white demons

very nice

Excellent work:  beautiful composition and BW rendition. Compliments and best regards.

Outstanding classy work love every thing about it 7/7.it should be on the photo of the week discussion ..!

reminds me of a Lorado Taft sculpture!

One of the best pictures ever posted on photo.net

Everything so very perfect. Fascinating image.

Regards

Gamini

Formidable creation! I am speechless in front of this work of art.

...absolutely masterful!  

Please note the following:

• This image has been selected for discussion. It is not necessarily the "best" picture the Elves have seen this week, nor is it a contest.
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• Before writing a contribution to this thread, please consider our reason for having this forum: to help people learn about photography. Visitors have browsed the gallery, found a few striking images and want to know things like why is it a good picture, why does it work? Or, indeed, why doesn't it work, or how could it be improved? Try to answer such questions with your contribution.

I'm in awe, speechless.

--Lannie

Absolutely beautiful. Exceptional tonal quality, nice blacks and highlights created by good lighting and skilled Post Processing. This is not a lucky shot, this is a skilled photographer. The background effect is unusual, and gives it an unearthly feel.

I am being picky now, but I would like a slightly different framing, maybe 5% less on the right and 5-10% more on the left.

Since I sidetracked a recent POW with a real vs fake discussion, I am not going to say anything about that. And I hope that if people do discuss it, that it remains a secondary discussion.

I like that picture a lot. It's mysterious and enigmatic to me with very good lighting & detail. The composition is also excellent and the black and white helps to outline better the shapes. Alfred, congratulations on your POW and your beautiful image! Cheers!

sorry double post!

Reminds me of William Mortensen (link ). (link)

I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be seeing, that is, what, besides showcasing the photographer's grasp of technique, the image is trying to say. I am also a bit off-put by the compression of the image, that is, the models being too close to the background, and the fact the background itself competes with the models for attention. All in all, at least for me, a very busy mortif that leaves me with the impression that sometimes more is simply overkill.

I initially thought this was a metal casting. The more I looked at it in sheer awe, I'd realized it's an incredible scene rendered by an exceptionally skilled artist. The composition, the lighting, the contrast between foreground and background that creates a third dimension, the choice of B&W, as well as the dreamlike sequence itself, are all remarkably caught. Alfred, congratulations on this image, as well as being chosen for POW.

I have to agree with all the accolades regarding image quality and technique and have nothing more to add to that, but I can't overcome the desire to rotate it 90d left. Is is my imagination that the original perspective was accomplished with the models prone?... Mike

I like this picture. There is a dramatic classical feel to the composition and lighting. I think the idea of turning the photo on end is to achieve a floating feeling. Kind of works but there are so many visual clues-the fall of the drapery and water- that work against the idea. A very nice quality to the b&w rendering, although the contrast is a bit brittle for my taste. I appreciate the artistic daring and technical competence expressed in the image.

Once I'm past the very nice lighting to emphasize the textures of the material, and the nice movement of substance around the outsides of the ladies, I ask myself 'what is the artist trying to say'? The title throws me off pretty much, I don't get it. Then the lady on the right is looking (staring wide eyed even) out into space, away from the actual action, which is the pouring of the (dry ice?) substance out of the jar, why? The other lady is looking toward the action, it seems, which helps somewhat.

I see an artist with great skill levels needing to finish the thought process so as to take this whole 'thing' to the next level. There are too many 'loose ends' here to have it graduate to a masterpiece. Close but no cigar.

Overdone. Whatever the message of this Pictorialist image is it is lost in the ostentatious display of technique. It is full of

the sound and the fury signifying nothing. It is the sort of image that first overwhelms and then bores. Also the title is

dreadful.

This photo is sculptural. And it is trying very, very hard. The word style comes to mind and drowns other thoughts out. The title seems consistently overwrought.

It feels indelicate, a somewhat harsh processing seeming to want to be more delicate. The shadows on the arms make literal the photographic meaning of burned. Some of the white areas on the faces and the sharpening outlines especially along the arms are a bit disconcerting. The image has a wow quality that will obviously be very popular. It has the romantic and mythological look of something special but, for me, with nothing much backing that up.