...

I agree with Michael and would even take it a bit farther by removing the bright shoulder strap as well. For me, this is all about the detail in the water and the distortion of her legs. When I first saw it, I thought of a car driving by, drenching her with rain water from a large puddle (never mind that the sun is shining). It took a while to figure out that it must be a fountain of some sort. Just like last week, I'd rather appreciate it for its interesting detail than for its sense of place.

conception is a first of all...excellent eye second...&little bit of luck...

So, this image kinda makes me pause and consider whether it works or not. Alone it's interesting but I'm not sure what to make of it. Someone recently told me that the difference between someone who takes a lucky snapshot and an artist is the latter strives to create a body of work. Whether that is completely true or not, I looked at this image and thought that the "Photograph of the Week" suffers the fatal flaw of not providing context for an image in a body of work by a photographer. I will go off an poke in Tomasz' portfolios to see if that helps.

Interesting to be in the impasse on understanding or critiquing the image at hand.

Well seen, original, nice enough. Try other similar experiments!

Ciao!

What a shoot! The longer I look at it, the more I feel the energy!

- steve chong -

www.stevechong.com

Neat photo, but I would like it a little better if the woman was a little more in

focus.

the first thing I noticed, (and it was already mentioned above), is how the focus seems to improve behind the water! I think the shot wouldn't have the same effect if the subject WERE in focus.. GREAT shot!! very original... well composed and captured. Deserving of POW discussion!

I was scrolling down to make just the commment Michael and Carl have which is to emphasize the abstract by cropping down. at first i went right down to the water's edge but out of respect for a great shot i moved it back up to just under the top highlight in her hair. Then knock down that shoulder strap. Love the watery head and jagged teeth of the monster. AND a wonderful summer shot. Wish i'd taken it.

"I made over hundred shots"

 

A good argument for digital!

I guess I can see both sides of the cropping issue, but I kinda like the contrast between the out of focus head and wall, and the great sharpness of the water used as a filter. Hard to say which I like best. I often try to judge these by which one I would rather have as a large poster in a reception room. In that case, I prefer the shot as it is. At any rate, with a hundred shots to choose from, you did a nice job. Congratulations.

I love the fresh summery look - no monsters here for me !, just a wonderful splash. It's especially nice the way she appears to be dancing in the watery part.

 

As for cropping it works well with the crop at the neck, immediatley below the bright line of the blocks of the wall on the right. This way attention is on the water but the whole seems balanced (IMO).

 

The effort of many shots has really paid off. Thanks.

Disagree with Carl and Michael Seewald (the "art instructor")

 

Cropping the head and or shoulders does nothing in my mind to improve this, sorry. It becomes impossible to distinguish anything significant and in essence would make this a dead shot. I do believe this works exactly as posted and is a refreshingly successful idea. Regardless whether Tomasz planned this out ahead of time or walked into this and figured it out, it takes a good, creative eye to pull it off successfully. And this, in my mind, he has done. After reading his comment above, we can see this was the result of much patience and his recognizing the potential it offered. Nice work!

Vincent, I personally did not say to cut the shoulders, as then it WOULD be pretty hard to figure it out- ending up being too much of an abstract, on that we agree. But not seeing it's better with the head cut just at the top of the neck then you clearly have not thought this through cognantly.

 

Try this, crop as I suggested and count how many seconds you look at the image. Now count how many seconds you look at it with the head and out of focus background left as is. Notice which one you count longer? Personally, I get about a 25% longer 'scan' with my suggested crop. I consider that then a better image, wouldn't you?

With all due respect, Michael, your numerology does not work for me on this one (although it sometimes does). I think that Vince is right: it works as it is. It might not be the perfect abstract composition, but this is an extraordinarily good photo, and it is enhanced, in my opinion, by the inclusion of the head. The human component here lends something that a fixation with total abstraction fails to capture, I believe.

 

Congratulations, Tomasz, on this photo and on being awarded Photo of the Week.

Having said what I just did, I have to agree with Carl that, if you are going to appreciate it on the purely abstract level, the crop must be even further down.

 

I think that this is the kind of shot that lends itself well to more than one treatment. I can appreciate Carl's crop, but I can also appreciate it as it is, but it is then two very different works.

 

--Lannie

I tried the crop that was suggested, and I see the idea.. but I feel that it almost eliminates the "human" element out of the photo, and lessens the effect.

 

my opinion may be worth nothing in this, because I've never created such an amazing effect of my own.. (as i said in my previous comment; "VERY original!")

 

But, that's as I see it... leave the crop as is, because it CREATES the overall effect! (?)

The dynamic tiger head shape of the water is certainly the most attractive and original part of the image so that the crop is not IMO an important issue here compared to the position of the woman versus this man eater ...

I would have placed the woman more on the right... ok easy to say as waiting one second more would have had an impact on the water shape...

Anyway, I doubt the photographer was thinking about this specific tigershape when shooting but more about the play with model focus and moving water... then I would have wait for a different model, or at least burnt the too bright background (i.e. everything which is not covered by water) and disturbing reflections in her hair.

rem: better have look at the rest of the portfolio this talented photographer!

