gato pardo

Perhaps the best ''cat-photo'' I've ever seen! The cat's expression is almost ''human'', how can such an attractive animal be so ''tenderly aggressive''? It's also a magnificent (young, I presume...) animal, with this ''sea'' of beautiful grey fur, hiding those threatning sharp teeth and a pair of incredibly angered eyes! And the question is: after all, how can we be so tenderly compelled to caress him? The picture is a little jewel, indeed. Besides, I love cats, always living in their own world, without prejudices of obedience, they'll never be real ''pets'', they'll never really obey us! This photo ''speaks'' for itself: ''Hey, damn humans, be careful with us, otherwise...!!!'' 6/7, Alon!

By the way, did you you know that my name (Guilherme) in English is William (though experts say that names should not be translated)?!

Let me tell you that on the 1st November I took some 30 shots of (O)Porto in about 3 hours and in that same day I treated them in my computer! And so, it's not surprising that the quality of details was bellow the medium level. You are absolutely right about the eventual improving by stepping back to get the top of the building and its contrast against the sky. I promise to take another shot in a near future, taking notice of your suggestions that I really appreciated! I also promise you to talk about your (interesting) portfolio within some days! Regards.

One of the corners in the downtown of (O)porto. At the moment I shot

the building (and the whole place) it appeared to my eyes as a

reference of the proud of this city. That's why I caught this

angle...

I agree with Steve about the crop. But I like this picture anyway; it's a pleasant one, with a pretty good definition and an agreable dim light. The B&W option improved the image. Of course it would be nice to ''catch'' a coloured flower or an insect in the middle of the cactuses, to somehow cut the monotony and attract the viewer's attention... but once they were't not around at the moment we cannot invent! Regards! 5/5

... it may be not be a superb picture but it is a good one, indeed. And above all, unless you are a professional, it is not everyday that we can get a shot of a whale tail, so the moment also counts! Talking about the ''less good things'' (in my opinion, of course...): the boats at the farther plan lead our sight a little bit out off the main subject, you could perhaps get the whale away from the center and the mountains should have a sharper definition in order to separate them more clearly from the water surface. Keep on trying to improve just like we all do and don't bother about some sort of critiques! 5/5.

...this picture is part of a presentation (30 photos) placed today on

this site, representing part of Port Wine story. Have a look at them,

please.

A very good use of light in this B&W photo, a curious position and... Tati is a magnificent woman!

This is a reflection of one of the Oporto University older buildings

on a Park Lake in the opposite side

Pretty warm coulors (despite of the weather, we can see it on the sea waves...), well balanced and with a pretty good definition. I particularly appreciate the split between the group of skyscrapers and the mass of seawater, defined by the sinusoid coast line, which clearly separates these two different motives. 6/6*

Taken with an old ''Zenith 12'' some years ago, digitalized on a

scanner and retouched on ''PS''.

A protected National Park in Portugal - Peneda Gerez.

You managed to catch the soul of a season in a single shot. It would be uninteresting without the leaves spread on the stairs. It would be uninteresting without the large range of coloured leaves that goes from the brown to the yellow. It would be uninteresting without the stairs and the wall leading us, through a decreasing perspective, towards the green of the trees along the wall and on the top of the image. So, it is really a nice Autumn moment. Congratulations!

This is an essay over a previous photo already published. Turned into

B&W and re-adjusted on ''PS''

At the end of the day. Park of the Contemporay Art Museum of

Serralves. That particular light caught my sight.

Thank you for your comments, John, but:

1 -The ''flare'' is not a ''PS'' flare (an artificial one), but the natural sunlight filtered by the branches late in the afternoon; it may be a little strong, but appears just like I saw it in that particular moment;

2 - The object at the bottom is not a cymbal, but a bill containing the main carachteristics of the tree;

3 - The walls are not actually blue but white. The light blue coloration is given by the light particularities at that time of the day.

4 - I made the Magnolia the centre of the image because... there is exactly nothing else in that yard. The ''Magnolia'' is indeed a unique motive in the whole yard, everything else are the surrounding walls.

5 - I could have photographed the tree from a farther level (avoiding to block some parts like the whole trunk), but first I had not enough room to catch it all and eventually I would lose the impact I wanted. An so I decided.

Regards

This is a protected specimen placed at the entry of the Contemporay

Art Museum of Serralves-Porto, at the same time a kind of ''ex-

libris'' of the Museum.

Photography is art, technics and... creativity! Perhaps you managed to mix them together in this work: simple, suggestive, nice. The stair-carpet leading to heaven, the long way to run, the endless abyss... May be our man has reconsidered and decided to come back... Who knows?! Congratulations! Hint: I would like to look also at a B&W version, considering the colours of the man and the stair-carpet.

Aren't we all a bit (or even more...) mentally ill?! May be this is not a ''masterpiece'' but it's appealing and new (and these are qualities I like). I would call it an ''healthly macabre'' shot! The overall composition is balanced.

Hint: May be you should add some sharpeness...

This is a kind of ''Another side of a flower''. People usually say

that flowers are colour, life, joy... May be they don't look (think)

at them at night or they don't think about them as a virtual mistery.

That's what I tried to show: it's other side. Concepts don't have to

be always the same...

This is the type of photo we could classify into the ''unique category''. Because you will hardly ever get another one similar to it. Aesthetically talking it is extraordinary dynamic and very well balanced. The 3/4 space occupied by the sky underlines the importance of the motive: it seems that the threatning clouds at the meddium level will soon swallow the beautiful rainbow arc pasted on the soft clouds at the far level. The whimsical sinusoid line formed at the centre of the image gives an additional value to the composition. I admit the other fellow photographers are right concerning some technical details. May be some adjustments (like ''softning'' the dark line of trees at the bottom or the dark zones at the nearer corners) may improve it. But it's very nice like this anyway! Congratulations!

Let me also thank you for your comments on some of my works. Through a look at your gallery I've noticed that you must be a (good) classical photographer. But even so you have an open spirit to understand new forms, methods and ways of looking around our world. And this is very nice!

I'm always an open mind to rates and critiques. But it's not easy for me to understand why someone (I wonder who...) rated me ''1 for aesthetics'' and ''7 for originality'' in this same photo !!!

Through different processing ways (digitalizing it on a scanner and

treating it on ''PS'' filters...)I have tried to change a ten years

old pure analogic photo (representing a mere garden plant...) into an

entirely different reality (representing whatever you want... drops

of water, blood, oil, molecular mouvements, heavenly bodies,

aliens...)

This is a simple shot, occasionaly taken at the end of the day, near

a window in my room. The curtain, with the sunlight filtered by the

holes in the the blind, seemed to me quite appealing...

...Just say something. This is a sequence of 4 photographies in my

gallery. Please notice that new options also have the ''right to

live''. I've seen wonderful figurative works on this site but

digital options are opening new paths to this art. A modern view must

be open to them...

This is a green space outside the ''Contemporary Art Museum of

Serralves'', in Oporto. The Museum was designed by the portuguese

worldwide known Architect Sisa Vieira, and it is a magnificent modern

buildind that I promise to show you know soon. The large garden

around is a very appealing place where it is a real pleasure

to ''wander'' around, without destiny or time limit. At the end of

the day the light is quite warming and charming. The right place to

forget the downtown jungle, just a few minutes far.

... in a certain way, to share a work, to add value to it. I like

judgements. It's the only way to improve. I'd appreciate if you

shared this photo with me.