Random Excellence: Maggie Osterberg

Maggie Osterberg, Dad, November 2009

What can I add? Great face, great light, great tones. And that expression—! When this flashed on my screen, big, I was almost startled. Wonderful.

I found this by following a link in a comment Maggie made the other day. I went first to her website (or one of her websites, anyway) and from there to her flickr favorites.

Have you ever noticed that there's sometimes a narcissistic component to your enjoyment of certain pictures? In that they're ones you wish you'd taken yourself. I believe (or maybe I should use the word "hallucinate" instead of "believe," pace Scott Adams) that I can appreciate all kinds of work—well, most kinds—but I admit I have a special affection (maybe "bias") for work of the kind that I most like to make myself. There's a component of jealousy, almost, in my appreciation of work like that: "I wish I had taken that." 

Here it is large.

Mike

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Original contents copyright 2010 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved.

Featured Comment by Scott Reeves: "Well-put, Mike, and great photo. I often think that photos I admire fall into two large groups. The first is images where I would have seen the potential for a good photograph but the photographer renders the image better than I could have. For whatever reason (usually simply more talent) the photographer has better execution in the making of the image than me.These are the ones you discuss in your post and the group that the presented image belongs to.

"I believe there is a second group, however. These are the images that I look at and say, 'I never would have seen a potential photograph there.' I think of these as images of recognition—they call on me not to execute better but to see better. They are rarer than the first group but perhaps more exciting."

Comments

[Player]

Is it the subject or the photographer? My kudos go to the subject.

[Maggie Osterberg]

Wow! What a delightful surprise!

Mike, I am incredibly honored and a little shocked, too! Thank you!!! You just made my year.

[David Zivic]

I hope I have that gleam in my eye when I am that age ! You use words like Believe, hallucinate, jealousy and bias.....I think the word you're looking for is INSPIRATION my friend. I get one almost every day....sometimes on this very site.

[Paul]

Her blog is also quite entertaining. What's the halo surrounding the subject's shoulders? It keeps distracting me from an outstanding portrait.
Paul

[Jeff Damron]

As someone who is not particularly good at people pictures, I have to say that when I see one like this I too am jealous - not only did I not take the great picture, I never would have taken it. Maybe I would have never recognized the opportunity as alluded to by Mr. Reeves, but even if I had, I don't think I would have been able to take it - at least it would not have looked this good.

[amcananey]

Paul,

Maggie will obviously know for sure, but it looks to me like an effect I sometimes get when I combine strong highlight recovery with fill light in Lightroom. I could imagine (and I would most likely be wrong - again, I defer to Maggie) that highlight recovery was used to prevent the curtains from blowing out, while fill light was used on "Dad"'s face, as he was strongly backlit. If you look at the larger version, you can see some posterization on his forehead that is indicative of some extreme processing.

Here's the funny thing: that kind of stuff would drive me completely nuts on my own pictures. Yet I didn't even notice it until you mentioned it (and then actually had to go looking for the halo despite it being right in front of my eyes), and even then, it still doesn't bother me. Maybe even adds to Dad's aura, so to speak... :-)

Best,
Adam

[Mike Johnston]

Maggie,
No, thank YOU!

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

The halo looks like a flash artifact to me. Maybe Maggie can tell us.

Mike

[Maggie Osterberg]

Adam, I pulled the highlights in the curtain down a bit, but I'd more or less, IIRC, exposed for dad's face and don't remember doing a lot, if any, shadow-lifting in post. I was using LightZone's zone tool to bring the really blown-out bits down to a reasonable level and then the halo appeared.

The halo sort of bugged me, but I did a couple of different takes on it and I decided that, you know, it just sort of works. Can't tell you why, to be honest, but I just sort of decided that it did.

[Bron]

Well, I don't care about any of the tech stuff, as it is a delightful portrait, and from this portrait, I think it would be a delight to sit down with this gentleman, and find out what he knows.

It is a delightful portrait.

Go, Osterbergs! (Some of my cousins are Osterbergs)

[Dennis]

Wow. I completely agree with that "I wish

I took that" sentiment ! Looking through the "My Favorites" slideshow felt like browsing a great photo book. Funny, the portrait ("Dad") here on TOP looked interesting, but not too interesting. But when it came up in the slideshow ... larger and mixed in with other photos ... it's very striking. And the toaster shot made me LOL (for real ... I'm not the LOL type). A few of the shots offer compelling proof that high ISO noise isn't a big deal if the picture itself is worth looking at.

[Clayton]

I am fanatic about faces, and after several thousand attempts think I have a few pretty good ones. What amazes me about Maggie's favorites is the variety of great shots she has. A wonderful eye.

[DmR]

Congrats, Maggie :)

[Albin]

The face and lighting are wonderful, but I do question the halo running down the edges of shoulders and arms - was distracting to me.

[cam]

I have a long-standing crush on Maggie's dad, that just gets deeper and deeper with each image!

Each capture says so much of the love, admiration, tolerance, and exasperation that there is between father and daughter.

Brava!

[Maggie Osterberg]

Thanks again for all the kind words, folks; and to Mike for making my Dad's day, too!