Rita and Alina

Rita (right) and Alina (left) stopped by for a few minutes when I

was in Ukraine recently to see how they'd look photographed

together. I had only expected Rita, left, and, not knowing either

of them, had walked behind them for a block and a half on the street

before they turned at my building thinking 'too bad they both aren't

coming to visit me!' In fact, of course, they were.' Alina is 18,

Rita is 19. Both are university students and both are quite smart.

Your ratings and comments are invited and most welcome. If you rate

harshly or very critically, please attach a helpful and constructive

comment/Please share your superior knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John (Technically, maybe not actually

a 'nude' photo, but posted there to be 'conservative') J

I love the golden glow which suits the skin tones of your two beautiful subjects.Why is the background on the left blurred or out of focus and the right hand side not? It would have been nice to retain their heads and elbows What a beautiful face the girl on the right has

hi John, i've seen your name in countless forums, usually injecting them with thoughtful ideas and knowledge. but i've yet to see your work. what a vast catalog of images that shows much passion.

 

now to this image. this is a nice if a little flat. i'm not sure if the background color flatters the subjects. i would add some contrast. you have captured a sincere moment that does not look contrived and they def look comfortable with you.

 

and since you have only one photo of a single girl in your "Pretty Girls (Women) From Ukraine" folder, i recommend that you move this one there...

I was more than a little surprised when these girls/women turned into my apartment building in Ukraine and, spying my cameras, asked if I were John after I had walked behind them for a block or a block and a half (quarto is the actual word instead of block).

 

Somehow I'm torn between which of the two I like better. Rita is older, more 'in charge', uses more makeup, certainly has a more expressive face and definitely is more in control with the face that is designed more to stop traffic, but Alina should not be undersold or understated at all -- she is an exremely beautiful young woman whose lithe body cannot be done justice by this series of photos.

 

A man, Peter, at one time wondered why I cut off the tops of heads, just as you wonder why I cut off elbows here -- it's for compositional reasons -- body parts and compositional reasons demand it for me -- this photo is more about lines than you might imagine and to reveal the elbows in this very fast shoot might have confused the photo with extraneous body parts that would mislead the eye and break the composition (that's why the elbows are now shown.) If I were shooting with a Hasselblad, or a Mamiya, the choice might have been different -- it's partly governed by the format.

 

I was far more interested in getting a good composition from these expert posers (not poseurs -- maybe I'm that???) to best show them as they related to one another and as they related to me. These were 'casting' photos and done entirely 'gratuitously' -- meaning not that they were done in an offhand manner rudely, but without pay to the two women in their hopes they will obtain future work from me.

 

(and I am sure they will . . . )

 

They are surely the most professional two models I have ever worked with; they said they had a short time to work, after examining my photos for a long time and determining that I WAS WORTHY OF THEM, and then they began to pose, and their posing was first rate. They obviously have worked together before, but I am a little unsure exactly how, but I'm quite willing to find out.

 

And as I talked with them and they viewed my photos (and got them all! to my delight), I formed the opinion they were quite smart and my questioning revealed they both were university students, with high ambition, not just ordinary pretty faces or superthing clothes hangars. These are the kind of persons I would like to know, though I don't know them at all (regrets, I think, but I don't even know enough to know that for sure).

 

What I do know is that the working relationship was first rate. But the light was late afternoon/early evening and I had trouble holding the camera steady (low light, not high blood pressure . . . . coupled with a huge camera/lens combination) plus they moved a little too much, too often, though they were listening for the shutter click.

 

This is a 'flash' photo, but they weren't around long enough for me to adjust color balance . . . which I can do in Kelvin both with my D200s or D2Xs or even balance the skin tones, so this is what I got with my SB800, and I had three other SB800s which I could have set to FV as slaves for a professional studio, but I didn't have time to set them up, as that would have taken an hour or so.

 

I had chosen the apartment for its wonderful light for available light. (See photo (and soon to be photos) of Dasha and other Ukrainian women, all with side light and muted light, sometimes with fill flash; sometimes without.

