faces Teah

In the spirit of the image, I may have used slightly different framing, but I really like the sweet quietness that this image evokes....and the off-b&w tonality is really nice too. V. nice work!

Les

Oy vey!

One of the things we often get into in these discussions are things like post treatment. Here, how dark things have been made as well as the the amount of "blank" space.

To me, there are probably a whole lot of other treatments we could look at in these areas that could also work. But would it be the same image, a better image or just a different image? Would less room or less dark yield the same "psychological" read of the image? I personally like it for the most part, especially the room left around the little girl, emphasizing a vulnerability that, I believe, her expression challenges. This treatment takes the image away from a mere portrait and creates more of a sense of story. In fact, the post is so specific that I think that there is nothing done here out of ArtX awareness or purpose. It might not meet everyone's preference but it is very specific and yields a specific mood.

What now, Fred? Are you still recoiling from some of the comments?

--Lannie

Just the one I thought would be directly above mine, made by Emmanuel.

He's fabricated an incredible narrative from a couple of words by an obviously very sincere photographer and proceeds to be so incredibly defensive about what he says that he assumes his words will be deleted, obviously because he realizes how foolish or wrong-headed his words could sound, at least to some. For the record, I think his words should stand just as they are. The only reason they might be deleted is that they have nothing to do with the photo itself and, in the past, that would be reason enough for a deletion, regardless of any sort of controversial content. I felt his comment was worth an "oy vey." And still do.

I'll take none, Thanks

And yet you still feel compelled to to voice your completely off topic, self involved, soapbox rant in a forum specifically devoted to the helpful understanding and discussion of photographs. Old age is not an excuse for poor manners.

I agree with Emmanuel. The animals are not residents they are captive against their will, they are imprisoned.
A child should see animals in the wild behaving in a manner that true to their nature. I abhor photographs of caged animals that pretends to make them look majestic and regal. I love photographs of wild animals captured as nature intended them to be captured.

Regarding this image i think the girl looks to much like a toy doll, to that end there seems to be a lack of life in her. Perhaps this is in keeping with the lack of life left in the animals caged in zoo's.
Take the story away from image as presented by ART and the photograph alone is not to bad and any parent would be happy with it, however i still think that the processing has it removed from feeling like a true to life photo in the sense that the processing has made her look to much like a doll.

All the best and Congrats on POW

Except that we and they have common ancestors, some more recently than others. Look into their eyes and you can see distant kinship.

Flash of appeal, then dissapointment for this viewer.
To be sure, a visual hook to command immediate attention is a (necessary?) component to a great photo, otherwise people wouldn't look at it.
The subject is photogenic as can be, and well lit. Makes me feel good and want to look longer.
And that is where the problem comes. The prepondurance of dark negative space produces this dramatic contrast with the light subject and makes me lose focus on the subject and makes me look for drama in the subject and makes me wonder if there is drama in the subject that i don't see and there isn't - there is a lovely picture of a lovely girl and I want to enjoy that picture.
In short, the treatment choices of the photographer detract from, rather than support, the subject.

I like the drama the black creates which allows us to concentrate on what is important in the image. My hearty congrats to you on a well deserved selection.

This is a cute image. It is a well exposed cute image. She will never make Hallmark because there is something too worldly in her eyes. Children know more than we think they know. The only question is the darkness on the the left. Is this dark empty space too much. I find nothing wrong with it. If the photo were cropped a sliver it would be fine. But it is fine now.

This is a cute image. It is a well exposed cute image. She will never make Hallmark because there is something too worldly in her eyes. Children know more than we think they know. The only question is the darkness on the the left. Is this dark empty space too much. I find nothing wrong with it. If the photo were cropped a sliver it would be fine. But it is fine now.

Anders and Fred ,thank you both.
But Fred I have closed my browser and went to look and did not see it so I assumed that it did not pass through...
.I think you are right that it takes some delay to arrive...what I don' t understand why the 3 of them were not deleted ? is there a moderatore for this forum?

