2011-05-11SD_blacksmith-1

Steve,

I looked at this image, and felt it had obvious technical problems, (subject is overexposed and not in focus) so I looked at the rest of your photos on Photo.net, and they are quite good, with no technical issues. A bright subject in a dark field will inevitably be overexposed if autoexposure is used. Typical issue with stage performers. I find it hard to read the composition, really kind of jumbled.  Subject's posture and expression I find ambiguous. It has a general "I used a Holga, so it must be art" look. I'm curious what you see here, especially given the higher level of the rest of your images.

This was  taken with a film camera, manual focus, so I'm to blame for the technical flaws, not the camera. ;-)  (pentax spotmatic SP-100 and 55mm/1.8 lens)

It was tough getting the right exposure here with flame and an open window. I'm bothered too by the poor focus and exposure of the person, but I ended up liking the photo OK because of the environmental setting depicting the dirty work environment and extreme contrasts.