joe_garrick

I'd crop the stray elbow or whatever it is on the far right.

The head angle, lighting, and expression are nice, but I can't get past the arms being amputated below the elbow.

Great shot, and please do not add the suggested and much discussed crop. The tight crop only works if you've already seen the larger shot with enough detail to realize that it's a flower behind the ant. In the tight crop you lose that context.

 

As for the border discussion, I just don't get it. It's like saying a photo is no good because the frame is wrong. It's not part of the image, so who cares.

Great work. I'd also love a look at a scan of the 5x7.

Great atmosphere and subtle colors through the haze.

I like it, but it's hard to go wrong with old mills like this. I'd have left a bit more room over the roof, but the shot works.

Great color and composition. I like it.

Great face. The shot works better for me as a more closely cropped portrait.

Nice work. Such a refreshing change from the sad face behind the window cliche.

The waving seal is priceless. Great work.

It's easy to get really good photos of this kind of subject, but extrememly hard to photos that really stand out from the rest. I couldn't ask for more from the composition or color.

Great work. In answer to the original question, leave the window out.

 

A couple of quick responses to some of the ongoing discussion. What's with the hat comments. People do wear hats - I never go outside without one. Although I would normally want to see the man looking into the blank space, in this case what's been done works. I'm ambivalent on digital manipulation. At some point an image crosses the line from photo into digital artwork that isn't a photo any longer. I can't necessarily describe that line, but this image doesn't cross it, maybe because nothing was done digitally that couldn't have been done with traditional lab techniques, or maybe just because it still looks like a straight photo.

 

As for all of the ongoing discussion about ratings and such, I wish people would confine comments to the photo at hand.

 

Great work.

Great face, great expression and eyes. I like the extreme grain with this image. My only problems is that between the grain and light levels, the line of the left edge of her face completely blends into the towel at her cheekbone, but it's nothing that Photoshop couldn't fix.

I like the pose, the expression, and the lighting. Clearly she has a great face. However, I have a couple of technical issues with the image. First, there's some odd bands running around her arm and across her lower back. I don't know if you edited out a bra strap or something with Photoshop or if it's some kind of scan artifact or what, but it's definitely a distraction. Second, the vanity lights aren't aligned vertically - if they weren't right on the edge of the frame it probably wouldn't have mattered, but with the top light cropped and the bottom one not cropped, it becomes an issue. Finally, there's a lot of distraction in the mirror. Is that a light box behind her head?

I'm just amazed by the harsh commentary and accusations of manipulation. Two things. One - this kind of coloration is completely normal on the face of half dome or anywhere else in the mountains for that matter. I found the "alpenglow" effect or whatever you want to call it, if anything, more intense and common in Yosemite valley than other mountain regions. I brought a shot nearly identical to this back from my trip except that these clouds are far better. Two - cloud formations hanging over the face like this are entirely normal. If you haven't been there you may not realize this, but the dome is large enough to essentially create its own weather. In this case he captured a highly unusual formation.

 

Anyway, I like this shot. This is probably one of the most photographed mountains in the world and he has come up with an entertaining new twist here. The dark foreground works for me to isolate the face.

I'm not normally a fan of color shifts, but this one works for me. I like the composition here as well. I can't describe why, but this photo holds my interest. Maybe it's just that I love bridges, but I don't think that's all. Very nice.