joe_garrick

Peta, you're too kind.

The eyes have it! It's quite a captivating expression that's been captured here. Her mood seems to change even as you look at the photo.

First, the photo. I like it. It's eerie, yet peaceful at the same time. It's well composed. A good effort overall.

 

Next, the title, etc. To be honest, I would probably not have noticed the title if it had not become a topic here. Oddly enough, although I generally ignore titles I much prefer to have a narrative to go along with a photo. I always like a story behind people in a photo, but even some background on how the image was made I find enjoyable. Although I think a photo must be able to stand on its own merits, for me it makes the photo more personal by adding involvement with the subjects, the photographer, or both, to have some story behind the image.

 

Another reviewer indicated a preference to not have any information beyond the photo itself. That is, essentially, the direct opposite of my view.

 

What do the rest of you think? Does a story or title add to or take away from a photo?

I think it was probably better before the Photoshop effects were added.

Of the three photos from this set or location, this one is my choice. I think the close crop and the pose combine the most effectively to meet the two moods you're looking for.

I would crop this square, trimming it at the top just below the horizontal where you see the person standing.

 

Great faces.

A great moment.

It looks like it needs to be rotated a bit to bring all those horizontal lines level.

 

Nice work otherwise. All the muted blue and grey tones reinforce the lonely feeling of the place.

It seems like it's tipped a bit to the left. Does it need to be rotated clockwise slightly or is that some kind of illusion due to the sloping surface?

 

Other than that, it's nice. It has a peaceful quality.

The bottom half has almost no detail. I'd crop this square and retain only the sky and about one fourth of the dark bottom half. There's nice color in the sky.

Well done.

 

I disagree with the idea of converting to B&W, there are enough bearded old men in B&W here already and you'd lose the ruddy complexion and the subtle color variations between the beard and the hair.

That's just about the most delightful group of faces I've seen here. You can almost hear the laughter and feel the movement.

I love that laugh.

Christian is correct. We need the old "pose" with the new lighting and text.

 

Gary - I'm never going to be able to go to a hardware store and keep a straight face again.

 

 

A very captivating face.

 

I think I liked the original better. Rita's work on the cheek was OK, but the nose looks kind of smudged now. Sorry Rita.

Cool shape - I like it.

I keep coming back to this and I guess I like it. It has a goofy "dogs playing poker on black velvet" kind of quality to it, but I just get a kick out of how they look so engaged in whatever is out of the frame on the right.

That is one strange little building.

You have some nice macro work in your portfolio, but it's nice to see a few things that are more out of the ordinary. This photo is a refreshing change with nice colors and patterns. You can wander around on all those lines for a long time.

Your macro work is skilled, but I have to admit that flower close ups usually don't have much appeal for me.

 

This one, on the other hand, I like. It's a new subject instead of the usual vivid flower and has an entirely different kind of lighting treatment. Quite refreshing.

I think the crop helped, although I might have left more on the bottom to bring the horizon a little further off center and leave a stronger band of green on the bottom.

I'd rotate it a little bit to make the verticals vertical.

 

Great mood - it's very tranquil.

People - be sure to view the LARGE version - she really jumps out of the page at you.

 

This is strangely compelling - almost disturbing in a way. I'll agree that the partly cropped arm is a bit distracting, but I consider that just a minor problem. Everything else works, including for me the white table cloth or sheet or whatever that is on the left. It reinforces the starkness of the image.

That's an amazing face. Great capture.

The good news is that the expression is a real treat, so the photo's a keeper regardless.

 

The crop is a tough call. It would be nice to bring the bottom up enough to eliminate the arm completely dominating the lower half of the photo - visually her upper arm is bigger than her face. The trouble is that if you bring the bottom up to around the end of the sleeve, you get the disembodied hand coming up on the right. If you bring it in even closer to eliminate the hand entirely, you have the end of what I assume is a bull horn poking at her cheek like a dental x-ray machine or something. I'm afraid I'm completely stumped by the crop on this one.

 

If someone can figure out a cropping solution, I think everything else works pretty well. There's a ton of fun in her face and that hat with the funny twist in the brim is delightful. The light is fine for me - it's an outdoor look without being harsh.