dseltzer

... fellow who had the teapot on his head for thinking, and the wonderful "What?" expression. Having seen the others, I'm guessing he was incredulously asking, "What?" when someone suggested he put the moon in his belly. This is another great expression... looks to me like, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." I expect it was not easy to achieve a good white balance and facial tones, given the very off-white light in his belly. And it's equally impressive that you've captured his face with so much detail without the light of his belly being over exposed. A wonderful piece, Pnina.

I, too, am awed by your ability to create the clarity and depth you do with minimal light. This is true for all your dance and theater shots. This one is beautifully captured, as usual, and I just love the expression that so very clearly convey's "What??"

... to the theater, they wouldn't let me in! So, I'm glad I get to see your wonderful work. This one is very funny, and it made me smile before I read any of the explanation. I understand why you put the moon in, and it does help in some ways, while making it look more like the men are trying to coax it into the tub. One of many aspects of this that I like very much is the light from below (I presume there's a light source in the tub?) and how delicately it illuminates the faces and neck of the two tallest men. That it also illuminates the end of the left-hand man's index finger is a delicious touch.

 

You certainly don't need me to tell you, but I want to join the chorus singing deserved praise for your wonderful work.

High praise coming from you. Thank you very much, Bela!

Thanks, Bela!

One of my teachers actually went to school with "Little Roddy," whatever that means. It is probably no coincidence that we're drawn to similar subject matter, given our very similar professions... not to stereotype, mind you, but it makes some kind of sense... or at least it did when I started to write this!

 

I like your bird very much. The colors are more saturated, and I think you've placed it better in the frame. Also, my bird could take a clue from yours in terms of personal upkeep... my "guy" is a bit tattered, but he was available for that day's shoot! :)

Interesting the similarities even though yours was in the evening and mine was taken about 7:15 in the morning. I think your use of the polarizer and a tighter aperture contributed a lot to the fine detail you got in the moon. The additional 100mm probably didn't hurt, either :) Thanks for giving me the details of your shot.

Elena - Thank you very much.

Ian - I'm glad you like this presentation. I love these little flowers, especially with their unexpected backward facing spurs, and I was trying to find a good way to show their delicacy and uniqueness... can't tell you how many shots I've done of these over time! I'm glad you like the highlights of the hairy stem... the temptation, of course, was to have them in crisp focus, too, but then the DoF wouldn't have been right for the rest.Thanks, too, for you comment about the framing. It just seems more finished to present a shot with a frame, and I try to do it as minimally as I can, so to hopefully augment and not detract. So, it's nice to know you like the framing on this one. Thanks for stopping by and for your positive comments.

Rachel - Thanks for stopping back and saying more. I'm glad the delicacy of the petals comes through for you. Flirting is a very interesting choice of words, and I think it fits especially well, given how it teases the viewer with interesting structure both front and back. It's probably too subtle, but I'd also hoped to emphasize that with the shadows of the stamens on the lower petal giving a hint of the front. Anyway, thanks very much for returning and for your strong affirmation.

No, I'm certainly not weary of you reminding me of your preferences for frames and the like. Actually, I wasn't sure I liked the yellow frame or not, but I thought it might bring out the flowers. Truth is, I only do frames as a way to present shots on PN. If I print them, I leave the framing to whoever gets the pic, or my whim of the day. Translation: I have no particular investment in the framing. So, you'll have to let me know how you like the re-do I'm uploading with this comment.

 

I'm delighted you like this shot, since you're the one who taught me foreground bokeh, and I was thinking of you as I worked on taking this. You'll likely be pleased to know there's nearly no PP on it other than cropping and a slight adjustment of levels.

 

Thanks for your comments, not to mention your teaching and influence toward my thinking of approaching a subject this way.

