After last week's brilliant gallery it's disappointing to see so many mediocre offerings this week. What is photography coming to? Technology over vision? Oh well, while I'm here I might as well slag them off - it's no more than they deserve. The collection of snapshots I'm referring to is located at http://www.rit.edu/~andpph/gallery.html Achal Pashine - What a miserable photo. Actually this one's not as bad as I thought: I actually like it *because* of the kid's pained expression. And there below I read - exactly what Achal thought too. It's nicely presented to us - would like the image itself to be bigger though. I don't mind the background features at all. maybe a perfectionist would want a plain graded backdrop. Are the eyes in focus on the original? I'm conservative on eyes in portraits: they are non-negotiable. At least one of them needs be in focus, better two, or maybe all three .... Peeter Vissak - The End Dirty pictures? No, but for perfection you should have completely valeted (cleaned) the car before staging this shot, especially the windows. OK, it wasn't supposed to be car-mag fare. it's a time of day / moment. The twilight zone ... heck, even the horizon is level. This picture is about more than just the picture. The author is a vagabond: so is the subject. It's about people who have shared the same camera meeting in the flesh. Darn it - another shot I actually like a lot for one reason or another. Just noticed the metadata: <<TIME: 24. October 2003; 11:14>> For clarity was this AM or PM? More confusing though: since Estonia is in the Northern Hemisphere is why, if you had just missed the sunset, it was 11:14. This time is confusing me ... easily done. Christopher Strevens - Skin and Blister This is a family photo. A personal thing. Full-stop. On Rhyming slang: did you know that Cockneys are never born deaf? It's impossible in an Oxymoronic kind of way. Another version of Rhyming Slang exists in the West of England: Cornish Rhyming slang. Examples include Fisherman's = goat [Fisherman's Boat] Fisherman's = dope [Fisherman's Rope] Fisherman's = w*nk*r [Fisherman's Anchor] Fisherman's = "page the oracle" [Fisherman's Coracle] Obviously it's a bit harder to decipher than Cockney: context really is everything. Trevor Cunningham - Old Falucca Sail A very different nautical shot: simple and graphic if a bit too dark for my taste. I'm guessing it's about the highlight on the boom For me I'm not exited about it as a picture: nothing specific, I'm just not connecting with it. Laurenz Bobke - Small boat on Daling River (China) Could not have placed the oar better in the frame. A picture of a place: good decision to show two half-boats. More interesting than placing one boringly central in the frame. Shame the light is not on the R.H. man's face more. If it were mine I'd clone out the white camper-van/bus from the hillside. It's attention seeking. Mike Spillmann - cambodian lake Yuk! I really cannot stand the colour cast in that sky, nor can I stand the blown-out highlights. If this had been presented well, I'd have liked the scene/composition but as it is it stinks. At least the horizon is level. Jeff Spirer - Alcatraz << Inmate Shower Facility >> Looks like a bog / dunny to me. Or is this yet another example of the cruelty of the US state to people it regards as inferior: making them shower while sitting on the throne? As an image: classic example of monochrome imagery of dilapidated buildings. Would not work in colour (for me anyhap). Looks like it holds loads of texture: far more than it is possible to convey over the web. Exposure is spot on: composition is spot on. I'm almost certain I wish I hadn't been given a title. Shots like this usually work best as part of a series .... Dan Mitchell - Winter comes Fall in England is hardly a very English expression. Give me "Autumn Colours" any day. The shot: pleasant enough composition. Shame about the lighting. The bright triangle of grass top left is a distracting background element. Jimmy Kostiuck - WTF is going on? What are all those papers and why so untidily arranged? This was so nearly very well done. Was there vertical parallax in the viewfinder? I don't want to see the strip of wall along the top and I find myself cheated by not being able to see the man's feet!!!! If the feet are on the neg., re-crop it. Lighting was hard. You wanted to keep detail on this side of the man but it's resulted in the striplights tending to blow out a bit. If you can re-crop, I'd suggest losing the ziz-zag detail along the left hand edge too, to clean up the image that is. Interesting shot I should add. Leslie Spurlock - Monk at Festival It looks like there are three people in this shot: would have preferred just two. I like the interaction of the subject and the OOF guy top right but I find whoever it is behind the subject's face a distraction. Not a bad shot all said: like the lighting. Emily L. Ferguson - <EM> Nice work Emily </EM> Just a simple still life study. Nice background: bit of a cast I don't take to, or maybe I want it more high key, but I do like it. So many possibilities here. In another shot I want to see the table and the whole of it's shadow. Would that have to be square format? Actually I'm not sure I want that basket in the frame at all. Maybe a severed hand would add some colour .... Shawna Hanel - Petroleum Byproduct Another WTF shot. Not a clue what it's of but I like it all the same. Shawna's been giving us trashy images of late so I'm guessing, helped by the title, this is more trash / waste. I really can't work out what it is though. Cellophane? Sweet wrapper. Whatever it is it's colourful. Something to think about: not just a snapshot to show your mum ;o) OK, the deed is done. If you think I've been harsh: you have not seen the bits I held back!!!! Maybe no review is batter than a bad one after all ... Bob
