tomfawlsphotography

The symbol of health and condemnation atop a gravestone.

Medium close image of an apple found atop a gravestone in Orlando's

Greenwood Cemetery.

All elements in this scene were shot as found. I suspect (hope?) the

apple was left on the gravestone in honor or memory of or for the

benefit of the spirits of those buried in the grave.

This is a great idea!.  The dirt on the sneakers certainly conveys the messy fun that is the hallmark of childhood and the green and yellow make a great counterpoint to the black of the sneakers.

I do think, though, that the impact of the image would be greatly improved with a bit closer crop and a bit cleaner focus on the sole of the shoes.

As it is, the key elements of the image, the dirt and grass on a child's shoes, is lost in the overall picture. Because these elements are a relatively small part of the overall image, they get lost among the larger, more obvious "stuff" (shoes, grass, jeans). Cropping the picture closer to the dirt / grass / soles of the shoes will draw the viewer's focus to those key elements...and if you leave a hint of the denim and the grass in the closer crop, you'll still evoke all the feelings those things bring with them, but you'll be doing it so much more subtly. 

Also, the focus should be on the dirt and grass...and the soles of the child's shoes. At the moment, these key elements are just slightly out of focus. 

I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of doing a quick crop of the image to show you what I mean.

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/16626452-lg.jpg

Woman dressed as Uncle Sam salutes the camera during the 2012 Orlando,

FL Veterans Day Parade.

New York City from the New Jersey side of the harbor. Images has been

processed to look like 1970's film image.

This is a great, unique perspective of an oft-photographed subject. I like your use of wide angle and the fact that you were able to get that close to the building.

I was just in DC 2 weeks ago and construction kept me from getting this close.

Great job!

Carlos:

You've got some great shots in your portfolio...you've obviously got a great eye and definitely give me a level of artistry to shoot for in my own shots. 

I do love the color in this image and it's a great subject, but the motion blur is dizzying...and not in a good way.:-(

If the blur was added, you might consider leaving something in the image in focus.  It's the blur is in the shot, you might have to give this one up.

Tom Fawls

Jim:

This is a good capture of a bird that, in my experience, is notoriously difficult to catch in a "standing still" pose.

One suggestion, though, I'd back off on the color saturation a bit (or bump it up more, if that's the look your shooting for).  As it is here, it looks a little unnatural.

Great portfolio, BTW.

...but Jack has some good suggestions, some of which you could do in "post processing" - contrast, brightening the image and adjusting contrast (which will help with "popping" the colors.)

but makes me glad I'm not a deep sea diver. :-D

I love the lighting and capture of color here. Can I ask how deep you were for this capture?

this is a well balanced composition, with a good combination of colors, but it could use some adjustment of the levels / deepening of the "blacks", to make the colors really "pop".

Jim:

This is a good shot...slightly off focus, but well framed and interesting.

I'm shooting the same lens with a T2i body (which I hope to upgrade someday soon!) and just this Saturday I was able to shoot this shot

( http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=15696713&size=lg ).

This is a great capture in a wild setting. I agree with what the others wrote.

One issue, though, the image seems a bit over-processed. I've noticed that over sharpening an image will have this affect; the finer details (in this case, the twigs) look unnatural, taking the focus off the subject.

It's a great picture, though, much better than I've ever done. Keep up the good work!

You are in serious need of a life!  :-D

Seriously, though, these are GREAT!

What a lovely shot!  I like how you've framed the blue flowers of interest with the softer focused white and yellow flowers. The colors and detail are great.

My only suggestion is on the framing...I think a thicker frame would make the colors stand out a lot more...and if you made the lengthwise frame the same width and the widthwise frame, it might work a little better.

The lighting and detail in this shot are amazing.  Great DOF, too, with the background adding greatly to the impact of the image.

Good work.

I love the feel of the horse lost in a snowstorm, but I can't help wonder if this might not have more impact if the grays were turned to white.

I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of adjusting it to show you what I mean.

I always have trouble finding situations where it fits. This is a nice image, with the texture of the cobblestones adding some good texture.

I think this image would have had much greater impact if you'd been able to fit the whole woman into the frame, though.

Just a thought.

The lines in the brick pattern are nicely contrasted by the man's shadow. 

Two comments though: 1) I think the choice to line the shadow with the horizontal edges of the image was the right choice, but the image would have been more effective if there was a larger angle between the line of the shadow and the nearly horizontal line of the stones.  Possibly a slightly different vantage point could have helped.

2) the title doesn't seem to have anything to do with the image itself...although that could be my innate obtuseness. :-)

Golden Koi color inverted. This was an attempt to produce a Japanese

water color style image.

Any comments, critiques, criticisms or compliments would be greatly

appreciated.

This image is the combination of a photo of a gold-orange Koi (carp)

extracted from a black background with bamboo leaves extracted from

another photo added for effect. My signature converted to Japanese

symbols added to the corner.

I'd appreciate any comments, criticisms, corrections or compliments

anyone would care to leave.

Disabled falcon stares at the camera wide eyed and open mouthed.

This bird is permanently housed at the Flamingo Gardens in Davie,

Florida.

For the comment. I am always looking for feedback.

You are correct on the exposure, although, believe it or not all the over exposure was done on purpose in Photoshop. :-D I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not, so I was looking for input.

I'm guessing you think it still needs work. :-)  I don't disagree, but I'm not sure where else to go with this...or if I've already gone too far.  I really would appreciate any specific guidance you can provide. :D

Thanks again, though, for taking the time to comment.