brian_nelson5

It's a very satisfying and intriguing study in shape, shadow, texture, and space....Effective use of wide angle lens that doesn't look distorted, and I really enjoy gazing off into the portion between the two fences on the right.

I reread the discussion, and this back-and-forth on page 8 changed my thinking about the criticisms:

I've re-evaluated the criticisms of the photograph. A number of problems have been identified, one being the lack of detail in the figure. On my monitor, that detail is obscure. I'd assumed the man was walking. Now, looking more closely with this criticism in mind, as unlikely as this may be, I'm uncertain whether he might not instead be standing there, leaning against the cane. Be that as it may, my thinking has changed as to how to learn to see a photograph.

I didn't find this photograph depressing, even though it depicts a person slogging up a slippery slope in a scene of dilapidation accompanied by an object of the modernity, the solar panels consisting in large measure of solid state material, as with the computers used in the production of this forum. Yet there is a sense of determination to keep on going in the face of unpleasantness in the form of the wet snow falling all about.
It's one aspect of the photograph that makes it worthwhile to ponder and justifies its choice as subject of discussion.

What I particularly noticed first about this picture is the jagged but delicate texture of the roof line across the image. It works with the curved tracks in the snow to create the illusion of space. I enjoy the image for its graphic qualities.
I'm reminded of walking under similar conditions, and maybe, given a hint of my needing a cane to stay balanced further on down my own path.

I wouldn't think of cropping that stream of water.  But the birds in the foreground I find distracting.  That smoke or vapor flowing up into the clouds and the birds in the background work fine on their own.

After gazing at this photo for a few moments and returning to it later for a few minutes, I began to see it less as candid portrait depicting the position of a young woman caught between a symbol of coercion (steel bar) and confinement (chain-link fence), as opposed to a gentle breeze floating her hair off to the other side, and more as a study in fashion. What drew me into that perception of the portrait was just that, her hairstyle, after which other things fell into place.
If anything is distracting to me, it is the sharp shadow line down the middle of her forehead. I just don't see smooth objects with edges, and it looks unnatural--to me. So, I wonder how it got there.
But it makes me think, and even if I've got it all wrong, for that alone it's done its job.

It's a fine photograph and I enjoy it. On first, superficial glance at the thumbnail, scanning across my screen, I saw a view out an airplane window over the arctic from 37,000 feet, and thinking it was an awfully clear window. Of course it's a grand view over the cold Earth. I imagine my way down into the shapes that could be mountains, or small places for the ants and so forth to do their work. (Sometimes I imagine those things as well when I look around me at the real things.) It's playful and meditative. The colors are luscious. I don't see imbalance. The composition provides space for the colors to mingle and blend, and to reflect the colors of the sky. It is clearly a view of reality, however, even if the exact specifics take a moment to decipher.