Marina

This is Julia, a former child model, now growing up, and I think her

first exposition as a 'grown-up'. Your rating 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 photographic knowledge to help improve my photography. Let

me know what age you think Julia is, please if you comment. Thanks!

Enjoy! John

NOTE: THE MODEL'S NAME IS MARINA, NOT AS SHOWN IN THE REQUEST FOR CRITIQUE. My mistake.

John

First response to comment

(from Dennis Aubrey)

This is my flat, chosen for its wonderful, mostly north light, large windows (for Ukraine). All the light is diffuse; the time of day was chosen for the lighting; even though I had 'studio lights' (a travel set that unpacks to a full studio) in a travel pack at the side -- just no need to use other than natural light.

I brought Rita, left, a model also, who likes to work setting up photo shoots, to my flat at the last minute, because when Julia [Erratum: Marina] and her mom arrived, I hadn't any idea how I was going to 'shoot' Julia [Marina cq] until I saw this . . . and then I knew exactly.

I had not a whit of inspiration, but a very pretty girl was waiting and available, then this happened and the rest is here.

And coming from you, Dennis, any (even the slightest) recognition of tone and lighting is taken with great pride . . . you are the expert -- the guy who started me paying attention to such things and gave me my first sage advice about the web and posting . . . (see I haven't forgotten, nor will I forget to tell others).

John (Crosley)

There is in this photo, a hidden compositional element -- or at least not prominent.

Julia's (Erratum: Marina's] head, with its tilt, Rita's hand with its fingers, brush and makeup kit, all combine together with 'negative' or light space at top and bottom, to create the appearance of a diagonal, and a pretty strong one at that, giving this rather 'static' pose (girl sitting) a great deal of dynamism, considering the (self-imposed) assignment.

This is just another way in which 'strong composition' has sneaked into my photography, without being 'preplanned' -- I just 'see' or 'choose' photos with strong compositional elements in many cases . . . for reasons unknown to me, but probably learned from hours spent wandering through the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Louvre, the Uffizi in Firenze (Florence, Italy), the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), the Guggenheim at times in New York, the Tretyakov in Moscow . . . all times I thought were pretty much wasted because for the most part (not being at all interested more than the slightest in art history, I was pretty darned bored, but 'doing the obligatory rounds' -- but still learning.

I learn from nearly everything I see or do.

People can sense that about me; it scares some people (I have a sister like that, who likes her ideas 'tidy'), but other people are drawn to me just because of it -- ideas should not be so 'tidy' is my way of thinking . . . unless one is 'God' of this world and can set everything straight.

My photography is mostly about things 'human' with the occasional landscape thrown in, or still life. I celebrate that humaneness, that humanity . . . a humanity and life full of foibles, but to be celebrated nonetheless.

John (Crosley)

This is MARINA, not Julia, as indicated in the request for critique.

The wrong name originally posted results from a bookkeeping error on my part.

John (Crosley)