mriy

Wow.

Very hard to look at at first. Disturbing and painful. Similar to a recent POW, but seems to take it just a ways further in emotion. The elements that to me add so much include (1)the wall that has a very abstract and electrical look as if it absorbs the emotion and distributes it eratically. His position with it is devastating and essential (2)The expression, of course, including the haircut, almost a Boris Karloff profile, adding to the sense of despair associated with his famously misunderstood character (I'm not saying this person is misunderstood, just his expression is consistent Mary Shelley's Character as portrayed by Karloff) (3) The "B". His hair and some of his face look dodged and flat, and when lookign closely at this area one may start to think maybe there were exposure weaknesses, but then the tones in the jacket and the "B" especially pull yuou back into the depths of an excellent exposure and connects the blackness behind with him. That "B" adds a sense of "1984".

Hard to bear, probably likely to bring up even more concern about the appropriateness of photographing persons in dire straits, especially since this was identified as a street shot and not a part of a series or case study or the like.

As Tony said it evokes a spirit of the early days of photogrpahy and could have been 1887 as easily as 1987.

Congratulations....absolutely timeless.

Not sure why, but I like this one the best of your shots. Something about the way the sun comes out sort of muted and the way the last person is turning to you as if in invitation, the blurry trees and the vapor trail that directs you right into the people.

At first it looks like a snapshot, but it has a lot of appealing elements that make it really intriguing and interesting and a little dreamlike. That's it, I guess, it feels like a dream. I like it a lot. Unstaged and quickly composed and really nice. The blue house pictures are nice, but almost dry and predictable. I like this sense of feeling much better.

Very nice job. To echo comments above, to me it is a very nice shot, but with a few elements that could be tightened up (as could all of our photos). If these are your first photographs the you are carrying through from exposure to development to presentation, then you have a lifetime of terrific shots ahead of you.

My nitpicking would be

1. The horizontals are just slightly slanted with the right side slightly higher. Keeping them very flat would add just a bit. One of those dreaded "rules" that just seems to work most of the time.

2. There are a few little spots, either on the print or from the scan that can easily be cleaned up in photoshop, there is a spot over the head of the lady in the background, a faint one over the head of the person on the left side and one on the pantleg of the man in the hat. They standout just because of the prominence and significance of the blur.

3. I maybe would have tried to move just a tad to the right, or even hold the camera to right if moving that way wasn't possible, just to get the rail out of his back, an armslength probably would have done it. I don't care for the railing much, wish it were a row of chairs or something less intrusive.

4. The interraction is natural, but with his face looking away, it seems he is detached. Maybe that's a good thing to keep it from being too sweet. It doesn't give me that sense of obliviousness that the blurred background suggests. Maybe a moment where they are looking at each other would add to that sense. Did you take many exposures?

Not sure why 300mm, If you are just getting started, I would recommend using a "normal" view prime lens. You have the knack and sticking with one focal length will yield surprisingly joyous results for you I'm sure.

Congratulations. Keep up the good work.

There is a terrific shot here on photonet somewhere of some runners whose feet are the only thing visible except for some indistinct blurs for their bodies that illustrates the whole foot not blurry thing, but I've forgotten where it is. Perhaps someone recalls it.

I agree with Stever Murray that this is a nice shot, but it feels a little cold to me, especially in the context of the folder in which it is located. The folder is full of technically very competent studies in droplet pictures, and as a group they look nice as a study, but to select this one out as unique or special is not obvious to me.

When I see macro shots (not sure I'd call this a macro Vs a very cropped close-up), I like to see something in it that I wouldn't expect to see or appreciate in a normal view. There isn't much here that can't be casually appreciated. The magnification in the droplet doesn't enhance the feather or reveal something of interest, nor do the droplet and the feather necessarily interract or create something greater than themselves by being together. Perhaps if the droplet somehow emmeshed with the feather of if there were a small opening in the feather below the droplet and the droplet magnified the way the ribs of the feather hook together, or maybe a contour int eh feather that the droplet could conform to. Just throwing out some thoughts. As it is, with folder in tow, I feel more toward being a study than as a finished image. Sort of like the way an artist will paint the same drape over and over to learn how to paint drapes so that when he finds the right moment to paint a drape, he is prepared to do so. You are well prepared to manage this type of moment.

