new hampshire john

I was looking at your portfolio for other, more so-called "serious" stuff (it's all great, btw, portraits are my favorite images and yours are fantastic), but this is hilarious -- that kid's expression, focus -- it's just priceless.

lighting is one of the toughest elements of these skate park shoots - you really nailed it, though -- looks great.

very disorienting, nice, graphic image -- well seen & well captured!

In response to your question, I'd say, "yes" as the strong side-lighting does say that. It's also a great shot...I try to avoid merging shadows with the subject, but the outline of your dog walker is nicely lit by that limbing ("limming?") light (I'll never use that term right, I know). I like that you got her full shadow in, too. The light on the leaves keeps the building in the background from being a big dark blob in the image, and all-told, for really difficult lighting, this is a great shot!

...quite a bit, indeed. I think the exposure is spot-on, the print contrast and framing is nice, and I wouldn't change the cropping one bit. The framing contributes to the closeness of their moment; I think wider framing would not give the same feeling of intimacy. At the same time, the little extra at the bottom of the frame gives enough room -- I think it would be cramped if you cut the bottom off just below his sleeve, for example. It also gives a little room to her downward look. nicely done!

I had to laugh at Chris' comment -- I thought the same thing when I saw the image -- scrolled down & saw M6/35 and thought, "obviously."

 

Seriously, though -- I like it. I like it with more room, too. Sometimes tighter is better, but hey, it's Maine, the great outdoors -- let 'em breathe.

 

BTW -- is that vignetting or did you burn in the corners?

The picture isn't that great to start with (no offense): only the middle two are properly exposed...the first one is too hot and the back one too shadowed. Use a second flash (and use a diffuser on the first one or something, or don't have them stand in a line like that if you're using flash) and use flashes powerful enough to light them all well and evenly.

 

Furthermore, the first lady looks like she just swallowed a turd.

 

All told, I say you should do this kind of thing in nice-looking available light or do really nice-looking flash.

 

But the scan looks fine -- why, do you have a print that looks better? It seems a little contrasty, but I'm assuming that's the lighting.

thanks for adding the technical data, too -- it's interesting to see, and helpful for those of us who keep a running tally of film/developer combos to try...

I rather like the bud, being the nascent form of the flower below, and letting us hippie types put a whole new layer of meaning on the image. It's also a nice image; I imagine it must be lovely in a nicely-done print -- good tonal range and balance.

..with not much effort -- you've got really nice colors to work with, and an attractive model -- get rid of the car, the fabric she's got under her arm, and all that wasted space above her head. If you're going to do one of her looking over her shoulder, have her take off that necklace, it's distracting in the back (as her shoulder/neckline becomes a central feature of that kind of portrait). Make better use of the stone -- it's a nice texture to have in the picture, particularly given the green background and the contrast with her dress and skin tones. The ingredients are there for a much, much better picture.

Yeah -- the props cinch it -- the gold fork, nice plate, etc. But the lighting is just right; it feels like a setting at a window seat for Sunday brunch. great job... how did the client feel, btw?

nice job -- on this and all the images in your single images folder. You capture a feeling in each image that is highly expressive; nicely, the feelings vary from pic to pic. Also, I've gotta know -- did you use a soft-focus filter for this image? If so, which? If not, how did you get those glowing, spectral highlights?

likewise, having seen the whole folder, i'll make a note here -- this stuff is really great -- again, the technical stuff is there, but what makes it great is the way different moments have been captured so well -- the pix really tell stories.. nice!

There's a neat, spirit-wolf kind of feeling to this picture for me. There's also a "whoops, I panned too fast" feeling. Either way, I'm touched...