

psychodudu...if only we knew which old photos were chucked up by Vernon and which by some other anonymous hack, we could vote them down before they had a chance to get featured.

I've taken Vernon to task for chucking any old photo up in the past:
http://www.weeklyshot.org/theme/curves/response/97/

Vernon can take it, and usually can provide a clear rationale for his decisions in every photo he posts, so why not ask him?

As far as the technical aspects of this B/W image are concerned, I agree with you, psychodudu. Capturing dark-skinned folks wearing light clothing, especially in direct sunlight with the face in shadow, is a difficult challenge. Vernon seems to have elected *not* to use fill flash--why was that, Vernon?

Was this shot with a digital camera, Vernon? or on film? If on film, did you expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights? If not, why not? Why are the highlights burned out? Why didn't you print down the edges and corners?

He also elected not to mask the highlights and treat them separately from the shadow areas--why was that, Vernon?

What were your ratings on this image, Vernon? Did you score low in Technique and Relevance but high enough in other areas to scrape up around a 3.7 or 3.8 to get this featured?

Now that I've asked Vernon all those questions, I think I may learn something from his replies...giving allowance for the fact that English is not his first language.

Darn, Vernon, why did you post your response before mine? Mind answering my specific questions...although you've already answered one.

Frodo: It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance.
Gandalf: Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.

owen-b
"Automatic featuring algorhythms, eh? Hmm... ;)"

You didn't know?

P.S. - it's algorithms on this side of the pond. :>)

owen-b,
I'm sorry to correct your spelling. I'm haunted by the ghost of my dead mother who was always stirring up trouble when living. I learned that obnoxious behavior from her.

Please forgive me as I respect you and would rather be pals.

potrait of african people are always hard to do.
you have to give 2 or 3 f-stops more than normal (white skin). the contrast here is pretty hard. the difference between the measurement of the shirt and his face was about 4 f-stops. plus the sunny backlight. normaly a "give it up" situation. so I decided to leave some more light on the shirt and to have the right exposure on his face and thumb.

for sure, in the darkroom I would take care about the right exposure times and areas and get the best result of it.

noe the ratings for all the curious of you :-))

19 ratings
Ratings Summary

* Relevance: 3.76
* Impact: 3.74
* Composition: 3.65
* Technique: 3.70
* Quality: 3.80
* Overall: 3.73

all automatic, for sure :-))

king, bilbo shoulda killed him! and i say that in complete ignorance, having neither seen the pictures nor read the books (other than "the hobbit," which was so long ago i don't remember a thing about it).

As for jesus & vernon, when it comes to aptitude for conveying a message, well, yes.

Oops...look what I did. I was spoiling for a fight to be honest. It had been far too quiet and was starting to become like a rest home. Vernon, you've had it coming for a while, I am just envious of you insane ability (positively meant) to spot the needs/tastes of your adoring public! As King so rightly pointed out, if one asks the questions, one receives the answers. You have always been willing to teach us the tricks of the trade, and share your knowledge. Don't get me wrong, this is not an apology, nor is it a retraction of my critique, because I think someone had to provoke a debate here. I am merely accepting Kings suggestion that perhaps I could have been a little more subtle, and shown a touch more respect (the comment came after the feature so I knew you had taken the photo). I know you have a thick skin, and you always reply with rational, thoughtful comments. You are a hard man to provoke, goddamit!! By the way I thought your first feature was great, and it was actually my first idea until I saw it go up....lol! Finally, I would love the chance to have a beer with you, and infact any of you here ay WS, you just name the place and the time, and I'll see what I can do...ahem...would you mind coming to Oslo, though...I'm a bit short of cash. I'll buy the beers though! Respect, bro.

hey psychodudu :-)

your words in gods ears. on my next travel to the nordic caribean :-) I'll make a stop in oslo.
so you can start to save money... I head beer is quite expensive in norway.... or we take a "post ship" no tax... lots of beer and other funny things :-)

psychodudu, thanks for the offer of a beer and a chat. i'm game. my only reservation is that anyone who calls themselves "psychodudu" strikes terror in my heart. are you some kind of 6 foot 9, chainsaw carrying monster? maybe vernon can add you to his gallery of featured images? that way we can all get a better idea.

actually, i just made a visit to your page; i see your current handle is now "Pain in the ASS" which makes me much more comfortable because, well, we have something in common.

Sweet...I've just put 200 kroner in the piggy bank. Beer is unfortunately expensive, yes, but that's why we love tax free shopping! I think a "Post Ship" is a fantastic idea...lol!

George...

http://picasaweb.google.no/parks68/Psychodudu/photo#5030814080967811298

I'm in the front. We have laughed for hours over this photo....

I'm a deep thinker, and general all-round OK dude, you can see that from the photo, I think....lol!

Great shot Andrew :-) I can only imagine that if it was me and a friend we'd be laughing over it for hours, too. Ha.

