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Petrus, anyone that saw this photograph as average did not see the photograph. I make an assumption that this is your son and this is a moment in his life that you felt as much as saw. I see your photograph more as a parents, or at least an adults, exploring of a boys first curious steps on the journey from purity to lust. Any male should immediately identify with this image. It may only have been a recording of an event but there is powerful symbolism in this photograph that takes it well beyond a snapshot. Cropping out the door frame on the left and the dark area on the right strengthens to message of the image. You have several very beautiful and very parental photographs in you folder. They are a pleasure to see.

Dominik, I don?t rate and this is another good example why. At first glance I was taken by the metallic color of your photograph, but looking closely there is not a single true metallic color - it hangs somewhere between aluminum and brass - but it has a very over all metallic feeling. I like the absence of any detail in the background. I know that the plane is parked but you can imagine an ultra high speed image in flight. The diagonal of the prop, the strong suggestion of mass and the upward tilt of the plane give a great feeling of power. The color is phenomenal, from the coolness of the upper left to the warmth of the lower right, a beautiful subtle transition - and then the bang of the tips of the prop. Maybe it is nostalgia for a time when beautiful craft such as this dominated the skies. Whatever, it is a photograph that I would be pleased to hang and enjoy. IMHO, it is much better than the numerical rating it has received.

Courtney, you have enthusiastically tackled the assignment and I do not wish to be critical of your fine efforts. However, some thoughts on the theme; out of body conjures deep emotion, an otherworldly experience, entering into the light or maybe the darkness, going beyond the physical world., into the unknown. Your choice of long exposure is a very appropriate technique as time is a factor in experience. Other camera techniques that you could have added would possibly be camera movement, zooming during the exposure, printing darker for more mystery, putting the background out of focus, possibly using multiple exposures, maybe a fan or line to move the background fabric during the exposure to add an ephemeral quality. In general working toward more visual drama. The one lying in the hall reaching for the door, move in closer where the body and head are defined but soft and only the hand sharp, maybe in silhouette, with a blinding light coming from the slightly opened door, maybe all the light coming from the door; get a little more desperation in the attempt to return to reality. The image with the feet and head lost to light is in my opinion is your strongest image. A little work there deemphasizing the background in Photoshop or over printing with another image and you are very close. See if you can talk your model into playacting fear, enlightenment whatever emotion you are going for, and loose the jockeys. If modesty is an issue, a white fabric wrapped towel like would be appropriate to the theme. You have a creative and inventive vision. I hope that I have given you some ideas.

Casey, the calla lily has to be the most photogenic of all plants. Masters to amateurs respond to its lines. You have emphasized its delicacy and beauty as well as any photograph I have ever seen. Your photograph is beautiful in its lines, in its delicate colors, and the admission of a paper towel background makes it even more phenomenal. I looked through your Pedals portfolio. All of the twelve photographs are very good, but there are four that I consider very exceptional. Very nicely done.

Jason, it?s an interesting technique?the carnival was the perfect place to give it a try. You got a very interesting collage of elements. I like the lights blending into the side of the face; gives the photo a real carni feel of giving yourself over to the excitement of being there.. And, of course, the happy hippos? As I?m sure you discovered the technique depends a great deal on luck to produce as interesting a photograph as you have here. I did download your photo and added a good deal of green to offset the excess magenta. You might want to try it?the skin tones improve and the added warmth to the streaks of light really make them pop out?even the hippos are happier! BTW, I also like your Nightgrass. Keep up the experimenting and the posting.

Matthew, you are either extremely young or extremely fortunateI suspect young. Only the young or youthful can have this much fun with an image. I have spent well over an hour browsing and re-browsing your portfolios. All I can say is WOW. You are on a search that reminds me of my own at that time in lifealthough I was not nearly so visually talented.. I am not sure I want you to find the answer because the visuals you are creating along your path are so awesome. Do not grow up, do not abandon the search. Keep awing us with your talent. Now, if I can only determine which image to comment on...

If I may venture an opinion. No, it is not a face. It is not, in essence, a photograph. However, that does not mean that it is not an intriguing image. You have posted some outstanding photos to PhotoNet but they do not give us a clue that helps interpret what you are saying with this single abstract image, or to understand what you feel this image says. The eyes appear somewhat sad, at least not happy, as do the eyes of some of the young ladies in your photos. Previous posts have questioned the abundance of white space. I take the position that you must have included this negative space for a reason. Either consciously or subconsciously, this appeared right to you, and I believe that you like the image. Otherwise you would not have posted. So, to me, it is not whether or not the image is a face, but whether or not the image has enough psychological intrigue to hold our attention. IMHO it does.

Your zoo photos are exceptional, especially the primates. My first thought on seeing the thumbnails was subjects posing for a Donald Roller Wilson painting. Very impressed!

A very fine portrait beautifully done. The warm gray background is a perfect choice.

Stephen, thanks for the Route 66 image. 66 was more than famous, it was one of the great transportation arteries that surged with the pulse of adventure in many a breast. In Shamrock you were not far from the 66 Museum in Clinton OK. But a correction, 66 did not follow I-40, I-40 followed Route 66. So sad, a sterile Interstate peppered with only gas stations and franchises. Images, like yours, remind us that with 66, the road was proudly as much of the adventure as the destination

Andrea, and intriguing photograph. Without the stick figure, you have a touching image of a child in what appears to be a state of remorse or at least withdrawal. However, the stick figure moves your image into an entirely new realm on a subconscious level. With it, your image makes a strong visual connection between the pre-eminent twenty-first century form of hieroglyphics, photography, and ancient pictorial scripts. An individual shrinking the sphere of his personal existence to a ball within himselfAngst and Mana powerful image. Cropping in on the two figures intensifies the symbolism.