 

It was much cheaper than renting a studio for those days in which I chose not to shoot 'street' . . . a pleasant break . . . or when I shot street in afternoon and after 4:00 p.m. when the side light through the large windows was wonderful, would shoot girls/women (adults of course).

 

As to the background, that's textured wallpaper, and they are standing, one farther away from it than the other and I'm at an angle to it, so part is in focus and part not. The cure is to 'select' the 'in-focus' paper and slightly apply Gaussian blur, but I don't usually go to such trouble.

 

I want to do a calendar of the girls of Dnepropetrovsk, and these two certainly would be in it. Or just a calendar of these two. I think it might be salable.

 

I hope that addresses the issues/questions/observations you raise.

 

Thanks for commnenting (looks like rate recent is disabled on all photos, and you came in as a non-anonymous rater, another photo of mine for rating also got no anonymous raters though it was good enough -- one I was proud of and ordinarily which ordinarily would have got a number of rates).

 

John (Crosley)

Despite owning Photoshop for almost two and a half years, I only recently discovered the photo filters (warming, cooling, etc.) function of CS2, and of course further processing might be applied to this capture.

 

The background, noted above, is textured wallpaper, but the color, not color corrected in the camera except for 'auto' was nice enough, and only slightly manipulated for posting.

 

And yes, these two young women/girls were quit comfortable with me, having spent about an hour going through my photos of the last seven months with me (a huge number of photos posted and to be posted and they seemed genuingly to be 'auditioning me' instead of my auditioning them). Then, when it came time to 'audition them' it seemed time was short, but they announced 'we work fast' and they did. Although some photos were blurry from slow shutter speed and camera movement and/or their movement, many were quite wonderful.

 

They were wonderful subjects; I'd use them again and again, and they already have provided me names of other models and I'll use them as a source for others besides.

 

And I'm considering taking a group or two to Ukraine to do 'street photography' -- there the people live in the street, unlike the U.S. so the chances of getting good captures quickly are far greater than in the U.S.

 

The same for photos of beautiful women, such as these. I've a list of 120 young women, a few of whom I've photographed and I've connectoin with several model agencies as well as free-lance models, but these certainl were among the very best.

 

However, I have to say, that women on the street in this town (Dnepropetrovsk) often were show-stoppers, and just walking down the street as a man is an awe-inspiring experience (in the summer), as the women dress, walk and otherwise live to please their many male admirers, almost all of whom are entirely thankful for their country's many beautiful women.

 

I'd love to do a book also of photos like this, more professionally done shot, but of such natural poses. They do look comfortable with me, don't they. The fact is I think they did actually like me (and my photos which they thoroughly reviewed before the shoot, so they'd understand why I might take a lot of shots to get one good one, instead of a whole sheet or shoot of photos, all of which they might expect to be perfect. I make a lot of mistakes and take a lot of chances in shooting, all to better myself and to search how best to present my subject, and that often is misunderstood for bad photography if I don't explain myself ahead of time. I can spend a half hour to 40 minutes circling a model before I can figure how best to portray her to get an amazing capture, and then, when she sees it, she'll exclaim because it makes her look so beautiful. All the rest is the preliminaries.

 

And what genre is this? Nude, glamour, or just two friendly-looking, sexy young women who appear to have no clothes and are very alluring and natural looking?

 

They're a great pair together; a sort of synergistc pair, each addng something to the pair so that 1 + 1 = 4 (in my opinion).

 

They didn't want to go 'topless' for a 'casting' and they only had 20 minutes so I was reluctant to pay for such a short time/the above is their compromise, and for me it's better than nudity!

 

John (Crosley)

Thanks for the nice references to my literateness and my portfolio.

 

I treasure both equally, though the photography is a bit harder at present.

 

I try to make everything interesting, so even though I might have 20 wonderful photos of a subject that might make a folder for some photographers, I try to choose just one and post just that photo. I've never wanted for subject matter.