Anyway, thanks for the good advice!

and Yes Fred, oyvey....;-))

It may not be the amount of dark area in the frame (compositionally, I think the girl is placed just right, although some would disagree), but rather the degree of darkness that has been introduced. This degree shows up especially on the right, where details of the tree behind which the girl is emerging have almost been eliminated. Obviously Art wants to direct the viewer's attention to the little girl (yes, that is my assumption), and he has darkened and nearly removed all other details in the frame except those directly associated with the girl. The question is whether this has gone "too far." Would you prefer to see more detail in the tree? Would you prefer to see some background objects on the left? Those are viable processing alternatives, but they have a significant effect on the photograph and on Art's intention for the photograph. However, it's good food for thought for Art and for other viewers of this photograph. It's also a very subjective call, IMO.

I find that Art has just done quit right. If the intention is not only to draw attention to the girl, but also to place her in a

context where her body language and her eyes make sense. You need obviously the dark frames of nothingness and just

sufficient details of the tree to be able to hide behind it. She is placed just right in such a context, in my eyes. Nothing in

the frame seems to be unnecessary.

I went to look for the girl at Art's files,and there in the larger format the BG is more visible which in here it is hardly seen. So I like it as it is here, because the main 'subject' is the girl.
What I thought is, why the elves don't upload the larger format? as the smaller one is hiding a bit the details and not every one of participant will go to look/search the photo in the artist's files. Any thought about this point?

Stephen, as I said above, I do think there are probably a lot of different approaches that would have yielded a nice end product from this basic capture, question is when do any changes to what we have here create a different photo. Once we create a different photo, we aren't talking about this one anymore.

My sense, when I first looked, was that the image was probably pushed a little too far on the dark side of things, which tends to flatten the image. On the other hand, I liked the space because it emphasized the "littleness" and vulnerability of the child. The problem is that I don't know what is being hidden in all that darkness, it might be rather distracting to this intent. Art tends to push his post pretty far in this regard, so it is partially his style, but then he does have others where he left more. I might "want" to see more but that might not be possible without new issues arising. The image works as it is and seems purposefully created as such. Of course, all things being equal--eg no distractions--I might find the image a bit more compelling with just a tad more of a sense of depth to the left of the image.

I like the dark space. It's soft and makes an interesting vignette - both in a photographic and literary sense. Like a memory.

I see fingers and the right jawbone lit in a strange way. Is it studio light?

""I might find the image a bit more compelling with just a tad more of a sense of depth to the left of the image""
John +2

""I might find the image a bit more compelling with just a tad more of a sense of depth to the left of the image""
John +3

This is a beautiful shot Art, full of serene amazement at life itself!
Technically I find that the sharpening could be reduced a tad to make the halos around the hand and the cheek les apparent and reduce the glitter in the clothing texture.

Best regards, Alex

I am both surprised and grateful that this image has been chosen by the elves so thank you to them and also to you all, for your comments. There's some valid and constructive points made which I have taken the time to apply to the image. At the risk of taking away talking points from this image and/or undermining the value the elves has seen in this image as PoW, I have chosen not to post the "alternative" version suffice to say, it carries with it it's own charm. Once again, thank you all.

At first I wasn't sure about the identity of a curtain, a wall or a tree that the little girl is or was hiding behind, in that across the world game of hide and seek with her contemporary or adult companions. The essence of the image is really in the girl's gentle and questioning face and the position of her hand and I was content with that beautiful expression. Her clothing to me is a bit secondary and I assume that she was in her best culturally significant dress at the time the photograph was made. The ground behind her is much out of focus, as might be expected depending upon the lighting conditions or the intention of the photographer.

Would the inclusion of a bit more light on the tree and on the out of focus background add anything to the image? The black framing of the little girl has a communicative power to itself, but would the area behind her, if more visible, not add something itself to the image, some sort of context? If the tree were a bit more visible would the activity of the girl not be better stated? Perhaps not. I do get an impression of a studio shot ambiance (beautiful clothes, very highlighted subject) and a contrived situation, which it is very likely not. The perfection of the detail of the clothes (and apparent sharpening effects) adds to that impression. As much as I love the girl's expression and the beauty it conveys, I might like to see a somewhat more natural appearing feeling of place. I am left with those questions, while I admire greatly ArtX's ability to achieve such a beautiful expression and consequent communication to the viewer.

I agree with the general direction of the critiques that have been posted. One detail that I don't think has been mentioned is that the vignetting has turned the subject's leg (at the bottom of the frame) almost black, and it looks kind of unnatural once you become aware of it.