My slant on things; Shyrell Melara: Never More The image is too small to give a real opinion. Is there any detail in the tree or tire? It appears to be an interesting image with subtle lighting contributing to an exciting background, but again, the image is too small. The story behind the photo definitely broke my heart. Jeff McSweeney: Bedsprings I am curious why the nude has not gone the way of the sunset, are we truly voyeurs at heart? The is a strong image. The exposure has balance that leads the viewer exactly as you might expect, from the girl to the bedsprings and then finishing with the room. The comp seems heavy on the lower third, but I see this as necessary to complete the image instead of a distraction. The girl's body posture and the fact her "form" is not like the skinny models we see today, are both reminiscent of the early works when that style was in vogue. A question for the audience: Why are photographers, after more than a hundred years of photography, still photographing nude women? And why do we still have this taboo about nude men? Are we truly artists when we allow our prejudices to interfere with our spirits? Dan Mitchell: Horses This is a tough image to provide an opinion. It has all of the elements of being a wonderful image, but there is something lacking in the approach. The horses are too small in the frame. They seem insignificant, the scene itself takes front stage. Is there a third white horse in the front of the other two? And is that a bird in the foreground? I am also curious are these questions a result of the resolution of the original digital file? I do like the comp and overall ambience of the scene. Elisha Page: Never understood why we add the film stock border information in the image, I guess we are making the frame itself part of the artwork? It's all art. The brick lines are crooked. I realize there is some curvature as a result of the lens? Or, something achieved in photoshop? I like the sepia treatment, the comp is bit boring but the antics of the subject liven things up. Gregory david Stempel: Fog in Ollala I worked for about an hour trying to time the gull, and two rocks to form a triangle. I shot an entire roll. The lens was actually set to about 175mm and I chose not to use a warming filter. Bob Talbot: Crab Spider This image has probably sent a lot of us beginning macro shooters back to the drawing board. My paltry 1:1 image of a like spider is now in a dark closet where no one can see it. This is an awesome shot and yes, the eyes are the true nature of this image. Everything about this image works and provides a standard for this gallery. The caption was a great help in the understanding of what was involved. A classic NGS approach to captioning. Antonio Cid: Taberna This is a great shot with some shortcomings. It's far too dark in the lower right corner, which I found distracting. The overall scene has an unstable nature about it, almost as if an earthquake is happening. I liked the choice of black and white, the comp works although the severity of the fov's distortion is a bit too noticeable. I like the ambience depicting what appears to be a good natured place to visit. The caption was informative and a welcomed addition. Jim Davis: unusual duo In this case, the caption fails us. What is unusual? Are these two birds generally not seen together? Jim's exposure is again a bit hot. The white on the egret is blown out and lost all detail on it's back. In this case, that is critical, the wind has kicked up some feathers but we lose that aspect do to the lack of detail in the surrounding feathers, the upturned feather becomes a blotch of white. I like the comp, and there is enough in the surrounding frame to let us know where this is all taking place. A polarizer would have helped to lose the glare on the Lilly pads along the water's surface. The title suggests we are seeing two birds as the central theme, yet only one is focused. Elson T. Elizaga: Lifeform The wonderful fact about macro/micro photography is how it plucks new life out of old subjects and gives us detail not part of our everyday conditionings. Elson's image has done both. Alien yes, but only in our lack of intimacy with subjects at this level of closeness. There is this nice repetitive form, but the artist disrupted that flow which fills the framing perfectly. Lighting is done well, comp is strong. This image could be used in several formats, education, advertising or fine art. Rand Flory: Spring at the Never Inn Here is simple, well executed look at the beginning of spring. We have an image rich in detail in it's subject, isolated from it's surroundings. We have been given an opportunity again, with the use of macro techniques to see into the heart of this subject. The background is a bit distracting but not as in the past submissions by Rand. In this case, the intrusion is not as loud. The comp is bit flat for me, lacks dynamics. The lighting is nice and even and apparently providing just enough highlights to get itself noticed. Thomas Fors: Sarah, 4 Years Old A nice, warm image providing us a very pleasant natured composition. The young girl seems happy, natural and filled with life. The tonal affect works as does the soft focus. This image succeeds without question. I enjoyed the touch of highlight on the top of the girl's head, as well as the casual nature of her hair. The lighting is flattering, yet high keyed, leaving us no detail in the skin. In this case that does not detract from the subject or overall pleasant nature of this image. One for the gallery walls. Sonney Lebay: koh samui mornings Strong composition, but a tad unbalanced. Too much weight to the lower right. The vignetting at the corners, should have cropped this out. Leaving them in suggests a lack of inspection of the work or inexperience. Another problem is the darkness in the lower right. The subject area is so tightly placed into the corner the shadows have no where to go and bunch up down there to the point of yelling at us. It has been my experience, if you have deep shadows showing the shadow in it's entirety can sometimes allow play with the contrast and becomes part of the ambience. But here, it's seems more a lack of balance and just ignored or unnoticed. The shallow depth of field was a good choice but I wonder if maybe one of the footprints should have been included in the sharpness zone due to their already diffused nature from being wet. Take care, Gregory david Stempel FIREFRAMEi m a g i n g www.americanphotojournalist.com
