stephenh

You should license this to the US Army for a recruiting poster! The pose is non-controversial; inclusion of the flag is, of course, controversial, but you won't get argument from me. Nice.

Is it Thira, or Thera (Santorini)? I think I remember this church. Spectacular view, as I recall. Our apartment was only a little ways from there. You've burnt in the background, right?

Wow, this is really out of context from the rest of the photos you've posted. But it's got some potential. A few problems: biggest is that the shading of her lower leg is much different than the rest of her body, making it seem almost as if it weren't skin. I would have had her straighten her legs more, which might have solved the shading problem, too. The complementary line is the tree's long root along her back, and extending her legs would have made that line even stronger. Consider the look of this pose.

Nice exposure for what appears to have been taken with a single on-camera flash. Your model (wife/girlfriend/other?) has a natural rapport with the camera, and I'd like to see you take more pics of her.

Nice. I'd like to see more work in this genre. I certainly don't understand the description of your equipment!

Yeah. Interesting couple of facts: With this kind of panorama, one must manually find the juncture points rather than relying on software, and then do some judicious cloning. Sometimes it just isn't possible, but here I was fortunate to have a couple figures who remained relatively static and was able to cut along the edges of their costumes. It does mean I must snap the photos very quickly, panning from left to right, without the kind of contemplative effort that typifies landscape panoramas.

 

As to the perspective, this was shot at the first of two rehearsals I photographed, from my preferred vantage point which is about 20-30 yards (meters) from the performers and therefore slightly above stage level. For the second rehearsal (from which comes all of the Act III/IV shots), we had loads of students attending, so I had to shoot from the second row orchestra and, as you point out, below stage level.

As noted with the photo description, I've replaced the version with the frame.

Actually, Dominique is quite mistaken: the female and vase have not been much explored, especially in photography. And even if it had, I don't think anyone has taken this particular photograph. Moreover, I have done a fairly exhaustive review of figure photography and find no one who has explored the female figure with pots of the American Indian Pueblos. Of course, being European he/she may be forgiven for not recognizing that unique art form originating from the American Southwest.

Amateur: from the Latin "amator" (lover) and "amare" (to love). One who loves what he does. I'll accept that. As for the rest of Dominique S.'s comment, he/she may not know the English phrase, "damning with faint praise," but that seems to be his/her intent. In any case, I've looked at his/her work, and, quite frankly, we have radically divergent photographic views of the world. For me, that discounts his/her rather ascerbic comments; and I really take offense at his/her suggestion that what I've done here has no relation to artistic photography. Who is he/she to make such a judgment?

Regarding the saturation, actually since this was taken in late afternoon sun the saturation levels are pretty close to natural.

Unfortunately, Dominique did not read the prior comments before stating the foregoing. Had he/she done so, the possibility that this was a parody might have been obvious. Of course, since he/she appears to be Polish, the "homage" to a classic of twentieth century American art may have escaped notice ....

Although the "reflections" theme becomes a bit repetitious throughout the folder, nevertheless I've rarely seen a group of landscape photos executed with such perfection. You are to be congratulated.

Very nicely done. Great DOF, assuming this is not a digital composite. (Looks like a wide-angle.) Just about perfect exposure. You can be proud of this.

Nice conception and execution.

Nice study here. You've pretty much achieve a full range of tonalities, and although I would have liked the shadow on her (his?) ribcage to have tapered more gradually, I like what you've done. The relatively sharp lines of the back against the black compared with softer edges of ribs, stomach and leg against the white suggests you've cut out the figure, digitally or in the background.

First, too small an image. Second, are you making an artistic statement by the burnt area between her thighs? If so, it is rather too obvious, at least to me. I can't say this is a particularly flattering orientation.

Disorienting. To be frank, I don't like POV experiments like this. Sometimes this kind of photo will tell us something different about the body, or about ourselves, but this one doesn't

Nice portrait with no real sense of nudity, except that you know that it is.

Hmm. Interesting. Could as easily be a silhouette of a Rodin sculpture.

Here I think the soft focus detracts.

I like this a lot. Given that it was taken outdoors, the high contrast must be forgiven. The body vs. white space is handled nicely.

Comment on the folder as a whole: you have an interesting, often different, sometimes unique view of the figure. Continue to imagine -- it clearly is one of your strengths. You and I go in different directions (see mine) with this subject matter, but I can appreciate what you are trying to do. Thanks for posting.

For this photo, nice, soft, androgynous study.

Nicely done.

Unfortunately, all that blue has bled over into her skin tones. You need to adjust one or more channels in PS.

Superb photo in all respects! This is one that deserves to become a classic. (P.s., after looking at your technical info, I should have guessed it was shot with the D30! Love that camera!)