gregscott

Texas speedbump?

Chaulked frame perfect for a football motif, likewise it's obvously fall.

Sedumentary?

Rocks and Phlox?

I'm not sure what kind of flower it is, but

I've seen this kind of mineralization in rocks before, but this is the prettiest example I've ever seen. Getting it with the flowering plant this way is fabulous...

Ever heard of a kewpie doll? A little hair styling, and this is it.

I feel like it would help if there were more DOF to get more of the tiger's "expression" in focus.

I particularly like how well the closest bird is in focus and how little motion blur there is on it's body, tail, and head.

It's a very good model, pose, and expression, but the wall is in focus, not the subject. Bothers me.

Great Valentine's day shot. Should have posted it a few days earlier.

even better than the previous one.

frame too tight on right.

I wish the wing of the left bird didn't obscure the tip of the beak of the right bird. Otherwise, a very good shot.

I believe that this is a house finch. In the east US, it's an invasive/alien species imported from the west US. (If I'm right on the ID.)

Global systems and micro systems have buffering/damping systems, or they would be completely unstable and there would be no life on earth. In this case, if the snow decreases, you'll find that the area becomes more wild, more natural, and you'll have fewer new buildings defacing the landscape. In the extreme, you'll have mossy old ruins fading picturesquely into the mountainsides...

 

Even in this smaller image, I get a great sense of detail and sharpness. The village is pretty enought not to be a defect in the photo, but to add a great sense of scale. A wonderful location, a good photo, and a thought provoking post. I particularly enjoy the color that the village adds to the photo.

The metaphor is much stronger in this photo. It makes a great "companion" to the previous post.

Could you clone out the person in the talons? That would help a lot. It's a very nice flight photo with interaction, which can be hard to obtain, so it's a very nice shot otherwise.

I'm bothered by the blue cast to the leaves, but the same blue cast works very well in the shadows of the rose itself. This is merely my subjective personal observation, which is not necessarily "correct". From the point of view of "natural light", I think that this is a studio shot, and that the photographer has absolute control. So the question is relevant. I just don't know the answer!

In the nudes critique section, it's considered ettiquete not to count the model too highly in the critique. I suppose that this is because not everyone can afford to hire the models they might prefer, or that it's subjective, or even personal, such as wife or husband...

That said, it's interesting to consider the subject in the landscape... Is our ability to travel, to choose our "model" the same? To some extent, it is. When we visit a particular location, we produce the best photograph we are able given the lighting, the location, and so on.

 

That said, this is an excellent model. I particularly like the brickwork detail as we approach the top of the lighthouse. The architecture itself is a work of art. The placement of the support building is also aestheticly superior. This is within the control of the photographer, to some extent. Here I see no distracting architectural elements. Everything seems to fit into one integrated scene.

 

I particularly like the quality of light, and the sky. I wonder how it would look in color, and with different tonalities. This is very hard to judge at lower resolutions. I get the impression that at a higher resolution, this is a magnificent photo. At the resolution presented, it's certainly extremenely attractive.

 

Sometimes I wish the photographer would post a full resolution photo, or at least a supplemental detail to show how much detail is actually there, and to give an idea of the textures of the full resolution image. So this critique focuses more on the limitations of this forum than any defect in the photo, for I can't detect any problem in the photo whatsoever.

As droplets go, this is something I haven't observed before... I've seen a column with a drop forming at the top, but this is the first time I've seen a column with a drop forming, apparently, at both the top and the bottom. The "conical" form of the column is intriguing, again, it seems inverted from the normal conical form, which would typically be thicker at the bottom, rather than the top. Perhaps I'm wrong, or perhaps my perception is due to the predominating editorial selections of folks "publishing" their photos. FWIW.

 

I like the rainbow colors in the background waves.

Don't see the humor. It's newsworth, obviously. Good from a documentary/street perspective. This snow was quite a notable event.

Perhaps the snowman tickles your fancy, and I do like it, but it doesn't strike me as especially funny.

Sincerely,

Sourpuss

This is also the best horse image, painting, sculpture, or photograph, that I can recall having seen, except perhaps a pegasus might be as good, maybe.

This is an amazing photograph, and powerful beyond my ability to comment meaningfully.

Sure I've got opinions, but I'd rather get a presumptious critique than none at all, and I critique in that spirit. I didn't say that my way was the right way, I just said what my bias/reaction was. Isn't art supposed to evoke a reaction. Clearly this photo is art, and I think that my reaction, though frank, recognized its value. No insult whatsoever was intended. I regard a critique of "Great work!" as very encouraging, but virtually worthless in stimulating my own thought processes and understanding. I'd rather have a more thoughtful/verbose/pedantic critique any day, even if the thoughts are somewhat primitive, such as mine may be. It depends what you're after in a critique. Perhaps some like my comments. Those that don't are encouraged to disregard. I compared my rating with other's ratings afterwards, and found that I was neatly less than a fraction of a point from the average, so I know that from that perspective that I didn't devalue this very creative piece. Sometimes it's the MOST creative work that spawns an explosion of perceptions in the viewer. Perhaps my stream of conscienceness reaction gives honor to the artist. I hope so. That was my intent.

Perhaps... But from my religious perspective, there's a Calvinist concept (shared in a broader Xian theological community) called Total Depravity. Related to "the fall" it says that the fallen nature is the natural human state, and the the fall is complete and absolute. Sometimes folks that clearly see their nature have the easiest time discovering their need for God. So while I agree, to some extent, I think that my sins are just as evil as others, and rely on the undeserved generosity of God, as we all must, if we enter His family. (All art evokes human emotion, including religious. If somebody thinks that such comments don't belong here, perhaps you don't accept the full scope of Art, and what it has to say to ALL of the human experience.) Perhaps my photograph isn't ART, but these people are created in God's image, and they ARE art. How can you believe in the Devil without acknowledging God? Anyway, that's my private mindset as I photograph the human drama at this somewhat "depraved" but very human event.

I detest posing subjects. I prefer candids without any "pose" at all.

However, sometimes the subject will self-pose, and sometimes I'll

"steal" a pose when the subjects pose for another photographer. Part

of this is "courtesy" in a crowded event. I hate to interrupt the flow

of traffic when I stand near a strategic "choke point" shooting my

subjects, so I try NOT to shoot subjects who pose for me, when

possible. The result is more natural, and my presence is less disruptive.

This shot is an exception, obviously, and still it works pretty well,

in expression and the off-camera focus of the subjects. I'd appreciate

your comments about how you address this issue, when you shoot a

crowded venue in a candid/documentary mode.

Not your typical casual family portrait, or is it?

Snatch and Grab, unfortunate background unavoidable in crowd.

Your comments appreciated.

One of a fast sequence of portraits, I just posted another about an

hour ago.

I like doing candid portraits at events like Dragon*Con, which is a

Sci-Fi, Fantasy, etc convention in Atlanta GA. I love the smug mugging

that the girl adopts in her self-posed attitude. I wish I had a nice

background, but this is wysiwyg photography. Snatch and grab.