This week's review: Christiane Roh: Lausanne, Market Day, Place de la Palud, March 2002 Good image, a day in the life of Lausanne. Nicely captured moment of a simple activity, spontaneity and of "seeing." A classic street shot. Almost everything works here, the exposure being well balanced. I am curious though about the photographer's intent, the action is moving from right to left, but the comp moves from left to right. David Small: Salute Another classic street shot that contains a wealth of strength. The exposure is strong, the comp is strong and the framing is tight allowing just enough information without any unnecessary detail. The photographer's choices including the use of b/w made this image work exceedingly well. If it is not staged, then I would consider the image a classic "decisive moment." A near perfect moment. Jeff Spirer: Sacrifice The title confuses me, but then I am confused most of the time. I enjoyed the colors and the way the scene is "plucked" out of reality. The exposure works well, the comp is strong by the added exposed bricks at the upper right. For me, this is one type of shot that makes photography worth the efforts. A street scene, the facade, taken out of context and placed into an impressionistic viewpoint. Peeter Visasak: "to snap the crystals and die," now that's dedication to one's craft, at -30 no less. The snow is well exposed, the light is nice, using the rim lighting that makes foregrounds stand out with separation and by adding dimension. Unfortunately, that same foreground bush is lost in the upper right as the busy background begins to compete for attention, and weakens the overall comp. Beyond that, the photographer has offered an excellent example of seeing when at first it seems nothing is there by allowing the motion of the foreground bush to help emphasize an echoing motion of the tree behind it. Ernst-Ulrich Schafer: The bold slashing of the deep shadow is the obvious power in this image. It is the most striking aspect of the entire comp. Another interesting aspect of this image is the amount of information provided. Once you read this, you know what is going on and exactly what has transpired. Although there is no real excitement about the shot, it still succeeds in it's composition, exposure and provides the viewer with a simple and easy to follow story. Greg Fraser: "Coffee House" A fine moment. The image is very successful, with a strong comp. Adding the fork really did the trick although for me, a spoon would have been a smarter choice with the coffee cup. I liked the choice of film and the scene's softness and quite, somber mood. This image is very successful and leaves nothing to be desired. This is another image that exudes a classic response familiar with street photography. One thought about Mr. Fraser's comp I would like to add below at the end of my reviews, which ties into an image presented last week. King/Arthur: "In/Out/Beside This is a bold image. It has a harsh atmosphere about it, which is not a detraction, but adds a kind of symbolic nature to the scene. It's a dynamic moment with an incredible amount of information. All of it adding to the overall scene. The photographer's choice of the bold highlight and it's lack of detail is marvelous. It exemplifies the challenges faced shooting this type of "in your face" street shooting by drawing your eye to point of nothing and then filling in the comp with so much detail you find yourself lingering in the moment well beyond the life of that moment. Alan Zinn: "Greeters, Toronto" Dynamic image and exciting choice of composition. The angle of view has a strong, and eye challenging perspective. Adding the panoramic viewpoint to all of this provided a dramatic enhancement and the necessary diversion to bring all of the elements of this image into an exciting composition. This is another fine example of street photography that forces the viewer to look deeper. To see what is all there. Adding the sun was a good choice. The statue adds a light hearted nature to the scene, especially when juxtaposed with the harsh nature of commerce in the surrounding buildings. Christopher Strevens, LRPS: "Waiting for the Bus" This image has potential. It's stark nature gives it a feeling of being part of a photojournalism story. The image unfortunately is held back by it's static and basic frontal point of view. The horizontal lines do not follow the frame and detract from the composition as well. The less than ideal exposures work to hold the image in it's dreary ambience suggested by the graffiti and dirty streets. Looking at the individual though, I am reminded of poverty, loneliness and little hope and in that context, this image has achieved at making a point about inner-city conditions. Emily L. Ferguson: "Sculpting the Ice" Confusing image. There is no distinct beginning to observing the image and focus is only helped by the title. The colors are muted and blend in to one another and has lost most of it's separation between foreground and background. The face is insignificantly placed as well as the chain saw. The angle on the chain saw is so sharp, it's lost in the myriad of shapes and shadows and takes awhile to materialize as the tool in use. Although I do not suggest it as a rule, I expect to see more emphasis placed on ice chips flying away from the sculpture if the chain saw as it bites, chews and cuts away the unnecessary parts of the ice. Andrew Davidhazy: "Figure" Interesting technique. It's reminiscent of a style from the past. As in other images this week, this image also exudes a stark nature. The process used and the nude subject tap into a darker side of our society, as if we were peeping toms looking through someone's window late at night. That's where the image stops. The pose is boring and there seems no point to the nude. We have lost the beauty of the female body. I would love to see this "Phoenix Process" used in something more industrial, such as steel workers, heavy machinery or construction. Additional Notes: Mr. Fraser's image this week uses a compositional style that at first disturbed me. The very tight cropping of the person sitting on the left frame left me hanging, there was not enough of that individual to finish the image. It then dawned on me why this image and the image of the Apple Crate provided to us by Ernie Nitka last week, made me feel the way I did. They both challenged my paradigm of what is right in compositions. Both images pushed me into seeing more or beyond how I was trained. I have always seen composition as having to be finished, not necessarily complete, but definitely finished. My mind needed enough of the subject in question to carry me over to completion. These two images initially fell short. And it then dawned on me that in fact, these images made me realize my weakness, that more was not always definitely better. Quite frankly I enjoyed that realization very much. Thank you both. Take care, Gregory david Stempel FIREFRAMEi m a g i n g
