wee ones Out the Window

Oliver - thank you for your re-work. You are a genuine PN sport. And you did a good job too, I think. So captivating are those big eyes staring in wonder in the window reflection, the adorable baby fat hand and the golden locks that I can't see past them to critique any deeper. I'm there. This photo is a treasure. I feel like I was this little girl. There is no greater interaction with a photo.

Congratulations.

Alberta

I have to say, I like Oliver's re-work & Tom's diffused edition as well. I'll side with Alberta calling Oliver a true PN sport

I think what everyone likes about this image is the idea or moment in time captured by it. What carries us out the window with the girl's longings or dreams depicted here is the shared memory of moments like that. Too often it is dismissed as a cliche, but these moments are something we want and need to capture and keep. If you are a photographer, you want to capture it photographically. The image does a nice job of capturing the idea; it just needs to capture more as an image and urges us to ponder what that "more" is. The little girl has a sweet face nicely framed in the reflection, and even a partial profile. It is so nice a beginning that we just want to see it completed.

First off, I do not think this photograph needs to be reworked. The use of degrees of darkness is bold and its brooding nature adds an ominous presence to the photograph that saves it from being another "traditional" and "classic" sentimental kid picture.
My initial reaction to this photograph was dismissive. It was just another greeting card cliche. I had to look a second and third time before I saw there was an epiphany imbedded in all that darkness. The darkness surrounds the child, all but swallowing her. The reflection is ghostly. The eyes stare and the mouth is distorted. What seems a stock sentimental adult view of childhood is really childhood viewed from the child's point of view. There is so much in childhood that is frightening, the things that go bump in the night, and yet, ironically, a child's accepting mind will not be frightened of something that would scare an adult. Here the child is accepting the ominous darkness and her own distorted image in the window.

I have not looked at the artist's remake of this image. I wanted to get these impressions down first.

All right, I saw the reworks and I believe the original is superior. There are times to be a "good Photo.net sport" and times to stand your ground. This is the time for the latter.

Something is lost in the re-work of this image. IMHO, the original's heavy borders contribute, through contrast, to the fragility and size of the subject which help explain her wonderment and naivety. I also believe that the borders would contribute to matting of the image for display after printing. I prefer the original posting.

I say, first get rid of the border, because the border is just a crutch that the picture leans on to hide some flaws. Then, accept that Alberta's comment is correct. The picture is off the charts too black. Then, with a lot of consideration, decide how much you want to mute the black in order to bring back some of the detail. Then, finally, add back whatever amount of border you want.

To get something like this right may take some time, so that you can judge the effects of the changes you have made. So, Oliver went too far in the other direction, in my opinion, but I think that's because he was working within the time constraints of the picture of the week discussion.

Oliver, I think that the first, original picture is much better. I like that thick frame. I can't see any detail improvement, though.

It is a charming image either way. If I were to express a personal slight preference it might be somewhere in between the two. Just to process to extract some more amount of detail in the hair where it looks totally black on my monitor, to give it what I would call more "balance." Black is not bad and balance is not always the right answer, true..Either way, It still draws one in to a mood to which we can all relate and is a successful image . Matter of taste and time to experiment on the technical details. Worth the time and attention Oliver has shown.

I do not feel transmission of a little sorrow of this little girl. Sometimes girls look out of window but the light flux is limited by window frame. These defects spoil the 'soul'. We have details available instead. It seems to me that we have professional approach here and the professional outcome. So the picture is 'beautiful' but lacks power.

Nice portrait Oliver.The B&W always has its advantages, it drags the eye on the highlighten areas, showing off the main theme.I like the contrast in this photo, it's not exaggerated, keeping a softness that is necessary for such kind of potraits.Regards

THIS is a photograph.

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