Bob Talbot - Abstract
Yes, an abstract. And a well done one at that. I really like the way the background looks--can't tell if it's the light or satin fabric. Very effective. I think we're looking down into a bottle of some sort, or is it a doorknob? How did the solid black come to be there?
For a real nitpick, there's a black spot in the upper right corner. ;-)
D.L. Shipman -
Nice capture of a droplet laden web. The limited depth-of-field works well. I wish there was some more breathing space on the bottom and left of the frame--it feels a wee bit too tight.
Jim Snarski - Preparing For Departure
"Auto everything" And I'm afraid it looks that way--the highlights, the most important part of the picture, are blown out with little detail remaining. 1/2 to 1 stop less exposure would have made this one much better.
Jim Thyer - Queen to Jump
An Escheresque photograph. Quite difficult to pull off without the graphic artist's flexibility to put lines and shadows wherever desired. You've done well, especially with the photographer's constraint of solid objects and no apparent digital manipulation.
My only complaint here is the carpet background. I think you might find something better to make for a more complete photograph. One of the things that made M. C. Escher's work so wonderful was his way of making the illusion look real. Perhaps you could work on your background and lighting some more to add some mystery.
Gary M. Thomas - Claire
Ha! From the thumbnail I thought she had a watermelon on her head. Nice use of the soft light. I'm sure they were pleased with the publicity photo.
As Bob T. mentioned, there is the issue of the bra straps: definitely not authentic period clothing. The bra wasn't invented until a few years after oscar Wilde was gone the the great theatre in the sky. In a period piece this woman would probably have been wearing a corset.
Trevor Cunningham - Khafre
I've always liked the bold, dramatic look of infrared, and that's true here as well. The problem here is I wish the sky were more interesting. I might have waited for something different before tripping the shutter--maybe some triangular shapes to mimic the pyramid.
Christopher Strevens - Bus Queue at Morden
I rather like this. Better than Judy. Or maybe it would be interesting to have Judy in the crowd, or stepping out of the double-decker ;-)
This does, however, bring up one of the reasons I don't like most digital manipulations of photographs--the digital paint effects don't look like the work of a painter. A painter's brush strokes would end where one area of color met another, not carry through from one section to the next. The strokes would serve to outline or highlight areas, not be applied globally.
Jeff Spirer - Girl with Bangs
Bang in the middle of the frame. It's not speaking to me. Maybe with a little more detail visible in the eyes?
Emily L. Ferguson - Upper Ranch, Pierce Point
Like Bob T., I enjoyed the written description of the ranch and environs. And, there is for me too something that just doesn't quite work with the picture, but I can't pin down what it is. The lighting is nice. The trees work well to fill in the bald sky. Maybe it's the regular spacing of the trees that needs to be broken up--it comes off as feeling very centered and regular. Maybe it would be nice to see more of the fallen tree in the foreground. I don't know, I just don't see any movement in the composition.
Polly - The Old Postbox
Despite the desaturation of the background, I still find it distracting, especially the large white object in the storefront. I think you might have chosen a cleaner background. Other ways that might help include more limited depth-of-field with a wider aperture (or Yikes! blurring in Photoshop), or cropping off about 1/4 from the right side. Better still than the latter would have been to use the doorway at the left to fill the frame behind the postbox.
With a little work I think it would make a nice postcard or greeting card.
That's all for now. Please have a look at Gallery-X: www.rit.edu/~andpph/cgi-bin/gallery-x/index.html and let me know what you think.
Cheers, Rich Mason
http://richmason.com
