Ombrelloni in prospettiva

It's a holyday snapshot, so I don't understand the general excitement in above comments... The upper half is empty, while the lower part is too busy, and overall I can't find the subject.

What's happening with this site actually? The whole value system is upside down.

This is a great fun piece; from the comments I can see that it is well recieved too. It carries signature of vivid color composition. Brava.

 

P.S. I like the new portrait of you too -- a manifestation of love for life and joy.

Thank you very much.

where are your photos?

Wilson I suddenly feel like I had never properly used PS before 8)

Another ridiculously overrated image making a total farce of the top rated photos page.

This photograph would be improved by a crop just above the shed. Discard everything below that line and you would have a nice, minimalist abstract consisting of graduations of blue sky. A considerable improvement.

Very nice image!

Maria, I like light and colours here, but not the composition. The upper part is empty and too large compared to the remaining part of the image: I suggest to crop it. I would have shot closer to the first chairs in order to convey more the subject and the geometry. I think the problem here is the building on the left which creates a confusing background to the primary subject. I like the idea of emptyness, silence and serenity brought by this image, expecially if compared to the big crowding we have on our beaches during day. Ciao

Maria,

 

Another wonderfully composed capture. I'm ready for a swim. 7/6. Regards,Ronnie

This is not just the best out of Maria's entire folder, it is in fact a completely different class of picture than what she has exhibited so far.

 

The colours are simply fantastic, the saturations works well, and there is something about the composition and subject that creates an atmosphere if vivid depression. A beach setting created for a lively crowd of fun-cravers has been tidied up, folded down, over and out. There's a stark contrast between what this place is meant to be, and how it is at the moment of the capture. One can't decide if this is the remains of a day, or the anticipation of early morning.

 

On the technical side, it's quite impressive how you managed (or chanced) to get the coloration of the sky that we see. The faintness of the shadows on the beach works very well (I don't think that strong shadows would create the same impression) and the colours are just great. Maybe I would prefer some panning of the camera to the leftm to let the middle row of unmbrellas cast its perspective and not let the fron umbrella coincide in the background with the building - but that is really nitpicking and of small importance.

Mi piace la composizione e mi piacciono molto i colori. Ottima la luce secondo me! Avrei tagliato un pochino il cielo ma e' solo il mio gusto personale. Molto interessante e originale!

I really think that photography is an art and certainly a job for some people, but for some others like me is just a lovely activity in which I learn every day, web pages like this one give us the opportunity to get influences from a lot o people and improve our skills. But at the end of the day what I like the most is to take a look in to someone else work and world vision through a simple image.

I think that criticism is certainly important and photographers expertise is greatly appreciated whenever they teach us some technical details or tips, but you dont need to be a famous artist in order to like a photo. There a lot of people in this page that likes Marias work, including myself; derogative comments not only offend the photographer, they also attack people that just saying I like this shot. I join the majority of PN members who appreciate good or bad critiques but disdain insults.

Keep on going Maria, I know that this is not a democracy but the opinion of a lot folks must mean something. I will keep on visiting your controversial folder; I always get some great ideas from your shots and also from good and bad critiques. Cheers!

 

i think that you are a great friend of the owner.

"THE OWL CRITIC"

James T. Fields

(1817-1881)

 

"Who stuffed that white owl?" No one spoke in the shop:

The barber was busy, and he couldn't stop;

The customers, waiting their turns, were all reading

The "Daily," the "Herald," the "Post," little heeding

The young man who blurted out such a blunt question;

Not one raised a head or even made a suggestion;

And the barber kept on shaving.

 

"Don't you see, Mr. Brown,"

Cried the youth, with a frown,

"How wrong the whole thing is,

How preposterous each wing is,

How flattened the head is, how jammed down the neck is -

In short, the whole owl, what an ignorant wreck 't is!

I make no apology;

I've learned owl-eology.

I've passed days and nights in a hundred collections,

And cannot be blinded to any deflections

Arising from unskillful fingers that fail

To stuff a bird right, from his beak to his tail.

Mister Brown! Mister Brown!

Do take that bird down,

Or you'll soon be the laughing-stock all over town!"

And the barber kept on shaving.

 

"I've studied owls,

And other night fowls,

And I tell you

What I know to be true:

An owl cannot roost

With his limbs so unloosed;

No owl in this world

Ever had his claws curled,

Ever had his legs slanted,

Ever had his bill canted,

Ever had his neck screwed

Into that attitude.

He can't do it, because

'T is against all bird laws.

Anatomy teaches,

Ornithology preaches

An owl has a toe

That can't turn out so!

I've made the white owl my study for years,

And to see such a job almost moves me to tears!

Mister Brown, I'm amazed

You should be so gone crazed

As to put up a bird

In that posture absurd!

To look at that owl really brings on a dizziness;

The man who stuffed him don't know half his business!"

And the barber kept on shaving.

 

"Examine those eyes.

I'm filled with surpprise

Taxidermists should pass

Off on you such poor glass;

So unnatural they seem

They'd make Audubon scream,

And John Burroughs laugh

To encounter such chaff.

Do take that bird down;

Have him stuffed again, Brown!"

And the barber kept on shaving.

 

"With some sawdust and bark

I could stuff in the dark

An owl better than that.

I could make an old hat

Look more like an owl

Than that horrid fowl,

Stuck up there so stiff like a side of coarse leather.

In fact, about him there's not one natural feather."

 

Just then, with a wink and a sly normal lurch,

The owl, very gravely, got down from his perch,

Walked around and regarded his fault-finding critic

(Who thought he was stuffed) with a glance analytic,

And then fairly hooted, as if he should say:

"Your learning's at fault this time, anyway;

Don't waste it again on a live bird, I pray.

I'm an owl; you're another. Sir Critic, good-day!"

And the barber kept on shaving.

 

I like this image because it derives a sense of charm for me. This is not something that I'd see on a beach everyday! :)

 

I also find the patterns to be incredibly mentally "comforting" in a sense. There is definitely a diagonal skew to the image, but it's so minor -- and I think it's exaggerated because the image is heavier on the left -- there are more umbrellas and a building, while on the right, there's just a very calm blue ocean that blends with the sky...

 

Ignore the "haters." You're not overrated in any sense in my opinion. Your work is great, and Lorenzo's is also coming right along in my opinion. :)

Hans Andersen tale: The Emperor's Clothes.

 

 

You too, John. Really, your behavior it tipical of a person that is about 4 or 5.

 

thanks so much for your lovely words about Lorenzo. I apreciate a lot.

Maria - I like this - I find it amusing and perceptive. (and some of these comnents are quite funny too! :-)

I think the the The Emperor's New Clothes analogy is a very good analogy for what potentially happens in PN. Excellent counter-point to the Owl Critic (which was not intended, by me, to suggest that all criticism is in the category of the criticism offered by the guy who was so hard on the barber). I like the balance of putting these two side by side in the ongoing PN discussion. Both false praise and misguided criticism are worthy of ignoring in order to try to figure out what the truth is. Thanks for inserting the counter point. A military salute.

 

Yes, it was meant in humor, which is always good to have, especially with sunny pictures!! Maria: What kind of feedback are you really looking for on the posted image? If all you are looking for is praise, those that might be interested in giving a constructive feedback won't bother with your images anymore and the above will result

John, i do not know the real reason of your rancour. This is a photo site, not a psycological site. This is not the place for manifestations of frustration. Realax your self. You are becaming a bore....person.

Adios.

Your altered comment is more reasonable.