I like "heart shadow" much better beacause it shows something very simple, yet easily missed and it does so very professionally. I think that image shows your observational/compositional skills and technical skills and patience better than this. Your animal portraits are also very nice and effective in setting a mood and engendering emotion.

Congratulations

Just to echo the sentiments of others. very creative and very intriguing and also not my favorite of a very neat collection of images. Something about the fuzziness in the orange part detracts. Also as stated above, I think your pictures are very marketable. The Chaco Canyon pictures are aesthetically not as nice as others in your folders, but there are not very many really good shots of that place and I would have gladly paid handsomely for one or more of your nicely wrought kite pictures of the area.

I tried kite pictures once using one of those smithsonian kits, an instant camera and a tricky shutter release mechanism. One of those father-daughter projects that never worked out. Your pictures are better than I would have imagined kite pictures could be.

Congratulations.

Along Geoffrey's line of thinking; I had to bite my lip one day when I was in a doctor's office in Singapore and in that small, cluttered little room was only one photograph, an 8x10 of the doctor sitting at the very desk where she was now sitting. It struck me how odd to put a picture of yourself at your desk right next to yourself at your desk. I got the impression that Geoffrey was saying why bother taking every-day people pictures when all you have to do is go outside if you want to see every-day people. It's 3-D even.

For me, although about 90% of what I take is my kids, the argument doesn't mean much, even though these are the most accessible humans in my life, and even though their current state is as always far more improtant than a past state, I do it because I know some day they will be gone or grown up and will become whatever they will be and because I want to capture what I can of the expressions and emotions of the people I love the most, because those moments meant the most to me and defined my family's growth and maturation.

I feel that way about many of the kids and families that I work with every day, but I haven't gotten to a point where I feel I can comfortably, respectfully and appropriately photograph families that I meet. I've tried it and it didn't feel right. I can easily see though where a photojournalist can feel an urgency to document in the most professional manner the people of the community they serve, because communities change and mature and it's good to see where you have come from. A community's defining moments can often best be seen in its people's faces. You can generally tell when a photograph of a person is done out of respect, love or admiration or out of a more prurient or poorly thought out interest.

I disagree with how you said it Geoffrey, but I think I understand where you are coming from.

Beautiful shot. Wonderful colors. At first didn't like the crop that much, but understand why. Would like more environment, though.

When I first read that they were outside the hospital, as some above, I thought maybe something was up medically with Robert, so did feel a little concerned that it was some pathology that makes this picture unique, but looking more, I don't think there is enough information here to make any kind of general statement like that.

The interesting thing about Robert is that his posture, bright red cheeks, fair skin and the velvia saturated hair color combine to make an interesting looking young fellow. Combining all that with his detached expression, fist in hand and guerilla t-shirt, it is easy to see where some may want to read more into this than may be there. Impossible to say anything for sure without knowing them personally.

As far as this photo being some indictment of the educational system or parenting in general, that's just bizarre to me. I doubt the boredom of waiting at bus stops has much to do with how someone was raised or educated. A good rule of thumb with teenagers is to never make assumptions about what they are thinking by their outward appearance. Robert could just be bummed having read the newspaper next to him.

Whatever the subtext to this image, it is nonetheless captivating. Especially impressed that you took the time to talk to them, get their names and ages and didn't just run off after your capture.

Congratulations

Impressive shot.

Most of my thoughts have already been expressed by others above, pro and con, so I won't repeat. The only thing I would add is that the picture, while dramatic, does not have a lot of depth. As a portrait of cool lightning, that isn't a big deal, but as a landscape, it seems like everything is happening on one plane, the silhouette of hte treeline, the doggy-head shaped cloud and the lightning look like they could all be pretty much at similar distances, so that although the fingers are stretching out, there isn't really anything that stretches out to or from the viewer to make it a more dynamic shot. As someone said above, a foreground element like a farmhouse or a lit windmill (as per Daniel Bayers incredible blue gels in his comet image), or light on some trees or something that shows the density of the clouds somehow would give this so much more weight. Daniel's comet picture is great example, the windmill makes it so much more intriguing. Here it is http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=186666

Here's another nice shot by Kevin Bjorke that emphasizes more than the event itself, http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=493204

This is a great capture, beautifully exposed and lightening-wise, beautifully composed, just wish it had more than one terrific element. Just being greedy.

