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© Copyright 2006, John Crosley, All Rights Reserved, First Publication 2006

Dasha III


johncrosley

Nikon D2X, Nikkor 17-55 DX, E.D. NEF to jpg (member's request)

Copyright

© Copyright 2006, John Crosley, All Rights Reserved, First Publication 2006

From the category:

Portrait

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This is blue-eyed Dasha, posted at a member's request. Your ratings

and critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate harshly or

very critically, please submit a helpful and constructive

comment/Please share your superior knowledge to help improve my

photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

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Having her tilt her head up a bit more would give a more flattering and feminine s-curve - this pose is a bit manly since her chin is closer to the perceived plane of her shoulders. Her chin might also have been pointed a bit more at the camera to reduce some of the awkwardness.
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What can I say?

 

You're exactly right.

 

However, the photo you speak of, I may have taken, but may have not chosen so well -- yet. I'm not so capable as I am otherwise of choosing from a vast amount of digital captures of portraits, and I can use all the help I can get.

 

For one thing the megapixel size of 'raw' captures fouls and clogs easy browsing and Picasa becomes useless (displays 'raw' as green)

 

And I don't have good software for choosing large captures that display photos quickly side by side, and portraits often differ very subtly, as opposed to my other captures, which often are one of a kind, or differ from each other dramatically.

 

Thanks for the considered help.

 

John (Crosley)

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The critiques I have received on my photos of Dasha and other portraits have been extremely helpful as I was not raised with much awareness of such images, not growing up reading Cosmopolitan where photos of busy women predominate. I grew up with Life, Look, Colliers (early youth), National Geographic, etc., and thus developed a street style.

 

 

But a 'woman' style, is much less developed (certainly not so much as Dasha, above, is 'developed', and I am working at it, as there is some difference between the vast variety of images of clad, semi-clad and nude women we constantly are bombarded with, and styles do vary, and the 'intent' sometimes is 'erotic' and sometimes is 'beauty' with incidental eroticism and sometimes it's not so clear.

 

So, for those who've helped guide me, thank you.

 

John (Crosley)

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It is clear that Photoshopping tremendously helps images such as the above, and I've perused this month's edition of Photoshopping (or some such) which is the monthly of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals, which makes it all look so easy (fat chance, of course, as they all started learning Photoshop when it was an infant with few 'tricks' back in 1994 or earlier) and just kept adding one or two tricks a year, here and there, until they all became 'experts', largely by happenstance and good luck.

 

I'm not a Photoshop expert, but to take and post such images, I may have to be one, or at least more than conversant with Photoshop skills. This is one area in which Photoshop may be an essential element, and I concede that. Not just the 'healing tool' for pimpuchkas (pimples), but for skin tones, color balance, etc., etc., etc.

 

So, reluctantly, I may be learning the finer essences of Photoshop -- all for a good cause. I want to make my girl/woman images things of real beauty.

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

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Not sure about the crop here John that hand looks a little misplaced, I reckon it was probably nerves.

Dasha?s looks remind me of an eastern European origin perhaps Russian or Polish but maybe Ukrainian too? (and quite possibly she may just be a native New Jersian, whatever she is a beautiful model non the less!)

 

Is this her first time shooting semi/art glamour the reason I am asking is she seems very flushed probably as I said earlier a little shy.

 

It would be great to see her in a more relaxed and responsive mood as I believe you as usual would capture it just right.

 

I am also a street shooter and this kind of photography makes me feel a little out of my depths,

I have included a shot of mine as a sort of quid pro quo so you can see that I too still haven?t managed to capture it artfully although one lives in hope eh?

 

Regards

 

 

Hugh

 

4065371.jpg
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I just noticed your earlier reply on the ability to choose from large numbers of images it is very daunting and if it weren?t for Bella I would be quite at a loss for she is also a photographer and my partner and this helps me in the selection process.

