See: http://www.lenswork.com/podcast/LW0326%20-%20Internet%20Photography%20Docent%20-%20Where%20Art%20Thou.mp3 to listen to the podcast..
So, in the spirit of trying to provide useful comments on the images that are not "I like it" nor "I don't Like it", here goes:
Lea Murphy - Wylie six months
Here is an image of an alert very young child who I think looks very much like the photographer ( Lea Murphy ) so I'm assuming that he is her son. He is very interested in what is going on, not at all afraid or put off by the process. The lighting is very smooth and provides a wonderfully gentle transition from light to dark that emphasizes his perfect skin tone. This image makes you just want to pick Wylie up and give him a great big hug. Take a look at "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Vermeer for a master painter's study using a similar lighting technique.
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/0/08/Girlwithapearlearringpainting.jpg
Per Ofverbeck - CurveI see very formal composition here with the curved cobblestone edging leading the eye to the almost abstract wall of the building. The tree on the left is contrasted with the regularly spaced window on the wall. Good blocking, nice feeling of serenity this image could be anywhere and everywhere.
David Small -
Patterns and abstraction - reminds me of Jackson Pollock without the strings of paint. This is a photograph of everyday ephemera that is normally thrown away without a thought. David has captured this little reminder that everything in life is worth noticing. It makes me want to see more of his work and perhaps to be a little more careful in my own observations of the world around me.
Robert G. Earnest -Here is a man who is busy and taking time out to have this image made. The sitter is in a relaxed pose but isn't relaxed. He is in a hurry, he wants to get this done but doesn't want to disappoint the photographer. The lighting comes straight from Rembrandt and Whistler
( see A Study in Grey and Black : http://www.blesok.com.mk/Images%5CGallery%5C27%5Cwhistler_7.jpg ) for a similar composition. Robert shows complete control of the scene, everything is in its place and nothing is out of place.
This scene looks like a spectacular sunrise with just a hint of fog left on the water. The daily breezes have not yet started up and the water is glassy and shows a mirror of the sky. This is a place to relax and be peaceful. One can just imagine having a picnic here interrupted now and then by a little fishing. The viewer is invited into the scene by the bench in the left foreground.
Rodrigo da Cunha - Sit & Enjoy
Marilyn Dalrymple - Brasilicereus Phaeacanthus about to bloomWithout the botanical name, one is reminded of the plant in "The Little Shop of Horrors" and the cry " Feed Me". Attention is focused off the left and out of the frame. I want to turn left to see what's out there. This is a very carefully done photograph. It would be easy to get the tonal scale all wrong but Marilyn has hit it perfectly. The whites retain detail the shadows, where detail needs to be shown, have it. A challenge met and overcome.
Emily L. Ferguson - PicowerIn here notes about the image, Emily talks about the juxtaposition of the main image and the reflected buildings and the name of the entryway. Here we see a white building reflected on the Institute's entrance that seems to be being pulled at the center and drawn inside the Institute. The columns to the left and to the right are tilted and not corrected with perspective control which could have easily been done. So there they are, tilted and seemingly towering over the viewer, engulfing us into this research institute, pulling the building across the street with the insatiable quest for the meaning of learning . Lots of symbolism here. I want to just sit and ponder this image for a while and puzzle out the hidden meanings placed there by Emily.
Linda Buttstead -"Who are you and what do you want" seems to be the message from this White Heron. It stares right out at you, not exactly afraid but maybe a little apprehensive as to the motivation of the giant eye watching me. One imagines that just seconds later, the heron is in flight seeking a safer place not invaded by the camera and lens. The neck is extended and tense; the eye focused on the viewer; wings ready to spring forward and fly.
Valery Firsov - Sunny FishermanAn abstract image, the fisherman seems to be simultaneously in the water and on the water, we can't really tell. His image is made a little ethereal by the flare from the reflection of the sun on the water. The composition keeps drawing us back to the fisherman. The rod points to him, the bicycle has almost made it to him before falling to the ground. Ripples in the water surround him. All work together to keep bring the eye back to the main subject.
Rene has made an image that is shimmering and ghostly in its interpretation of this small patch of flowers. The composition shows the whole range of life for these flowers, from small buds, to partially opened, to fully formed, and then to the dry dead husk that foreshadows rebirth through the seed pods to be. A nice commentary on the life we all partake of.
Rene M Hales - Coreopsis