David, you have posted a number of fine photographs, but this one is in a class of its own. An extremely powerful image. The crossed arms, the face that seems much older than its years, the dark hollow eyes, the ominous dark buildings and then the one bright spot, the grandfatherly image over the boys right shoulder. Wonderfully constructed, a very thought provoking image. Reminiscent of the great photojournalist.

In this photo you have the most important element down patrapport with the subject. A charming portrait.

...combination is excellent. In the thumbnail I was very impressed with your handing of background and lightingthen I open it and found that it was PS. Would have been more impressed had you not been so honest. However, the image is the thing. I am comfortable with whatever tools are required to achieve such fine results.

At first I thought the gull was nesting, strange for this time of the

year. As I got closer, it tried to fly but didnt seem able. I got

within probably ten feet and moved around for several angles without

the gull leaving, so I concluded that it was probably wounded.

Stuck in a crevice of the tree's bark, the dead leaf seemed to be

hanging on for all it was worth.

Mario, this is a very gutsy photograph. I am frequently amazed at what other photographers do with subjects that I would have passed by. You have taken a mundane subjectyou must admit its not a peach, a grape, a breast or buttockand given it equal prominence. Your lighting has given it a burst of fireworks appearance. I cannot imagine why you added the white frame, but it gives the photograph depth and dimensionality, so I like itI wouldnt have thought of that either. You have not done anything the way I would have done it, thereby showing me something that I would have missed. Thank you.

Whimsical, irreverent, colorful a fun photo. Im glad you decided to have fun. I enjoyed your photo. Thanks for posting! The red and pink?

Tom, thank you! Could a cat look anymore bored with the goings on of humans? Perfect (okay I resisted purrrfect) for the long format! Both are very nice, but this one I really like.

Candace, I dont rate photographs and seeing the rating on this one illustrates why. This is probably the most wonderful photograph I have ever seen of a new born child. You cant help feeling parental feeling all the hopes and fears that a parent must have when they look into the face of their child for the first time the feeling of being totally awed by such a marvelous little being. A beautiful photograph.

When I looked at your Altered / PS Photographs folder, I was struck by the thought that you had a better eye for photomanipulation than most. Although this folder is a little off subject, it does help explain why. Especially liked; untitled, i c u..u c me, self explanatory what have I done and sad world were a little gruesome for my taste, but well done. Interesting young talent. Look forward to seeing more of you photographic work.

Geoff, what a great photo! Public transportation where we are pressed much too uncomfortably tight against strangers. The lengths we will go to avoid even acknowledging their existence, like if we can avoid seeing them maybe they wont be there. Each lost in their own world, avoiding the reality of the present. Only one person seems to have any outward focus, the lady dead center, in the brightest colors. And even she seems to be searching for a focus to avoid encountering those around her. And then the unseen person who does focus on the present, is willing to engage the photographer. I dont say this often, but I am very envious!

Paul, I apologize, its that way with old people, we confuse things! The urban background was on the previous image I viewed. My comments about your fine photograph still stands in spite of my confusion.

Paul, a beautiful photograph of a beautiful child (by a proud parent, no doubt). You specifically ask if the urban background works. That depends upon what you want out of the photograph. The background will work if you use the environment to comment in a truthful way about the subject. Truthful is the part that differentiates between a picture of a person in an environment and an environmental portrait You say your son is waiting for you to take him to school, so it could be assumed that this is in front of your residence if so, that adds a truthful comment about the environment associated with your son. You could, of course, crop the dark area on the left and the light area on the right and loose the environment and still have a wonderful photograph. There is much to be said for capturing the unguarded moment in photographs of people, but direct eye contact can often tell much about the relationship between the subject and the photographer; as well as drawing the viewer into the photograph. A photograph this will done on all counts will surely become a family treasure to you and your son.

First off, I was not disturbed by the dark line at the top. I assumed that you were on a high point looking down at a body of water, an inlet or river, and that the dark area was the distant shore. It is always interesting when photographers photograph people very close to them. It is a difficult thing to do well. You have done a great job with this photograph. It tells us three things about you wife, other than the fact that she is a very attractive woman. She is comfortable with herself, she trusts you implicitly, she shares your interest in photography. The camera is a give away, but how can I tell she trusts you and that she is self trusting? Only a woman with those admirable qualities could face straight into the cameras lens on a foggy morning, and have such a wonderful smile and liveliness in her eyes when I am dead certain she was well aware what the moisture in the air was doing to her hair. Believe me, youve either got her popping uppers or she is one secure lady! I have a theory on why you were not aware of the dark line at the top until it was mentioned earlier. Your wifes face is almost bullseye dead center in the composition as though you were saying that here is the center of my focus here is what is important to me. Although there is considerable area surrounding the figure there is nothing else in the photo which comes even close to competing with the dark figure for the center of attention. Interesting and well done photograph. Personally I would not crop out the dark line. I would frame it, hang it, and look at it every day to remind myself what a treasure she is.