anne_s3

Beautiful and tender moment. Wonderful photography and treatment as always, Art.  I like this dashing of a concept - that male wild animals could not be tender or bonded together - of course, this concept is the root of 'naturalizing' many aberrations in human behavior as well (crime, war, etc. but I think competition and cooperation both are natural).  Although yes these are animals subdued by captivity - and there will be thoughts about that - so are we.  And we are capable of the most mad, mundane and tender things.

Truly wonderful, mystical and inspired light-work.  Congrats, Zsolt!

Inspired image, Art, with majestic light and color - and wonderful homage to this magical place.  Best regards,

Perfection! Amazing shot and processing on many levels. Congrats.

Fabulous layers, topography, light, depth and comp! Well done!

Excellent conceptual work. I really like how the apple seems to be floating in her hands and elements that you made stand out and/or glow or blend. Really great techniques!

Wonderful seascape sunset.  The point of view and depth are well realized and the reflections and sky are wonderful. Congrats.

Beautiful!  The tones, light and shadows are well done; contrast is good with the leather chair and background and her pose is lovely and quirky - with just the right balance of erotic, artistic and humanistic.  Regards,

Sublime! Gorgeous light, color detail and composition. Regards,

Lovely series! 

Great composite! Really some beautiful contrasts here and great composition. I agree, for perspective, if the tiger is a bit smaller would be better.  Very creative and well done!

Beautiful portrait - great and interesting sculpted pose with the various textures and showing just a bit of skin - really nice expression also. 

Outstanding! Has your style and is a great character study. I would be annoyed, too, if I had flies on my nose!  Hard not to empathize with the king of beasts feeling so powerless against those annoying flies! Wonderful colors, clarity, light and processing. Regards, 

Great light. Interesting photo - well done!

This could be my favorite one from the Gorilla series.  Amazing to be reminded of those hand-like feet in our not so distant past- and also the way he is sitting with arms and legs crossed looking a bit inscrutable is like any of us kicking back and just passing time. Great light/shadows and detail as always! Warm regards, 

Intense and beautiful. Very emotional.  Perfect details, light and shadows. Well done!

Beautiful! Nice photo and great processing.

Very well done. The texture and the way you have done the layers and blending are effective to emphasize the detail and color of this very nice dog's face and one ear and less so, the rest of the body. My only suggestion would be to bring out a bit more of the tail for a complete silhouette (I'm assuming you did several layer masks and texture layers with different brush flow and opacity and hardness - so you might consider including the tail at the level you did the back legs).

What a precious image.  Special touches are the skillful use of multiple textured layers, the different colored eyes of the kitten and a wonderful capture of the young girl.  Composed and put together really well! Congrats!

Anders, I agree with you in that I think Luca's contribution to the dialogue has raised the level, while retaining a spirit of humility and respect. He flat out says his critique is informed - correctly - by nothing more than his preferences, i.e., his personal taste. And that is the only thing that can truly be said about any critique offered here.

I acknowledge that there must be a wide divergence not only of views, but more importantly, photographic skills, experience and technical and other types of talent.

But the key thing is that some posters here seem to forget that their views are really only most importantly informed by personal preferences regarding their aesthetic. For example, someone who derides over saturation or points of view that seem re-hashed or common may in their own work display washed out images that are not very interesting to others.

I am no expert. I come here to learn. But I question how the types of discussions I have seen on occasion here - including this one - encourage open and participatory discussion. If I had been Marianna - and i do not have her talent or skills - I would have been tempted not to reply at all.

The tone of the discussions here can be overly harsh regarding the work. And that is why I responded as I did about the person. Because, of course, the work is what should be the subject. But it felt to me - and this is subjective - that the person behind the work was being insulted and critiqued in a way that was not called for.

I do not know Marianna and maybe she does not feel the way I do. But I feel that the level of discourse was dismissive of her and her accomplishment here.

Maybe it's just me. And I am rather new here. I have a lot to learn and that is my goal. But when I see threads like this and some others, it makes me feel that divergent viewpoints and ways of expressing and creating are not respected as they should be. Whatever though - it's my personal taste again - that I would prefer not to be so presumptuous - even if I were to have the technical skills to think I could be - that I would be so dismissive of another and the work that they have done, cared to share and beyond that - for which there has been popular support - which is no dishonor. In fact, it is a measure of quality and value here. In other words, we are not all morons who are commenting on and rating photos here.

I think this is a very well captured, composed and processed image. The colors and light are great and the perspective and composition and glowing arches as well as that magnificent sky- are delightful together as a whole. I don't think there is anything that should 'take away' from the value of the image because it was processed. Of course, people use the tools available to them to create compelling images. If a composite and cannot be identified as such- even better, as it shows that the photographer is talented. To me, it was skillfully edited and the scene that Marianna created was dynamic, bold, interesting, compelling and beautiful.
What is a little disturbing to me is the way that Marianna has been grilled on here - in a very arrogant and insulting and condescending way by some of the posters. I don't understand why. Popularity is not an indication that there is something wrong with Marianna's artistic talent or choices or skills. I admire the way Marianna responded - even when some posters attempted to analyze her attitude as if she were being dismissive. I think this whole POW is a bit of an embarrassing display at times -- not by the photographer who is highlighted -- but by those who critique the image.

Excellent - yeah really works well to play down the second tiger - except for some attention to his or her closed eye- which is a great detail.  Overall, the main subject pops out more in the revision. And the cloning on the bolts and branch worked great! Warm regards, 

Gorgeous kitty! Love the expression and pose. Really great series, Art.  A small question is what is the small blurry silver band just off his right paw - maybe a ring for a chain or something is what I imagine - maybe it could be cloned out. All the best, Anne