This is a 5-year old pic I took of a friend, and I thought of doing postwork after finding the negatives. Cropped, burned and converted to duotone. The darkness is intentional. Comments and suggestions welcome.

Im not showing a pic..... Syyd

Pretty intense pic...I'm not sure if it's intended, but I'm seeing a dark line, like mascara that's run below the eye, and something similar near the corner of the mouth...?

Awesome shot. I like intense dark/light work like this

Hmm... Syyd, maybe RS is getting screwy again. Was experiencing the same problem hours ago. PunkClown - no, that dark line wasn't intentional. I did this in PhotoShop and I didn't see this. Apparently the "mapping" shows when you view it as web (probably due to the reduction of the number of colors). That usually happens to me when working with low-key images. Thanks for pointing that out. :-) (Which makes me think-- I really don't mind having that "mascara run" in the pic LOL... adds another aspect to the image.) Caledonia, thanks. :-) (*

I think this is very successful... Apart from all the beautiful and moody light/dark play, the blurred textures of her shirt and the background somehow draw my attention very much...

Her expression seems to be surprise at the sudden burst of light beneath the windowshade. Makes one wonder if she's about to be visited by ETs. Intriguing image. :)

Oh, this is a beautiful, intriguing pic, just like it is! And maybe that light is actually Gun and PC, landing from Sirius, LOL!

...really beautiful one. I absolutely adore images like this. That vertical light is fascinating. .n

Okay, Alpha, I tried your suggestion and guess what-- I like it this way :-) Actually this is how it came out in the contact print because it was part of the roll with lots of daylight shots (except for the absence of the vertical light, which I airbrushed away). I didn't find out that the pic had some detail, like the background for instance, until I scanned the negative. I was never able to print this in large format before. Thanks for the comments and suggestions,a nd compliments! :-) (*

...Stars, honestly, I like the first one more. This is bit too, lonely, obvious or something. How about adding thin white frames? .n

Yup, I just agree with Niko, I like more the first one ... pretty good photo, I would leave that as it is ... A.

Niko, While doing the last post, I saved this other file (a replica of the contact print) which I thought also looked okay. I just wanted to try Alpha's suggestion, which I liked, for some strange reason it kind of hit a nerve. Added the thin frames so you see how I cropped the image. Whaddyathink? (*

...this is better, but still, I like the first one. :o) It may be, that you know this person and seeing her face gives you more than it gives for us. Anyway, each version are beautiful in their own ways, first one just hits my eye most. .n

No, I like the middle one too. Kinda reminds me of the 2nd Alien film.... but real nice in it's own right. (",)

For me the first onr definitively is the best, think it has a wholeness, the blurred textures bind the parts together

The first one has the most impact on me, and I like the mascara type artifact that the photoshopping produced, even if it was unintentional! Very atmospheric piece whichever version you look at...