randall ellis

I saw this the other day when I was looking through your portfolio and meant to comment but somehow didn't. This has a very interesting feel to it. The lion in light with a dark sky while the man is dark with a light sky - this creates and interesting tension that keeps my eye moving around the image drinking in details. I think that the cloud is fine - it does not detract from the impact of the overall image and although this might seem stronger without it, it might also look contrived. The cloud prevents that and allows me to see this for what it is. Very nicely seen.

 

- Randy

Samrat,

 

Thank you, it is one of mine as well despite the ubiquity of the spiral staircase in photography. There is a reason that this type of image is done often I think ;)

 

Despite the pains taken at the time of exposure this is still a bear to print. I have to dodge the center, where the top level can barely be seen, for about %75 of the exposure, and slowly move the dodging tool around in a circle, starting at the center and moving slowly out to the edges of the walls from the second landing up, in order to get the tonal values where I want them. The interior of this lighthouse is very dark compared to the level of light near the base, and unless I placed people with flashbulbs on the upper landings there would have been no way to get enough light up there to even out the exposure. Still, despite the trouble I like that about it - each print comes out unique as I can never exactly duplicate the effort made in previous prints.

 

As to great photographs I cannot really speak, but I can say that I am more pleased with the results when I put a lot of effort into it's exposure. When I just take what's there, as is often the case due to time constraints or what not, I am never pleased with the print. But, when I take the time up front, before releasing the shutter to think about what I want to have in the end, I get a much more pleasing result.

 

- Randy

Samrat,

First, you are very kind my friend. Now, as to the Newton's rings, you have it exactly - here is a link that is somewhat detailed, but the explanation can be found in the first paragraph.

- Randy

There is something about this that really catches my imagination. I love the treatment that you gave this image - all of it's components work well together to present a coherent idea. Very facilitating vision here.

 

- Randy

This is a very interesting idea, but I think that it's supposed to be a penguin ;). I'm not usually taken by heavy manipulation, but you used it to great effect here. Nice job.

 

- Randy

If you like the idea of this sort of subject you might enjoy the work of Aarond Siskind and Brett Weston...

 

- Randy

Amal,

 

Thank you for taking the time to look at these photographs and for reading my information. The idea of Medusa had not occurred to me before, but now I see it clearly every time I look at this print. Thanks for giving me a new way to see this print!

 

- Randy

Amal,

 

Great observation. I agree, the two version convey quite different messages. I included the background to convey a sense of place, which gets lost in the tighter crop. I think that if this were presented I would have to consider carefully how much setting to include. I've another version of this print that has less on the right and the top so that the chair bounds the right side of the image and it gives still a different feel. Thanks for taking the time to let me know what you thought!

 

- Randy

This is a neat variation on the spiral staircase shot. I love the way there is a dark line leading into the back of the sculpture with a white line opposite it moving in the same direction. Great vision here.

 

- Randy

I like the way that this image conveys the sense of a market without showing the standard market-type subject. This is a fun image - nice work.

 

- Randy

Amal,

 

I really love the lines in this shot: straight, curved, prominent, soft, a wonderful combination. I am also drawn to the variation of tonal values in the different planes and the way my eye can wander all over and find something of interest. This is a very enjoyable image in all respects. Fantastic vision in this one, really.

 

- Randy

Yeah, this one is my favorite from this site as well. The place is so torn up now that this shot actually makes it look fairly nice. This is one of the prints that I keep going back to over and over, and one of only a handful from the period that these photographs were made that I still show people. Thanks all for the comments!

 

- Randy

Interestingly enough, someone did move the cart when I came back to work this subject again a few days later. They drug it into the court area, which may still be here in the gallery somewhere (I think). A week after that it was gone completely from the site. I wanted to emphasize the lines from the court in this one, which show how badly the surface has been treated, and as you stated, have very strong impact.

 

- Randy

I like your crop and the decision to make this warm tone. The way it looks here is a little flat compared to the actual print - more contrast is certainly better in this case. I also think that going warm tone works better than the neutral tone shown in the original. I also agree that your crop does puts a lot more emphasis on the chair and keeps the overall impression more intimate. Thanks for the ideas!

 

- Randy

You're very kind. This was one of at least 10 rows just like it that we installed one year where I work. I shot this under warehouse-style lighting but I too was pleased with the way it turned out. I used a compensating developer to help control the tonal values...

