j_yabrow1

I think this is a strong portrait. The subject's expression and relationship to the statue looks great to me. By "ruined", i'm assuming you mean the large blank white sky areas which i find distracting

 

First, you could crop the right side to get rid of the sky on that side with no adverse impact to the subject(s). Second, you could crop some of the top away. Third, in Photoshop, or some other image editing program you could replicate some background foliage and paste it into the remaining blank sky around his head to the upper left corner.

 

 

There is a lot of anti-photoshop manipulation sentiment on photo.net, but i really think this image could use it. I'm not really good (yet) at this kind of work or i'd post an example--But i have seen some wonderous tricks done by others and The foliage is sufficiently out of focus to make the effect more natural looking once its done.

 

I agree with the previous post about cropping, although I would keep the tree on right side as it makes a nice framing element for the two of you. I think the composition would be improved by cropping most of the left side away, and maybe also retouching out the highlights just under the eaves of the bg house in the background.

 

This is a very touching moment, congratulations for catching it!

I think the composition would be improved significantly by moving/tilting the camera up to show less of the ground and more of the (willow?) trees in the background. The bench bisects the photo in half, which i find disconcerting. You could simply crop the bottom out, but I think this picture screams for more of those interesting background branches & leaves.

 

I really like the lighting and tones. If you have the opportunity to reshoot this scene, please post the result, i'd love to see it.

This is an interesting shot. At first glance, it looks like palm trees, but upon closer examination it turns out to be small branches. I would consider cropping much of the space to the right. There's nothing of interest there and it makes the subject appear too centered.

There's nothing i can think of to improve this picture, its wonderful as is. I especially like the outline of the mountains against the dark blue sky--this provides the perfect offset to the town lights and the beautiful reflections in the water.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I sort of like the aesthetics

of a lonely stump at the shore of a lake, but am wondering if it

lacks feeling or "punch". What do YOU think?

I really like the way the subjects are dark and sharp in contrast with the faded and ethereal background. The left passenger's expression is wonderful. I think i'd prefer if the boat in the upper left were not there (not much you could've done about that).

The color image is fine. I like the subtle colors there. However, I think I agree that the black and white version is a bit more powerful and dramatic looking. There is a lot of space on the bottom and top that could be cropped away to add more emphasis on the arch and the street beyond.

Thanks for the feedback Phillipe. I must admit i didn't have a close-in shot in mind when i took this picture (i was somewhat limited by my lack of 300mm+ lens). I'm assuming you prefer the close-in crop to the more expansive view of the bird in its surroundings. Although i could crop as you suggest, the result is pretty grainy and i'm not sure it would make a nice print. I might try a teleconverter or a longer lens next time...

Please let me know what you think, thanks!

I love the idea & effect. However, something bothers me about the vertical composition. The cloverleaf "mask" seems to cry out for a square or horizontal (maybe off-center) composition. Also, i think i might prefer having the whole cutout in frame rather than clipping the sides.

 

I realize that if you had moved back to re-frame and/or included the whole cutout, the background might appear totally different and maybe even have lost the nice effect you've got here. So take this comment as a minor criticism from the sidelines.

Thanks for your comment Hans. I hadn't realized how much the scene was tilted. I've since corrected the tilt and made the scene a bit more saturated.

A beautiful scene, well done!

 

I look forward to seeing a larger version as others have mentioned, although i can tell it is great even from the small picture here.

The beautiful tones and overall softness create a sad and compelling presentation of the subject. I was going to suggest cropping some of the bottom and left side to give more emphasis on the dog, but the image as it is gives him a stronger sense of isolation. Nice job!

Thanks for your feedback, Rafal. These pictures were taken under harsh lighting conditions in the middle of the afternoon, thus the dark shadows.

 

Also, the TMAX film was developed as b&W slides by the DR5 lab (http:\\www.dr5.com). This process can create extremely dense blacks such as you see in the background. I'm not sure if it would be suitable for all subjects, but i like the effect it created here.

I like the composition, the light tones and especially the faded buildings in the background. The only thing that might improve the image is changing the pose of the smaller child on the left side; it would have more impact if he appeared in a similar pose or head angle as the other two and we had a clearer view of his face (of course there's nothing you could've done to force that to happen). An excellent image nevertheless.

This backlit scene is really nice! There appear to be banding & other (scanning/jpeg?) artifacts which detract from the picture's appearance, which is why I only gave it a 5 for aesthetics. Otherwise it would've been a solid 7/7!

 

BTW: This subject might be better served by a horizontal composition from a bit further back, showing the steam drifting off to the right more. I'd love to see any other pictures you might have shot of this subject. Also: your other pix in Yellowstone are beautiful too!

Thanks for your comments Saybian. The few ratings that these Zoo pictures received were pretty low, so i'm glad at least someone liked them. I did see your folder. No missing link, but some really good people pictures!

I'm surprised this shot didn't get more ratings and/or comments. This is what i'd call "elegant simplicity". It reminds me of an old japanese print of the Autumn Moon (even though it's the sun in this case). I especially like the sun being almost exactly bordered by vegetation on the top left and bottom right edges of the circle. Great Job!

 

Minor comment: The dust spec in the lower right and the out of focus object (leaf?) in the upper left detract a bit from an otherwise flawless photo, perhaps they could be retouched out?

I really like this picture. It has artistic simplicity, nice warm tones on the dock boards, and a sense of mystery / suspense (i.e. is he just standing there admiring the view, or is he going to jump?). BTW, just curious, a Nikon F with (non film?)

Thanks very much for all your feedback. I agree with the comments mentioning vertical framing. I actually have a vertical shot of this scene in the same folder:

 

http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=538666

 

Unfortunately it is even darker than this photo. My SS4000 scanner seems to scan much darker than the slide looks on a light table. I'll have to see what i can do w/levels & brightness...

I took this photo standing on my tippytoes attempting to center the

far-off grove between the foreground vines. Now i find myself

wanting more sky and I wonder if the horizon is too centered. What

do you think?

What a beautiful and intriguing photograph. The steam rising from the blown-out center and the reflections of the (wet?) branches give that extra sense of detail that really makes this photo special. Well Done!

I really like the bright windowscape against the coal-black background. The subject seems too far away however. I am drawn in by the contrast, but my mind is screaming to get closer. The brightly lit window should dominate the scene. Also, the slightly right-of-center subject doesn't work for me in this case (though i'm sure some would disagree). This subject seems to demand center stage, although it could stay vertically higher than dead-center. You could easily do this with some judicious cropping.

Thanks for your comment, Anders. The image is a bit soft to begin with. I probably shot it at or near maximum aperture (the light was pretty dim). This was a DR5 Reversal process, and the resulting slide was pretty dense, making it that much more difficult to get a good scan. I'll try sharpening the original scan...