 

Thanks again.

 

John (Crosley)

Hi John, I'm certianly not Mr. Photo....

IMO

I see the models face at right as "Out of Focus"

The background is Trite, and the lighting is really flat.

The models are very beautiful. The one on the left looks totally stoned.?

I think a closer cropping-in from both sides would help very much, as well as a warming filter, and alittle more sharpening in the faces. 3/4

Jeff,

 

This photo was taken 'available light' with 'fill flash' soon before dark with an overall bluish cast which was compensated for by the camera's flash color and the 'auto' color adjustment of the camera. The use of a 'warming filter' is a totally outrageous suggestion, however.

 

Imagine this as 'more yellow', as it's a yellow photo already and really it should benefit from a cooling filter if one were to present the skin tones as reality . . . I just happened to like this presentation, so I kept it . . . plus it showed fairly well with yellow/pale textured wallpaper in the background. This is NOT a studio shot but a living room shot and that's (yes) wallpaper in the background, though expensive wallpaper.

 

These women had 120 photos of them taken in 20 minute and this is just one of them; most with them clothed or semi-clothed; and only a few with them partially clothed (top only) as here.

 

It is possible there is some slight 'blurring' on the right model, Rita, as the shutter speed was very low, the lens very heavy, the camera very heavy and a shutter speed of about 1/15th second without a tripod -- an almost impossible task to even make an in-focus shot. And Rita (Margaryta) often was 'moving' when I fired the shutter, so there was a large number of photos in which there were blurs. This was a 'test' shot, posted for fun. I took it for fun and posted it for fun. Photo.net should be fun, and I treat it like that. But there are times when things intrude on the fun.

 

As to the 'flatness' of the light, notice the 'modeling' effect of the side lighting from the sole, large window at their left (our right), and flattened only by a fill flash set to minus EV 1-1/3 to avoid overwhelming the natural light, although a 'north' light (the artist's light).

 

I kind of laugh at half of your critique as it's pretty much off, while other parts are more on, and know that you must start somewhere.

 

Fact is that I have found in 'street shooting' that expressions will carry the most deficient technical photos; perhaps not in the 'studio', but of course this is a 'living room' test photo, not a calendar photo, for which you may have mistaken it. (good for me if you did).

 

You are entitled to your rate; I get to spend some considerable time with these women in the future. They vetted me just as I vetted them and we each found the other acceptable.

 

By the way, your conjecture that Alina, left, was 'stoned, is based on 'surmise' on viewing a sole photo is totally outrageous.

 

She is bright (pointed out above), and one of the smartest people I've come across recently, together with Rita, with professional aspirations, an academic education, and a full comprehension of subtleties that pass by most people who do not have a doctorate.

 

Stoned. Pshaw! I think you're stoned or full of yourself.

 

There's no basis for that either in the photo or in reality.

 

She was a pleasant young woman and totally businesslike with totally approrpriate businesslike behavior -- (but I wonder about the critique you've written)

 

And please look over the hundreds or thousand of comments I've written and see if you can find if I've written one so critical of the commentator, because never have I seen one so ill-founded in major criticisms as this latter criticism or so absolutely wrong on major criticisms.

 

You need to review your basic photography (warming vs. cooling filter), (shading vs. flatness) and maybe take personal personality assessment, e.g. making damning assessments about being 'stoned' based on total lack of evidence for making such an assertion, giving rise to the suggestion that somehow you have a personality defect or a need somehow to denigrate others that fulfills some deep need or void in yourself.

 

Now, if you wish to apologize and return to these pages to do so, I will accept your apologies. Perhaps you were unaware of how damning or ill-conceived your comments were (some were well-taken; others were completely ridiculous and I'm well-known for being extremely kind, cooperative and welcoming (and polite) to my many hundreds (perhaps thousands) of commentators.

 

Maybe you just had a bad day, and I'd like to make allowance for that. How one can make such an assessment based on a still photo -- that a model is 'stoned' -- (which is damning) without anything more, is beyond comprehension based on this model's expression and based on the time I spent with her as I explained above (am I missing something . . . is there powder dusted on her nostrils?)

