aplumpton

Hi Jorge, Ken and ML.  Thank you for your generous comments. The position of the boats and buliding in this seaside town was appealing and I didn't have to work very hard to reposition myself to obtain this composition with a wide angle lens. I was surprised that the foggy morning allowed such good contrast. I used the saturation slider a little (10 or 15%), but I think that if I decide to print it I will add less, if any, saturation as I find that it can give the colors a bit too much of a candy look (for lack of a better term). 

Very nice tonal capture and mood. I see two principal subjects, the person in the mist or fog, and the split rock. Each is a subject and if you look at just the top 40% or so of the image I think there is (in my mind) the better subject and more successful framing. Nothing to hate though, just two photos within one.

A very good composition, lighting and capture of mood.  I guess you wanted to include a bit of the foreground beach and the sun was also very important in the composition, but I feel it would be nice to see a little more space (and cloud) above the sun

Very nice tones everywhere and the point of view creates a good effect, enticing the viewer to want to explore the lake or river beyond the rocks.

The vegetation and the remains of a tree on this isolated island (the IR

exposure shows the water and sky as black) seemed to me to be reaching

to the sky. I welcome your comments.

The image is of interest in view of the disequilibrating geometries, that add enigma or tension to the scene. The white blotch is not at all bothersome as it works to increase the tension or unknowness of the photo. The man might I think be printed with more contrast and impact, as he is necessary to it but he fades a bit too much in this rendition of the photo. Nonetheless, this week's POW departs a lot from the usual.

I think the elphs may have missed looking at his portfolio, that contains some other interesting images. I think Jesus J will be one photographer I will follow here in future.

Well perceived and I love it, particularly the contracted tonal range and the sunbrella. 

Dennis, a beautiful photo. Small (very subjective) critique might be the little reflection at the top left of the glass that for me removes some of the enigma. But balancing between realism at one end and pure non-figurative abstraction is wrought with multiple choices and this is a very attractive result. Maybe the little reflection is best kept. You encourage others to explore this area of photography.

I like the slight blur on these ice crystals and the color. Whenever I have been lucky to see similar crystal they are more monochrome and even too well delineated, whereas you add another dimension here that changes their character, making them something that only mildly hints at their more purely crystallographic origin. 

Tony and Supriyo,

Thank you for your kind comments. I was lucky that the ambient light was favourable and simply had to find an angle to best represent a scene that already had some depth.

This is a small part of a 360 degree series of different yet interacting scenes and sculptures that were created and inserted within the round base for a much larger sculpture picturing Paul Day, the very talented British sculptor, embracing his French wife (scene depicting someone seeing a loved one off on a trip at the railway station). The miniature sculptures of Day in the base are very different, enigmatic and complex of detail and this scene is a detail I perceived within that complex scene.

It was the only one that really appealed to me, but its aesthetic success and composition are credit to Mr. Day's art.

Thank you for your commenting. If you use the train in London you might

have met these two gentlemen.

John, while I like your image as it is, the interesting architecture has a spirit of its own and can complement the woman and her pensive pose. Sorry for the quality of my cropped copy.

Very nice view / composition. The architectural lines are unusual and it would be interesting to photograph them a bit closer as well, but their contrast with the mountains is good. If the lady could be given a little more light her presence would be better detached from the buildings. A fresh and attractive contrast of modern stones, or probably concrete/stucco, and ancient rocks.

I don't know if this was as framed in the camera, with minimal cropping, or with verticals rectified via post exposure treatment, but you have chosen a very good angle. The colours are fine and interesting, but it is too bad that the attractiveness of the setting is destroyed by the utilitarian fire extinguisher (Should be behind a door) and the flash spot.

Pierre, magnifico!

I love the shadows that, intentionally or not, run off at differing angles. It is no doubt part of the effect of militaristic intervention. Did you make the soldier? Some of the pieces are even recognizable, including the shovel backbone. His hat looks like he was sprayed with tomato sauce by an overzealous waiter at a tioo crowded restaurant I love in Lucca. At least the camel and its owner can walk away from the not so vicious robot in apparent peace.  One of your finest fantasy collages. All the best. AP.

Sometimes questions of the photographer go unanswered. Comments

most welcome, as usual. Arthur

Very reminiscent of the "Clockwork Orange" "pub" when that Kubrick film came out. The eye and mouth are somewhat consistent emotionally, which can be perceived as a sort of an intense disdain or discomfort or questioning with regard to the object (photographer) of the subject. The downward angle puts a sort of odd and not often seen shallow "U" of eye white, while the placement of the pupille just touching the eyebrow adds to the intense stare. The overblown highlights are perhaps desired for effect in this contrasty image. Not sure the portrait works perfectly, but I feel it nevertheless deserves an A for both compositional and communicative uniqueness of approach.

Bella,

Thank you for your view. I was attracted by the footprints and their mainly diagonal traces, the tree and other projected shadows, and the person who happily entered the frame (It was cold and windy that day up on the observation tower so I was not prepared to wait long periods for that). You made good point about the reduced whiteness of the snow.

In this darkroom print that I first made and then photographed digitally to give the present image the whiteness of the snow is more apparent. A limitation of my camera copying of the silver print digitally meant that I had to lose some of the footprint details and subtle shadows when I heightened the brightness to render the snow closer to white.  I will scan the original negative as a future option and that may yield an improved or alternative result.

Jack, thank you for your comments, which I share completely. Sometimes hand techniques can be employed at fairly low cost, but it is true that such perfection as this would require a good construction budget. On the other hand, with autocad designing and digital machinery it would not be impossible to form these pieces quite economically if needed in good quantities. Not the same as craft assembly or current forms of balloon framing (two by fours and cladding) but the old type structures are remarkably strong and durable, which is not something I can say about a suburban bungalow I once inhabited with my parents.