beth_creswell

ha! just returned to the thread to see that i, too, was called out by aldo for having some totally flawed and forgettable photos posted, yet i ventured to point out that this one is also flawed and forgettable. Of course, I have received negative posts, too, and all were entirely deserved and taught me something i could work from. i'm pretty sure that's half the point of the forum...

oh yuck. this guy has a story, and this isn't it.

wonderful! the men i meet at the urban shelter here in NC are so much more like this than those 'moving' pictures of downtrodden people who have no place to live. They probably don't like their situation much, but they are lively people with personalities, not pathetic figures with no spark. They don't need people to document their misery, but to interact with them and show them that they're good people and strong enough to change the situation if they want to. Excellent work!

i think this is really cool. the photo has a stark feeling, with only three main objects in the frame (if it were mine i might cheat and photoshop out the structures on the bottom right). the crane justifies the centered building, lending an off-balance element to make the otherwise symmetrical composition interesting. the barbed wire across the bottom of the frame acts sort of the same way--it adds interest with its slight curve and small barbs, but it harmozes with the other images by being basically symmetrical in the line it makes and the barb placement. i think this is a really interesting take on a not-necessarily-interesting subject, which is the mark of a good eye...it doesn't take an artist to make a pretty subject look pretty. but it takes a good eye and a creative mind to make mundane objects have aesthetic value. well done!

I love this one. what a relief from all the flowers and landscapes and pretty girls! the composition is very original and appropriate to the feel of the photo. like rob mentioned, juanita seems sort of private, closing out the viewer, which is unusual for a portrait of a woman. the composition, which cuts off part of the face and hand and the top of her head, reinforces that. the lack of context helps, too, by not providing information about the subject. the ambiguity is nice (does she have a migraine? has she lost her husband? has she had a rough day at the office? are the grandkids driving her crazy? does she feel unbearably alone?) because instead of telling us a story about the subject, it makes us feel like we're not quite privileged enough to access that information. great work!

I like the crop, too. Here is the crop i would do if it were mine (which it isn't).

Oh, Tony, this is just gorgeous. I always love your work, yet somehow I'm always surprised with just how good each piece is. the simple lines of the Louvre are perfect for setting off the couple, and a more complicated context or tighter framing on the couple would have killed it. as always, i'm more than impressed.

Reuben- From the thumbnail i thought this was going to be the same picture i've seen a million time--trees viewed from the bottom converging toward each other in perspective. however, the types of leaves, the mossy stuff, and the right-leaning trunks help lend a lot more originality to it. i would, however, crop out the whole right side (with the questionable bright light) and make the three main trunks the dominating compositional factor. with the three trunks beginning across the bottom but all curving and leaning toward the right, the composition is surpisingly dynamic for a commonly shot type of photo. that also allows the cool leaves and really great shades of leafy and mossy green to take on some power without the bright light distracting from them. there's something i really like about your photo--i think it's in the comically angled, green-furry trunks and the long, skinny palm-treeish leaves (like my technical terms?). great eye! * beth

one of the least helpful things you can receive on here is a whole list of complements and no criticism, but what can i say? i think it's really wonderful and wouldn't change a thing. wish i knew your grandfather so i could appreciate it fully...i seem to be missing out.

technically, the colors might have been more balanced, perhaps if the day had been overcast, but who cares? this guy and his fish are just great! not only does he look like his fish, but he looks so happy and at-home with his place in life...wonder what he looked like before years of marine life...? i definitely agree about capturing the humor and the almost whimsical sense of the situation without compromising your subject. congrats!

cropping below the clock would still leave enough space, i think, but you'd lose some patches of light that show the high source and intense slanting-afternoon-sun feeling. maybe the trade-off would be worth it, but i love it as is. what a moment!

i wouldn't crop it. without context the expression looks more like showing off than interacting, i think. as is, it's really delightful. i love to see a photograph that's about spirit and not the fabulous equipment used to produce it.

I might crop up to a third off the right side, but the V-shape made by the rock face and the tree line is really nice, and beautifully echoed in the clouds...i definitely wouldn't crop too much, losing the V and putting the climber right in the middle--yikes! i also wouldn't crop so much as to go past square and over into vertical...i think it would look hackneyed and like a slick glossy in a climber's mag. other than cropping a little off the right if you wanted to, i wouldn't mess with it too much--i think you had the right idea when you took it. good luck!