 

- Randy

Thanks Chris! I haven't looked at this one in a long time, but I always like the texture of the chain. The actual print has better tonal values that this representation. I really appreciate you taking the time to elaborate of what you thought.

 

- Randy

I'm a sucker for this type of image. There is wonderful texture in the wood and some interesting detail in the handle. The intrusion of the modern deadbolt above the far older handle creates an interesting juxtaposition. Very nice vision in this one.

 

- Randy

This one caught my eye when I was browsing your images. I really like the point of view you present here. There are interesting lines that lead deep into the image - my eye follows the curve around the top to the hub, where it is redirected back to the bottom by the spokes. At first I was skeptical of the muted tonal values, the lack of anything higher than middle grey, but after looking at this for some time I think that this adds rather than subtracts from the overall feel. The only thing that bothers me, and I have no idea how you could have done anything about it, is that one car in the bottom right. It seems to put too much weight on the right side of the image and gives this a slightly unbalanced feel - a very minor thing though. Overall I really enjoyed this one.

 

- Randy

I like the feel of this subject - it's got a lot of mystery and a strong sense of age, like it was one of those little one of a kind shops that are harder and harder to find these days. The foreground, especially in the bottom right (is that a car?), is somewhat distracting as it is here, and I'm not completely certain that the head-on point of view works as well as it should.

 

Not knowing what you had to work with I can only suggest that a view taken at a little bit of an angle, so that we could see a bit more of the setting to develop more of an idea of where this shop is might convey a bit more power and feeling. I would also consider whether the reflections would be better removed with a polarizing filter. They end up holding my eye after I look at this for a little bit, where I would like my eye to be free to wander around the scene a bit more.

 

Overall I still like it. It's got an interesting feel and the values are handled well, adding rather than taking away from the overall image. Nice work here.

 

- Randy

I like this one the best (of what you have up at this time obviously). I like that the dial catches my eye, that there is a lot of interesting detail and texture visible in the foreground, and that you included some of the background for a good sense of place and to add depth. Very interesting subject - I'd like to see some more

 

- Randy

Thanks William. I just snapped this one while doing a ride-along in the cab - kind of a grab shot really, in the middle of some great conversation with the other fellows running the train. I was using a very basic digital camera rather than my usual equipment, but the effect worked out the way I wanted it to overall. Like you said, too much detail in the sky would pull the viewers eye up out of the important part of the scene, so I'm glad it burned out - it didn't have anything to do with the idea I wanted to present, which was the view I enjoyed for a few hours that afternoon in the cab with a couple of old-hand engineers. At first I hoped to retain the slightest detail in the sky, but the medium I had at hand at the time couldn't handle the tonal value range. Looking back on this old shot, I can now say that the only thing that I would have changed would be to have held a polarizing filter in front of the lens to cut out the window reflections...

 

- Randy

Thanks Chris. This turned out quite well for a very fast snap of this little guy. He didn't like the flash and decided to move along shortly after this exposure.

 

- Randy

Ok, at first all I could think of to say is 'Wow!', but I wanted to say something about why this image hit me the way it did. First off, the very warm tone really works well with this subject. It just really works well. It augments the emotion of the image and I can't imagine that this would have the impact that it does without that warm tone.

I'm captivated by the engineer's look. I love that we can see into the cab, see the equipment, see that this no mock up. There is such a feeling of action here. I love the second engineer looking back. I love the balance that his inclusion creates and how it imparts on me the feeling that this is live, not staged. I love that you showed us just the right amount of the cab - nothing more, nothing less. I just can't stop looking at this - it is captivating. I would love to have a print of this - it's just wonderful. This is photography.

- Randy

Ok, this is good stuff. I love the tonal values in this one - they change beautifully from one part of the image to the next, without anything that is too far out of the range to distract my eye. This creates a wonder sense of depth and allows my eye to flow back and forth in the image. The warmth of this is also very alluring. Really nice work with this. Really.

 

- Randy

I like the range to tonal values here, and the leading line of the river/stream. I also like that if I look really closely I can just make out a small building where the V is in the foreground. The only thing that bothers me when I look at this is the brightness of the upper part of the image - it pulls my eye out of the main part of the image and makes it difficult to enjoy the whole. Really nice work just the same, I enjoyed viewing it.

 

- Randy