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I'm not sure if it is simply partially desaturated, or if there have been color balance adjustments. I don't particularly like this color mix, but the picture is well-composed and executed. I would like to see the original.

 

Congratulations on getting Photo of the Week, Michael.

 

--Lannie

Before praising the aesthetics/presentation of this photo and proclaiming it a wonderful composition, has anyone actually stopped to think about what the photo is saying or what the boy is dreaming about?

 

OK, so maybe Joshua isn't unconscious because at least he's laughing...

Nice sense of time and place. I like the dream-like feel to it too due to the de-saturation of the color.

 

My only beef would be, as usual, the crop is off. On this one just a tad, but enough to throw it off. Where? The top. Too much blank sky compared to all else that it filled with interesting elements. If you eliminate the sky to just above the cloud on the far right you will notice how much stronger it is, as you are not allowed to 'escape' into the emptiness like before, meaning you look at the image longer, meaning it is more successful. That is, if you define sucess that way. I always do. And while I was at it, I cropped for balance of the castle too, a little off the right.

thank you was good job

Congratulations Michael! Very interesting photo, it does

make you stop and look and think. Nicely done.

Cropping is a personal, artistic decision and how you crop has a big effect on most images. That said, I concur with Michael Seewald if both the top crop as suggested is done and the right side is cropped right to the castle wall. The resulting picture is different from the one presented and that may be an issue for the artist. However, the cropped picture clarifies itself, locks the eye to its interacting elements and greatly heightens the narrative strength. Look how much more the clouds link and flow through the image now. When you walk away from that image, much more remains in memory.

First thing to say is it's a great shot. On the crop issue, I prefer no or v. little bush on R, and tighter on the castle at top. On the saturation + shadow work, I love the surrealism of the boy. What detracts for me is the boy's other arm ruining the profile of his face. I find the sky a bit uninspiring, and don't like it being the most colorful thing. Think I would like it very or totally desaturated, the rest as is. Maybe the clouds could be dramatized a bit. Last thing to say is it's a great shot.

I notice some uneven darkening in the sky. I frequently have this problem myself when I mix a polarizer and a wide angle lens.

 

Even so, it's a nice shot.

I think the suggested crop may have been a bit too aggressive. I may have taken a bit more from the right side to loose most of the tree because it is competing for attention with the building. At the same time I would have cropped a bit less or perhaps none from the sky portion of the photo because I think the proportion is about right for the scale of the building. The building is really the anchor for that part of the composition. I do like the three small clouds in diagonal formation marching along the line of perspective created by the building (always back to the building or secondary subject in my mind). I am not thoroughly convinced that cropping is needed or desired but then I seem to feel somewhat indifferent to the photograph for some reason. I am lost as to what is supposed to be happening here. I can not think of any reason why the boy would be lying there while the girl romps around in the background. I think the scale or perspective of things is a little odd for some reason. I would be curious to know what focal length this was shot at and what the 35mm equivalent was.

 

I am not really connecting with the scene which surprises me in a way. It may be the use of de-saturation which I deplore in general. Making it one way or the other (color or black & white) would suit me best, as several others have mentioned before me.

 

I am troubled that the little girl only appears to have one arm and the boy looks like he might have a broken leg. I would like to have seen the girls right arm extended away from her body a bit and perhaps a repositioning of the boys leg. It does look as though the shadows on the boys face have been lightened, so why not adjust the lighting on the girl as well. I would have dodged the girls features (I know no one cares what I would have done). Let me rephrase by saying that the (wide) difference in shadow values appears to be a defect in the composition. I think the bright white opening on the far right side of the building should have been burnt in as well.

 

I guess if I had to assign some meaning to this shot it would be that the boys little sister is invading his dreams or waking serenity (little sisters are famous for this). She appears to be attacking the clouds which represent his thought, dreams and ideas. She is breaking the clouds up the way a sibling sometimes breaks your favorite toy just for spite. The broken clouds are left scattered behind her. What a little monster she is !