John, I think this is just gorgeous, the best I've seen today for sure. I love the repetition of the angled perspective lines of the stalls and the light cast through the door, then of the verticals in the stalls with the verticals of the door and the cowboy. And you're right, the shadow he casts is larger than life, and tells everything about your view of him. This is a portrait. And the single horse's head adds so much more than a whole row would have. There's nothing striking or unusual about the scene, but you've presented it in a fascinating and very telling way. My monitor won't let me see anything about sharpness or really even how deep the field is, so i hope someone else comments on that. but as far as capturing the moment and the man, it's a total success, I think.

I do think it's a well-executed photograph. the tones and composition are very nice, to the point that i wouldn't suggest a single improvement. nice clean lines and subtle tones make the darker, more complex labia a natural and eye-pleasing focal point. as far as the actual subject matter goes, i'm not sure where i stand. i certainly don't think it's pornographic, but there is something contrived about it. the composition suggests flower petals to me, but, to be blunt, her parts seem very clean and arranged, stark and without the 'natural' feel other artists have chosen to evoke with the same subject matter and even similar compositions. you've taken a big risk to use this subject matter, and you've presented it in an original way. i'd be interested to hear what you have to say about the implications of your presentation of the most female of the feminine body parts. what made you choose to shoot it so starkly, with the veils and shadows nature provides removed? so clean and smooth and symmetrical, this is a body part not connected to a body or personality.

not ugly and not bad. the light is really striking, especially on the dust. the photo is also really dynamic, so much movement--you really captured the subject for what it is: hectic, macho, fast-paced, and strong. looks like a situation you won't be shooting again, at least not exactly the same, but if you were, throwing the audience and bleachers further out of focus might eliminate some distraction in a shot that shows controlled confusion. i feel the need for a little more detail through some fill lighting, but besides being most likely impossible in the situation, it would probably kill some of the man-and-beast machismo that is emphasized by the silouetting. as far as composition and cropping, i'm not sure how i feel. i hope someone else will give you some input there, b/c i'd like to hear it. great work!

i like the leg because it makes the angle of her body a little less typical-fashion-photo-y (?). but maybe a little more curvature in the back or twist in the neck is really needed to achieve the slightly uncomfortable, curled-in, almost self-protective look that sets off that face (wow, what a face to work with!). i love your work and look forward to seeing more.

I love this! I probably would have rated it a little higher if the dark structure were further to the right and not dominating the center, but that might not even be an option on-site. there are so many cool elements in the picture, and the high contrast makes it striking.

I disagree with the cropping suggestions...you'd lose the uniqueness of the picture and definitely compromise the character of the subject. If the subject is a stairway to nothing in particular mysteriously marked Avenue A (or seems to be anyway), then portray that character--the value is in the out-of-the-blueness. i join others in awe at the tonal range. here and in 'poles' you've achieved seemingly impossible range from white to black not only in the photo overall but also in the clouds alone and in the ground alone...HOW?

i agree--it's got really nice tones, and (whatta relief) it's not contrived! it has some intrigue with that street trash floating in the sky next to a daliesque wavery building. wonder what the people on the street thought you were documenting...

the rigid right angles and the light colored/more reflective gun with a strong horizontal presence right in the middle prove that the exception proves the rule...just what you would avoid in another shot is exactly what conveys the feeling here. i think maybe some overexposure would have reinforced the harshness, but that might have totally missed the 'guns into plowshares' message. nice work!

hmm. in response to your question... the tender lighting, soft curves, obviously female subject, and general 'feel' is feminine. the breast seems to be offered to the viewer, much the way women (to generalize) seem to proffer nurturing, generosity without demand, etc (at least traditionally in the roles we have filled among many others). the danger here, however, is that the breast is not only symbolic but functional, so the piece seems to have implications about woman's role as a literal nurturer...'here's my breast for your nourishment (or enjoyment).' i think it's a beautiful photograph and creatively posed. i'd be interested to take it back to one of my seminars back in college. very evocative of both positive and negative aspects of femininity and the perception of women.

wow! i think this is really gorgeous. i love strong form and texture, but it's hard to achieve it the way you have and preserve a nice, level, eye-pleasing quality as you have. and i vote for leaving the 'context' in, no cropping. congratulations.

I expect it won't be contrived enough for some photo.netters, but i like it. the shapes the giraffe creates are great. the colors don't look very vivid on my screen. you might be able to adjust the contrast/brightness in developing or photoshop to make the curves pop out against the dark green grass.

I agree with the cropping suggestions. I think the best way to make cropping decisions would be to decide what you want to emphasize and then assess your cropping options. The deepset eyes and delicate mouth on the subject are nice...eliminating some of the tree, the light part beyond it, and the vertical lines of the sunglasses might allow the lines of her chin and hair to emphasize her eyes and mouth. i like the grays in the tree as a background for her face. cropping closer in will allow the grays to have an effect on the portrait.