ransford

this reminds me of some of my favorite woodcuts from the first half of the 20th century. a wonderful romantic feel.

The perspective effect here is precisely what the Gothic arch was made for in the first place. The lighting makes this special.

I love the ambiguous abstraction here as in so many of your images. Perhaps I like this because I am not confused, ambiguous, yes, but not confusing.

surprised you did not ask for a critique of this. one of my favorites. It's as if this flower is a theatrical stage with dancers on the stage. Of course, the light and colors are sensational, but it is the feeling of life and movement caught inside a flower that is most exciting.

almost just an ordinary rose but the framing sets the stage for a focus on the leaves first, then the rose, then the dew drops. Nothing ordinary about this.

At first I thought this was just a charming image with the perfect choice of hue for a monochrome, but on further viewing I came to suspect a great deal of work went into processing the image Whatever...the result is outstanding.

Estoy de acuerdo con Juan Carlos

Running quickly through your photos, I discovered this gem.

A grea way to make a portrait. While I don't usually pay too much attention to titles, including my own, I think this title helps to open the viewer's mind to the picture.

thus far i just commented on your flowers--my area of interest. but I think this is a fabulous photo by every measure. It exemplifies your originality and vision.

I have a suggestion, however, the nipple on the cat which is farthest to the right seems to have a halo, maybe from sharpening. It distracts me--my eye goes right to it. If you agree with me, you might darken the halo.

I like this greatly, having tried to display the same flowers in a duet. It seems to me you have created a three-dimensional composition through focus, including the frame. I mean that this is something very different from using focus, depth of field, if you will, to isolate a subject on a two-dimensional space. I wonder who might have discussed what I am getting at. I think I will try to aim at this more self-consciously in the future.

Although I don't remember how I created this, I can guess because I know my favorite ways to play. Looks like a distortion filter superimposed on another layer with blending, most likely 'difference.' I may have inverted the image, which would explain the darks (I usually take pictures in full sunlight). This kind of image is hard to plan, so I usually crop a part that I think works. I do use liquify, but not usually as the vehicle of distortion, but rather to improve awkward parts. BTW, I discard 95% of my abstracts, but, then, I dicard at least 95% of my images to begin with.

Not a bad idea. I'll be looking for oil slicks.

Gustavo. Please, more flowers

What's a 'lensbaby'?

Sometimes there is nothing more to say than: "It is a beautiful photo of a beautiful person."

You've stolen my cat, Misty! She sometimes gets on my roof when my balcony door is open and gets stuck out their until she starts an incessant whining.

I see it as an interesting commentary on Venice. I suppose the title has a comment I don't understand, but I remember my only visit to Venice, in 1950, with my family. Even then we chose not to ride in a gondola because the cost was unreasonable.

comments welcome

These were once flowers. I don't have a clue how I did this. comments

welcome

Not all butterflies need be seen in full sun. Comments?

This image really jumps at the viewer. Could be a painting or an architectural drawing or a photo. Reminds me of de Chirico--the colors and hard edges. Great photo.

One of the best empty street scenes I have seen. I cannot say exactly why I find it so appealing. I am very fond of the painter John Singer Sargent, who was fond of buildings with earth colors accented by blues in his watercolors in Italy. He would also have liked your vertical door and window openings. Seems to me you had a long focus...the openings seem collapsed, inviting the viewer's curiosity and interpretation. Extremely effective. Shadows are soft and subtle and I think you were wise not to intensify the blue of the sky.

I can't tell you how many pictures I have deleted because of blurring or some other failure on my part. On the occasion when I find that special promising image, I take lots of pictures in the hope one will come out right. That's the advantage of digital (or wealth). Even so, sometimes I find an image that just can't be corrected to the level it deserves. I rarely feel that an image is so good that it should be kept despite its weakness.

Since I crop a lot, I often discover part of a picture deserving of development even though I was not truly aware of its beauty. Often this means it is not properly focused. Then I am faced with the decision to save it anyway as you have here or go to work in Photoshop and try to turn it into something very different from what it started out to be. It gives me great pleasure just to look. Photography allows me to look and play. Then I think "What does this all mean? What am I doing?" Many years ago I majored in Art History in college and I have always considered the making of graphic images a noble endeavor, even though for most of my life I did other things. Now that I am closer to the end of my life than the beginning, I worry over the wisdom of the way I spend my time.

At any rate, you definitely did the right thing in posting this image. I enjoyed looking at it again.

Ransford

A stunning combination of calligraphy and poetry (without words)

Marvelous balance between rough and smooth, light and dark.

The thumbnail drew me to this image by its rich color, but once I opened it up, I could not take my eyes off that marvelous twig on the right. Thanks for a delightful image.