 

Drugs don't even make an appearance in her city; they're far too expensive except for glue, I suppose, and for beer, and I smelled nothing on her, after being with them both for an hour and engaging them both in high-level intellectual conversation (about photography and related metaphysics) for about an hour before this shoot.

 

I'd appreciate an apology.

 

I've never asked for one before.

 

Please read several hundred of my replies to commentators before you get angry at this; and learn how I treat honest, knowledgeable commentators who critique carefully and honestly and who do not 'shoot off' carelessly (yours is a first).

 

Peace be with you.

 

Perhaps there is a chance that we can have a rapprochement after you familiarize yourself with my willingness to (1) take appropriate criticism and (2) spread goodwill to those who give appropriate criticism that is given with good will and that I do not criticize carelessly.

 

I am the first to acknowledge valid criticism of my photography and welcome it.

 

I have been blessed heretofore by some of the finest commentators on Photo.net, and heretofore have never had to deal with gratuitous remarks.

 

John (Crosley)

What I like about this is that it does not fall in the usual category. I think it is more 'portrait' than anything, but that suggests a posed seriousness that is thankfully lacking here, but a portrait in the sense of capturing personality, quite evident in the playful expression of both subjects.

You know, Rodin would just have his nudes walk and dance around the studio and make quick sketches to get ideas for his sculptures. Imagine what he could have done with a digital camera.

I love to look at women, but I am a bit tired of nudes. Yours is a refreshing approach, as usual.

You can say to yourself you have written a humanistic and delightful commentary/critique.

 

You have seen the charm of these young women/not just their 'charms' which is obvious to all men. In fact their physical 'charms' are partly hidden, and although they insisted on it because I was not paying them, I found it even more delightful to have their hands thusly.

 

And, this was taken at about 180 mm and I was standing clear across a room with my 80~200 mm or 70~200 mm lens (I forgot which), and they must have been amused somewhat at how I was struggling with the great weight of the lens/camera combination, trying to get them in focus because I focus on eyes and the eyes were somewhat dim for 'autofocus' and sometimes I'd get an 'eye' in autofocus and the focus would 'jump' on me or my nose would hit the autofocus multi-choice button causing the focus point to jump to some other point (a well-known frustration unless one locks the focus point multi-choice indicator).

 

In any case, they enjoyed that they were 'cheating me' out of a look at their breasts, and I was delighted they were so delighted since I like delightfully photographed young women (and I've seen lots of breasts in my life before, including a number that day from other models).

 

And, after all, just going to a strip club will give a man a good education about such things in an hour or two for the (over)price of a drink or two.

 

Yes, it's a 'portrait' in a way, and 'glamour' in a way, but it's highly humanistic and warm. I'd want to know both of them, and in fact did want to know them and had spent an hour with them (reviewing my photos taken in the last several months). They were amused by the photos and, I suppose by the process of seeing how the fat old photographer worked his 'magic' in such a rumpled way. Maybe that's it -- amusement at watching how I made such good photos while seeming so disorganized. They knew at least one photo would be good (they later saw this one and very much liked it), as I had told them I take lots of bad ones just to get one very good one. And, these were just 'casting' photos -- not the 'real thing'.

 

So, when you wake up in the morning, not only have you cheated the grim reaper, but your fine critique not only has caught the essence of this photo (without overflattering), and stated your opinion frankly.

 

(Look above your critique for someone who also was frank and how I reacted to his opinion that the leftmost model (Alina) looked 'stoned', an idea I found most repellently stated and without justification.)

 

My best to you each morning, from now on.

 

John (Crosley)

If I get a model, even on an hourly basis from an agency who is skilled with posing and photography, I try to bring my laptop and show the model at length my 'street' and other photos (if she appears at all to 'get them'), to have her handle my digital camera, to focus, frame, hold and shoot, view the results, and to have her get an idea of my work, including my non-model work partly to see her level of intelligence and awareness, partly to get her awake, as most such shooting takes place in the morning and many models are barely awake, (me too), and largely partly to establish rapport with the model.