Michael (artist-instructor),

 

 

I appreciate your opinion here, but must respectfully suggest it is just that, an opinion. You said this:

 

"But not seeing it's better with the head cut just at the top of the neck then you clearly have not thought this through cognantly."

 

(What is "cognantly" by the way?)

 

Quite the contrary Mike (art-instructor). I did in fact look it over with and without the head. I just happen to disagree with your point of view here, not that I did not do so "cogently"... or even perhaps "cognizant" of the look you are after (though that does happen quite often I must add). And to be honest, there are not too many images that will fare too well with a head chopped off entirely. Think about that for just a moment...

 

I do agree with you that I look at the cropped image a bit longer. However this in itself does not mean the image is "better" or stronger as you suggest. In my opinion, I look longer trying to figure out what it is that I am looking at. This type of look may in fact work as well IF this is what the photographer is actually seeking. Though I still think over-all it is better with the head attached. I remembered this image from a few years ago:

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=1200070

 

While many people liked this concept and her execution back then, I was not one of them. I do agree with you that *A* crop would strengthen this a bit, but not to the point of removing the head entirely. The fact Carl agrees with you and wants to cut the shoulder too is certainly not a surprise. I would suppose he'd be happy with just the background bricks... or perhaps with the pole included for further confusion...

 

Thanks for the thoughts . Is always interesting. Aloha.

I went to your portfolio. Interesting to see the other images in this series. Some are simply

sheets of water behind which pedestrians and the street. But I agree with others on this one

(and a couple others in your portfolio) - the water is suggesting a wild beast, snarling. Still

thinking.

"I do agree with you that I look at the cropped image a bit longer."

Ah, now we are getting somewhere. It is in that that I contend it is a stronger image. Would you want someone to look at your photo for two seconds and say, 'Nice photo', or five seconds and say 'Nice photo'. And of course you look longer at my cropped suggestion; we have taken away the weakness and kept the strength.

 

hanks for your honesty, some would have never admitted they looked longer, just to try and win the point. And by cropping to the persons head, and creating what is known as a tension point, you would even be finished quicker than without.

Michael, sorry. The crop does nothing for me. This image doesn't blow me away, but personally I think it's about as good as it gets. Not having tension between the girl and the border relieves the viewer from being distracted IMO. Having the girl in full does pull this away from an abstract.... or does it? Abstracts, can be something as simple as showing a relationship or a thought.

This image immediately made me think of a persons relation to the ocean or just water in general. The wonderfully centered nature of the girl helps again to ease the viewer into thoughts beyond "whats that behind the water" and allows them to think about the image in a deeper way.

Like I said, not my favorite POW image, but a great image for discussion. This one will really seperate the emotional artists from the technical ones. I love reading discussions under images like this...

 

Dave

Congratulations Tomasz. Having taken a look at the folder i see that you have already tried to approach this from different angles in pursuit of perfection. I have an impression that the strengths here is in imperfections, which are contrasted with the invasion of the fluid distortions (rendered in focus) thus magnifying the clash and making a viewer believe that there is some dynamic interaction. If it were Easter i'd wish you to have a wet Dyngus. Regards,

I like the idea a lot, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The harsh light and the somewhat busy background detract from the image. If this was my shot, I'd revisit the place under better conditions to try to capture an improved version.

I hardly know where to start.

 

Several comments seem to imply that an abstract interpretation of a subject is to be avoided no matter what. If you're not open to the possibility that abstracts can induce an emotional reaction even without the "human element", I can't force you consider why so many great artists have chosen that approach. What I would ask you is this. What part of the image makes this a success? If you were forced to crop 3/4 of the image, what part would you leave? There's no question; it's the distorted view of her legs. Period.

 

If you want a sense of place and an emphasis on the human element, then we should include the source of the water in the composition. Tension is a desirable quality in an image, but confusion isn't unless closer examination reveals clues that help us solve the puzzle.

 

In this composition, the eye goes right to her white shoulder strap, not her face, not her legs, so the ideal composition would have captured a subject with white pants and a dark top. I was pleased to see all the similar uploads that Tomasz included in this folder because it reminds us that hard work and many failures are sometimes part of the process that ends up with a good shot. I like this one, but have learned that the aesthetics of color street shots are often compromised by subjects wearing white.

Carl, if I understand your suggested crop, it would look something like this. Although I like this very much, I cannot say that I like it better than the original, nor better, for that matter, than Michael's suggested version, now that I look at Michael's a bit longer.

 

I resist the idea that there is always one best crop for a given frame, since it presupposes an objective standard. People seem to have strong opinions on this photo, although everyone seems to like it. They simply think in many cases that they have an improved version. Maybe they do and maybe they do not.

 

In any case, no one who has offered a deadsure analysis as to which is the best has offered anything that is self-evidently true to me.

 

With all due respect, I like the suggestions, but I also like the original, although, as I said above, this particular crop and the orginal are two entirely different works. More than one can be appreciated, in my opinion.

 

--Lannie