Last week's gallery was described as "booring". That can't be said of this week. As a *set* these images hang together well. Plenty of variety: plenty of interest ... No image of the week this week - I like too many of them in totally different ways ... Work on display at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html include: Jeff Spirer - Advisor OK, what is the title - advisor or clock? Whatever. A picture of a clock at 6 minutes past 12. Is that significant? Was it chosen by Jeff as the optimum position of the hands in such a small segment of the face? Something about the image is grating on me. It's not the composition but maybe the glaring whitenesss top right. Sky or wall? Also, it just does not look sharp enough: or has the grain been blown up (is it an enlargement of a small area of the neg?). Emily L. Ferguson - East Tower, Leonard P. Zakim bridge, Boston, MA Oops ... more reciprocity ;o) What a stunning picture - love the semi-silhouette effect. Clear fall-off/vignetting/polarisation in the top corners but this just adds to focus attention of the centre. The reflection of the sunlight on the cables intrigues me too: it sweeps from a point on the cable nearest the sun (sun's position in the frame) and curves up and out leaving a dark inner circle ... Initially I thought this was gonna be Greg's. D.L. Shipman - Great Egret (Camerodius albus) Beautuiful bird - what more can be said? Nice side lighting for sure. I wonder about position in the frame: the top 3rd is all plain background and seems a bit heavy ... does it give a sense of environment? Mmm ... maybe it would if the background was not quite so bokehen. What is behind the bird? Water, grass? It has a pattern but it seems almost out of place. As to the detail of the bird ... Marilyn Dalrymple - Phoenix Rising OK, straight out I have to ask: "was this an accident or a planned shot you tried to rescue with a clever title?" ;o) It looks just ... err ... can't say politely. Yet, despite that it has a ghostly quality about it. Portra - that's colour film no? Oh, thought this was sepia ... Greg Fraser - Edison Art If you like power lines you should visit Brian in Japan ... if the page of power lines in the imaginatorium is anything to go by. Yes, photographers usually try to avoid power lines by choice of viewpoint. Failing that they are expunged from the pictorial record by the clone tool ... but they are a fact of modern life: they are everywhere. I guess it's like the proverbial dandelions in the lawn - you can fight them all your life or lear to love them ... (See quote after review) Bob Talbot - Golden Eagle "The bird faces the camera so what" ;o) "Why not shoot a wild bird" Jim Snarski - Tall Leggy Blond At first I thought the title was about the "legs" coming down from the tree on the right. Technically (print made from slide then scanned) does not give what we see on the gallery much of a start. I've only been to Lake Nakuru once: like you, no flamingos ... in fact no water either. Lovely place though . the safari lodge that is. jIMMY Harris - Colorado Camp Fire Stunning. I've been meaning to photograph fires to get JUST exactly this sort of effect, the play of the flames around sticks. It almost looks like a composite (double exposure). The blue cast on the background - is that the sky or an artefact of scanning? What time of day? Dark night ot dusk? Thanks for sharing this picture - it gives me more impetus to take the shot I was only thinking of last weekend!!! Peeter Vissak - Firedom Crop it square, learn to play the guitar and you already have the album cover. Arthur Brown would have used this - plenty of space for "Kingdom Come" in the sky. For a pyromaniac? Nah, just a really fun shot ... really like it. Richard Cooper - RochesterNY9-02 Is straightening the image the only change from last week? If so it's amazing how a small technical flaw could have completely ruined an otherwise good image. The water no longer flows uphill (quote). Is it really that much better (as it seems) or is it just the effect of being with a less booring group ??? I still find the railings (an essential part of the shot) opressive - but that is maybe just my feeling about cities at night ;o) Scott Thurmond - The Old Gatehouse This could be in a country estate in Endland. Such a differnt impression of Rochester to that in Richard's shot. I like the picture, well taken and presented, even if in this week's bunch it look's a little weak. Have you tried using PhotoShop to convert colour to greyscale (and I don't mean desat) or don't you have it? Overall, a good week. Now to have a bash at the style gallery ... ;o) OFF TOPIC QUOTE ... About dandelions ... There is a story involving the incomparable Mulla Nasrudin. The Mulla had put a lot of effort into starting a beautiful flower garden and was eagerly awaiting the results. One morning he woke up and the garden was in full bloom. But it was filled not just with the flowers he had planted but also with a yellow blanket of dandelions, which he didn't like. After pondering his problem, he sought out the advice of famous gardeners everywhere about how to get rid of these dandelions, which were overrunning his garden. Try as he might, none of the advice worked; in fact the dandelions seemed to feed on these efforts to get rid of them. Finally, in apparent desperation, he sought out the advice of the royal gardener at the sheik's palace, a man reputed to be very wise. The royal gardener made many suggestions, but the Mulla had already tried them all. Finally, after sitting in silence for many hours, the gardener looked at the Mulla and said, "Well, since you can't get rid of the dandelions, perhaps you'd better learn to love them." "That's just it," said the Mulla, "I already do."