As Marc did, I posted the links to other pictures just to emphasize my point, not to steal anyones POW thunder (or lightning as it were), so forgive me if doing so is inappropriate or rude.

Congrats on the POW.

The single best calla image I've ever seen, and my wife loves them, so I've seen a lot.

The temptation is to always capture the impressive and distinctive profile of this flower.

Congratulations

I really appreciate the spotlighting of a technique that is uncommon, and I especially appreciate the link to your very straightforward and easy to follow document on your technique. I don't think this is the best example of your work or range of skills.

My first thoughts when I looked at this were of Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Sure enough, a lot of your pictures look very similar to the genre prevalent among their music videos. Neatly composed but a little creepy or eerie with a significant element of eroticism. Using style and technique to evoke a response as opposed to capturing some slice of life or uniquely documenting some place or person. You do this better than most people who try to rely heavily on style and your portfolio shows a huge range of creativity and ability.

This image seems to be begging for the viewer to read into it a deeper context, which many have done above. But I can't get a coherent message to form in my head. Maybe something Christian and relating to salvation or maybe something about the other non-pregnant women contemplating their own potential future pregnancies with the main subject as their mentor, or maybe something about the pain of childbearing and birth placed upon Eve (nobody in the picture looks happy). Maybe even a contemplation by the non-pregnant women on how their physical forms will change with pregnancy, or alternately, the pregnant woman presenting how her form has evolved with pregnancy. The pregnant woman's face (half hidden), hair, arms and hands seem to have a masculine tone while her breasts and abdomen are decidedly female, again contrasting with the forms below her which present the beauty of the female body without the signatures of a pregnant womb or lactation. I'm not sure. There are a lot of ways to look at this. I just can't put it all together.

The light spot doesn't bother me but I keep looking at the pregnant woman's right hand and the way it looks like her fingers are shorter than expected and that her hand looks like a mitten. Is this maybe an artifact of movement of her fingers during the painting process? The bracelet or watch does seem out of place, and I think I see an anklet down there. I like that one of the models is looking at the viewer to acknowledge our being here.

For me this is a very interesting picture, interesting to study and it invites analysis through your technique, but while clever and stylish and brooding, it seems to be asking you to believe in something because its cool and intriguing rather than because it embodies a carefully wrought concept or idea. That isn't a bad thing, and a lot of people love this, so maybe I'm just full of it.

Congratulations, you have a very impressive body of work and you have some terrific models that you clearly appreciate.

very nice job. The heavy saturation looks nice, teh DOF is perfect. I especially like the subtle pose with the way the muscles merge into the roots.

Very nice job.

very striking and emotional, I like this much better than your last POW.

The first thing that came to mind when I looked at it, unfortunately, was that it looked not just PS'ed, but entirely computer generated. The textures looked like those from a very well made computer game, I believe there was one called "Asylum" or something like that a couple of years ago with similar images.

You called this a portrait, so I initially thought it was of someone you knew and perhaps asked to pose behind the grungy window Vs a captured moment. If it was a happened-upon scene, then very impressive capture, no doubt about it.

I assume by psychological portrait, you mean not a portrait of the man, but a portrait of a psychological state, which the viewer can decide which one applies; despair, depression, anxiety... I guess that's the best part of this picture, that we have clues, but the essential interpretation of what is happening, or what he is thinking, is up to us. A lot of your pictures have that terrific quality.

The watch doesn't bother me at all and in fact adds a lot of context including a time period and the fact that even in despair a fellow still needs to know what time it is, or at least maintain a routine. Sort of like images of jungle-dwelling cultures wearing adidas shorts and tank tops, something makes you wish it wasn't there, but it sends a significant contextual message.

Great job, there are others in your portfolio that I like better....so will you be the first three time POW'er? For the sake of the many other terrific portfolios out there, I hope not, but based on the quality of your work, the hat trick would not surprise me.

Keep up the terrific work.

Creative but I'm not sure I like it too much. You said you wanted to create a memorable portrait, and I think you did make something memorable, but it doesn't strike me as something that portrays some character of you wife. I can't get past it being an upside down blurry portrait behind a bunch of distorted smaller portraits. I think the setup is much more interesting as an abstract, and as such, I maybe would have looked at different content, but from what you wrote, it doesn't to me meet its intent as a portrait. I guess I'm trying to say that I don't really get a feeling from this portrait of the intent of it being an abstract. I don't think the abstract structure of it adds to the portrait aspect. I don't think all portraits need to be straightforward, and I think your idea could lead to a very interesting portrait, but I don't think this one is it.

