OK, a pretty wide assortment this week. Here goes: Qkano/Bob Talbot: Crab Spider At first I was inclined to suggest inverting the image, but on second thought, leaving the animal upside-down reinforces the feeling of looking in towards a different world. I like the large areas of primary colors in this one; the contrast between bright color and the spider's pastel body help to draw attention to the small lethal specimen. Great work. Srinivasa R. Regeti: Town of Warrenton I love the timeless quality of this image; the warm-toned black and white works well here. I feel tempted to walk into the image and join the pedestrians. I want to stop and look at the thrift shop's offerings. I appreciate the structure and composition in this image, the way everything leads to everything else. The only thing that bothers me here is the gray border, second from the inside. If only it were the same warm tone of gray as the image... But then, that's my only complaint. A wonderful job. An aside: When I was studying Photography at Virginia Commonwealth University, I submitted a photo essay which consisted of a series of images taken between dawn and dusk on one day, confined to the town limits of randomly-selected Gordonsville, Virginia. The experience turned out to be far better than the images. Herschel Mair: Camel trader in Oman What I liked best about this image was how the image told a story regardless of its accompanying text: the man's simple yet formal clothing, the contours of his face, the way he wears his beard, the very camelesque fur in the background. You did a great job with the tight cropping; time-of day and fill-light on the far side of the man's face add considerably to the image's value. Emily L. Ferguson: No Fish Overall, I like this shot. The atmospheric effects and rough surf contrast well with the subdued color and silhouette of the people on the beach. In my opinion, the end of the fishing rod shouldn't be so close to the edge; perhaps if the zoom were backed off a little, showing more of the water in the background, this may have been a stronger image; maybe if the people were caught coming toward you, as opposed to broadside... I don't know. Maybe it is better left alone. Rich Mason: Forest I have a deep appreciation for images of things which are not what they seem to be. This one is reminiscent of "Games" Magazine's "Eyeball Benders", and although I am sure I have seen this sort of arrangement before, cannot remember it ever looking like a forest. Or is it because if the photo's title? It also looks like a graphic used to promote a local gospel festival several weeks ago. Compositionally, great choice on going tight, but the top of the center "tree", in my opinion, shouldn't have been dethatched. Pretty clever, Rich. Laurenz Bobke: Luxor Sunrise This is a brilliant shot. In the thumbnail, the balloon looked as though it were a red sun peeking through violet clouds. The deep adobe colors in the rocks, trees, sky are simply amazing. Obviously you thought of this beforehand, if you had the location scouted and set up the tripod prior to sunrise. Out of curiosity, why did you select Velvia, if the colors are already outrageous? I'm not complaining; just interested in seeing what this would look like represented by different films... I would like to see more from this trip! Brian van den Broek: A Pillar of Society Interesting composition. The central figure is leaping out of the frame, and the surrounding structural elements are coverging to a point behind his head. The monotone palette reduces all objects to alike forms (noisy), and may create a bit of confusion; not sure if that would have been eliminated or reduced by shooting in b/w and toning. You used an array of digital tools, possibly in an experimentation mode; creating some post-process selective focus may have improved the image as well; it appears to be slightly fuzzy. Terry L. Mair: Early Morning Timp First off, congratulations on being undaunted by thick fog. Compositionally, this image works pretty well; the mountain in the background, its reflection in the water, a framing device of silhouetted brush in the immediate foreground. I believe it would have been improved upon by lowering the shooting position a bit, thereby reducing the extent of empty water space and expanding the sky. Not sure what the native format of this shot was, but I would really like seeing a wall-size enlargement made from a 4x5 piece of film. ;-) Pini Vollach: Hands Not quite sure about this one, Pini. Hands. I see a circle of hands here leading from the bottom of the frame around the child's head and back around to the top left. But really, I'm not seeing much more of merit indicative of your caliber of work here. There's a degree of unsharpness throughout the image, some distracting blotchy noise in the upper right. From a purely graphic standpoint, I like the color regions as they relate to one another: black/white, red fabric, brown skin, a swath of green bisecting the image, and dotted blue in the upper right corner. CJR Strevens: Judy Is this a photograph? I suppose it is all in the presentation. Interesting how it can start out as a digital photo, then turn into a quasi-watercolor. The jury's still out as to whether this technique improves the image. Maybe it just creates a parallel composition subject to its own interpretation. As for what I see on my monitor, I like the interplay of light and shadow here. The model, however, looks a bit apprehensive, a little tense. Otherwise, good use of light and positioning. Rough edges remind me of prints made with handmade negative carriers in undergrad, and create visual interest if used sparingly enough. Well, that should just about do it for me. I thank all of you for your contributions this week. I look forward to your replies. Yours very truly, Darin Heinz