 

Little is more gruesome than spending five hours in a studio with a beautiful young women who is tired, grudgingly cooperative, who doesn't speak the same language, unintelligent, and just doesn't 'seem to get it' or even want to try to 'get it' if you suggest something.

 

Most models are just the opposite, college students with extraordinarily high IQs and education -- stunning in beauty and also stunning in their intelligence and work ethic.

 

Those are the models who end up in agencies and succeed. Beautiful women who aren't smart and work hard don't make it with agencies, at least in Ukraine, as there are too many beautiful women who will show up on time, and work hard and intelligently for one to put up with beautiful timewasters.

 

But I also shoot rank amateurs, culled out of newspaper ads.

 

Showing my 'street' and other work to the models seems to have an enlivening effect on them -- they become enthusiastic about being engaged with the photographic process, and some tell me (those who can communicate with me) that other photographers just take photos and get on with it.

 

That's where so many mundane photos in the world come from, I think, and partly why I get the 'natural expressions' that many have remarked on, especially in my model photos lately. (not in every model though, as some photos require want a certain 'distant' look, and those photos mean that the model does not appear to 'communicate' with the camera/photographer, as above).

 

But, in this case, it was over one hour with the models, talking and viewing photographs and about 20 minutes for over 120 photographs, only a few of which were semi-topless as above and many of which were blurred from camera or model movement because of low, natural indoor sidelight from late afternoon, cloudy light through huge windows, but it was clear that in these 'casting' photos that we all could get along, and I will use these models again (God willing and the creek don't rise).

 

I think they would enjoy not only working with me, enjoy contributing to the creative process, and also be proud of the results because the results would be a collaberative result.

 

I've had every kind of experience, almost, in reviewing 'amateur' models recruited from newspaper ads placed in Ukraine, including one woman who answered the ad and showed for a casting, it appeared, just so she could tell her friends (brag) that she had 'turned down' the 'famous' American photogapher . . . . Actually, she had little model potential . . . and wasn't really seriously being considered, and 'turned down' the modeling before it was offered to her (it wasn't going to be offerd to her at all).

 

She was God's Gift to Mankind and, as she proudly announced, 'I am Engaged'.

 

God help her fiance.

 

It takes all kinds.

 

Go figure.

 

Oh, and if these models appear to seem to like being photographed and to like me -- they did -- they weren't acting. They and I had a good time, though by the end they were rushed for time and were both late. They had determined they were going to give me their best and not 'walk through' the casting.

 

John (Crosley)

John, I have No Apology for you. My critique stands as is. I gave my opinion as I see it. "my opinion" is mine, not yours! Folks get all bent out of shape when you leave low ratings and no comment....this is exactly why.

If you want only 7/7's than you may wish not to post photos for critique.

I meant no disrespect to the model about the stoned comment...She simply does "look" stoned to me. I'm sorry you got pissed off. I was just giving my critique of my opinion...no attack or disrespect was meant in any way.

Of course I don't want all 7/7s. Your suggesting that perhaps I might is a faulty rhetorical device.

 

I do want and appreciate honest, polite and well-founded critiques.

 

There is no way that you could form a judgment, one way or the other, that Alina, left, was 'stoned' or not and the suggestion that she was, without more was simply gratuitous, and my ire was well-earned.

 

I am sorry you did not get the point; you do owe an apology, not for having an opinion; for that you are entitled, but for expressing a gratuitous thought that is scurrilous and doing so completely without foundation.

 

That is a form of intellectual and moral bankruptcy, and perhaps when you come back and read this, you'll understand, if not today, tomorrow, next year, maybe a decade or so from now.

 

I have no problem with other parts of your critique; they don't have to be 'right on' or even well though out to be an honest critic; I'm only objecting to scurrilous recklessness; that has no place on Photo.net.

