by the tracks

I'm always amazed at how subtle your pictures are. They seldom draw attention to themselves and don't usually play off the dramatic moment. They often seem reflective, a moment observed and photographed without much of a to-do. And yet they never fail to make us pause and draw us in. After my appreciation of the main "action", I always find a lot of interest in the wealth of details that you have included that give the scene a real sense of place.

Some of your photos of children seem to have moods or emotions that are more "grown-up" than the subjects.  Here the coat, the stroller, and her not facing the camera lend something quiet, somber, and thoughtful to the picture.  There is a depth to the calmness.

I really like it when you upload a photo  in which J. is the content...even

when she  is with her back to me. She plays the little mother, and her pose

looking at the landscape, as if looking  toward the future! very nice moment

in time,and very good execution in B/W.

I wish her all the best for all the years to come!

There is literally nothing I can add to what Jack already wrote. Plus Mark's words...Not the most interesting critique I'll ever write, but they nailed it perfectly. As did you with this photo.

Mark has made an interesting observation about the "grown up"-mood. I noticed this photo already on the weekend, but let 'sink' still a bit. While I think, Mark is right, I connected this to other of your more recent photos of children (and in the same analogue-style) and found this very well continues the series of archetypical childhood-scenes - where I can easily identify myself (or see my daughters).

What makes this photo particularly strong for me, is the dark person at the left edge - I only noticed it on second glance - just as if I was standing there, absorbed completely in looking down on the tracks and barely noticing that there is someone else still around (caring, probably, yet the dark tonality adds a slight touch of ambiguity).

Jack,  Mark,  Pnina,  Wouter, and  Wolfgang,

Thanks for your thoughts on this photo.

Interesting that some of you picked up on the slightly dark mood here.
And, Mark, I like the way you sensed a 'grown up mood' :-)

I'm glad most of you appreciated the subtle, slightly subdued atmosphere of this pic.  

(I am currently trying to put together a personal project of photos, in which I might include this one as well)

Best, M

Melancholy.  The gray jacket seems so crisp and well-defined compared to the handling of the rest of the photo.  She might as well be alone, even though the stroller and arm to the left says otherwise.  There can be a sadness in being a child, and this gives a sense of a frame from a long movie in progress rather than a snapshot.

You have a rare touch. I think it is the way you use the bw colors. Your images very often reminds me of Cartier Bresson.

Tommy

Beautiful , Marjolein! Great B/W!

Regards,

Mário

Jeff, Tommy, Mário,  

Thank you for stopping by, and for letting me know your impressions.

Marjolein -- Wouter linked to this photo in a thread in the Casual Forum and I'm glad he did so.  So many different aspects of this photograph that I like.  First there is just the overall black and white tones and the pleasing hint of grain.  Then there is something about the little girl, and her placement in the frame, looking out of over the scene through the fence.  The child acting as adult but also perhaps foreshadowing the woman to be.  And as I am writing this I started thinking about the figure at left and their significance or contribution to this photo.  So I tried using my hand to "crop" the photo at left and remove that figure altogether.  This is only my impression and opinion, but it suddenly made the image more powerful for me.  The girl seen alone, hand on the stroller, gazing outward over the landscape, just seems to have more impact for me.  I was not intending to critique this image in this way (I rarely suggest crops or changes) but it just suddenly struck me as I viewed this image. 

Steve,

Thanks for your comment, which I only see now - haven't logged in on PN in ages..
(and not missing it much to tell you the truth :-)
Your crop makes sense indeed, but it also alters the overall mood of the picture
and intent I had with it....

best to you, M

You might not miss photonet that much but I'll tell you, photonet sure does miss you. Or at least I do. I'm just hanging on by my fingernails myself.