Portraits/Expressions

I love the intrigue of this photograph. I would suggest viewing it on a larger desktop computer monitor, if you can, to get the full impact... the water drops don't stand out very well viewing the photo on an iPhone or smaller device.

The concept of the picture is engaging. I associate the image with having been stuck indoors on a rainy day as a child, when I wanted so badly to go outdoors and play. Maybe those emotions are the same as feeling trapped in whatever problems we face as adults. I know that the frustrations and anxieties we felt as a child were mostly temporary... the sun inevitably shone the next day. If only we could learn from our inner child and realize nothing lasts forever.

From a technical standpoint, the water drops could be a little better defined. There are a few that have the most impact... the couple of drops in the glass over your right eye give the appearance of tears. Maybe some symbolism there? A couple more water drops on your chin; otherwise much of the water is rendered as tiny white specks that look more like stars in a night sky. And the more I look at the image, without the influence of your backstory, the more I interpret it differently. The image has me placing you as an adventurous explorer in a Star Trek episode… Captain Kirk facing the unknown future with a strong and wise face – a person in control – not at all bound by worries or fear. Strength instead of vulnerability… searching for the next big challenge.

I should probably stop there, but having attempted a similar picture a couple years ago for much the same reason as you intended with your photograph, I can’t help but draw on the comparisons. I tried making a similar photograph during the height of the Covid lockdown a couple years ago, except using a flower (red rose) as a subject instead of a person. It was the height of feeling trapped by all of us, no doubt, at that time. Granted it was a lot easier photograph to make than if I were the subject and the photographer in the same picture, but anyway... I used a couple LED lights from in front and behind my flower and found (after considerable trial and error) that the light backlighting the scene was the critical light source to get the most definition of the water drops. The light in front merely gave proper exposure to the flower. After getting the lights set to my liking, it was pretty much a matter of throwing a small bucket of water on the sliding glass door, and watching until the patterns of water running down the window were maximized for shape. I think I must have repeated that process about ten times. I show the picture in my Fstoppers portfolio if anyone's interested.

The detail of the texture of your hands looks sharp enough for a lawful fingerprint photo. I realize that the hands are on the same focal plane as the window, and the water drops must be sharply focused for the picture to work, but due to the minimal number of water drops, the detail and brightness of the hands dominates the picture and diminishes the relative impact of the water drops. Convert some of those white specks to recognizable water drops and I think you've got a better picture. Or consider darkening ever so slightly and blurring your hands just a little bit. Arguably the hands are a major part of the story, but I think I'd prefer a less obstructed path to your eyes.

Of course, these are my impressions but I'm not absolutely convinced of the merits of my own comments. I'd love to hear other people's thoughts and opinions on this photograph.