i_.

it's perfectly clear to me that quite a bunch of people will be quite

upset and disgusted by this picture -- but i still hope to find those

who'd say that it's beautiful, like I do.

Blown highlights, yes -- but still a nice one, methinks. Do you like it?

Yep, focus is soft, but I like the simplicity. Could use some

cropping, probably.

What do you think?

Yeah! Great one!

 

Don't listen to others :), keep the out-of-focus-clutter, it adds immensly to the picture, creating a stunning contrast to the mask-like face, giving life to it. Great picture, indeed.

I like it a lot, but I'm not quite sure about the framing -- especially the 'inward' shadow along the border. My first and strongest emotion seeing this picture was that kind of 'it's in front of me, just at a stretch of my hand, very real, i-can-touch-it kind of real, but still I cannot reach out for it, it's beyound my touch i some unexplainable way' feeling, and I feel like the framing is working against it, making the picture flatter, more 2-dimensional in my perception as it would have been without this particular framing, thus reducing the feeling to look at the subject itself, 'beeing there', in present, not looking at a picture of something that somebody else has seen some time in the past.

 

Do you know what I mean?

...

shit happens. oh well.

Aah great, I've got a weakness for low-contrast

pictures with strong but quite minimalistic composition... this one's just perfect. Subtle in tonality, strong and clearly articulated in shapes. Not quite sure about this something near the lower right corner, but still it doesn't break the composition. Love it. One of the best portraits/abstracts I've seen.

haha, in fact the image has been inversed during processing... I still like it this way. Thanks for your comment!

thanks :)

da neee, chesno...

I try to all the time, but till now it only worked properly in the bathroom :)

Oh yeah, and thanks for your generous ratings, Ken and HGHD!

Don't be afraid -- she wasn't hurt :)

In fact, she hates most of the photos I have made of her, but she's ok with this one.

Anyway, I had a somewhat different intent when I triggered the shutter -- I've been thinking about masks, make-up and such in general, the way we use, recognise and (mis)interpret them.

The situation itself was also far more prosaic -- she's been making herself ready for a costume party, trying to reproduce that kitschy "traditional-japanese-look". Thus, it's interesting that it's been a tanka that you have thought of. Ah, the wonders of human perception :)

It's "rathaus", James :)

Nice tones, by the way.

I've been playing around with flare... It's perfectly clear to me that the result is very flat, but I think it fits nicely into the concept of being immersed into reading. The only thing that did not work out as expected is the lightning in the lower part of the image, making it unclear that she's actually reading a book. Well, I still like it. Tell me if I'm wrong, and this image doesn't work as expected (please?!).

Cool! Is it going to swallow the world? Or is it something emerging? Scary place, anyway.

Ah, now I get what you mean... and I absolutely agree. Thanks a lot for your comments!

thanks, I'm glad that you saw it :)

I'd also like to hear which story it does tell to you... esli ne sekret

Yep, it was :)

dvenadsat' stuljev? :))

Wow, I can only second on Matt's comment... exceptional capture, powerful and subtle. I'd also like to see the same motive composed vertically... but I think I agree with you on composing it horizontally, anyway.

Great portfolio, by the way.

thanks :)

What would you suggest to do with the neck? I'm not sure that it would look better if completely removed... cropping would also break the composition, I think... so, what would you do?

Great usage of tight framing... At first, I felt uneasy about the compostion... but then I realized that this uneasy feeling "makes" the picture. Very powerful.

It may sound strange, but I feel like I'm a mirror when I look at it.

...and please, don't bother to tell me it's too dark. doh.

Yep, grain definitely fits in this image nicely -- perfect choice of film, exposure and composition for this subject, I guess.