Hello, everyone! Somehow, I had a spare hour or so in my hectic life, so I decided to post a review, despite being "out of mind", according to a prior message. OK! Here it is: ----- ------- ----- "Relax" - Pini Vollach Pini, I really like the feel of this image. I can't help but notice the lines of tension in the feet, and the bar the feet are resting on looks anything but comfortable, like some degree of effort is required to keep them there. It's a nice visual contradiction. The color palette is somewhat blue, which adds to the "decelerated" feel of the image. Nice depth-of-field, too! ----- ------- ----- "last gasp of autumn" - Emily L. Ferguson The tree has all but finished its annual metamorphosis into a stick, much to the delight of the evergreens marching into winter. I really like this one, Emily; the low contrast/elevated brightness works in the image's favor. It evokes images of fog and low-zenith noonday sun consistent with winter. The overall design/composition of the image works well, too. Of particular note is the positions of the treeline and vertical axis of the foreground tree. Well done! ----- ------- ----- "Antique Fan" - Marilyn Dalrymple Although I've got a fairly strong desire to see this image in its "pre-PS" stage, I rather like the effects you imposed in this version. Fittingly, Marilyn, in the last few days I viewed about 120 photo-realistic paintings... (I think it's funny how sometimes paintings attempt - often successfully - to be photographs, and vice-versa.) The lighting is very nicely done; the difference between light and shadow is small, which drives home the "delicate" nature of the fan you were trying to portray. Composition is great, as well, even though I tried flipping it around at several angles, you know, just to see. I believe you got it right. ----- ------- ----- "Image Cathedral at Les Baux" - Guy Glorieux Guy! Wow! At first, I was a little disappointed, maybe even to the point of outrage that someone would photograph a painting and post it in this gallery. then I realized it was you, so I looked again... resulting in a complete and total reversal of sentiment toward this image. Breaking my usual form by following some of the discussion before submitting my review, I see that you are a little displeased with the lack of sharpness in the final image. I have to say that I believe this to be its "selling point," if you will. The overall unsharpness contributes to the connection between the painting and the "real world" (term used loosely), and blurs the lines between what the camera actually saw, and what is imagined. I really do not believe that there is anything you could do to improve the image beyond what I am seeing on my screen. Bravo! ----- ------- ----- "Mykat Watching Fall" - Renate Volz This is an interesting situation. Mykat looks like a monarch, supervising the kingdom, keeping watch. But despite being in control of the world, (s)he is still behind glass, longing to be a part of it. From a technical standpoint, this is an excellent balance of both reflected and transmitted images. Both appear to be somewhat equally exposed, providing equilibrium in duality. Composition is just about perfect, with the various elements delicately juxtaposed. An aside: when I was attending university, I had a cat and dog (both highly realistic stuffed photo props) named "Siayti" and "Dioji" respectively. I have promised Cathy that our kids would not follow that naming convention... ----- ------- ----- I thank everyone who participated this week! Photographers: outstanding work! Commentators: excellent feedback! I look forward to the next group of images, and eventually the posting of my own work (pending digitization)...
