Nicole

For your comments.

Very nicely done.

Beautiful.

John took the word right from my thoughts.....BEAUTIFUL.

This is art. Well done!<>< Sonny <><

Great work. The expression on her face is priceless. Keep it up!

Nice shot , origial idea well executed.

I am totally impressed, ditto with what both John and Sonny previously said.

Thank you all for your comments

Sorry I#d like it, cheap production, expression on face is like what the fu... I#m doing here.... Meiko

Very subtle and fine work, a beautiful picture.

Impressive photo...very professional

sorry but I don;t like her facial expression, she does not seem to "cooperate" with the camera. it shows some indifference..Technically(light, tones..)- a very good photo.

a friend in need's a friend indeed. and with good friends even the cheap shots can reach the first pages of top photos.

my rating does not address the technical side of this... pic (the light is ok, although rather dull) but the aesthetical one. your visual culture is somwhere on the ground if you consider this to be a good image that can stirr emotions inside the viewers' mind and heart. except for the naked body (that generally attracts) there is nothing pleasant to the eye about this image. the facial expression is totally uninspired and the images overlay is kitsch, not art.

as for originality, placing her face as a background is anything but original.

i'm tired of seeing good images sinking and drowning in an ocean of cheap snapshots. and i'm not the only one, as more and more good photographers are leaving PN for more serious alternatives.

if you really want to showcase your 'works of art', please do on your personal blogs and stop rating good photos with 3s so that your own 'no-words-to-describe' pics can reach top pages. (this last paragraph is meant for a whole category of PN members)

So according to Alin anyone who liked this photo has their "visual culture somewhere on the ground" how arrogant! Alin you, falsely, seem to think you are above us who struggle to find our way and develop our skills. Your pompous comments are only self-serving instead of a meaningful constructive critique. Nicole please ignore the inconsequentiality of this commenter and keep shooting. I don't recall asking anyone to speak on my behalf let alone immaturely assault my subjective and personal views on a photograph. Alin if this site is beneath you move on and let the rest of us express our own views without your uninvited retorts against them. If you have something constructive to improve upon Nicole's image then say so if not click to another photo. <>< Sonny <>< Is that grounded enough for you Alin?

'us who struggle to find our way and develop our skills' you say... if you really want to develop your skills, the first step is to study top photographers, photography tehniques and concepts.

do you want to learn nudes? google bruno bisang

do you want to learn photo journalism? google james nachtwey or sacha dean biyan

do you want to learn nature and landscapes? google ansel adams

do you want to learn street photography? google bresson or doisneau

do you want to learn portraits? google philipe halsman

and the list can go on. there are many great photos here as well. you only have to take your time and browse the all-time top photos. (here's one http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=6063803 )

do you really want to improve? study their images over and over and try to understand what makes them valuable. learn to use your camera for more than just out-of-focus, partially desaturated snapshots! learn to be your first critiquer and learn to aim ever higher!

do all these instead of using my so-called arrogance as a shield and, maybe, you will improve!

one more thing: high rates and honey-sweet comments for poor photos are NOT that helpful!

Well Alin it seems you are capable of constructive input. But, what you said on June 9th above was out of line. Your concept of 'good' may not be the next person's or mine. Stick to critiquing the photo and let each decide what's good or not. Wouldn't step 2 be to shoot, shoot and shoot some more asking for comments and adjusting your technique? (Rhetorical question). Isn't that the value of P/N? "one more thing: high rates and honey-sweet comments for poor photos are NOT that helpful!" and how exactly is your derogatory comments on June 9th helpful? And again here you go deciding for everyone what's a good or 'poor' photo. (Arrogance again).

Personally I think you owe Nichole an apology not to mention the hundreds of other photographers you insulted, but that's on your conscience. I said all I want to about this. Be well, <>< Sonny <><

 

indeed, i might have taken this whole rating issue a bit too far. unfortunately, friends rating friends 7 while rating the competition 3 is a fact on PN. if this is NOT the case then I sincerely apologize!

i have nothing against nichole but seeing true art, by all photography standards, being 'overrun' by all sort of snapshots, 'professional' editing etc is at very least frustrating. more than that, such images having good ratings is a bad example for many PN members who will 'adjust' their style in order to better fit the community tastes. i've seen it happen so i'm not just making wild suppositions. evolving is much related to competition as well. unfortunately, fair play is often as obsolete as chivalry. i'd rather only admire and learn from great photos until i reach such level than be "the best" among newbie experimenting or by means of 'sabotage'. indeed, in the land of the blind the one-eye man is king!

nichole, i apologize again! i can further explain the things i didn't like about your photo if you want from both subjective and objective points of view.

Alin you are a gentleman. I just took exception of being critisized for my 'subjective' view point. I agree with you on the false ratings, but most, I believe, just rate on what they see. I for one look and know if I like it or not then try to put into words a critique that will be of some value. I study the good, the bad and the ugly and try to learn and evolve. I also try to be considerate of those who are (like myself) struggling to figure out an f stop from a backstop. I at this stage can only learn from reading and practicing and places like P/N. I have one camara and can only afford at this time the average and limited lens that came with it. I hope you keep in mind not all here are 'professional' or lucky to have the time and resources to be at a top level, but still have a love and passion to take photos. My regards. Be well, <>< Sonny <><

all of us (involved in this discussion) are using dSLRs, right? from this point onwards blaming the hardware for most photo situations is nothing more than a lame excuse (in my opinion). i'm using a 300D, bought second-hand a year ago when I took up photography. as for lenses I have to rely on the trusted 18-55 kit lens - used for this one, for example ->

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5914873

the 50/1.8 (good optics inspite of its cheap plastic look and price tag) and a tamron 28-200 f4-5.6 (awfully slow and inprecise even in good light, very soft) that I rarely use, only when I really need those 200mm - used for this one ->

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=5955664

my whole gear costed less then 700$ when I bought it. most PN members and even people I know use better equipment (much better) but this is not, nor will it ever be an excuse for me (true though, some situations and photo genres require certain cameras and lenses, but for what I shoot my gear should do). I'm still my own limit and that's probably why I always push my standards higher and higher as I go.

still, I enjoy more and more shooting on film and lately I only use digital for exposure tests and experiments. my film 'setup' was less then 100$ (old Pentax ME Super bought from ebay a couple of months ago, with a Tokina 80-200/4 zoom and a 50/1.8 prime lens). photography certainly is mostly about the feeling you take from taking the picture, but this shouldn't be used as an excuse for any bad photo. at least not in my case. I try real hard to reach the level where all my shutter releases are 'photography', not just picture taking, even if I take a photo of my friends drinking beer or even the dog taking a p**s :)

don't take this as a critique of some kind. I was just trying to explain the way I understand photography. if I wasn't making too much sense it's because it's very late here and I'm extremely tired.

I am amazed to see that after only a year (according to your bio) of shooting you have become a Master at the art. Judging from your portfolio here you would never know. I have to assume that my work did have some affect on you as it inspired you to such a diatribe.

 

I do applaude you for at least having the balls to to explain why you gave this shot a 3/3 unlike most here who blidly rate anything that deals with a human body as a 3/3.

 

Oh and i don't rate with 3/3's, nor do I rate with 7/7's. I do tend to rate the photos I rate on the higher end but then I usually only rate the photos that I like, which is why I went to them to start with.

Best regards,

LandS