DL Shipman: HAR:
A shot of colorful bird. I really like the way it is presented, had it been a full bird shot, it would be less interesting to me. I would have liked a little more crop from bottom, to get that additional black portion out.
Achal Pashine: Spring #2. mine.. what can I say? Indeed it is another flower shot as Chris says, but I have tried to extract that flower's freshness into the shot. When I clicked the shutter, the reason was the radiance of the petals, calling me to embrace the flower [poetically]. Technically, I left the blurred petals to convey some depth.
Jim Snarski: Rite of Spring: A flower shot. I would say, it is a shot for records and does not seem to be an artistic _expression_ in my mind. If I were Jim, I would have focused my attention on just the central flower. Would like to see a little more shadow details. It is tricky to get it in white flowers. Did you use built in flash or is it just the sideway sunlight?
Christopher Stevens: Conversation: Now, this shot seems to be created because Chris had a "vision". If this print was on sale, I would not buy that, but still would appreciate photographer's urge to create a shot like this. Seems to me that most all people are in conversation. Head (hair) of the front woman is unnecessarily color-merged with the background, otherwise a good shot.
Lorenz Bobke: Sunset over Loch Morlich: A nice shot. Very stereotypical though. Would have liked to see the person standing rather than bending, it would have helped the composition. But the person was doing what he was doing, so it is the way it is. If I were you, I would have made the environmental drama a primary subject and the boat a secondary object in the composition by taking a wider view; also would have put the boat in a 3rd rather than right in middle; but that is my view and you have conveyed yours; it is very subjective to say what is right and wrong, only choices that differ.
Steve Shapiro: Rainbow, Monterey: a nice composition with a nice smelling bay. ;) It would have been wonderful, if there were some direct sunlight on those little boats. That would have made the scene more vibrant. But, with Mother Nature doing what it was doing at that moment, this is a beautiful shot.
Gary Thomas: A Corner of a Foreign Field that is Forever England: A nice shot. I like the sky details. Looks superb technically. But again, to me, it looks like a record shot rather than an artistic _expression_; it is very subjective to define art and one man's art looks like a record to another person (me). But you had your reasons to take the shot and you did it really well. I especially like the composition and a point of view you have used to record this.
Don Roberts, Marshland: Vibrant colors, streaks of blue, red, and greens make this very nice shot. The odd size of crop makes it a little different. If I were you, in my vision, I would have cropped water from the bottom entirely, making it even wider. I assume that it is rich in details in the original print. Great work.
Trevor Cunningham: At the lake: A very nice shot. Very well presented. I think if the background of gallery webpage is made 18% grey, it would really help for many presentations like this. Despite the fact that (for me) it is always difficult to judge b/w prints when presented on computer screens, this looks great. If this were a little panoramic with little hint of sepia, it would remind me of some of Jan's [Faul] Europe images.
Kostas Papakotas: Looks great in thumbnail collection, but when expanded, the telephone wires ruin the shot. I like the foreground angle compensating the angle of that hill. Which film? Which camera?
Deen Hameed: I don't
understand this well. The girl seems to be talking to the gentleman. Why is this
so blurred? What does the photographer wants to convey by blurrness? Would the clarity and sharpness help this shot ? I don't know. The moment seems dramatic; she
wants his advice on her thoughts, but he needs time to think or does not want
to express his real thoughts out of politeness. In essense, I don't underrstand.
WR: S curve: Nice shot. But, there is too much complexity at
the top [for my taste]. Also the sprinkler like thingy on the left distracts.
But, you have recorded what was there, it is a nice record.
Thank you all for your submissions and an
opportunity to review. They are all wonderful and there are here
because you were compelled to shoot what you shot, that is reason
enough to celebrate and enjoy them.
Achal Pashine
