jonathancharlesphoto

Interesting "concealed/revealed" concept, great pose and lighting.  The isolated effect does work well though personally I would like to see a little more context (some venetian furniture or somethinh like that)

I feel she has become part of the landscape here - any suggestions?

Also I only very occasionally use a tilted horizon to express movement:

does it work?

I have since rescanned to get the subtle colours in the scene - it can be seen at:

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=7195104

Thank you William.  You may also be interested to see "Yemaya's Visit" at 

http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=7195104

Brilliant capture of these magnificent redwoods - the IR giving the green foliage a kind of mystical lightness.

Perfect foreground for an amazing sky.

Lovely portrait with entrancing eyes.

I wonder if you could lighten the top 20% to show a little more shadow detail in her hair?

Thanks Chris, the "mountain" is man-made, from the grit left behind after extraction of china clay. In the UK it's called a "slag heap" - many were produced in the 18th to early 20th centuries by the mining industries and most have been flattened since but this one was preserved as a local landmark and is now stabilised by the grass growing over it. I remember climbing it 40 years ago when it was bare white - soft and crumbly. It's now fenced off "for safety reasons"!

The green lake is coloured by salts seeping out of the slag heap - it looks toxic but apparently is not.

In the countryside around Gourvillette the chalky ground creates these

beautiful white tracks which almost glow in the moonlight. Jenny helped

me to represent the feeling of quiet and freedom of walking in darkness.

Yes I also appreciate his work, much of which was taken around the same time as I started - though I only found out about it later.

Thank you Frédéric, it's a great shot.

I'm with Tomek on this: having a plan is good but sticking to it is a real shame (in this context).  I hope your next session goes well.

Lovely figure and pose, beautiful misty dawn light. My favorite of an excellent series.

Best wishes,  Jonathan

I agree with John.  This is a successful session. The lighting provides a nice soft skin texture, though the colour shots in the series are a bit strident (especially the drape). Not surprisingly your model does not seem very relaxed - I think you could probably make a future session even better by putting on some music, having a glsss of wine and trying a bigger variety of poses. 

It's quite a daunting venture but a very exciting subject to try.  You may be interested to see my first series which I remember vividly from nearly 40 years ago!

Very nicely observed and snapped.  For me the hair adds to it and the necklace isn't distracting per se but just its gravity-defying angle: anyway it could easily be cloned out (in about 10 seconds) so the question is: do you really want it in?

It's an interesting shot as it illustrates a kind of fact of life - that while the photographer / viewer is captivated by her bare breast, her attitude is that it's no big deal and she is happy to get on with answering the text. It's a (rather good) sign of the times!

Yes Stephen that's a very interesting point - to try to see an image in the viewfinder as it would appear to someone who wasn't there. Ideally I should have included another foreground tree middle-left. Actually the nearest tree on the left is closer but it's not obvious because of the bank of bluebells.  There was a tree I could have used, just behind me but it was covered with ivy and didn't harmonise with the others.  Further to the left the light wasn't so good, to the right there was a large fallen tree.

Even looking at it again and trying to be objective it still looks like I am in the wood as the bluebells are right up to the foreground and they wouldn't grow in the open (maybe it's not obvious that they're bluebells on this small JPEG).

Oh well, it's only a few months and I can go back and try again!

Thank you: I think you suggestions would give a neater composition but I wanted to indicate that I was in the wood looking out and to show that the pale haziness was not just a pale print but the sunlight catching the morning mist (giving darker shadows for the nearer trees). The result is a bit less structured but I think represents better the feeling of the scene at the time.

Unusual composition. The rather muted colours work well. Very nice overall effect.

Best wishes,  Jonathan

Very nice interaction and original composition.

Best wishes,  Jonathan

(PS we had a ridiculous persian cat who always wanted to jump into the shower with Marie and would then take 2 hours to dry!)

Just to show what I meant - I shall delete it in a few days unless you would like it left up for discussion.

This must be the undiscovered painting by Waterhouse!  You have captured the form, colour and feeling of his naiad series perfectly.

Compositionally, though, I feel that something is required on the right or the right side is compressed and the left expanded somehow.

This is a great idea - tried many times but usually unsuccessful in bringing the model and water together in a harmonious way. Here you have succeeded brilliantly - congratulations to both of you.

Best wishes, Jonathan

Lovely concept and use of rich autumnal colours.

My only suggestion would be to make her face and neck slightly paler to match her body.

Best wishes,  Jonathan

Very charming series about humanity.