Having finally memorized the footage endlessly repeated on CNN, I find time to work up a review of the images as seen at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html. D.L. Shipman (Herons, Venice rookery) - You gotta love it when nature lines up perfectly for a shot. These herons are certainly better at posing than my kids. What an excellent collection of curves. Not only do the legs of the larger heron and the branch upon which it roosts form a loose 's' and the heron necks form almost exaggerated 's' shapes but you've got one long, winding curve from beak to nest. And to top it all off, the smaller bird fits perfectly into the space formed by the larger bird. David Small (Attack Gull) - There's something weird (or perhaps evil) going on in the sky to the left of the gull and it fits perfectly with the satanic bird about to wreak its revenge upon its victim. Now, in reality this wharf rat is probably about to dive for a discarded french fry but what the hell, a reviewer can project his own paranoia into an image can't he? Greg Fraser (Sunflower) - This is a flatbed scan of a 35mm negative. The scanner (machine and operator) introduced a lot of noise into an already grainy negative but I like the effect on this image. Peeter Vissak (How syrreal is the World!) - In answer to your question, reality is an illusion and so, by process of elimination, the surreal (or syrreal) must be real. This image is wonderfully surreal. The lighting is deliciously dramatic. The weight of the trees on the left and the way the one tree is bent so painfully towards the left seems to suck all the energy form the right side of the image. Normally this would not appeal to me but somehow the people on the right make it alright. In fact they add to the drama. Being spaced out like they are, they remind me of helpless, oblivious sheep in a field. Things are not right around them but they are not masters of their fate. I like this shot very much. Bob Talbot (St Abbs Harbour) - Bob I really like this shot. I like the placement and inclusion of the red mooring ring, the endless DOF, the variety of primary colors, the sky, the way you handled the reflections in the water and the scene in general. Very, very nice. Lea Murphy (Loic) - I love the rendering of Loic's smooth skin and the sharpness of the eyes. Those giant eyes and that expression remind me of my own kids at that age. How could you not love a shot like this? Don Roberts (Vase at Sunrise) - Very cool shadows and there's a neat contrast between the curves and the straight lines of the railing. There's also a nice contrast between the red urn and the blue reflections in the windows. I think I would use the rail posts as a frame for the image. Cropping just outside the far left and far right posts would remove the left hand handle which, to me, makes the remaining handle more important pointing into the sun as it is. Um....well I might be wrong. Jim Snarski (The Violinist) - Happy, happy times. I've never played nor heard anyone else play the miniature violin but I'm sure its as much the soul of music as the normal sized violin. Strings kick ass man. Rand Flory (The Flower) - I had to ask my non-photographer wife for her opinion of this shot because it didn't evoke much feeling in me either way. She said the same thing but she was able figure out she couldn't understand why any of the elements (other than the flower) were in the image. There is a LOT of black negative space. The hand is missing the thumb and the you can't see either end of the legs. They could be dismembered as far as I can tell. The lines of the legs and arm meet at the knees but why? There's nothing there to look at. Gregory david Stempel (Night Light) - Very cool gothic atmosphere but that's one bizarre, blatantly phallic lamp post. It's like something out of a 1970's sci-fi porn flick. The image on my laptop looks quite yellow which I find even more disturbing. Eerie man. King/Arthur (Close In) - Like watching a Cinemascope film without a Cinemascope lens on the projector. Seems a bit horizontally compressed or vertically expanded. I do get a sense of 'close' with the blurred people and the distorted perspective. jIMMY Harris (Tex-ASS) - Ah jIMMY, love the title. I just have to laugh and think to myself 'what the hell is going on?' Amazing. Thanks to all contributors and the tireless gallery staff. Greg Fraser http://www.geocities.com/fraserg1962
