John (Johnny) Mason's photo 'Stage Door, Old Cabell Hall, University of Virginia, 21 February 2004' in this week's gallery really captured my attention. In fact, I liked it so much that I didn't even notice the grey darkened blowout. Now that Emily mentioned it though, it is quite obvious. I would try masking that area off and cloning some of the background that surrounds the man's head then add some noise or something so its not an obvious clone. I love the use of angles. The angle of the stage makes the people on there look as if they will soon slide off into failure but the angle of the girl's viola (violin?) rises up with confidence or at least hope. She does not appear nervous or frightened to me. I see a bit of a smile and a quiet confidence in her posture and face. The lighting is also wonderful with the girl properly lit while the stage is blazing with hot light. Wonderful shot. The other image that really caught my attention is Amy West's 'Poker'. I can't really put into words what it is that I like about this. Perhaps its the black felt of the table. I've seen a lot of green but never a black table however the black is much better for this shot as it makes a dramatic void between the chips and the cards at the right, into which someone's mortgage money and title to the Cadillac are going to go. In desperation, the gambler has formed the non-stacked chips into a mini crucifix. Greg Fraser Slapper of Newts "Things are never what they seem" - Vlad http://users.imag.net/~lon2251/Gallery
