mbp

Thanks, Jamie. I was really hesitant about taking this photo (making a spectacle out of others' religion makes me uneasy), but I knew that I may never be back in a Russian Orthodox Church, and I wanted this photo. I opted out of taking a photo of someone who was adding a candle in prayer because it seemed insensitive to do that to their personal moment, but with this being the woman's job, I was able to justify it to myself. 

As always, it's great to see read your comments. Thanks.

I'm still rummaging through my photos that I took while in Russia last Fall,

and this is one taken in St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. This is a

woman whose job is to remove the candles had burnt down too far, and to

place the newer candles closer to the middle of the shrine ("shrine" is

probably the wrong word for this...).

Very cool portrait. (Cool even in color, with all the blues and purples you've got here.)

I like this one a lot.

Unfortunately, I don't think this did survive the mortar attacks from Germany in WWII. I know the main building was burnt down, and they just finished rebuilding it. I'm fairly sure that it's the same with this building. 

I'm now back in the States and am just going through some of the photos

that I missed. This was in Petersburg, on the grounds of Catherine the

Great's Winter Estate in Tsarskoye Selo.

I'm actually mostly interested in what you guys think about the

composition the photo. I've been moving more and more towards having

the focus of my photos in the center, which I know goes against the rule

of thirds, etc, but I like it.

I also cropped out the rest of the horses face, the riders feet, and other

details I would normally work to keep in. Am I just losing my mind in this

kind of composition, or is there some justification for this?

I think the reason I like this photo is that it's a busy photograph with lots

of motion and detail, but my eye is still drawn immediately to the girl.

What do you think?

Sorry, Alex, but I'm afraid I don't understand.

I'm taking it that you're criticizing the fact that we train poodles to do such things... but I don't get this criticism. Why is watching trained poodles an "example of the infinite human stupidity"? Where do the examples end, then? Is television also? What about acclaimed TV shows like AMC's show Mad Men? For that matter, is literature also a display of human stupidity? 

I see the training of poodles, and watching the trained poodles, as a form of entertainment, no different than a soccer (football) match or anything else done for pleasure. I notice that you didn't comment on my photo of the tight-rope walker with such a comment, and yet the tight-rope walker and these dogs are apart of the same show. What about these dogs is so stupid?

This is a very simple shot, but I've found that I actually quite like it: the

detail that's still present in the black fur, the amount of contrast between

the white poodles and the off-white floor.

I've cropped it a bit so there's more headroom than space beneath them.

I left the in the center otherwise, though, because I didn't think it the

photo was much improved by chopping off space on the sides.

Let me know what you think,

Caleb

Thanks!

I was just thinking that, had I thought out the composition more, I would have crouched to lower perspective; make the walls and tree more looming. I'm still very happy with this, though. I'm glad you like it. 

This isn't in Moscow or Petersburg, like the other photos in the folder, but

is instead from a village that's a 4 hour bus ride outside of Moscow called

Suzdal. It was the capital of several Russian principalities at one point

(now about 1000 years ago, literally). It was one of the first Russian cities

to have a Kremlin (or fortress). This didn't prevent it from being ravaged by

Mongolians.

This photo is of the former prison (now a museum).

Almost 11 months, last time I checked. lol

And I like the new portrait quite a bit. It's me mid-sentence, so it's pretty accurate. 

Thanks, Jamie.

While the show was going on, I was mad that the spotlighters weren't lighting her face, but it definitely adds some eeriness to the photo. Especially with the safety line to her head being just visible. 

Lol, I figure I'm not great when it comes to coming up with titles, I might as well put it in Russian. Цирк is a better title than Circus.

I haven't had much luck with lenses. I've seen lots of knock off Leica lenses (the retro nazi kind), but everything else has been over 200 USD, which I can't put down on a lens at the moment (even if I might regret it later). I'll take your list with me and keep my eyes open for what you've mentioned.

thanks,

Caleb

I know it's not too sharp.

Thanks for any comments.

This is a trapezist lit by spotlight at the Big Russian Circus.

Да, я могу говорить. I'm a Russian Major at university, but mostly on the literature side. This is my third year of studying the language, though. It's enough to get me around town. 

First of all, lovely capture. You have a great eye for architecture and the abstract. I like this a lot.

However, I would like it more if the "horizon" (so to speak) weren't diagonal. This image is all about the shapes, and this is too close to being symmetric for it to not be actually symmetric. It looks as though you're taking this photo through a circular hole, but the rest is either cropped out, or you couldn't capture all of it in the original (which would have made it better, in my opinion). Also, you're offset from the middle of the building.

I want to again emphasize that I really like this image, but for it to be so geometrical, I want either better symmetry, or for there to be something else in the composition to make up for the lack of symmetry.

regards, Caleb

I'm in Moscow until December (one semester studying abroad). I was also in St. Petersburg this past week, and some of those photos will be up as soon as my quota is raised.

Thanks for all the feedback on this one. 

I agree with the re-cropping comments (and have taken out a portion of the dark tree trunk on the left). I'm just so accustomed to cropping in my original composition that I rarely crop in processing. This little girl just flashed such a quick smile that I didn't have time to do anything more than make sure she was all the way in the frame (which is why she's centered).

As for the light/darkness of the photo, I think I'm going to leave it as it is. I think it's just light enough to see everything that is necessary for the moment, and I don't like giving too much more than what is necessary.