Know when to hold 'em..
I finally managed to get a try at a concept that I wanted to do about month ago. Please dont ask me how many tries did it take :)
I hope you like it, because it was a lot of work :). Taken in color, converted to b/w in ps (mixed channels)
Camera Data
Make: SONY
Model: DSLR-A300
Shutter Speed: 1/160 second
Aperture: F/4.5
Focal Length: 26 mm
ISO Speed: 400
Know when to hold 'em.. belongs to the following groups:
! 100% !, "Tone It Down"! (3/day - No [EXPLETIVE] color allowed!), *A Beautiful Blur, All About Your Best Work, Amateur Photographers' Association, Beginner's Expressions, Black & White Photographers Showcase, Black and White Photography, Cee's Fun Artsy Friends, Creative, Talented, and Unknown, Depth Of Field (2 images per day) - Read Group Rules Please, Digital Photography, DSLR Users Only - 1/24 - Camera & Lens In Description Please., Ebony and Ivory, Images & Ideas, JPG Cast-Offs, No More Color, Photography Fun, Pop Art, Shades of Grey, Shameless Self-Promotion, The Black and White Enthusiast, The Male Photographer, Who Needs Color For Beauty? - Black & White Art At Its Best and ≈♥≈The Weekend Photographer≈♥≈ Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints and Framed Prints

kemal91
That is a great shot, your hard work obviously paid off. Black and white is perfect. And by the way, which idiot throws away a pair of kings?! lol :)
Matt M. replied
Thank you very much :) That’s the beauty of hold’em, you can’t know for sure if it’s a brilliant or poor play.
DEJAN ALEKSOVSKI
wonderfoul moment…very nice capture
Matt M. replied
Im happy you like this one as much as I do..
Linda Bianic
Great idea,, well; done.. and ouch!!! 2 kings????
Matt M. replied
Thanks for your kind words and visiting me again Linda. As for the kings.. I liked the idea because folding two kings cause it can be a result of genious play either from the person holding them or the opponent. I also felt this would be most expressive with two kings, kings of hearts and spades especially.
Jeff Burns
how clever awesome image
Matt M. replied
Thank you very much. Im really happy you like it.
Bezay
Brilliant
Matt M. replied
Thank you. I deeply appreciate it. I hope you can imagine the way a beginner feels when one of his early images is so well recieved.
richman
perfect!
Matt M. replied
Thank you kindly Richie! I really like your gallery even tough Im not really a fan of absract art. I’ll give a more thourough view soon, but it seems like a good place to get a ton of inspirtaion :)
parmi
Wow, this is brilliant Matt! Such a great feeling when the perseverance does pay off. Really hard to pick between shadow and no shadow, mainly because of your seamless editing on this one. Love the DOF in this shot, the movement, the almost faceless player in the frame and the entire mood of the shot. Fantastic work Matt!
Matt M. replied
It is true, I really do look better as faceless :). But seriously, I deeply appreciate every positive feedback I get ony my work, especially coming from someone as talented as you. And yes, this shot gave me a feeling of achievement. I felt it was good, but I didn’t think it would be so well recieved. I took a quick look at your gallery and I really feel the need to come back to it as soon as I get some more time on my hands. It has a lot of great shots in it.
-Matt
Garth Smith
Matt M. replied
Thank you for featuring me Garth. It really means a lot to me.
TeAnne
Beautiful shot and congrats
Matt M. replied
Thank you. Im really glad you like it.
Clare Colins
Congratulations on getting this shot and on being featured. Well deserved!
Matt M. replied
Thank you Clare, it really means a lot to me.
Kitty Schul
I do like both but this one is my favorite =]
Matt M. replied
Thank you for taking the time to view both. Im really happy you like em :)
pennphotography
Wow, this is excellent Matt, wat a fantastic capture!!
Matt M. replied
Thank you very much. Im glad that you like it.
Peter Denness
I love this shot as it tells a story and is technically excellent. Who would through away a pair of kings? A terrible player of more likely only the very best, definitely the right hand for the shot.
Matt M. replied
Thank you for the kind words Peter. It means a lot to me, coming from someone who’s work I admire so much.
mitchy
What a snap, cant imagine how many that took but its paid off.!!
Matt M. replied
Thank you very much. If you know the feeling when hard work (finally.. ;>) pays off, you know how I felt after seeing how this one turned out. Im really happy that you like what I try to do :)
A. L. 15 days ago
wow, sweet capture!
Matt M. replied 15 days ago
Thank you, it’s one of my personal favorites aswell :)
Jean M. Laffitau 15 days ago
Great shot!!!
Matt M. replied 15 days ago
Thank you Jean, it is an honor to hear that from you.
Cee Neuner 15 days ago
Excellent!! :D
Matt M. replied 14 days ago
Thank you for your support Cee :)
Trudi's Images 14 days ago
Fabulous shot and timing , great result
Matt M. replied 14 days ago
Thank you Trudi. It means a lot to me coming from someone who’s work I admire so much.
Cee Neuner 6 days ago
Congratulations!!! You are a TOP TEN WINNER in the Cool shots but I don’t know where I’d ever use it in Cee’s Fun Artsy Friends Group.

Cee and Chris
Matt M. replied 6 days ago
Thank you so much for hosting the group Cee and Chris. This is the first time my work has made it to the top ten. Im absolutely thrilled and honored.
Verena Rohner 5 days ago
Brilliant! Most definitely worth all of the hard work that went into this shot. Very well done.
Matt M. replied 5 days ago
Thank you for your kind words Verena. You have a an amazing gallery, I will gladly come back to it as soon as I have some time on my hands.
Ines Sulj 5 days ago
What a great capture! :)
Matt M. replied 5 days ago
Thank you so much Ines
T-Pot 4 days ago
OMG Matt… This is sooooooooo cool!!!
Matt M. replied 4 days ago
Thank you very much Tenille. Glad you like it.
JessicaGillan 4 days ago
This is awesome!! Hard work sure paid off :)
Matt M. replied 4 days ago
Thank you Jessica. Happy you like it :)
fourthangel 4 days ago
Congratulations on the challenge win! Great job!
Matt M. replied 4 days ago
Thank you! Im absolutely thrilled and honored to have my work chosen among so many great artist I could and should learn from.
Dirk Pagel 4 days ago
Congratulations to win :)
Matt M. replied 4 days ago
Thank you very much Dirk :)
Verena Rohner 4 days ago
Congratulations! I was hoping this photograph would win.
Matt M. replied 4 days ago
What a kind thing to say Verena. Especially coming from someone who took part in the contest aswell. It really means a lot to me. Thank you very much and congratulations on making the top ten!
-Matt
Kimba Vetten 3 days ago
Matt M. replied 3 days ago
Thank you for hosting such the challenge. Im absolutely thrilled and honored.
Kimba Vetten 3 days ago
Congrats you have been featured !
Richard Veal 3 days ago
Congrats on the win and features Matt.
Matt M. replied 3 days ago
Thank you very much Richard. I really loved ‘Passenger’ – great work. Congrats on making the top ten!
Alex Mokrzycki 3 days ago
congratulations Matt, well done, excellent shot
Matt M. replied about 4 hours ago
Thank you Alex. Glad you like it!
JacquiJay 3 days ago
I love this shot (and voted for it!), converting to black-and-white was inspired and I admire your persistence, which certainly paid off.
Matt M. replied about 4 hours ago
Thank you very much, both for your kind words and the vote
Leanna Lomanski 2 days ago
Your patience paid off…........well done!
Matt M. replied about 4 hours ago
Im really happy you like my humble work.