OK, everyone, November is here, and so is another of my Gallery reviews... ----- ------- ----- "White Sands Yucca" - Trevor Cunningham Trevor, I like the way the yucca stands solidly grounded and leans slightly to the outside of the frame. The lines in this seem to converge somewhat toward a point near the buds at the top of the plant. Composition is pretty good; I'm a little disturbed by the boundary between light and dark ground just about splitting the photo in half. A lower or higher viewpoint would have corrected this (if I were shooting, lower would be my preference...but that's me). The ripples in the sand and other various disturbances in the ground-lefel surface add enough visual interest to take advantage of the whole frame; however, they are minor enough to avoid distraction from the subject. Exposure looks pretty good, although I think the sand should be whiter than a gray-card, a fairly easy fix post-scan. The black border around the image, I believe, detracts a little, as well, but without it, the image has the appearance of being uncontained, of spilling out of the frame... ----- ------- ----- "sail reflection" - Emily L. Ferguson I can't help but note that the water in this image looks like a chrome-plated solid surface. The reflection is beautifully swirled red and yellow, and intermixed with the blue stolen from the sky. Although the photo lacks an isolated, singular subject, it still works to create a pleasant mood, one of gentle breezes and sunlight. As abstract images go, Emily, this one would work well in a gallery setting, and I believe you've got a great one here. ----- ------- ----- "Face on the Street" - Jeff Spirer OK, Jeff, dark on darker is something I tried once before in the infancy of my academia, much to the chagrin (and outright ridicule) of my professor. But now I've grown up somewhat, and I am not bound by the constraints of the clinically-sterile environs of so-called "higher education." That said, this image, which I find is growing in my fascination, is awash in mystery, and compels me to look closely at it for longer periods of time than I would had it been exposed/composed under "cookie-cutter" rules and such. If not for the title, I might be a bit lost as to the identity of the subject, and so I find myself wishing for just a *little* more exposure and/or less blur on the face. But not much. ----- ------- ----- "Lauren In A Blue Hat" - Roy Miller Roy, I am curious as to how the image started (pre-cross-process); certain elements lead me to believe it was black and white, but the skin tones in Lauren's body look natural. Indeed, it is the apparent reality of the skin tones versus the red/blue treatment that throw the image just a little bit off for me. However, the surreality is intriguing, to say the least. The nuclear red "gegenschein" (what is the word in English?) and vibrant blue hat compete for attention; her grey lips are disturbing, her eyes engaging. I find myself imagining an alternate-present world, like those in films (i.e. Clockwork Orange, Brazil, etc.) and dropped unceremoniously into the context of this current world with uncertain global stability (on the remote scale) and bills (on the local scale), it leaves me longing for more of the story. But in a good way. ----- ------- ----- Thanks to all who participated, whether in comments or by digging deep into the photo box. I'm hoping Santa will find on Ebay (and bring me) a scanner that can handle 4x5 transparencies. In the meantime, though, I'll just talk about what is posted.
