Being on vacation this week I have not had the benefit of the inspiration I get from my career in the civil service and undoubtedly this will have a negative impact on my impressions. Nevertheless, I proceed with the images found at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html. jIMMY Harris (The Cormorant Club) - Lyrical title eh? I like this composition partly because without the birds, I would not like it. I don't like the shape of the wood by itself but as a roost for the birds, it works fine but then again it obscures the closest bird low to the water. I like the reflections and the clouds and even the strange sharpening of the birds and wood. Christopher Strevens, LRPS (Shopping) - I really cannot get into this image due to my eye picking out several lines that don't seem to work together for me. The edge where the two different colors of bricks meet for one line. The people form another line and the bricks form at least two lines. None of them seem to relate but then again perhaps that kind of chaos was what you were trying to convey. I find it disturbing but it might work better monochrome. Elson T. Elizaga - Interesting how lines radiate out from the center of attention shown climbing the stairs. Even the railing and outstretched hand to the left both lead to the singer's open palm. Everything points to him except for the white hand with two severed fingers that rises from the mass of people begging for some of the attention. Normally two objects competing for my attention in an image is distracting but here there is so much force pushing me to the singer that the hand cannot possibly compete and is more interesting than annoying. Sort of a David and Goliath thing. King/Arthur (Homeward Bound) - I sense a real Lilliput feeling here. The pilgrim appears to be out of proportion with its environment. Crop closer to the left side of the pilgrim and the vertical format accentuates this impression. Overall though the composition doesn't do too much for me. I prefer the earlier pilgrim photos. Dan Reeves (The Snowbirds) - I like this cropping. Nice trails and fluffy CANADIAN clouds. Emily L. Ferguson (Reciprocity Failure - desatted) - Blue was good. The stone looks fine here but the sky doesn't work properly. John Edwin Mason (Blue: Delmar Boulevard, St. Louis) - Hey I just realized we both have the same middle name! An elite club as far as I can tell. This image is not working for me and I think its because of the uninspired design of the car. The reflected stripes form such a small part of the car that I can't really get into this image. D.L. Shipman - Sharp focus (where DOF allows) and gentle lighting but not really thrilling except when I think of Andy's comment about this being a phallic symbol and wonder what all the yellow spots represent. Jim Snarski (GoldFlower) - Beautiful blossom and excellent lighting but I can't help wondering what shots would be possible by shooting and more of a side angle as opposed to head on. Dan Mitchell (Spherical objects) - Yes there are several spherical objects and they are interesting but I find them rather haphazardly placed. The circle that is part of the wall is touching the left edge of the image. The lamp post appears crooked. If the lower roof line (eaves) were horizontal, it would provide more of a sense of balance. As it is, there are no horizontal or vertical lines in the image and therefore I feel the circles are unstable and are going to roll out of the image. Its an interesting subject with a lot of possibility but one that requires a lot of attention to the details. Jeff Spirer Best Brewing Co. of (Chicago) - Every shade of grey I can imagine form some interesting patterns but the image does not thrill me. Richard Cooper (Faces) - As usual when one person in a group of people stares directly at the camera, I am drawn to that face but other than that the image is not grabbing me. Thanks to all contributors this week. Greg Fraser http://users.imag.net/~lon2251/Gallery