As for your "okay-ness" in the shot, well...hmmm...I have to say it's got a bit of that "psycho" quality going for it ;-)

By the way, is a Post Ship one of those ferries that travels between Norway and Germany or between Hobro and Göteborg?

the "post ship" travels between bergen (northest european city) thru splendid fjords along lofoten to the norkap and kirkenes, the russian border.
everyone who has the possibility should make a hurtigruten-tour. it is a "never-forget-journey". it takes 12 days, you see 34 harbours/towns twice. once by night (north tour) and once by day (south tour)

here are some impressions from such a journey :)

http://www.xoverip.info/tbd/hurtig_collage.jpg

Andrew (psychodudu),
Now that I've seen a photo of you, how much would you charge to beat someone up for me? Might entail a trip to England.

Vernon,
Approximately how much would a 12-day trip on a post ship cost for two people? Sounds like a *great* trip.

@king

bergen - kirkenes - bergen
about 1.500 euros per person.

here's the complete route
http://www.xoverip.info/tbd/hurtig_map.jpg

Sounds like a fabulous trip. Now we know where the the next WS MeetUp can be held :-)

200kr? That'd buy you about half a beer in Norway, no? ;)

Hehe, it was amusing to read all the follow-ups that appeared after I went to bed (don't you ever sleep, Vernon?).
@ King - I really am a pussycat, and violence solves nothing...lol. Still, if you throw in tickets to a Liverpool game I may reconsider.
@ THE GUYS - you guys are all extremely welcome, anytime, accomodation would be no problem (I think).
@ dennis - A pint costs on average 50 kroner, you teaser, you! Sweden is actually worse for going out and drinking.
@ THE GUYS - In the very best traditions of minor fisticuffs, we all end up talking about going out for a drink. The chicks never manage this...
@ THE GUYS - You guyyyys....!!

so this ended with a meeting in oslo where we will spend all the money, hardly saved by andrew and managed by the piggybank, and having a nice good feeling time with beer... like owen, the guy in this pic!

how nice :-)))

I work for American Airlines. We used to fly to Stockholm, not so far from Oslo, but not now. I can't be a candidate for a trip to Oslo any time soon, although I'd love to be able to. And I'm not a beer drinker anyway, so I'm no fun...well, that's *one* reason why I'm no fun.

:-)
for king & george we should arange some shiraz.

I drink wine by the barrel, wine is fine for me! The Norwegians have a saying "Øl på vin gjør magen fin, vin på øl gjør magen krøll", which roughly translated means it's ok to drink beer after win, but not visa versa.
And we could always meet in Stockholm....
I think my photo has unsettled King a little...lol...I can just hear all the excuses!

Your photo hasn't unsettled me any more than would meeting an angry Russell Crowe in a dark alley.

http://www.blottered.com/uploaded_images/croweguilty-701231.jpg

shiraz, beer, palinka, slivovitz. you name it, i like it. as for meeting in norway...one of these days...one of these days...

@ King - You're not seriously suggesting that I actually look like him?!!
@ THE GUYS - This is a standing invitation, so we'll leave it at that, I think. This was a great conversation, I think we got in the top 10 for number of comments posted on an bad image.....
....hehe

the #1 in comments is this here, I think
http://www.weeklyshot.org/theme/night/featured/50/

@psychodudu...you don't see the resemblance?

http://www.kingdouglas.com/weeklyshot/andrew.jpg

Vernon...you didn't have to bring that up, did you?
:>)

@ King - Oh that's brilliant! Can't you post taht on Vazaar under the theme Portrait of a Person? Or don't you dabble in the Vazaar?
@ Vernon - I wondered if someone would bring that up...lol. That was a record-breaker of biblical proportions that one. Poor King, you are a cruel man http://www.vazaar.com/topic:in-your-face/featured/response:39/

psychodudu,
I can make no claim on the image...you can post it if you like. I'm just happy that you aren't upset--quite a relief, actually.

@ King - You silly thing...lol!

@ THE GUYS - http://www.vazaar.com/topic:in-your-face/responses/response:105/

@psychodudu,
Here's an image that has 52 comments and it's not even featured:

http://www.weeklyshot.org/theme/signs/response/119/

"The Norwegians have a saying "Øl på vin gjør magen fin, vin på øl gjør magen krøll", which roughly translated means it's ok to drink beer after win, but not visa versa."

Wow, I always knew Norwegians and Hungarians have just toooo much in common... There is a Hungarian saying that goes "Sörre bor - bármikor; borra sör: meggyötör!" Which says something like "Wine after beer: anytime; beer after wine: makes you sick."

And, before I forget: Anders Jacobsen rulez, if you know what I mean :)

Can I join the "Trip to Psychodudu"? Is it a problem that I cannot take a decent photo? :(

@psychodudu...has it occurred to you, mate, that you are now a member of a clique (click)...by your definition? LOL! :>)

Oh you are a clever, smarty pants aren't you...lol. I remember that, almost as painful to recall as a certain nebula....hehe.

psychodudu...He shoots! He scores!