best of the best - my choice Highjump balet

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Visitors have browsed the gallery, found a few striking images and want to know things like why is it a good picture, why does it work? Or,

indeed, why doesn't it work, or how could it be improved? Try to answer such questions with your contribution.

 

Excellent photo and perfect, narrow DOF. Though MANY athletic shots are well-captured by pros, this one stands out due to the thin DOF and the athlete's contortions. Well done!

It is difficult for me to criticize this splendid photograph without commenting on the background. Even with the background well blurred, it is so brilliantly colored and so bright in intensity, that I see it as competing with the subject. If it were mine, I would crop the right side almost to the fingertips to rid the picture of most of the bright red splash in the upper right corner. When that is done, it relieves me of some of that competition as well as moves the face of the athelete into the old standby position for the Rule of Thirds. That rule is not magic, nor compulsory, but it does work for a great many pictures.

 

The action was caught beautifully. Just the right moment to stop all movement and right at the tip of the jumper's action. Really nice... I see perfect grace in the movement of the jumper, as I am sure did the elves when they chose this image.

 

Only a slight bit of darkening of the background might make it less competitive with the subject. That and the little crop of the right edge would please me. Still, as is, it is a wonderful photograph and one to be proud of. Congratulations on being the chosen one for this weeks POW.

 

Willie the Cropper

I'd vote to keep it as is. The background helps you know the type of venue this is occurring in. You can see that this isn't a studio shot, a fine art depiction of the art and beauty of the Fosbury Flop, although that would be a nice photograph to see. This is occurring in competition. I like how the subject's left arm happens to fall across some bright elements in the background, causing it to stand out more. And the diagonal of the arms and the eyes closed produce a nice capture.

Excellent Image Capture.

Image could be cropped a bit as some suggested, re: red spot at right upper side, but

The flexibility of the athelete is captured so nicely its real hard to find much not right about this image.

7/7

Outstanding capture. Although the bright red spot is distracting, I also vote against cropping. I like the presence of space lateral to both

hands. While cropping will place the face in accordance with the Rule of Thirds, the face is not what draws my attention but instead the

extension of the arms and the curve of the body around the bar.

Decisive moment, perfect DOF, perfect composition, brilliant coloring.. This one separates the men from the boys! Sjajno Damire!

what Nick Jeftic said, and: i have hardly ever seen a track and fields shot which featured so much elegancy. she seems to dream while jumping. the brilliant light of course adds to this feeling.

An excellent capture with excellent DOF. The athlete's position appears graceful. Good show of intensity on the face

She looks so peaceful, what an athlete and what a perfect capture! Not sure if this would add to the photo but it leaves me a little curious how high she is off the ground.

I don't know what is prettier. The subject or the photo? She is magnificent. The beauty and elegance of stamina and vigor are composed great, and with the evening sun it gives the perfect drama of the athlete.

 

7/7

Congrats! perfect shot couldn't be a better timed shot. Rgds Necip

Dear Seen - Its a wonderful and excelelnt shot indeed - You have done a superb job and nice DOF with great light and composition - Congrats !!

An amazing contorsion perfectly photographed at the peak moment of this action. I can't agree with the assesment I read above that the background is distracting due to its bright colors. The background is blurred very nicely with the 2.8 aperture and that's enough for me to isolate the main subject. And what can a photographer possibly do in a stadium to have a studio-like background ? Sometimes shooting against a sky background may be possible, but obviously not here. The background colors, for me, give this picture an overall happy and hot, vibrant mood. It works very well. On my monitor, the athlete's skin color is perhaps a bit hot, but it's okay and seems in synch with the light and time of the day. Really a great achievement. Congrats to the photographer.

This is an excellent documentary/sports photograph in every way imaginable. Unfortunately backgrounds cannot always be controlled (thank goodness for that) and as such comments on the bright colours in the background are irrelevant to the style of photography.

Truly a work of art!!! I don't see a single flaw in this picture. You have a gift of capturing that perfect moment in time!!!

Great Picture. You can sense her determination and concentration

one gets caught in the moment. captivating for all the senses..

Fantastic depth of field, would love to try this some time. Could see this on the cover of SI.

Genius, I have seen this one before still amazes me. What a superb pose, she looks like she could be asleep!

Awesome photo. As a former high jumper in high school, I can truely appreciate this photo. It leaves me wondering;

did she successfully clear that height?

It took me a while to appreciate this one, but it has tended to grow on me. I think now that it is the "extremes" of the figure, the way her legs and arms are placed, that finally give one a sense of true artistry. I love the way her legs cross and the way her hands and fingers are extended. Combine that with her serene expression, and one has something truly special. Once one really notices these elements of the photo, then one is not likely to forget this shot. This could wind up being one of the best Photos of the Week for all time.

 

--Lannie

I keep coming back to view this amazing capture, and I now see how the lines in this photo are so powerful. The right leg drops

perpendicular to the bar, while the arms and lower part of the left leg run parallel to each other. The left hand and right foot also run parallel,

and the length of the face and the left foot nearly do as well. Truly stunning technique and timing, Damir!

Very gracefull subject, and the focus and exposition are perfect. Congratulation

Wonderful picture, I do like the clarity and sharpness all the way through the athlete from head to toe and also the sharpness of the cross bar. The upper right corner and the red blur does catch my attention. I would either crop it out or if you didn't want to crop the picture I would clone it out.