think27

I think the foreground dark portion of the river is important because it gives the image balance and to crop it would make it too centered. I love your experiment because the colors are fabulous and erie as well as the mood it creates for me which is peaceful, quiet otherwordly beauty. Nice shot!

"it looks too much like a Loreal advertisement for spring shades of eyeshadow. " ...and comments indicating that this image is not a good choice for POW were the comments I was responding to. I certainly do not - as you say...assume a prejudice regarding 'art' and 'other' photographic 'genres'. I'm simply pointing out that it is fair and good that all types of photography be represented as the POW -- IN ADDITION to the fact that the POW is not "The Best Photo Of the Week - Nor is it The Best Image of a Photographer." I stated it because I'm sure some people don't realize that. Also - Yes, although you may not realize it.. there are some - and I'm saying only some people that do object to commercial, photoshopped, floral, macro etc.. when it is chosen as POW. Just look back at the past POW's.

All I was saying is that we can observe, learn and discuss the merits and flaws of all catagories of photography. Both positive and negative critiques are always encouraged and hopefully not just one liners but critiques with substance.

Important point to realize that the POW is not supposed to be the best image on PN - nor is it supposed to be the photographer's best work. It is chosen by vote by a number of elves as an image worthy of discussion. It also - In my opinion - should include the various types of photography. There is no one area of photography that is more "valid" than another as a point of discussion. Some photography is more respected because it is true art.. but Commercial work, portraits, street, macro, floral, landscape, digital and yes -- even wedding work can have a turn here. So, lets critique this as "studio/commercial" work. We all know Stephanie has "better" work in his portfolio...but lets critique this image.

For me this image is beautifully etherial and whimsical and yes, an excellent commercial shot that I could see used for an ad for perfume or makeup. It works in that it portraits romance - at least as a woman that is what I feel. I would prefer softer shadows on the left cheek. I'm not in love with the pattern the light creates. Softer shadow or a little lightening of the shadow below the cheekbone would work better - in my opinion. More appealing - from a woman's point of view. I also find the out of focus green in the lower left distracting and not necessary. I'd clean it up and leave some in the side of the frame - with some clean white space between the greens and the face.

The 7 goes to the brave girl... As to the photo I think the photographer knows it isn't a good photo..but is a fun concept. The color is off -- too much red in the skin tones and the shadow areas are muddy and milky. This could have been saved by a big diffuser to filter the harsh light..

This is stunning. The graduation and then blending of color in each row is terrific.. The background has almost a metallic feel in contrast to the soft pastels in the foreground. Well done!Bravo!

Birgit is absolutely right about what graphic designers look for. Designers are responsible for my shooting in a different way once I understood why a perfect shot sometimes would be rejected by designers and one not as "perfect" would be chosen for the cover of a brochure or catalog or magazine. I learned to purposely leave space - preferably at the top and did end up having work used for front covers of brochures, catalogs, ads and magazines in Vermont. Even my wedding images have space above the subject but that is not only because I try and get them published (I've gotten four covers of wedding publications) but also for cropping for albums and enlargements. Funny because on Photo.net I often will get comments about cropping images due to that very space I leave above the main subject. Having said that - many publications will do a few pages of images with no type save a photo credit or use the image as an embelishment to an editorial. This pix would work in that venue.

As to your suggestion Marc....I am fussy about color and have personally pulled together postcard runs from various clients in VT. Two problems with it. One - is that the job gets held up because not everyone is quick to provide the materials and approve the proof and Two - a color proof (which is essential as far as I'm concerened) has to be approved by all involved. I'd rather pay extra to a company that does batch runs all the time and therefore nothing gets held up. As they get the approvals.. They run your job with whatever is running at the time. Plus I've had experience with their work and the color is right on!

As a photographer that has had the experience of searching for that "Quintessential Landscape" image during my 10 years in Vermont, I have a great appreciation for this POW. The lighting, the color saturation, the s curves in the stream and falls, the various textures and the composition all come together to form a "picture perfect" scenic. I say perfect because I see absolutely no flaws here. A combination of nature's cooperation and the eye of the photographer knowing just where and how to capture this.

