External Analysis 004
Four Images by Nazli Nomanbhoy
A short series of images, entirely wrapped in mystery and golden light. That light is truly stunning, and it’s the first thing that grabbed me when I opened Nazli’s images: the tones, those deep ochres playing off slivers of blue. It’s also a story told through shadows, essentially leaving gaps for the viewer to fill.
I don’t believe these were necessarily meant as a sequence: there’s a strong graphical element throughout that would absolutely lend itself to combinations, but let’s instead look at them individually.
If my job was to edit down the series, I’d begin by removing any redundant images that aren’t quite as strong. For me, this is image 2:
Two reasons:
It’s the only picture that’s been cropped to a 4:3 ratio.
The silhouette is not as clear and defined.
Basically, I see it as a less successful version of image 3, which shares the same space and tonal elements:
Moving up the scale, however, we have image 4:
Uncanny…
Here, the motif remains but the framing and execution go up a big notch. The second space (on the left) introduces new elements that add incredible depth to the scene. It’s no longer just a shadow on a wall: the silhouette is now part of a larger ensemble, in terms of shape but also in terms of colour. The sky, the ledge, object fragments and window frame, all combine to create a picture that feels like a surrealist painting (Chirico anyone?).
One suggestion however: with such perfect symmetry, that small bit of black at top-right feels out of place to my eye. Simply because there’s not enough of it to echo the left side (or bottom) of the scene. It’s not adding a substantial shape to the composition. So I’d remove it, either by cropping (keeping the original ratio locked) or with a healing brush (my preferred method in this case):
You’ll notice I’ve so far skipped image 1: I wanted to keep the best for last ;)
Actually, image 4 is just as strong, so I shouldn’t say that. But although the subject remains the same, the two are quite different. The landscape orientation changes our perception: we experience life through a horizontal view, so this anchors the scene in reality. I see a movie frame, an almost voyeuristic point of view: image 4 is a passive observation, image 1 feels active. I expect this moment to pass, whereas the other one feels eternal.
The introduction of an identifiable figure—let’s call him reading man—entirely changes the dynamics. We’re now seeking connections, wondering where we are and inventing stories in the process. It’s so interesting to me how such a simple change can have such a profound effect.
I love the use of deep blacks to focus our attention on just a few zones in the frame, but I think reading man could use a bit of separation. I’m obviously working off a small, compressed file but let’s push the Black slider all the way up just to get an idea of what’s hiding in those shadows:
Many elements to play with, actually. Notably, this reveals that we’re looking outside through a glass door, complete with reflections, which could provide additional layering. I won’t push it this far, but I’d suggest keeping those options in mind on the original file. Sometimes just a tiny bit more information can add a lot of richness to an image.
Let’s just lift reading man, using a combination of +Black and -Contrast:
He’s still too dark to my eye but let’s keep going. His skin tone is very red, so I’m going to use a Custom Style Brush I’ve created called Unred. The brush does two things: 1) it adds green to the midtones and 2) it lowers saturation to -20. The green neutralizes red, moving it towards orange, resulting in much more natural-looking tones than a simple desaturation (which quickly makes skin look gray).
New layer again, this time to lift shadows on a wider area:
You’ll notice reading man is included in the mask, so we’re hitting two birds with one stone. I’m using the Shadow slider to affect a different range, and I’ve also slightly lowered saturation (probably due to pushing an already processed file).
Last tweak: I lower global contrast on the background layer. This is purely personal preference. Final results:
Keep in mind that I couldn’t add separation on this compressed file without a certain amount of artificial “washing out”—something I’m sure would be avoidable on the master file, even if it’s a JPEG. I also didn’t spend a lot of time refining the masks, so this is just ballpark processing. The general idea is to keep the mystery while adding a few more hints.
In summary: strong images. Thanks a bunch to Nazli for this lovely submission.
Makes me long for a warm, late-afternoon drink…