I like the saturation just as it is, in a sort of surreal netherlands. The color in the boys face is all the more interesting for it. This image has compelling life and creativity to it, something I had missed in recent POW's. Congrats and well done! -Greg-

I get an immediate sense of vicarious empathy for the boy, who seems to be

dreaming the girl and the castle. (Don't boys always dream of girls and castles?) The

dreamlike quality is enhanced by the girl's celestial properties - framed by clouds

with her arm extended as if in flight. The alignment of clouds creates an implied

chevron for which the girl is poised in the fulcrum. Very nice work.

I like reading the interpretations. It's fun to read what others think and from the heart for a change.

 

My take: let's face it folks--this boy's in complete and utter love for the first time in his life. There are all kinds of pre-adolescent symbols floating around, but let?s just say he's making the transition from princesses in far away castles/lands to someone a lot closer than that. He's completely enthralled with this girl and having the dream of his life. Fathers, lock your daughters in the castle :o)

Makes me feel as though I am looking at two different pictures. Love it.

Congrats Michael for this special and timely picture with the "human touch".....Tye.

I look at this photo and think there is some real thought in the use of line, color and

balance. the color, desaturation, seems to accentuate the "heat", but a cool heat, maybe

like a dream!?! It might be nice if the bush on the right wasn't there, but I don't see it as

screaming for attention, in shape or tone, and I do think cropping it disturbs the

wonderful balance of the boys placement. the large open sky allows the composition to

breathe, dreamlike!?!, while I see the crop making it a confining element, almost

oppressive both physically and psycologically. The juxtaposition of the girl with the cloud

is wonderful and I wonder if the cloud in front of her isn't the dragon.

 

This is one of the better POW's I have seen.

Very nice photo, I like the desaturation, I think it helps the photo as it was shot in bright sulinght. B&w would not be that good. I like the composition, although i second the opinion of Blagoy that the composition would be silightly better without the trees on the right.

Haven't got the energy to fully analyze the "why" behind it... but my gut reaction is that this is just a fantastic shot. I've been flipping back to it for the last few minutes, and each time I see it I'm moved.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Great light and contrast.

I vote for the original, low-saturated version. It captures the mood! Both the high saturation and the black-and-white fail to do that, in my opinion.

One Of the best I've seen in a long time!

Yes, one of the best selections i have seen on this site. the dream-like atmosphere is nice but i am struck by the formal qualities of this image. what really makes this image work for me is its multilevel deep composition. the more you look at it the more layers you can peel off. good balance along all three axes, but especially impressive handling of depth. congratulation on the award well deserved.

Wow. Mystic atmosphere and nice composition. It looks like a dream. Nice shot

Well, everyone seems to be raving about the desaturation. I increased the saturation, but had to add green to make it look natural to my eyes. My sole purpose was to try to reconstruct what the shot might have looked like out of the camera, before the post-processing began.

 

I have to say that I am a sucker for natural colors, but I still respect Michael's judgment and that of the others who like the saturation/color balance of his posted photo.

 

--Lannie

Here it is slightly desaturated, but with the color balance still shifted some towards green. Perhaps I have added too much green, but the magenta cast to the sky bothered me a bit.

 

--Lannie

A wonderful glimpse of childhood has been captured here and for my money that is the value of this image. When I saw this for the first time I could not help but think about what the little boy may have been dreaming about...knights in shining armor, dragons, kings and princes? The little girl actively playing in the background with great enthusiasim. Perhaps she too is in her own fantasy land of castles and fairy godmothers.

 

Presented to the viewer from any other perspective would not have been nearly as emotionally stimulating as this composition. The ground level shot that combines the natural elements along with the castle and the children is what makes it all work together. It is a work of art because of the power it hold over the viewer. I would be proud to have it hanging on my wall. Great use of color, light, choice of subjects overall composition. IMO it works equally well the way it is or in B&W.