Whilst out walking in Blackpool, we spent most of our time struggling to stay dry, darting for cover in-between huge waves and relentless rain showers.

I decided to take the high road while others took the low road, and as I was walking, I happened upon the Summer Breeze Rally and a few incredible characters hanging around the event. This chap—dubbed ‘Sherlock’ by his buddy—was a standout. His friend shouted out, “’Ere Sherlock, this chap wants to take your photo!” He just mumbled something along the lines of, “He can call me what he likes,” giving me just enough time to capture a few frames before his attention drifted elsewhere.

There is a weight to his expression that perfectly matches the weather; he looks as weathered and storied as the Blackpool coastline itself. Technically, I leaned on the Canon EOS 5D and the Canon EF70-200mm f2.8 IS USM L Series to pull this off. I had the lens racked out to 200mm to really get tight on those details, using an aperture of f/8 to ensure every strand of hair and every line in his face was captured with absolute clarity. With a shutter speed of 1/160 second and a very clean ISO 50, I was able to manage the bright, flat light coming off the sea.

I’m particularly pleased with this conversion. The final PSD ended up with seven adjustment layers; I primarily used the Blue Channel to bring out the specific ruggedness of the skin tones, while spending a good amount of time refining the contrast in his eyes and the wild flow of his hair.

As always, I’m interested in your opinions on the edit. It’s been a rewarding “blogging season” so far, finding these faces in the crowd. Hopefully, when I win the lottery, I’ll have all the time in the world to track down characters like Sherlock every day.

Thanks again… C

• taken|17 september, 2011
• camera|Canon EOS 5D
• focal length|200mm
• aperture|f/8
• shutter speed|1/160s
• iso|50
• flash fired|no
• exposure bias|0 ev