darren

Everyone seems to be upset about 'manipulation' in this photo. But film photographers have done this kind of thing for years.

 

Who's to say the manipulation here was digital? Maybe the photographer put a couple of small models of people in the scene, so the whole thing was done in-camera like the purists demand. Would that be 'cheating', or would it be 'creative use of illusion'? Why would the technique used make any difference to your enjoyment of the image?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Do you like the tonal

range, the placement of the top of the stem, the detail of the

crackled leaves? Thanks!

Marc: "When did we last see a shadow which wasn't touching the real object or person ? :-)"

 

Haven't you ever seen the shadow of someone jumping? Trampolines are great to get shots similar to this one - you need a fast shutter speed and an energetic kid, of course.

The lighting exaggerates it a bit, but the pool really does have a wild mixture of colours on the bottom of it - years of flaking blue and green paints, lane markings, debris washed over the wall from the ocean, leaves blown in, etc. I left the colour balance as is to highlight it.

 

These kinds of open-air rock pools line the NSW South Coast. It's perfectly healthy to swim in, just not spotless like chemically-bombarded indoor pools. It's more like swimming in the ocean than in a pool.

 

It probably revives childhood memories only for coastal-town Aussie kids, and repulses everyone else!

Thanks for the comments, all. The flat lighting and the catchlights on the pupils are both caused by using on-camera flash. I'll experiment to see how I can improve those aspects, although I can't afford an off-camera flash at the moment.

 

The comments on her expression are helpful, too. When you look at a photo of someone you know well, it's hard to critically analyse something like an expression. You see what you expect to see, not what others experience. She does have those amazing eyes in real life, though.

 

Thanks again!

This photo was taken with a 2.5s exposure, just after dusk. Any

suggestions for improvement? What do you think of the motion blur in

the swimmer?

Please offer any advice you can - this girl is extremely photogenic,

and I want to do her justice! Is the skin tone too dark? Background

too boring?

Great action sequence! I really like the way you've edited a series into a montage and kept the background more-or-less continuous.

It almost looks as though you shot this back over your shoulder while running away from the leopard! It could also make a cool story - "I found a camera next to a pile of what looked like human bones, so I developed the film and this was the last shot on the roll".

A very beautiful shot - I love the rich colours in the sky and the water.

Nice strong lines. Black and white works well for these sorts of photos.

Strong lines and an interesting sky! It might have been better to leave out the lamp post for an even more abstract image (but that's just my subjective opinion!).

I set this flower up near a bright window, which gave a nice diffused

light. I've won a couple of minor awards with it in competitions -

any suggestions for improvement?

I have digitally darkened the colours of the sky (but not pasted in a

new sky), and enhanced the statue to give it a more interesting feel.

What do you think?

This photo is simply stunning. The tone is great, and the selective focus is just right. Even the flower's placement in the frame is perfect. Well done!