Well just a few thoughts and hope those who put the fine work up take it in the spirit in which it was meant and that was to be helpful These are just opinions and everyone has got one.
Chris I really like the shape of the piles of stones, which I suspect is what caused you to take this picture. For me though for it to work in color it needs something for the sky to show the color contrasts. Without changing perspectives, there probably wasn't much you could do about it. The only thing that might have helped is that if this was taken using digital capture and jpg, you may have lost some of the highlights by not using camera raw. A bright blue sky behind the rocks would have been what I would have liked. Yet another idea I think I would like even better is to make this a black and white photo. I think would work much better with this composition which I really like. I also think I would try cropping in on just a couple of portions of the rock pile. This would be a perfect make 3 photos from this one assignment and you could get 3 very different and very interesting photos from the single press of the shutter.
Howard Isn't it wonderful what you can find in your cabinet from time to time and what digital can do to recover it. I found an old scratched negative of a young girl in front of a framed house in a bunch of old family photos. The negative was bent scratched and it took a great deal of work to get a print. When I did I showed it to my aunt hoping she would know who it was. She did. It was my mom at about age 19, and with there family photos were very rare especially at that time. Don't throw away those negatives people.
As far as this one, I like the open gate which seems to invite one in and framing the photo is exactly what I would have done in this situation. The only thing I might do differently is to crop just a little closer to the entrance. We tend to think in 8x10 ect but with digital there really is no reason to do that now, if there really ever was. I didn't really realize that a photo can be what ever size I wanted till I did some work with a 6x6 and lo and behold many images work much better in unique sizes. This one might be one of them.
Renate I had a cat years ago that looked almost exactly like this one. This photo brought back a lot of good memories. Well lit and composed. No way my cats would ever lay on anything furry though for some reason. Next time you catch them napping, the only thing I could suggest would be to try to catch the animal as its opening its eyes right after a nap or if you are impatient with cats as I am, do something that makes them open their eyes and see if you get the "stupid owner" look that cats are known for. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing. Even if I got the cat opening their eyes, I still might like this image better.
Marilyn I like the way the lines flow and the colors displayed in this image. This is also another one I would try as a black and white. I have a hunch you might get a tonal range that could also create another powerful photo. I am getting a hint of some pixels breaking down, but I suspect that is either in the downsizing for the web, or other issues. I would guess it isn't over sharpening but what I am seeing has a hint of that look. Well done
Robert I like the way the way the lines of the sheep interact with the lines of the hillside. This one hits me though as a little to centered for some reason. I think I would crop out most if not all the sky and much of the foreground and focus on the sheep. Its a peaceful image though. Well done.
Andrew A powerful image as it is, but when I think of fall, I think of massive amounts of colors. I would think of this image as a wonderful starting point for some many ideas. First maybe make a series of backgrounds to whatever tastes you like using the color gradients. One, many in lines shapes circles. Id pick some that you would expect to see on that wonderful fall afternoon and work with them. Then I would convert the image to black and white and see how the tonality work. In fact it might work well just as it is in black and white if you haven't tried it.
Well done to all and everyone is to be commended. I learn so much from seeing images from people that really are striving to improve their artistic skills.
--- On Sat, 4/5/08, Howard <howard.leigh111@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: Howard <howard.leigh111@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: Gallery comment 5th April
> To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students" <photoforum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: Saturday, April 5, 2008, 12:06 PM
> I haven't commented for a while...so I'm getting
> rather rusty
>
> Chris Strevens Pile of Stones
> Well, that's a fair description! It looks rather high
> key though - over
> exposed? - I can't think why unless you're trying
> to produce a
> dream-like image...
> Reminds me of the Duane Michals sequence "I build a
> pyramid." Were they
> random? Built by Chris? Does it matter?
> I always liked Bill Brandt's sea-side images using that
> bizarre camera
> and lens.
>
> Renate Volz
> Mykat nicely done - he / she has that supremely
> supercilious look of
> extreme self-satisfaction. Nicely caught!
>
> Marilyn Dalrymple
> I'm terrible. I cannot get any affection for
> Photoshopped images to
> produce painterly effects - if my interpretation is
> correct?
> If you want to produce painterly images why not paint? I
> can't paint so
> I snap!
>
> Robert Earnest
> At first I thought this was taken in the beautiful Lake
> district! Super
> shot. Nice comfortable composition and that touch of
> humour.
>
> Andy...
> Just a leaf...well, that's another fair comment! Sort
> of a modern
> Blossfeldt idea...
>
> Howard
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