Glad you like this one, and thanks for sharing your recent similar shot. Must say I like the mood and the intensity of saturation in yours compared to mine, and I'm very curious what lens you used that you got so much better crispness of the moon. Your foreground elements are somewhat sharper, too, so I wonder if that's a DoF difference, or maybe you were farther away from the tree? In any case, thanks for showing your shot, and isn't it interesting how so many of us continue to be drawn to taking moon pictures? An age old fascination, I imagine.

Thanks very much, Richard. I appreciate your observations and very positive comments.

Please view larger.

This is such a wonderfully crafted piece for all the reasons folks have already said. In addition to the diagonals, diffused light and arrangement, I love how you've handled the DoF. Beautiful!

You guys with your high tech, high priced, fancy equipment, not to mention being able to have an assistant! How come I never saw that diffuser holder in the B&H catalog?! ;)

 

Now, about that Peony... lovely! I've always found them vexing to try and capture in a way that makes them look good, but you've done it here. The fancy equipment payed off and the lighting is bright but gentle, and the shadings are delightful. You've really presented this bloom beautifully.

Dave, This is a very calming, pleasing image, and I like a lot about it. The lighting is nicely soft and warm, the colors are natural yet have a richness about them, and the perspective is just outstanding. It looks like this walk way goes on forever! I'm afraid my eye isn't good enough to pick out the multiple exposures here, so you'll have to clue me in. To me, it's just a really nice image and well done.

How very nice to see you here! Thanks for the look, the nod, and I'll look forward to any comments if/when you have time. Thanks for coming by!

I suspected my quote about "...he's probably right," was what caused your caution. The worry in that regard is mine, not that of whoever makes a suggestion, and as the discussion proceeded, I think one of the key points (for me) is to hold on to my own vision while being open to consider suggestions from others.

 

That said, your vision of possible changes to this image is pretty exactly what I suspected it would be, and thank you very much for taking the time to do your "sketch" (I like that term and will put it to good use in the future!) and showing me your idea. What pleases me most, besides just enjoying this dialog with you, is that once challenged, I could see the possibilities you wondered about in your first comment. That tells me I am learning and gaining in my ability to see the possibilities in a scene, compared to when I shot this one. Even if I need to sometimes be reminded to attend to my own instincts, like with the Pelican pic, PN is just a wonderful place for me to make friends like you and to learn and grow in photography.

 

Thank you!

I like what you've done here very much. It's colorful without being brash, tender, sensitive and has a lovely warmth about it that's enhanced by how you preserved just enough luminescence in the background. It would certainly have been much too harsh to have taken it all the way to black.

 

I also like the negative space you've used, and my only small nits are that I might move the bud a touch to the right, and dodge the stem just a tad to bring it up. As I said, these are very small nits.

Recently, a good PN friend taught me about foreground bokeh, and I saw

a chance to experiment with it for this shot, so I thought I'd put it

up for comments. The title seemed inevitable, as it applies to this

image, and might make for a few reminiscent smiles. Thanks for looking

and for any comments you might leave.

Thanks for stopping by here. I haven't visited this image for quite awhile, and you've made me curious what you see as potential here. And please have no fear for commenting or suggesting anything you may think. I'd love to know what your ideas are about this... and I'm curious what about the Pelicans discussion makes you cautious.

 

Anyway, back to this one, I think I'll spend some more time with it and see what happens. At first, I'm finding the dark area in the lower left distracting, as well as the white beach chairs on the left. So, I'm thinking mainly about cropping, then perhaps experimenting with contrast and such to make it stronger. Whatever I may do with it, and whatever you might suggest, it's all fun and learning. Thanks for getting me to take another look at this one!

Your complimentary comments are very much appreciated. Thank you very much!

I greatly appreciate your analysis and very positive comments. Thank you!

Your comments are very affirming and much appreciated.

Interesting shot, Markku. I like the composition, though I'm not sure about the small area in the upper right, though I know it's necessary in order to preserve other more important elements. I like the colors, and it's intriguing that someone has drawn (spray painted?) what looks like the intent to put a door into a mound of cement. Curious.

"Something," indeed! A lovely composition that's fun and bright.