Compositionally, the lines are uncomfortable to me and I think that maybe cropping it some so that her face in the background isn't so prominent and isn't in so much competition with the more interesting foreground images, making it more of an abstract or indistinct background, would give it more impact.

Exposure, focus and lighting are of course terrific. I wonder what a deep DOF with the background in focus would look like?

This is very creative and I never would have thought of it.

Congratulations on your second POW

I like this very much. The subject matter is of course common and almost universal, but beyond the subject matter, I don't think I've ever seen a like shot. It looks almost like a stage or a broadway set. The back row of buildings are like a drapery or a wall and all the foreground buildings play off of it as they first step down then gradually turn to their right.

I like the way the composition resists the urge to go up and give us a more common skyline view and instead just suggests it up top. The focus is this neighborhood; you stop at that great wall of cement and glass and have to visually explore only the space you are given in terrific focus and detail. I would perhaps even like a little more foreground, I think....maybe.

There are no people or signs of life, which to me does not lend to the urban decay or terrible plight of city living mood, but instead makes it seem again to me as a set, or even as stacks of blocks. It isn't completely lifeless or apocalyptic because of what it is, and it isn't really a lifeless architectural study, so I think it retains it's human interest in how the buildings play against each other and blend together comparing rectangles and shades. You know there are peope there, but they are secondary in this study.

I like the divergence of the vertical lines as I think it lends to the composition, giving it just a little curiosity and more of a "basket" feel that keeps you in the scene. I like the DOF and the exposure.

I would feel extremely pleased with this shot were it mine. Congratulations.

Beautiful hardcore black and white photography (yes, I know shot in color). Beautiful example of seeing the black and white potential of a scene and capturing it. Placement of elements is thankfully simple and easy to digest. I think a closer view would have made things too abstract and a view from further away would have lost the laciness and importance of the chair's shadows. The way the lines in the stone and those in the chair meet it seems compressed, but the seat and the two large shadows create a triple layer of depth. The jagged lines of the stones and the sweeping lines of the chair create a nice overall scene that isn't too much of either.

The various marks on the stones are a little distracting, especially that one at about 11:30, just because they look more like smudges than natural imperfections, but this may be because of the jpeg compression.

Terrific and deceptively simple. Congratulations.

beautiful

A look to be reckoned with and not dismissed. The hands are great. You clicked at just the right moment.

Tony,

I don't agreee with your assessment of Peter's comments. His first comment was that the image is excellent, not easy to get and that he liked it, all perfectly acceptable to me. His second was in answer to Doug's question that he thought the end result made the means unimportant, and also that the photographer is more important than the equipment, I disagree with the first and agree with the second, but so far, nothing namby-pamby. His third comment, again in response to a question was that he thought the issue about taking the easy way out to get the same image was irrelevant. He did use the word awesome, but again nothing really coddly. HE didn't really critique the image much, but at least he was willing to stick his opinion out there on a couple of issues.

If he has been repetitive over the last few weeks, you may want to review your own POW posts. You are pointing out the obvious to those of us who have been around for a while when you state repeatedly that the forum is less engaging, but even you may have to admit that things were getting too far out a month ago with people quitting, getting banned and throwing egos and insults around like beads at mardi gras.

I didn't like the censorship approach at all and considered quitting the site, but there are still a lot of fine pictures here to enjoy and the POW is just a part of the whole. Also, those who have been around here have read all the arguments regarding the scoring system and its various abuse at the hands of some (This was Tris' bread and butter), and the problem of over effusive praise of images, so not sure to whom you and Richard are directing these comments. Those who do it are clearly not listening after months of chastisement and those who don't are bored with the storyline.

If you're just trying to get things going again and stirring things up then no complaint from me.

I agree with you that the means are important, but I think that when a technology makes the achievemt of an end easier than in previous generations, it raises the bar, it doesn't lessen anything that was done by any other means or make the new technology creations less valid, but it puts things in the context more of when they were created. I think of the many PS filters available, they are very cool to look at and play with, but artistically, when I see one in use, I don't usually get it confused with high art, but when used effectively and appropriately on the right basic image, then I get impressed. I certainly have no skill in this and respect those who are able to use them to their greatest benefit.

