It’s all in the eyes!
When I joined the seventh grade debate team, my wise old grandmother told me to look. “Look at your opponent, look at the moderator, look at the audience. It’s all in the eyes!” she said. She was right.
Obama lost the first presidential debate because he did not look at Romney, did not look at the moderator, did not look at the audience, did not look at the camera. He looked down, almost as if he were sleeping, disinterested, maybe even hanging his head in shame.
In the vice-presidential debate, Ryan (some of my friends call him “Lyin’ Ryan”) did much of the same thing. He drank so much that I thought he was drinking margaritas because I’m pretty sure mere water wouldn’t be worth a drink every five seconds. He spent a lot of time taking notes. For what? It’s not like there would be a test afterwards, and surely his memory could remember something said 30 seconds earlier. When he did look at Biden, he had this weird smirk on his face. And that Eddie Munster hairline doesn’t help matters any……….
Republicans say Biden was rude by interrupting. Better to interrupt those lies rather than let them be spouted out as fact! (Go Joe!) Joe even looked directly at the camera several times, saying, “Folks, listen to me….” or “Folks, here are the facts…..” or “Folks, who do you trust here?” That’s another area where Obama failed. He let Romney spout all those lies as if they were fact, and unfortunately the public believed them. That’s why it’s important to interrupt those lies.
Now on to serious things.
When I was at a photographic art exhibit a couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of talking with the photographer. His work was of flowers and birds. I learned from him how to get my pictures of red and yellow flowers to be more realistic than what my camera was giving me (remember that my wise old grandmother also said “What comes out of the camera is just the basics to start with.”). I also learned from him why I liked his bird pictures so much. It’s all in the eyes!
To wit, here is a picture of a monkey at the San Diego Zoo:
It’s a good picture but I wanted something a little more from it. After realizing that a lot of that monkey’s emotions is in the eyes, I knew what had to be done. I needed to photoshop those eyes so you could see what’s in them:
Subtle, yet seeing those eyes adds a lot to the picture, to the emotions of the monkey and to the emotions of the viewer. All I did was highlight the two eyes and then increase the brightness some. Took all of 30 seconds in Photoshop.
It’s all in the eyes!
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
Posted on October 13, 2012, in Adobe, Digital photo editing, Fauna, How I Did It, Mother & Father Nature, My wise old grandmother, Photos and tagged debate protocol, digital photo editing, it's all in the eyes, politics. Bookmark the permalink. 33 Comments.
You are right, your grandma was wise!
Somehow I feel the song “Lyin’ Eyes” should cue right now.
You’re right. Maybe I’ll start adding theme music to my blog posts………..lol
They do say the eyes have it…
I lost count on how many times he had a gulp of water. At some point they had to fill up his glass again. I love stopping by just to see Zoey and then get caught up in the discussion! Have a great weekend! Raining in Vancouver for the next 7 days!! Love the liquid sunshine!
It’s like when I paint my animal or people pictures, I make sure the eyes are ‘real’. In animals or people the eyes reveal a lot.
In the eyes and in the perception
good eyes
Hi! I have nominated you for the Addictive Blog Award. http://wp.me/p27eXb-9G Congratulations!
Thank you!
So observant. I was so disappointed in President Obama in the first debate and that is why. I’m sorry to say I missed Vice President Biden in his debate because I think President Obama should have done a lot more interrupting. Rude? It’s a debate!
Makes a huge difference!
You received an award from me. http://sandspringchesapeakes.wordpress.com/2012/10/13/sand-spring-received-another-award/
Thank you! I love awards!
I think that eyes going up and to the right is someone trying to think of an answer whereas eyes moving from side-to-side can indicate shiftiness and lying. A little food for thought during the final show-down.
I admit to watching the debates even though I am won’t have a vote (Canadian eh ) – fascinating to have watched Biden school Ryan and a little disturbing to see Obama without his normal sharpness.
I agree! This is partly why cyber networking is hard; because you don’t get that eye-to-eye contact that can impart so much in subtle nuance–the way the eyes turn, focus, work in conjunction with facial expression & body language. I love the touch up on this simian’s peepers, and the shot/message altogether. Great photography as usual, RR.
Wow, what a big difference.
Great tips my friend
Aussie Ian
I couldn’t have said it better myself, I thought all those things during the debates but I wasn’t so eloquent. I do NOT like Romney/Ryan. I DO like you, thank you for liking me. I’ll try to figure out how to like you back.
Love this post! And the monkey! Great reminder. I tend to look down, so this indeed is a great reminder. Thank you…
That’s a great tip. It’s amazing how the change in the eyes of the monkey changed the entire photo by volumes.
Sadly, I think Obama is a gentleman and it’s not ‘polite’ to call your opponent a liar to his face. Even sadder is the fact that the truth seems to be so blatantly ignored in the US : Abraham Lincoln himself could not have stopped the GFC and that smelly mess is exactly what Obama inherited. Talk about not having a honeymoon period. Iraq and Afghanistan were not his babies either yet he achieved the /only/ success in either war by getting Bin Laden. And the one thing that the rest of the world is applauding – Obamacare – is the one thing Obama is most hated for. It’s hard to debate effectively when everyone sees white as black. Bad pun, sorry.
He’s going to have to learn how to be a gentleman while calling the other guy a liar. Kind of like Ronald Reagan did in 1980. It can be done.
I hope he does. I really do.
You’re grandma is absolutely correct. The Biden/Ryan debate was brilliant.
It absolutely is all about the eyes. I agree!
The eyes have it…
I’m late for this news, but yesterday Obama did much better.. maybe he has read your blog
Yeah Photoshop is amazing and it is little edits like this that can make a big difference. Thank you for sharing.
Wise advice, great photo of the monkey (and heck the rest of your photos too!) a little Photoshop in the right place changes the whole feeling. Nice job!
Hey, thanks so much for stopping by my blog and following it. I really love this post. The monkeys and the eyes are fantastic.
The eyes are the mirror of the soul.
Pingback: Sand Spring Received Another Award « Sand Spring Chesapeakes