These are my non-poetic impressions of the images in the RIT gallery as seen at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html. D.L. Shipman (Betty's Rose) - I'm split right down the middle on this. The shape of the rose and the camera angle make this look like a red dove with green tail feathers soaring overhead. Its full of beautifully flowing shapes and the texture is so well defined that I can almost lick it. But those shadows really don't seem to fit the subject although the lighting is typical of nature shots where the photographer caught something taking flight. The beauty overpowers the shadows but I would definitely like it much more without such direct lighting. Deen Hameed (Light On Water) - I too, like many people, love the play of light through water and this is a beautiful example. That small black patch that looks like it might be a fish, also looks like it could be the eye of a giant, distorted toad under the water. The lighting prevents my clearly discerning what's actually there allowing me to speculate. Maybe its just my love of creeks and slippery wet things but I like this image. John Lee (Leap!) - This is really interesting. Split this image down the vertical center and on the right you have a totally geometric design with the straight green hose lines, square sprinkler and the streaks of water all on a bed of random little weed and grass shapes. On the left you have the familiar pink toddler attempting to flee the water. His motion softens his outline (perhaps less than 1/1000 sec eh?) and atop his head is a glowing red shape with a bright white stripe. The left in motion, warm and soft - the right rigid, angular and cold yet the two sides in this context fit perfectly. Perhaps our hero is actually fleeing the confines of the materialistic sprinkler trap. Or maybe the water's friggin' cold. Christopher Strevens, LRPS (Dorking Cemetery) - Chris I think this may be my favourite shot of yours. The alarmingly red sign in the monochromatic graveyard world is great. Of course the tree and sign are similar in shape but also accented by the strong horizontal fence, layer of tombstones, hills and even clouds. They project up in seeming competition with each other but they are so similar that I get the impression they have mutually agreed upon their shapes and living in harmony and why not? They're both on the correct side of the fence. I also like the way the tombstones are so small compared to the sign as if the sign was installed to draw attention away from the fact of that unfortunate business of planting dead bodies. King/Arthur (Kieran's Irish Pub) - Hmmm...more text over images. For me to put something like this together seems like a lot of work just to say your yellow glasses made a shirt look yellow. The question is - do you still like the sweatshirt? Greg Fraser (Siesta) - I usually sneak away from Sundays at the in-laws to take some photos except on the days when the sun is hot and the father-in-law's pool fights his beer for the title of 'Coldest liquid Greg doesn't have to pay for'. This was one such day. My son had been swimming and then ate a bowl of chocolate ice cream. He was cold so he wrapped a chair cover around himself. I thought the light might look good filtering through the mesh hat so I put it on him. The full, direct sunlight reflected up off a glass table lighting his face quite well. Jose Luis Vasconcellos (The day my father died) - Nice to have you back as a submitter Jose. This is a very toughing, personal image. I was with two of my grandparents when they died. I considered it a real privilege to be there with them and looking back I would have liked to have taken photos of them. I was not playing photographer back then though so it never occurred to me at the time. Thanks for showing us this image. David Small (Long May They Wave) - Hearse no? Interesting that it should appear on the same week as Jose's image. Canadians are not so patriotic unless you're talking about kinds of beer while drinking same so the patriotic theme doesn't work very well with me but design wise I really like the image. The diagonal lines give me the feeling of motion from left to right but the flag is waving in the wrong direction. Also the arm looks to be coming from someone seated behind the front seat. I also like the inverted 'T' formed by the door window trim and the posts that go up to the roof. Very dynamic image. Jeff Spirer (Homage to Don Manuel) - Another classic Spirer full of details image. The smallest, least significant object in this image is the woman. Next up is the tree that has been given a small patch of space in the concrete in which to flourish but alas it grows crookedly (as does the woman) in its apparently soil free hole. Its exposed roots struggle to prevent its eminent fall. What has the woman been given? Behind and all around her are boarded up buildings. The grain in the plywood swarm in incoherent patterns around her head. Like the tree, she fends for herself in a decaying world. Amazing combination of elements with the whole amplifying the sum of its parts. Very nice. Bob Talbot (Nature Abstract) - OK Bob, how long did you have to look to dig up this image? The obvious similarity to the giant sphincter gallery show is unmistakable however yours lacks the hairs that really give these shots that extra punch. I have been trying for a long time to figure out what this could actually be but all I see is sandy/sugary bum. Although, it is an interesting shot the way it leads me into the eye of the storm. Angela Turnpaugh - The image is pretty washed out and perhaps not the best composition but the faces on that group of boys in line with your son is very indicative of that age. I specially like the pained, 'you want me to do what?' look on the face of the taller boy second from right. Classic. Rob Miracle (Falling Falls Fall) - You did a great job manipulating this but I wish you hadn't told me about it. Now I've convinced myself that I see a line where the sky meets the trees. The composition is a bit dull but I love the layers of the falls, the smooth tree reflections and the trees. The colors are made stronger by the dark line of the falls. Overall I still like the serenity and colors of this shot. Thanks to all this week's contributors. Greg Fraser http://users.imag.net/~lon2251/Gallery