As to selling a shot like this....All it would take is a little gutsy salesmanship. Problem with good stock agencies is they want to see a large body of work and don't even talk to you until you can provide them with 100-200 excellent images. However, there are other ways to go. There is nothing wrong with going to smaller publications such as the ones produced by Chambers of Commerce or by the State. The exposure will get your name out there. Bringing published work and some samples to hotels, ad agencies, graphic designers, colleges etc...can be very lucrative. Obviously you make more money selling an image to a national publication -- but -- a sprinkling of tourist mags, brochures, web sites etc... can also result in some of these places actually hiring you to shoot specific shots for them. All it takes is being hungry enough and gutsy enough to approach these people. Trust me it is easier than you'd think. I've done it. Later, I had about 3 years experience working for a Graphics Design and Pre-press company. Our clients were graphic designers, hotels, colleges and ad agencies and I feel very comfortable saying that this shot is extremely print worthy for your state's tourism needs.

Another route: There is an excellent printing company called MWM Dexter, Inc. (e-mail me if you want more info) where you can produce 10,000 postcards for around $625 -- or 1,000 for $205 and then you bring them to local tourist shops to sell on consignment. Good Luck and congrats on this excellent shot.

This guy is amazing!!!! You can go back...He is usually there every Sat if the weather is nice. I'd shoot a few rolls.. Some focusing in on his amazing hands as he plays.. some of his face which is so expressive and maybe some slow shutter speed shots to get some motion blur on his hands as he plays. I get goosebumps listening to this guy's music.

Either this is an old photo - or you've made it look like one. The action and the way this shot is simple and complex at the same time is very exciting.

Wonderful abstract.. Love the minimal colors.

Wonderfully exciting graphic image!! Well done...

Always you show the greatest attention to detail and understand light in such a way that your landscape photography is second to no one on this site.. In my humble opinion. As usual = excellent work.

Tony - See your point and agree. Well said. Still, "interesting" is a subjective word. This shot just "does" something for me. As to the tilt thing -- I totally relate. It happens to me when I'm in a hurry which I often am - unfortunately - in the kind of work I have to do.. But I am getting better and now only do it 10% of the time instead of 40%.. ;-)

The difference between a well-focused, colorful, interesting, well-captured shot with a noticeable flaw and a well-focused, colorful, interesting, well-captured shot without that flaw is the difference between chalk and cheese. True -- and let me add that a "technically" flawless image - perfectly composed, exposed etc.... can oft times be boring, colorless, dull and common place.

I also agree that the "reason for POW" often does not address an obvious or subtle "flaw" and probably should. I can't think of one image that has been totally flawless - at least to someone. For Tony the feet hurt the image badly - For me - ever so slightly. It is always interesting to read the various takes on the POW. Always something to learn and think about...

but I think it's passe' to praise or encourage such activity. Photography is all grown up now.

Fortunately, I've never been one to follow trends. Passe as you may believe it to be to praise the painterly feel of an image....I like it just for that reason. Maybe Photography is all grown up now - but I'm not ;-)Still it was - as always - interesting to read your opinion.

First I want to say I love this image! I love the color, the charm and innocence of the boys and the placement of the subject where the background colors converge...The mottled coloration of the wall and the expanse of space above them make this an exciting graphic image as well as an "artsy" slice of life.

The feet are planted right at the edge of the frame and I feel a little more space under the feet would make it perfect for me.

The "softness" is something I think is contributing to a painterly feel which I actually like. It didn't bother me and I didn't look at it overly critically until people started pointing it out. What I wonder is this.. I discovered that this shot is a bitmap... Are we viewing it the size it was uploaded as - or in the "large" format. If so my research uncovered the following: "Enlarging a bitmap can make the image's edges ragged, as pixels are redistributed within the grid. Displaying a bitmap graphic on an output device with a lower resolution than the image itself also degrades the image's quality. Gif's and Jpg's are the two primary choices for saving images. JPG ­ Typically used because the compression of the image is extremely good. Widely used for detailed images with many colors. Mostly used for local printers and the web." Anyone know more about this? I wish I could see the actual print to see if this is soft - or an anomoley of the format. Maybe the photographer can upload a jpeg?

Great Lighting and composition.

Fantastic - strong - graphic image. Well done.

Mark - you are a star in the macro world.... Thank you for another wonderful image.

Hi Patrick... Couldn't help commenting on this shot because I love this type of photography. Popping and vibrant color....and great graphic excitement here for me! Super shot!

Dear Tony, a little puzzled over your "supreme courage" defining wedding photography ....oh, I read you, you mean a bloody courage to actually get bloody married.

