The rain has stopped, the air is clear and the wildflowers are blooming. Between enjoying that and planning the pre-vacation supplies list, (why are there no stores that sell both decent film and booze?) I take time to reflect upon this week's photos. Marilyn Dalrymple (Nimbus) - As the boy wonder would say, holy sweetness Batman! Marilyn if your photos don't get these animals adopted (or at least rented) then people in your neck of the woods have no souls. Jim Davis (Stalking the Shore) - I think I like the angled lines of the grasses and the relationship between their linear form and the shape of the bird. I also like the way my eye follows from the rock at the waterline (left of the image), up the bird's back and head, down its bill and down the angled grass at the right. Its a fun ride. Jeff McSweeney (Broken Frames) - To me this looks like a photo of a blast scene without the dust covered blood stains. Perhaps its because the model and the frames have their long axis aligned that makes me think she is part of the scene and not a contrast to it. Her pose seems more haphazard than fluid. I haven't seen this kind of a take on the 'nude amongst ruins' theme. Its interesting and a bit disturbing. My response if probably another manifestation of CNN overload. Pablo Coronel (Self-Portrait) - You and the wife make a lovely, distorted couple. It might be the downsampling but it appears that neither the headlight nor the reflection are in focus and I feel the need for something for my eyes to grab onto when viewing this scene. The composition doesn't really thrill me although I am interested in knowing what that that tall thing on the left side of the reflection is. It looks like a brass bed frame. Dan Mitchell (Self) - Now there's some sharp reflections. The mass of long, vertical lines give me a strong sense of vertical movement (downward I think). But dead center amongst all this motion is a motionless guy staring at something in his hands. This, of course, makes too dull an image so we throw in a woman traveling at a right angle to the vertical lines and in case you didn't notice her, we'll throw in a bright blue triangle behind her. The triangle is a pretty solid figure but the color is the same as some of the vertical streaks which would seem to indicate that those streaks are triangles moving at incredible speed. I really like this effect. Kostas Papakotas (cd cover) - I like this layout (with both horizontal and vertical images) better than just the horizontal images but you'd have to paste some more leather top and bottom to get back to a square format. I think the sepia toning works well. You've done a lot of work here my friend. Does your name appear anywhere on the CD? David Small (Not A Movie Set) - At first I thought New Orleans but it looks a bit too rustic for that. Does that gentleman lower left have any legs? The curb, balcony, roofline and post seem to be dividing the image into quarters but the camera angle is not square to the curb so everything tapers to the left and I don't get square edges to the four sections. Next week I'll likely find my comments here too anal and take it all back. I do like the collection of shapes formed by the curtains, windows and people. I also like how the two people are in a vertical line. It gives me the impression they are both unaware of the other person. It gives me a sense of omnipotence being aware of both of them at once while they are only aware of themselves. Gregory david Stempel (Tacoma Narrows Bridge No. 2a) - I too hate it when crap like trees, flowers and birds block your view of something as wonderful as a concrete and steel bridge and the fluffy smog producing city it rode in on. On the other hand, I do like this image mostly for the part above the lights. I love how it is barely visible in outline against the night sky and the way the supports seem to shoot up into the darkness. The lights are cool too. D.L. Shipman - Now that's one funkified flower. I like the way the shapes of the petals, the leaves and the background pattern work together. Perhaps there's a little more background than I would use. The colors in the flower, well, is it digital or hand painted? I sort of like it but I feel I shouldn't. Christopher Strevens, LRPS (Watling Street) - As a drawing it looks nice. I would like to see the original photo alongside. Did you take this shot? To me it doesn't look like your kind of shot. Anyway, Photoshop did a good job on this. Is this from a single filter or did you have to work for two days like Kostas? Pini Vollach (Whites & Reds) - I'm getting very high contrast with a lot of solid black on my monitor and most of the whites aren't white. Its a high contrast LCD though so maybe that's the problem. Its an interesting scene though. I have never seen Ghandi's tomb and if you had not mentioned that was what it was, I never would have guessed 'tomb'. My thanks to all contributors and the PF gallery staff. Sure they're Dextrophobic but who isn't? Greg Fraser "Things are never what they seem" - Vlad http://users.imag.net/~lon2251/Gallery
