Busy, busy week. Not much to say really. D.L. Shipman - Clarity and accuracy abound in this photo to the point that I yearn for a little fuzziness but that's probably just my escapist tendencies showing through. Technically speaking this image is super sharp and I like the shadow of the wasp and the placement of elements but the center of that flower looks like something out of Hustler magazine. Steven Ross (GLADIOLUS) - Now here's plenty of fuzziness. The soft colors are a bit too 'sweet' for my tastes but I do like the maze of folds in the right hand blossom. I don't think the left hand blossom does much for the image. I must admit that this flower reminds me of sex too although for different reasons that Shipman's flower. Why can't flowers just be flowers? Museki Abe (out of the dark) - Softer focus, medium light and no porn! The bright spots are a bit distracting but I like the way the blossoms form a loose line below the foreground flowers and their level of blur increases giving a sense of DOF. I also like the balance and contrast of the two unopened blossoms with the opened blossoms. The lighting is just strong enough to show detail in the petals without being harsh. Kostas Papakotas (lake Vergoritida, northern Greece) - Fabulous! I love this image. My favourite part of it is the rough painting of the lines on the boat but also the colors are perfect, the mood is perfect, I like seeing the rope with its termination points and I love the way you can see through one patch of the water to the lake bed. The composition is a little heavy on the right but I just love the rest of the shot so I don't care too much about that. Greg Fraser (Retreat) - This was really just a DOF test of my new camera. The people from whom I bought my house did some really impractical and funky decorating. One of these things is the lighting in this bathroom which, instead of the usual soft lighting, consists of clear bulbs that cast the streaks of light you see on the walls. That's nothing compared to the pink living room and dining room! Being funk fans, we have not redecorated yet. Christopher Strevens, LRPS (Friends) - So many questions. Is this a pre-breakup or post-breakup shot? I the friend the reason for the breakup? I'm thinking the lady on the left is the friend. The lady on the right is used to your camera obsession and therefore merely humoring you once again while the friend is eager to get into the shot. The background is clear enough that it distracts me from the women and I spend my time trying to read the sign behind them. Peeter Vissak (In the morning through the car window) - What's wrong with this shot? Of course! No fire! What's an Estonian day without fire? Are we into an ice series now Peeter? I really like the frigid early morning feel of this shot. I can feel the car barely turning over and idling roughly. This is a good week for atmosphere shots. The ice on the window makes an interesting frame but you've scraped off a bit too much snow to make driving fun. My rule of thumb is to only scrape a hole big enough for my head to smash through when that inevitable head-on crash occurs. Gregory david Stempel (Along the Coast) - There is quite a difference of forms between the shore and the jagged, dying tree although they are often found together (at least where I have lived). They give me such different feelings that I can't tell if I like this image or not. To me, its not a shot of a tree on the coast but rather a study of an extremely dominant tree and at the same time a landscape shot. Sounds like a personal problem that I should deal with one day. Dan Mitchell (In Memoriam) - I scanned and retouched an image taken around the same time as this one, of 3 men yesterday. One of the men was my friend's father who died when she was two years old. Those men and your parents here looked like life was far less fun back then. I don't remember postcard enlargers. Is it a simplified, one size enlarger? Ernie Nitka (Apple Crate) - This shot reminds me of those photos where the photographer's joker friend sticks their head into the shot at the last second throwing the auto focus off the scene and onto the person's face. Perhaps its the extremely shallow DOF but the crate doesn't seem like it really belongs in the shot. Also, I don't think the camera angle shows the most interesting angle of the crate. Richard Cooper (Additional Details: Sony DSC F707) - Hmmmm...the land seems to be sproutin' both trees and tombstones. With all the impending war in the world, this photo is bummin' me out man. I would prefer to see the tops of the trees. Having their tops chopped off seems to make them less important than the complete tombstones. Is this one shot or a stitch job? Marilyn Dalrymple (Fan on Bark) - Amazing! A couple of days ago I was thinking 'I haven't seen any fan shots from Marilyn in a while' and BAM! Here's a new one. But its not actually a fan shot is it? More of a fan shadow. I like the way you've taken so many variations on one object. Its an interesting combination of rough bark and delicate lace. Thanks to all the contributors this week. A fine job all around. Greg Fraser http://users.imag.net/~lon2251/Gallery
