Dave, Thanks for your comments concerning my PhotoForum submission. As one who submits pictures, you probably already know that some kind of acknowledgment that your photo was seen means a lot. So what about "Mens Lub"? One reason I don't like street photography is that you have to look at the photograph in a different context than what I am used to doing. I finally (in the last couple of weeks) realized that when I "review" a photo on the PhotoForum, it is simply an expression of how I feel about the image rather than any true critique of the photograph itself. And that represents a pretty superficial analysis. So I looked a bit harder at "Mens Lub" this week. When I first looked at it, I didn't feel moved in any particular direction. But the more I looked, the more I liked. At first, the Lub. Okay, I've seen pictures of places like that in a lot of movies. But then the Man. And the doors. Totally opposite the sex book inside the plain brown wrapper, the doors show a plain-doored place festooned in glitzy messages of sex. This contrast between outside and inside, as well as the opposite of the "plain brown wrapper" message, seems to cry out terms such as "sleaze" and "dirty old men." Then there is the Man. This man now represents the Lub, but not only this place, but all such places. You have positioned him in such a way that we are looking now at the man in universal terms. This is an older man, wearing cheater glasses, in shorts, with a smirk on his face. Man Who Owns a Lub is a guy who seems to have no interest in what is in the place itself. His interest is only in bringing in members to his place. This is the story that I read into this, and I like it. You have done well. peace, rand ----- Original Message ----- | Rand Flory-Moonrise over Pillow Sometime it takes little things to make a good photo.The cluster of leaves in the upper left corner ties the elements together. Strong color dramatic lighting.
