Fellow Forumeers, Here are my thoughts concerning the PhotoForum member's gallery/exhibit space now on display at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html: Shyrell Melara - "Never More" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/melara.html As a photograph, Melara's "Never More" is pretty mundane. There is interesting color and lighting, and the backlit quality does offer a sense of serenity, which is unfortunately disrupted slightly by the swing on the right, pulling the balance somewhat out of kilter. A likable image. However, Sheryll's write-up turns this photograph into a memorial and it just takes off in meaning. She may not have been able to find a better image to memorialize her son without his presence. The swing is static; it is empty. And its emptiness begins to fill the whole frame with that feeling. The tree, with its massive girth so well outlined by sunlight, now represents an almost ageless entity. The green leaves, fresh every year, offers hope for the future. The darkness of the trunk shows the other side. And the swing just sits there, empty and unmoving. Despite the motionlessness of the subject, this is an exceedingly moving image in its own way. It is my favorite of the week. Jeff McSweeney - "BedSprings" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/mcsweeney.html An unclothed woman lying on unclothed bedsprings. This image has a lot of potential, but it misses the mark. The incongruities ruin the image for me. What I do like is the color of the skin contrasting against the gray of the walls and the bed. I also like the basic placement of the objects in the picture, with the roundness of the shoulder, accented on top by light, situated in the right lower third of the image. What I don't like is the apparent discomfort in the placement and the pose. This is not "au naturel"; this is posed, too obviously posed. Lying on bare bed springs must be uncomfortable. The wrinkles in the right flank look uncomfortable. The right hand seems to be uncomfortably positioned above the left wrist. And yet the pose seems as if it is trying to create a mood. This perceived discomfort does not allow a mood to form, other than "hurry up and snap the shutter." Dan Mitchell - "Horses" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/mitchell.html While I do like the light and the color, the horses just do not seem right. (Hmmm, I wonder what I would have thought if I looked at this photo at some time other than just after trying to understand "BedSprings?) They are too small to be the subject (despite the title), but too prominent to be background. I would have liked them a bit further back in the pasture where they were not competing with the fence for attention. Otherwise, this is a good shot. The leaves at the top right really help to set a frame around the photo. The wooden cart by the side of the road adds much interest to the scene. It is just the horses are not quite at the best place. Elisha Page - http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/page.html This is an interesting portrait and an interesting Holga image. How did that guy get his hands into that position? I can't do that. Gregory david Stempel - "Fog in Ollala" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/stempel.html Stempel gives us a mood shot that works. This would have been my favorite of the week if Melara had not written about the meaning of her shot. That was so haunting. And so is this image. It is well balanced in composition. It is well balanced in color. I love the gull in the upper left, which would be interesting in any case, as it does enhance the mood, but its reach for equilibrium with the object poking up out of the water in the lower right gives the image some type of balanced validity. Harmony. I guess I like harmony in a photograph. It was the uncomfortable lack of harmony that ruined McSweeny's "BedSprings." Thanks, Luis, for pointing that out. But what does Stempel mean when the says, "Nikon F4s, 75-300, Fuji Velvia and timing." That is "timing"? Bob Talbot - "Crab Spider" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/talbot.html Another Talbot exhibition of technical prowess! What an amazing shot. Spiders are such captivating subjects. Very good work, Talbot. Ya done good. But did you forget to tell us about the pin you Photoshopped out of the thorax/abdomen? Or how did you get so close without causing the critter to skitter off? Antonio J. Cid - "Taberna" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/cid.html I enjoy these slice of life shots from places I have never been. This image is no exception. Jim Davis - "unusual duo" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/davis.html The best of Davis' recent series of juxtaposed bird shots. I like this a lot. Davis must spend literally hours hunting down birds that could be proper subjects, and then he must spend many minutes exploring the proper positioning of his feathered subjects. And it does look like a Canon digital image. What is it about Canon digitals that give such a distinct image softness/contrast? It must be the CMOS chip. I like the results. Elson T. Elizaga - "Lifeform" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/elizaga.html As a pure photograph, this is my favorite of the week. But I am a sucker for mood shots and, when well done, prefer them to straight shots. There is very much to like about this photograph. The change in light and coloration in going from upper left to lower right is perfect. The dark of the background plays brilliantly against the lightness of the subject. But if this were all, it would be a good photograph, but not particularly exceptional. It is the bright, white root ending (?) in the lower right that elevates this image into the exceptional category. This part goes against the grain. It curves the wrong way. It is lighter than anything else. It gives the spark to the image. Rand Flory - "Spring at the Never Inn" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/flory.html The little bud at the end of the twig is placed slightly too far to the left. The background conflicts slightly too much with the bud for attention. But I like it anyway. When I picked the background color from last week's images, I used the one image that had a slightly darker gray. Bummer. Now the background created around the image contrasts slightly with page background. It was supposed to blend. Maybe next time. Tom Fors - "Sarah, 4 Years Old" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/fors.html Sarah is a really cute kid. And the post-processing enhances her cuteness. Well done. Sonny Labay - "koh samui mornings" http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery/labay.html I like the shell-covered culms of bamboo in the foreground. They contrast well with the brown of the sand, which offsets the blue of the ocean quite appropriately. But I do get distracted by a couple of things, such as an uneven horizon (I said I like harmony) and the sky in the upper right hand portion of the photograph turning an inexplicably dark color. But it is overall a good effort. As always, a big thanks to all who contributed this week. I don't know if my own work is getting any better with time, but viewing these images every week seems to help my personal understanding of what makes a photo work. Thanks also to Andy who makes this all possible, and his valiant staff for their efforts in putting the PhotoForum together every week. Peace and pixels, rand
