Hi again, everyone. I got a little bit more of a jump on the one this week. Looks like another great collective performance! I hope I'm not the only reviewer this time; the submissions are certainly of the quality that would merit more than just the following response... ----- ------- ----- "By any other name..." by Howard Leigh Ah, yes, an elephant! ;-) This is a great closeup, Howard. Nothing wrong with using an old lens on a new camera. You've got the center focused sharply, and the use of shallow depth-of-field works wonderfully here. The only thing that bothers me is the amount of in-camera cropping. By lopping off part of the petals on all four sides, yet including the chunks of background, my mind is telling me it wants to see more. As an alternative (which may be more desirable when faced with such an irregularly-shaped subject), you could have cropped in even more to produce an entirely pink frame. In that case, the image would have maintained its solidarity; the crop would have looked to be completely deliberate. The way it is presented here, it looks as if the cropping was either accidental or due to some level of your equipment's limitations, as opposed to being your intended final image. Other than that, your exposure and color balance is perfect, as is the softness of the light. ----- ------- ----- "Ocean Side in Sri Lanka" by Quintin Tallon If memory serves, this is the first submission we've seen from you, Quintin. If so, welcome to the Gallery! You have uploaded a wonderful photograph, at that: the woman's gaze, the warm toned lighting, the apparent breeze, it provides the perfect opportunity for a well-timed shutter release. You have done well with this. The depth-of-field is perfect; she is sharply focused, as the horizon fades off in the distance. Your composition is great, with the angle of the fence rails adding to the overall "direction" of the photo. Her left hand creates a point of interest, fingers spread out, forefinger and thumb "touching" the seaside foliage. There's really nothing I can suggest for improvement here. The mood, exposure, composition, all superb. Excellent work! ----- ------- ----- "Rita" by Qkano Bob, Rob, Qkano, Mr. T., etc., this is a great cast portrait. Please credit yourself with what is due, and pass on the rest to those involved. You nailed the lighting and composition of this photo. The red dress and lipstick is the perfect complement to her eyes, and the jewelry is just the right amount and color to break it all up a little. As it seems you didn't photograph the actress, but the character, I'd like to know more about the character's personality upon seeing this. Her body language suggests she is a bit distraught, perhaps even lost. The relatively plain background forces a focal point on the woman, but a different color may have been more effective than the white. Her shadow, even being a little faint, is a tad distracting. You have framed this one up nicely, and gave it the proper in-camera treatment. Great job! ----- ------- ----- "4ledspider 001" by Bob Sull This looks like a good test of the Lightwave 4. I'm curious about the settings you used; the image has an overall noisy RGB pattern, and the spider looks like it is either slightly out of focus or captured with a little too long of a shutter speed. As for composition, there's a lot of empty space on all four sides. If the web were more visible, perhaps a 1:1.5 vertically-oriented aspect ratio would improve the photo's presentation. A decent experimental test shot, but I'm not sure how far-reaching its other applications may be. ----- ------- ----- "Back Bay Layers" by J Michael Sullivan I am intrigued by this photograph. From a design standpoint alone, it's really well done. In a historical context, the image appears to overlay space with time: front-to-back apparently equals old-to-new. And then there is the sky, which is both in front of and behind the entire array, whether explicitly or implicitly, and of course fits either position. From a photographic standpoint, the overall exposure is pretty darn close to right-on. I would have liked to see more light on the foreground buildings, as they are constructed of darker materials, and in shadow. A good time for a massive reflector (or softbox), or maybe a quick selective lightening in PS (although I'm a semi-closet-purist). I really like the composition, as the frame edges coincide with the physical edges of the structures, and everything is nicely vertical (OK, what was it? A shiftable lens? A vantage point 5 miles away? PhotoShop? Do tell!) The 6x7 format is excellent for this, and I would love to see a poster-sized enlargement. You have done a tremendous job with this one, Michael. ----- ------- ----- "'50's sport cars at Meadow Brook Concours, Michigan" by Alan Zinn Hey there, Mr. Lookaround! I absolutely love the perspective of this one. The day's weather doesn't look like it was the most favorable, but somewhere between what it was and clear would have probably been ideal. I know, I know. You can't control the weather. It does, however, look like you picked one of the best cars to photograph. It's clearly the main point of interest, and, thanks to the camera/lens, appears to be driving right onto my keyboard. The only issue I have with this is the scattered collection of onlookers, who are more of a distraction to me than a useful agent to establish the environment. Perhaps if it were sweeping off to the right a little more, even though I admit I don't know what was there. Although some would disagree, I rather like the reflection of the unique camera in the car. It seems like a tongue-in-cheek way to show off special machines on multiple levels. Exposure looks great, and I think you have done a fine job with this one, Alan. ----- ------- ----- "Badland's Golden Sunset" by Tim Mulholland Tim, this really exhibits some spectacular color! I love the way this image is broken into horizontal bands of alternating colors, and punctuated by the lone tree and shrub in the fore 1/3 of the setting. Your composition is perfect with the 6x7 format, and depth of field could not be better. A great many years ago, I was loaned a Fuji 6x17 panoramic, and always regretted not being able to get to Badlands to burn a few hundred dollars' worth of film. I can't recommend any improvements to this image. Exposure, contrast, composition all look great. Even the slight tilt of the horizon line seems to "correct" the angle of the valley creeping through the center of the frame. Very nicely done! ----- ------- ----- Well, that just about does it for my preliminary comments regarding this week's Gallery! Once again, I thank Andy and his staff for putting it together, and especially for these seven brave souls who, by posting their work, put their reputations on the line so that we could all be enlightened. I am looking forward to the ensuing discussions! Yours very truly, Darin Heinz Melbourne, Florida USA