No Maria - I'm pretty sure what Tony meant was "wedding photography" takes "supreme courage". I'm sure he'll correct me if I'm wrong. I guess to some it seems very stressful work and to others it is shclock work. To me it is a combo of "street" photography and portrait and family photography and glamour photography and journalism and art PLUS you have to be wound like a clock and ready to capture the essence and the "moments" - but unlike the street - you have a limited time frame in which to perform. Courage? Maybe initially but I guess for an adrenaline junkie it's great stuff.

I'm not a "street" photographer. Nor am I a studio photographer. I'm in that lowley, unrespected classification of wedding photography. However, the type of wedding shooting I do is "capture the moment, emotion and expression". Very little is staged. Most of the work is fast. Sometimes people get in the shot or the "moment" is not in the optimum location for a perfect background etc. etc... It's the nature of the beast. You can't ask someone to move - or wait for someone to move or change your position or you will lose the "specialness". As Tony says, there are those (rare) times when everything lines up and when you get it you know it immediately and say "yes!". I think Tony's "Speaker's Corner" is a great example of such a shot.

David caught a wonderful "moment" full of emotion and expression. I can just see him saying.. Dang - wish that guy wasn't there...it would have been sooo perfect. But, he was there and I still think it is a memorable and poignant shot. A moment later and someone might have turned around or closed their eyes or whatever. So - it is still - to me - a great shot.. Not perfect but I know I'd be pretty happy if I caught this slice of life.

Good designers wait till all the required elements of a page are in BEFORE the page is designed. Then they design the page around the art as text can be altered without changing the meaning.

Yes, but -- while making the actual photo choices there are times they will pick a less deserving image because it is composed in such a way as to allow text. This is especially true on brochures where the format and panels are already decided due to printing runs and budget considerations. I've been a part of that process with ad agencies and designers and college brochure designers. I've watched them pick an image from a possible 30 images because it allowed for the format and text...even though they prefered the "look" of something else.

Agree with Martin re: the background on the left... I just wanted to make a comment that your work is wonderfully and artistically disturbing and I'm looking forward to seeing your talents evolve as you continue your quest in the years to come. There is a decided style and message which I suspect comes from a deep place. Keep using it because I think you are on to something.

First of all I would like to remind posters that objections about POW picks from a policy viewpoint should be addressed in a thread or in an e-mail to administration. See the "About POW" on the main page Secondly, POW picks are not all from the top pages! Third, as someone pointed out -- there would be a tendency to avoid picking work from photographers who have already been featured. Fourth, We are dealing with subjective and very varied tastes here and I wish people would respect that.

Normally when a poster spits venom and attacks against the POW, the photgrapher or policy on these pages.. they receive an e-mail. It is not the policy to go into policy on these pages even by administration. Sorry Marc to stray from that usual practice but I think we need a universal reminder.

Regarding the image... I think much of Marc's work is full of drama. Both in his color and black and white work. If it had a name it might be called High-Drama Art. Yes, to me it is art. Even commercial work can be considered art to some. I love the dramatic angle and the pointed hat and mostly like the stance of the model except for the left arm. She is fluid and graceful but the arm departs from that motion of grace for me. I like the second image better because I didn't care for the ps work done on the draped fabric on the floor. I also have a problem with the lighting on the left arm/hand. It is just not to my taste that the arm is black and the hand is lit. Yet - it is a taste thing and I recognize it as such. I've just never liked harsh lighting/shadows on the female face or form. Don't mind it on males -just not on females.

Bottom line for me regardless of some small nits - is that the shot was well thought out, original and wonderfully theatrical.

However perhaps planets, moons, Nietsche etc is going a bit far with imaginative thought, but just as we differ as artists, we also differ as viewers .... some deeper, some more shallow. I guess I'm shallow sometimes then. Maybe instead, I should be amazed at the varied imaginations and interpretations this image seems to generate. Sorry if I offended anyone but it was not any one single comment - but the collective comments that were going way over the top for me. I sat here scratching my head with confusion and - sorry - but a little boredom.

My personal way of enjoying art is clearly on a more base level. It is an actual physical reaction which I have or I don't. I suppose I make a mistake by judging how others respond. I just don't relate and feel people are missing something by responding mentally vs emotionally. Maybe it's me that is missing something by not going deeper.

As to the Dali example - I felt it illustrated how even artists can't believe how people/critics can go off on a tangent. I've seen people go into long explinations about why orange paint on a canvas is brilliant. I just don't see it sometimes. Sorry, again, if I offended anyone - it was not pointed at any one person..