Get off Clyde's back, he was asking the question because Joshua had just in the comment above his stated that this was a goat. Make sure you understand what someone is commenting about before you ridicule them.

Beautiful shot. The dust and the flying shoelace and the expressions (the girl and the sheep) are terrific. The lighting and the fence set the scene wonderfully. The only thing I can think of would be perhaps a little more space in front of her to give us a better feel of where she is headed. I think that would boost the tension just a bit.

Congratulations, you were the right person in the right place at the right time. I could see it in a N.G. story about Nebraska.

I'm sort of middle of the road with this, leaning toward the WOW side. There are so many things in this nice uncomplicated picture to like. You successfully combine so many elements; the starry deep blue sky, the amazing moon burst in the mist and the environmental fill flash that adds the pop to the image. You've got the palm on the left bursting with its fronds, extending into a fireworks pattern in the mist, the tree on the right taking off like a space shuttle or a bottle rocket into the blue sky and the mildly streaking stars looking like confetti drifting around. It's a celebration that maintains a lazy end-of-the-day, getting-ready-to-leave-the-beachpark, kids-will-be-asleep-in-five-minutes feeling. It is a triumph of exposure and sensory input.

But.....I keep thinking that something could be better.... I don't know enough about different films to suggest anything. I don't think cropping this image helps. Maybe as was suggested above if there was a bit more of the tree on the left, or if there was a land reference somehow incorporated or if this was the scene in a larger scope, maybe a fisheye view, I don't know.

It is stunning and your knack for exposure time is incredible.

Congratulations, beautiful job.

I think this is more than just competent technique, it is full awareness of a setting and what it can say. There are many people on this site with competent technique, but few photos this complete. I disagree that it is almost there, I think it as made it all the way.

The scene with the gothic cross on the wall, with the bikes cued in reverence, with the girl poised at the precipice between salvation and the unknown of the dark portal to hell, and she looks curiously into the dark window at some ill-formed object, without changing her posture, is masterful. I can almost hear the voices calling from beneath the street.

I think it speaks volumes and is beautifully executed, posed or not. I don't mind that it is sort of in your face and pretentious.

Congrats.

Regarding the composition: At first I felt so-so. The horizon thing, bugged me yesterday, less today. The placement of the major elements seemed less interesting to me yesterday than it does today. My favorite part is the person sitting with their back toward us. That person is the bizarre element, the omen, the unsettling part. The regular-looking guy is stiff and easy to reckon with, the forground lady is doing whatever, and the inability to identify her expression is a bother, but there is enough there to assign no strong feelings or emotions. The standing birds are just doing their thing, oblivious on the log that looks sort of like a ray of light, and the main flying bird does add a nice dreamlike element...but then there's that third person.... that really makes the shot for me. While the overall image is kinda creepy, he or she is the part of the dream that makes it almost nightmarish (in a good way).

This looks like something from the inside of a Black Sabbath album.

Technically, I don't see so much the beauty of this camera in this shot, but then again I've long coveted one, but never have had one, so I can't say much about how this image compares to others that fall out of it.

I don't like the stick on the bottom, though it does sort of serve as an axis between the two seated persons who do mirror each other in another compositionally interesting component.

This is not among my favorite images and I really didn't agree with the initial raves, but it is growing on me.

Please post a bigger version somewhere. I really don't mind scrolling side to side if I can see more of the details.

Congratulations

beautiful. The whites almost look blown out midway back, but the whole thing pulls together nicely. Great DOF.

You have some of the freshest Hawaii shots I've seen.

Really nice shot. Nice location and nice composition. Maybe a little darker or more contrast would increase the moodiness, I feel like I can see just a little too much of the woods/water beyond, though I like that hint of light peeking through the branches. Maybe cloning out that white stick at the bottom and burning in the ground just at the bottom of the picture would add a little, also. just my impressions.

Very nice job

Tris, sorry to have engaged you...I should have known better. I just had to laugh when I read your statement that you ought to be good writer because you used to do it for a living. If you were being funny then sorry for not catching the joke.

I'm not trying to attack you, just a friendly jab at something you wrote that I found humorous.

Aloha