As for your viewing ?faux pas? a good program that I have managed to come across is Microsoft?s Digital Image Suite 2006, I have used countless others but I think that so far this suits me best see for, yourself I hope it helps.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/products/imaging/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=003

 

 

Hugh

 

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As to your first comment, Dasha was very much at ease. However she was bathing in the River Dnipro all day, and had quite a sunburn which accounted for her flushed appearance.

 

She is of Russian parents, but born in Ukraine. Catherine the Great with Potemkin, her lover, settled Ukraine to protect Russia's southern flank and consolidate Russia's borders and Ukraine largely is populated by Russians, though there are Ukrainians too, and Russian is the predominant language, although in the west they fight for Ukrainian. Like Canada, it is a two-language country, but Ukrainian and Russian are very close languages -- almost cognates, but written somewhat differently.

 

I've known Dasha for over a year and we've been pretty close, actually -- this was an impromptu shooting. Other images were VERY relaxed; it was just this and a few other images. You would have to see them all to understand.

 

This is the worst of the bunch, I think, except for focus/movement -- mine or hers.

 

Thanks for the reference to Microsoft.

 

I am trying out Adobe's Lightroom, and it's pretty good as a browser, but moving images to Photoshop CS2 is horrible, so far, but it's my first day/night.

 

We'll see.

 

Thanks again, Hugh.

 

John (Crosley)

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Hi John,

as you can see, I still look as often as possible at your photo! Just not too much in the mood of giving long and thought comments these days.

Regarding a software for selecting/comparing photo, I use FastStone viewer, which I like very much. A small and free software that does all I want. I find it useful in selecting between similar images by showing them side by side.

More of me when I feel better!

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Thanks so much for your comment.

 

Sorry to hear you are not well.

 

Such a nice thing to have a suggestion about software for browsing. Lightroom from Adobe, a plug-in, as far as I can tell, seems pretty good, but its interface with CS2 is pretty horrible.

 

Otherwise, I'd be using that, as it does what i want in the 'browsing' end of things, at least in a small test, but who knows when I put a terrabyte of photos on it?

 

Thanks for stopping by. Get well!

 

John (Crosley)

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John,

 

Beside the cold I have currently, I'm not that bad. Just not too much in the mood these days.

 

But thanks for the encouragement!

 

Stephane

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I think I can read between the lines and I understand.

 

Sorry about the cold; at least we know that probably will resolve itself.

 

As to the rest, time will tell.

 

Best wishes.

 

John (Crosley)

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Dasha is 19 now and I've known her since she was 17, but she's fallen under the influence of some 'professor', a self-styled guy who's taken over her 'education' and is 'indoctrinating' her into his 'method' -- tutoring her in all things 'his' and nothing else.

 

I think that means excluding me and more than a touch of selfishness, as this more than late '60s guy has taken Dasha close to him as a 'protege' and somehow claims to be 'educating her' (and probably is) but it's all a big 'secret' about 'what' and 'how' and even though he lives on a pension and some sort of small income, he's going to make her very wealthy, which feeds on her 'greedy' side -- and all seems to me like the 'scammer' side of her (just one side of her - is getting scammed), but that is just a projection, as I presently speak but do not see Dasha -- and essentially she is 'out of touch and no longer shares . . . .

 

It's a shame . . we had wonderful times together . . . . and I am suspicious of this 'professor' and his 'influence' on her.

 

I think he is appealing to her 'dark side' and that's not good, because Dasha, has both a 'dark side' and a 'light side'.

 

By the way, she wears contacts, but her eyes are stunning blue, nevertheless, and everyone who knows her, is impressed by how 'soulful' she is -- even her parents (who once were convinced I was going to take her to Turkey or some place in the Middle East, strip her of her passport and force her into prostitution -- but then I met Momma and I think she has changed her mind -- she should be more worried about 'professor', I think, as it's been a long time since I pulled off the 'take 'em to the middle east, strip 'em of their passport and force 'em into prostition scam' ;-))

 

Never, in fact.

 

John (Crosley)

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