jonathancharlesphoto

It's an attractive design (though the right could be cropped slightly) but as an abstract image there's not much in it to make up for the lack of a recognisable subject.

 

Just my humble opinion , of course.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

An interesting doorway like this always makes you wonder what you'll find inside.

 

Nice natural colours and textures, and a hint of the interior through the window.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Beautiful capture of this hidden treasure. It's a wonderful connection with the past to think thas scene was intended by a forgotten archittect hundreds of years ago and is now being appreciated by all of us.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Nice concept and use of colour. Good crop.

 

The simple lighting works well but has produced an exaggerated texture below her eye and this could be made less obtrusive by some selective smoothing (by transparent blur @ 50% opacity).

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Thank you for your comments.

 

I forgot to mention that Yemaya is the African godess of the sea and the moon.

Beautifully captured moment - the vegetation looks good as well. I think it would be even better printed brighter (the highlights are well away from the top of the scale).

 

Best wishes. Jonathan

Very interesting composition with the child making the connection between the tree and its reflection - reminding us perhaps that our children are the link between the past and future.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

"The early dawn cracks out a carpet of diamonds across a cash-crop car lot filled with twilight coupe-de-villes..." Tom Wait (Ghost of Saturday Night) - you caught the atmosphere perfectly.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Beautiful romantic cityscape - probably better than the reality but I don't know as I have not been there. I wonder if a slightly increased saturation would bring out those varied colours of the buildings better (but carefully, not to overdo it).

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

You have captured the character of the beautiful glass brilliantly - it reminds me of my stay in Venice - you may be interested to see my photo showing the traditional decor that goes with it (as well as the traditional reason for being there!)

Best wishes, Jonathan

Very attractive idea and nicely composed (and beautiful model) but I think the brightly lit foreground rather spoils the mood.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

 

PS I hope you don't mind if I show you what I mean...

I rescanned this slide in colour at better quality than was possiblepreviously but there is little colour information and I wonder if ithelps to bring out the atmosphere compared with the original http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=463004" target=blank>B&Wversion I posted a few years back.

Comments and crits. are welcome

Brilliant romantic image, nice "ocean" effect and shadow details added in to create a very original work.

Best wishes, Jonathan

PS it reminded me of an old photo of mine which I have rescanned and posted again, in colour this time.

Beautiful texture and shapes of the melting snow and timber. Surprising colour from sunset adds to the mystery.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Lovely simple elegant design. Did you take it as a photo also? It would be interesting to see that - maybe you could create the graphic directly...

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Very nice combination of the textures of natural cotton and skin, and perfect exposure (in both senses).

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Nice idea but rather spoiled by the fact that she's obviously not playing the piano.

I think the exposure, with loss of shadow detail, is fine generally though a little more visibility of the piano on the right would help.

Best wishes, Jonathan

Beautiful composition and amazing timing to get just the right "ghost" effect. This must either show great perseverance to achieve it at the 8th attempt or extraordinary skill to do it in one go.

 

The concept of evanescent humanity in a physical scene is, for me, one of the most pictorially interesting.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Wonderful capture of this other-worldly scene. The hazy light conditions are a perfect choice.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

I love the restless sea in its constant creative struggle with the land and your photo captures this feeling perfectly.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

 

PS: I'm not sure about the coloured frame.

At the heart of this picture is a nostalgic dream which connects especially with "men of a certain age" giving it the power (IMHO) to overcome the technical issues you mention.

 

That's not to say that the issues are unimportant, just that technique is secondary to content.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Beautifully composed and nice natural colours. It makes you want to head off into the wilderness (oars would be helpful but difficult to include without looking cluttered).

 

The foreground is a slight problem - I think it should ideally contain some object as an importent element to the picture: as it's empty maybe it should be cropped slightly.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Another gem. Beautiful pose and light (slight pity the hands got cut off).

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

Nice dramatic composition and colours. I would suggest rather less edge sharpening - very obvious around the figure.

 

Best wishes, Jonathan

You have achieved a nice light from the window & curtains and the low viewpoint is good to avoid foreshortening her legs but her proportions are slightly spoilt by cutting off her feet. The particular side-view angle isn't ideal because it creates a complex double back line - I think having her rotated a few degrees away from you would work better (and it would reduce the tummy). The hand looks a bit awkward because it's not doing anything - she could be stretching or tying / brushing her hair to make it more natural. The 5% narrowing is generally a good idea (your model will prefer it!) but you have to be careful to avoid a squashed look to the bits that are supposed to stick out - it's best to be selective in the narrowing or selectively shorten those particular areas as well.

 

Finally it's important to explain the intended feeling of the shot so she can naturally take on the expression that would go with it - "Imagine you have just woken on the first day of your holiday and are enjoying the beautiful scene outside with the sun breaking through the mist..." rather than too much "left elbow up a bit" which will make her more self-conscious.

 

Anyway you have succeeded in the most daunting step: finding a willing model, so have fun working out the details!

 

Best wishes, Jonathan