'Yevgenia Redux'

This is Yevgenia, redux. Your ratings, critiques and observations are

invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly, very critically or wish

to make a remark, please submit a helpful and constructive comment;

please share your photographic knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! john

Lovely shot!

Thank you so much. 

john

John (Crosley)

From the way it is shot her left foot has the appearance in my mind, of a "club foot" deformaty. A crop below the knees would fix that.

the pose gives her a handicap look.

I understand your viewpoint and your right to a viewpoint.

My personal viewpoint is that an inward pointing foot or both is a sign of a submissive and even  suggests a 'coy' female -- the so-called pigeon-toed or pigeon-footed female.

The posing of inward pointing feet has a long and distinguished history within the posing of females adult images for just that purpose, and it has been very successful -- in part because it suggests introspection or perhaps even an 'invitation'.

In any case, with this cropping of the entire image, a crop below the knees would NEVER work without destroying the exposition.

It's certainly a matter of personal taste, but when I see a woman toes pointed toward each other, it is a part of her body language (in my view), and I find that somewhat beguiling.

I would never have thought of 'club foot', but then you come up with all sorts of unattractive stuff to say when you critique (or your alter ego when he rates my photos in another name on your behalf).

john

John (Crosley)

Please see my comment to Meir S. above.

john

John

John (Crosley)

I understand what your saying about what the inward turned feet imply, and why you chose this, it's something I've always found to be very magical when I see a woman do this, though I think your intention could have been more easily read if your camera height would have been much lower, the ideal camera height for a full body shot would be the middle of her body, if you were using a short focal length combined with a close distance to your subject and a high camera height this will cause a distortion in your subject's body proprtions, thus giving the appearance of shorter legs and also the clubbed foot as Meir points out, though I don't think it's too bad but a much lower camera height would have made her turned foot look nicer, some might suggest to crop a little off the top but I find that the extra space is justified since your subject is looking upward. A very lovely model here John, good choice.

I find your comment both instructive and edifying.

I don't need viewers to back me on all points that I make, and many times I can be wrong, and I gave Meir and the previous commenter their due; they were free to have their likes and dislikes.

Just as you and I are free to have our likes.

Thanks for sharing your technical thoughts about camera angle, focal length, cropping, etc., which I found edifying.

This is almost my very first attempt at shooting a nude, really, resurrected (or 'redux') as many others on her have been posted.

This view (not this pose) simply was overlooked and others were cropped more tightly in keeping with my thinking then (she has her own folder; you might have a look; it's from the same session, and this is one of the first shots).

Thanks for your contribution, not for 'agreeing', for you don't entirely,  but for being 'open', and also for not solely denigrating, but being balanced and not just being 'critical' but being fair and critical at the same time which is a good, balanced approach to these sorts of things that is very appreciated.

john

John (Crosley)

John, you put to much thought into a simple semi nude, then you convey a message and reason for why you did it this way.
If a photograph needs explanation, it no longer is a photograph, but becomes an illustration for example, would you be happier with that title for this image?

Or maybe she is about to turn her ankle and have a bad ankle sprang. Ouch! Been there done that -as occurred to Maria Shaparova last year. And speaking of her, if this were Maria instead, you'd get lots more hits and it would go into my favorite of the favorites folder. Yes, without intention I was over critical. sorry.

I am aware of the issue of 'explaining' and whether or not a photo remains a photo.

But then minor deficiencies overblown by critocs that require explication do not fall into the category of 'too much explaining' I feel.  You and I may differ.

As to the rest of what you wrote, I am clueless to what you are trying to say.

In any case, there was little effort taken with this photo; it seemed pleasing to me and still does, and I like it.   At least one other viewer does too.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

john

John (Crosley)

Your re-evaluation, I find, is refreshing.

Perhaps what I wrote really did have some explanatory effect?  Did it help trigger a re-evaluation?

In any case, welcome and thanks.

[i marked your comment 'helpful' which it is.]

john

John (Crosley)

It may be that if this were Maria Sharapova this would get tons of hits (and a lawsuit), but I don't trade on celebrity.

I figure that if my photos require celebrity to make them successful they aren't really that wonderful as photos at all.  As it is between 50 and 100 million hits or 'views' have occurred for my portfolio full of nobodies with one exception.

That one exception is Richard Nixon and his wife Pat, walking on Powell Street, San Francisco, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, press, and Secret Service (you know the photo I'm sure.).

Question:  Would Annie Liebowitz's photos have a justification without celebrating those depicted?

Mine do have that justification (not all are as well done, but then I'll post anything or would, especially at first) and I'm not spending Jan Wenner's money for equipment or a 'crew'; I'm self financed.

If you look somewhere on the web, you'll find my Top Eighty Photos of John Crosley, and that might be a surprise.

A happy and welcome surprise -- not a mediocre one in the bunch.

Maybe they're not indexed yet by the search engines.

Soon enough it'll happen, and you can look if you wish.

john

John (Crosley)