Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Sufjan Stevens playing banjo

Sufjan Stevens playing banjo

Reason: I posted this recently on WP:PPR. Traffic there isn't that great, but I got some good feedback, and decided just to go ahead and nominate it.

Here's why I think this should be FP:

The composition is fantastic - the colors incredible, the placement is artistic, the focus is great
The subject is very well depicted. I've never really listened to Sufjan Stevens before, so I listened to a few tracks on iTunes. His music is very solemn, quiet, and thoughtful. The look on his face is very illustrative of his music.

I understand that in an ideal world, there are a few things that could be fixed in this photo, but for the most part these are known limitations that are particular to concert photography. These issues include:

Lighting does not highlight the face well enough (Maybe this can be fixed with some photoshop?)
(Because of this, thumbnail image does not show subject well if it's not big enough.)
It is a little out-of-focus around the hands, or possibly blurry due to the motion of playing the banjo
It is also somewhat grainy, due to the [necessarily] high ISO setting (800)

Articles this image appears in: Sufjan Stevens
Creator: Jlencion
Nominator: tiZom_(2¢)

Support — tiZom_(2¢) 20:56, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
PS - The biggest fault with this image is that it is so dark. It was suggested on WP:PPR that we tweak the Gamma a little. Unfortunately, I do not have the skills to fiddle with a picture like this. If anyone knows how to brighten it a bit, that would be greatly appreciated. tiZom_(2¢) 21:02, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Comment How bout now? And next time please upload it to the commons so other language wikis can use it is well. --antilived ^{T | C | G} 21:13, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Will do. Whichever consensus deems is the better picture, I'll upload to the Commons (regardless of whether or not it makes FP). tiZom_(2¢) 21:36, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
oppose — too much grain. _→AzaToth 22:01, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Support original I like the first one but the second one is too washed out. The first one has more fullness in the color. --¿Why 1 9 9 1 ^{ESP. | Sign Here} 02:17, 27 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Comment; the original image is too dark but has more fullness like Why1991 said. On the other hand, even though the edited image is brighter and more details are visible, it is washed out like what Why1991 said. -- Alt iris Exeunt</foht> 02:47, 27 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Weak oppose The main problem is that Sufjan's face is in the shadow. ~ trialsanderrors 07:55, 28 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Support Beautiful and representational - high quality and resolution, pleasing to the eye, and adds great value to the article. Perhaps not the perfection of resolution and lighting that we've got used to with landscape and wildlife shots, but that's a feature of the type of photo - for a musician, a concert shot like this, capturing a moment, adds far more value to the article than a posed and perfectly-lit studio shot would. Definitely among Wikipedia's best work. A gamma adjustment might benefit it, but I think the edit does perhaps go a little far, though I'd support either. TSP 22:51, 28 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Support I feel it is a great photo, in addition, topically relevant. Sufjan Stevens has been featured in the press lately for his Christmas album that has been receiving excellent reviews. In addition, his unique goal of writing fifty albums for the fifty US states (2 down, 48 to go) makes for an interesting article.–Alex LaPointetalk 07:06, 29 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Support Both Versions, but mainly EDIT 1 Both versions are good pictures. I especially like the first Edit, EDIT 1, because it largely fixes the shadow problems raised earlier. S h a r k f a c e 2 1 7 08:08, 31 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Thanks for all of the support so far, everybody. I hear what you are saying about the darkess. I am out of town right now, but when I get back toward the end of this week, I will work on lightening the shadow on Sufjan's face.--Jlencion 15:34, 31 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose Not encyclopedic, colors get annoying, too dark on him. Reywas92^Talk_{Sign Here} 02:58, 2 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose Awful shot and not nearly encyclopedic enough --⁪froth^{T C} 05:33, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose - Grain, lighting, poor encylopedic merit. —Dgies^t c 05:42, 4 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Oppose the poor lighting and high grain levels are too much to support. — Arjun 19:08, 6 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Not promoted Raven4x4x 06:50, 8 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Sorry it took so long everybody, but I just uploaded my next edit. Hopefully that fixes some of the issues even though it was not promoted. --Jlencion 13:55, 25 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]