william_ward__jr.

Scans of negatives tend not to be as sharp as the original negative so sharpening is almost always necessary. A little fiddling with contrast is also a good idea for the same reason.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

All suggestions are welcome.

I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for your critiques and reviews.

Thank you for your critiques.

The highlights in the bird's feathers has very good detail. The sun seems to be dotting the triangular mountain like the dot of an 'i'. Very nice.

I see two detractors. The completely white part in the middle of the sun makes me uncomfortable because it feels too much like I'm staring into the sun. The second detractor may seem a little strange at first but the bird may have a little too much detail in the eyes. Also the lighting seems a little off. If the sun is behind the bird then why the bright spots this side of the neck and foreground wing? Perhaps the eye wouldn't pick up on this if the highlights in the wing were even more similar in color to the sky in the background.

Just some thoughts ...

When I began printing this photo I had in mind to somehow bring out the detail in the cross that was evident in the negative and at the same time show something of the structure of the supporting steeple. So in my test print I started exposing from the top adding two seconds exposure to the base of the print.

While pondering the effect it occurred to me that the cross seemed even further away. Of course the cross represents God in this image. If I desire God and he is so far away then what hope would I have of reaching him? As Jarrod Willcutt pointed out, "christ the opressant".

Who would want to reach in vain for something that is clearly unreachable? It would be stupid to try.

Please feel free to comment.

Suggestions welcome.