aplumpton

Donna,

thanks for your analysis and perception. Your last line really rings true to me. It is quite austere and I think that is the life of a small village priest, although that is fast disappearing in the area I photographed, with the centralisation of this religion in view of declining numbers.

Hi John, 

 

Thanks for your fine evaluation. I first noted the backlight on the leaves and tried to get a few images of that as the backlit leaves looked like quotation marks, periods and commas in some of the shots I made (although lowering and approaching the lens to accentate that just got me a big dose of direct sun and a lot of flair, and the sun soon set). It does create a depth illusion, as you say, which the backlighting seems to help. The title is in fact a "rotten apple" and should probably not exist, as it doesn't have much to do with Newton, as you suggest, except the presence of apple trees and a bench below. Best if left untitled, I think. 

A photo of a darkroom print, reproduced darker here than I wanted. The little girl was

not very concerned about being photographed.

From a series done on local old chairs. Completely staged, for effect, by placing the

chairs in those interrelated positions in an orchard in late spring, in which the farmer

had yet to cut the grass, suggesting for me the passage of time.

Part of a series on old chairs from our local community. Staged composition, by

placing the chair on the dock as the ice was starting to melt from the lake.

Not sure why I put these two together in an image, but they seemed to go well as a

duo, with the motion originating in the diagonal forms and ending in the frozen snow

covered ice below.

Very fine abstract. You have done a lot with simple tonal range, and the forms are appealing. What might add to its impact is to have a diptych or triptych, by adding other images of the same subject, but from different angles or dffering parts of the overall subject. I say that because the simplicity of the image and its attractiveness (and mystery) ask for more.  

"Free flight" may be too deterministic a title for this, as the abstract arrangement of two

underwater chairs (culled from a mass of such chairs and awaiting the moment while

they floated about) and their shadows may strike the viewer differently than me - which

I saw as being mostly absurd, or surrealist. What does it communicate to you? All

critiques or comments and feelings about it are most welcome. Thanks

The only post processing on this one are some small paint outs of light appearing to

the right of the chair on the dark floor. Tried a normal focal length lens but went to a

21mm (effectively 28mm on my digital camera) to distort the rectilinear chair form

and to bring the viewer into the chair, which was placed to receive the window frame

shadows emanating from the only light source. It's a stripped paint chair that

originally had four coats of paint over the light blue original coloring.

 

Welcome your comments and how the image comes across to you, and if it does

not work for you or your are indifferent please do not hesitate to say so, and perhaps

why. Thanks.

There is something about macro shots of stainless steel dinnerware on a black

background that appeals to me. I am doing a series on such ustensils, in different

compositions. This one has a palpable feeling to me, but I will leave my own feelings

about it at that. What might it communicate to others, if anything? I would welcome

what you think - for, against or indifferent - as all comments will help in my little

project, which is continuing with older, and grittier, ustensils.

Can practical ustensils communicate either abstract or social notions? Does this

suggest an engagement, entanglement or a Roman seat? Or nothing? Please criticise

as you wish - all comments or critiques welcome (I am doing a series and will probably

post others as I go). Thanks in advance.

Thanks, Rashed.  It's a digital copy of my 10 year old print from a Fujichrome slide, but I prefer the advantage of digital now, in the capability of using the histogram for exposure. I enjoyed briefly viewing your fine portraits in your Sri Lanka series.

Although categorised as nature, which has invaded this old boat, "Beached" is part of a

series I call "vestiges" (of human presence). Welcome your thoughts.

I am interested in looking at nature in it's multiple forms and especially the remnants of

nature and what feelings they can evoke. Trees have been my interest for some time

and this one somehow appeared alive, although dead for some time. Moderate IR film

and orange filter, very slight post processing in traditonal darkroom, printed on Ilford

fiber paper

Samuel de Champlain settle this region in 1608, but travelled and mapped Mexico,

northe easters USA and Canada between 1599 and that year. How did he feel when he

made this map and what did he see? I tried to photograph his maps and the land and

objects he confronted, to evoke his feelings. I found that tough to do.

From a series with our local bridge as subject, the main route to our island. The clouds

provided a nice backdrop and I thought of al that water going over rather than under the

bridge, and decided to use the images in a triptych and somewhat abstract (or

expressive) form.

Snow waves - very dynamic composition, which it would be even without the shrubs.  You have a good eye, and the exposure (often very difficult with snow and sand) is great.

Whimsical and attractive.  I don't drink much champagne, but your photo suggests the bubbly, and a party time to me.  I hope you have enlarged and framed it, it is very effective. 

Your portrait makes me think of Renaissance Italian portraits (expression and lighting). The lighting you've captured and the facial expression are strong points. Even if you didn't know him as much as you might have liked I think you have probably perceived his essence. The expression makes the viewer want to know more about him, or about his thoughts.

 

The only thing I might consider doing if it was my image, and with my very rudimentary Photoshop (Elements) skills, would be to paint out the window frame with the black of the background, or at least subdue or blur it, if that was possible. However, a mute point, as it really does not interfere much from a strong portrait (try blocking it out with your hand, if you haven't already tried that).

 

In my opinion, a really excellent shot for a portfolio, if you ever consider people photography (weddings, etc.) as a full or part time career. 

It it's a bull, you are on the right (left) side of the fence!  Lovely English country side and the aspect of that country that we enjoy.

Very fine lighting and pose, the latter of which I assume was natural.

 

Did you have to ask his permission or were you using a long enough lens that you could make the photo from an unobstrusive distance (DSLR sounds in a small room)? The only comment of constructive nature I can think of offering in the face of this splendid shot is whether you ever contemplated toning down the upper segment (background) of the image, should you have access to PS Elements or CS series of software. It could be rendered completely black, but the café ambience would be better served perhaps in just reducing somewhat the intensity of the highlit area to not overly direct any attention there.

 

On Darwin's anniversary, the gentleman appears to be a look alike, although no doubt imbued with an accent differing a bit from the Oxbridgish .

I like the dynamic you have caught in the skaters, no doubt following an oval route. What shows me this is not my native land (Canada) and somewhere in Europe is surely the gentleman at left in his day business attire, probably having a skate after a day as a "fonctionnaire" at the Hotel de Ville.

 

 

Harry, I enjoy your various Paris scenes, not just because I am a confirmed francophile and anglophile, but because you highlight the people (street cleaners - they now have vehicles with automatic devices, fishermen, "garcons de table", and so on). Good shooting and I hope you will post more in future.

You don't say if you were using film (XP2?) or digital here, but whatever the system I think you have done well in maintaining the concentrated facial expressions in an evidently high contrast lighting.

 

Reminds me of touring with English relatives who love to sketch and then watercolour images of places visited. Must be a national pastime - a very good one (and one that sometimes make me feel intellectually naked in comparison, with my imaging via a camera; quite irrationally, of course)

Harry-

 

 

Nice ambience. Doisneau or Bresson would have been happy to capture the viewers and sellers in their own world. Paris in the fall is so infectuous.

Just a simple back yard shot, but ata specific moment after a freezing rain storm and luckily aided by a brief sun break in the clouds. This doesn't happen often and I guess I was lucky. Mystery in images is something I strive for. Technically, the negative was not so good (a high contrast scene didn't help matters) and I had to work a lot under the enlarger to get the snow tones right and also separately to bring out the sky (by selective low contrast printing and) that was virtually lost in the capture. I then photographed the print with a digital camera and macro lens for posting. Thanks for your comments, which come really close to my own perception of the mage. I have sold only one copy of it (the lady requested a very large print), but I prefer it to my more popular prints.