billfoster

Thank you, Ken. I like this because it was an accident. i was there to photograph something else (the cross and the adult bookstore) and just came across this. I also like the vignetting with the blue. I used the wrong brush when I erased the upper layer, but I liked it better than the hard-edged version I had originally planned.

Hi Jim,

I have been lurking around and looking at photographs (and taking plenty) but haven't posted that many for the critique as I just had some issues with the changes they made to the forums a long time ago and the lack of meaningful critique. It seemed to me that they made changes that discouraged critiquing and when I brought it up a couple times, I found the moderators comments a bit snarky and it discouraged me. I have a lot of new stuff to post and I will probably wade back into it one day. I have kept up with your photographs and several of them were just wonderful. Of course, I probably should have said that at the time! :-)

 

Anyway, I like the truck and the SUV. To tell the truth, I was so focused from the beginning on the sign and cross that I didn't even notice it. I wish I could find a better angle that showed the whole store. It is just gigantic. I am not completely happy with this, but it was hard to find a hill I could get to. I think I would need to be on a 30 foot ladder in the middle of the interstate to get the shot I envision.

 

I agree with you about the selective color. I do like the picture without it. However, I took it for the express purpose of putting in this Red State folder, where everything illustrates some point about  the political life of the South and has selective Red in it. Do you think it would fit in the folder in color? I do have the unaltered version and may put it in another folder with some other pictures I took that just didn't have red in them or didn't quite fit the theme.

 

Thanks again.

 

Bill

very well done indeed. You need to get back there and try a few more ...

Really interesting idea. The composition is outstanding and i really like the photo. I understand the idea of "using" the noise but there is still just a bit too much for me, especially in the shadows. it doesn't work as grain or pointillism for me as it is too obviously artificial. Don't get me wrong, it is an outstanding photo; the noise is jsut a too extreme.

I agree with you completely, John, that her grace is what makes this work. As I look it again, though, I am trying to understand why. Where does her grace show up in the photograph? Is it the way she is standing? I notice there is a curve in the way she is standing that is probably not natural and I think that makes a big difference. If she were standing straight, it would not be the same photograph. Of course, her facial expression helps a lot.

 

I am curious as to how much thought you put into this sort of thing. Does she just move continually and you shoot or do you have them hold poses and move things a bit here and there? Were there shots similar to this that just didn't work?

 

I experimented a bit with this myself and while I think i can shoot a nice pic of a barn (they rarely move), it really gave me an appreciation for just how good you are at this.

Great work, John. Absolutely striking and I love the skin tones.

 

I think there are two reasons why people think this seems so different from your usual style. First, you don't have that many shots against an unadorned background or without at least a piece of furniture around. Second, most of your photographs do not depict a vagina so blatently. It seems like the pose or the lighting usually obscures things somewhat. Not a criticism at all. Whether I like that or not depends completely upon the photograph and in this shot, it works wonderfully.

I think, Faleh, that perhaps you might look at this a little differently if you see it in the context of the folder.

 

That is something I hate about the critique system. Many pictures work best as part of a whole, which we don't necessarily see when critquing. I liked this picture seeing it by itself. However, in context of the whole folder, I love it. Very original and creative.

 

If I could offer a small suggestion, i think the folder as a whole could be improved by a little judicous editing and by making all of the pictures the same aspect ratio. I love this picture, but I see it as dependent on the crop and wonder, if you were to mount this as an exhibition, how it would look framed in such an odd size.

The time trial proceding the first day of the Tour de France. I was

kind of mazed that with no waiting or preperation, I could just walk

up to the fence and get a shot like this ....

 

I'm torn about the shutter speed though; I wish I'd used a bit

faster one and a flash.

A small town in central France

The Alcazar in Segovia seen from the Church of Vera Cruz in the

valley below Segovia.

This was just absolutely the most amazing sunset I have ever seen

(with a big double rainbow on the other side of it).

It's amazing how the Alcazar, which looks so massive and dominating

from the south, can appear so small and lost from the north. This was

taken from a hay field (obviously) just outside Segovia. It was a

lttle before the best light, but I had to choose between cuchinillo

(roast pork) and waiting for the light ... that's why I'll never be

great! :-)

The "coast of death" in Galacia (Northwest Spain). The black stripes

on the the rocks are mussels.

The Avett Brothers play .... ummm ..... what? Grunge bluegrass?

Picture Beatles melodies played with Bill Monroe's instruments and

Pearl Jam's attack. Kinda hard to get without seeing them live so if

you ever get a chance, don't miss it. This was taken at a free

outdoor concert in Knoxville, TN. I wish I could claim that the b and

w was an artistic exercise, but it's mostly to cover up some bad

color due to tricky white balance settings.

Lyon sits between two rivers and a large part of the city is on an

isalnd. I was on the island walking around and it had been raining

all day. It was my first day there (after rain in the other two

cities I had visited) and I was about to give up and eat when all of

a sudden the sun passed under the clouds and made the largest,

brightest double rainbow I have ever seen in my life on one side of

the island (the less attractive side, unfortunately) and this sunset

on the other. It was the best light I have ever seen in my life and I

spent the next hour and a half running back and forth aross the

island, trying to capture both.

Poster for an upcoming series of fights in Manzanares, Spain (just

north of Madrid) with the castle of Manzanares in the background.

Garden of the Gods (don't blame me for the name!) National Park in

Colorado Springs, CO. The nice things about this place is that it is

so accessible; it's located right on the edge of the city, just five

minutes from downtown. I actually took this 15 min before I went to

work.

Thanks for your thoughtful (as always) comments. I travel all the time so I have no idea of my schedule but if you are near the mountains in the winter, shoot me an email and I'll be happy to buy you a beer or three. It's the least I can do for all the enjoyment your photos have given me. And, of course, if you need any travel advise or help, don't hesitate to ask, although i think you know the mountains better than me!

Only in Beverly Hills

King;s College at the University of Cambridge in the UK, seen from

behind. I've never been in a place where the weather changed faster.

I tried all week to get a shot in decent light but all I got was

cold and wet. Finally, after I gave up and was sitting in a pub the

day before I left, the sky cleared and this extraordinary light came

out. I ran the 2 K to get there and got about threee shots before it

went away. In fact, I really wanted some cows in the shot, but they

didn't cooperate. There is another photo in this folder where the

cows wandered over, but they did so exactly as the light changed and

you can see that the light isn't as nice.

The west prong of the Little Pigeon with a 12 second shutter.

The main square in Cuenca, Spain

Hondariba on the Spanish/French border

A religous drum ceremony during semana santa in madrid

A Ceremony at the royal palace in Seoul, South Korea