 

Again, if you view the entirety of all my posted remarks you will find probably not one remark of mine that is so filled with certitude and rectitude; in general I am a relativist and a live-and-let live kind of guy and genuinely mean it when I invite people to visit my photos and folders, but it implies a sort of civil 'good behavior'.

 

Perhaps in your world 'looking stoned' implies no disrespect -- in mine it suggests lack of character to show up for work 'stoned', and thus your post (without explanation and based on groundless surmise) impugns the integrity of this nice, intelligent young woman. (Showing up for work 'stoned')

 

Maybe you'll never understand the seriousness of how you maligned . . . I hope I'm wrong.

 

John (Crosley)

Alina, left, is age 18, according to an e-mail message from Rita.

 

Rita is 19, also according to the same e-mail message.

 

It gave their birthdates, which they earlier gave me.

 

Releases will be furnished for this and other images, as usual, in Russian, with ID (though not required, since not 'sexual' in nature as defined by US law, and thus exempt from the ID requirements of U.S. law. In fact, I have never taken an image depicting sexual activity as so defined.

 

John (Crosley)

Rita is on the right -- she is a professional model and a photo stylist as well as makeup artist of great talent.

 

She's not just good looking before the camera -- in fact she is stunning -- but she's also amazingly skilled, dedicated, and hard-working behind the camera.

 

Rita and I now are friends/co-workers and work together seamlessly (just as co-adventurers and friendly ones, but certainly nothing more). As I learn to know Rita (and her dedication to her long-time boyfriend) I appreciate her many attributes even more.

 

If you met Rita, you'd be overwhelmed by her 'brains' if you could see beyond her obvious beauty, and if you'd worked with her, as I have, you'd also be impressed with her skills and dedication --she's a good-humored, tireless worker who insists on the best and takes great pride in doing things 'the best', whether as a photo model, helper, or as a photo stylist (unasked, she began to provide me models, photo props, and do their makeup and gradually I just have 'adopted' her as my 'assistant' for such things.

 

You probably won't soon be seeing those photos -- they're private - and not because of any lack of decency therein -- they're all very tasteful -- but because I've not yet mastered the art of taking photos of beautiful women; it's something I'm working on.

 

The women are beautiful and the photos often are, but we are overwhelmed in our culture by photos of beautiful, stunning women, and I have yet to learn how to make my women, each of whom is unique, stand out and show them off in a way I can say 'I produced that and I'm soo proud of that'. My models are almost always extraordinarily nice people also possessed of great beauty, and I both appreciate and respect them, which they repay in kind; I know of none who wouldn't work with me a second time.

 

I don't know exactly what path Rita will end up on; she's also a student at University and now is just 20, while Alina, to the best of my knowledge (and I've seen her several times recently and recently posted a portrait of her, taken in December) remains 18.

 

Under the folder currently named 'fine art' -- please see (presently) two photos of Rita's upper body and breasts. They're the only photos I've ever taken of women that I've thought to label 'fine art'.

 

About Alina: I recently posted a portrait of her, taken in December. She remains 18,to the best of my knowledge. Her brains simmer under her pretty exterior, and many might underestimate her; not me. She's 'hot' in my view, and very brainy, and don't underestimate her; but she's reserved -- the perfect friend for the effervescent Rita.

 

See comments under that posted portrait of Alina for my perspective (all positive) about Alina's personal attributes, which are many.

 

Alina does not speak English with ease, so instead of making mistakes and 'having to be heard' she prefers to be quiet. When she speaks, however, one would be well advised to listen; she's bright.

 

Rita and Alina are best friends and a great find as friends for me, too.

 

What good fortune this photography thing has brought to me: brains, good sense, good people, and great beauty . . . all in neat packages!!!

 

How could I be luckier?

 

John (Crosley)

Here is a good photo (maybe better in B&W). When I do not give such a good rating you fire back with comments like I "just don't get it" or tell your readers "go figure" as if I am off the wall. But when I rate over the average..... you never seem to notice those.