petertje

Quite a nice picture. I like the framing, but the diaphragm-stars distract a bit.

Nice detail. I like the fact that you explicitely picked a small portion of the flower only.

Please critique.

I've just looked through your people folder, and this portrait belongs to the ones that appeal to me most. The composition is very simple (less=more) and the character of the girl shows more than in several others. Very interesting folder overall. I like the heavy grain. Is that the 3200ASA film showing up ?

I have a similar photo (shameles plug : http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=434447) which gets the same reactions. A lot of people find it really good, but some (mostly more advanced photographers) find it pretty boring. I'm torn between the two.

 

The explanation I get most from the people who find it boring, and that's also applicable to your picture, is that there's no contact with the people. The photo by itself is greatly executed : the exposure is nice, and the atmosphere jumps at you. But the one thing missing is personal contact.

Even though the other people are in quite bizarre poses, I really

like this picture, and I get good reactions to it. Can anybody

explain why this technically rather bad picture seems to be good in

most people's eyes ?

Your models are very interesting. I like this one, because it's not one of those semi-mystic, semi-sensual, semi-everything-but-nothing-really nudes one finds too frequently on photo.net. I love the way the hair falls over the face, and the cropping at the bottom is perfect. Nice folder !

Since it seems the graves are quite far apart already, I don't understand your choice of using a wide angle. There's one grave nearby, a couple are about halfway, and all the rest is pushed onto the horizon. I would've taken a pretty strong tele and walked back some 10 meters to get a much more filled picture.

Graveyards are one of my favourite subjects, too. You can make very impressive pictures there, once you get the hang of it.

I agree very much with Olivia's comment : a straight line would've been much weaker. I also like the fact that the line is out of focus. And the title gives the picture a funny twist (if it's really a cognac glass). (ratings orig.7, aest.8)

In a number of the pictures in this folder, like this one, you're trying to do too much in one picture. If the hotel facade is nice, make a separate picture of it. If the man walking under the hotel sign is nice, make a separate picture of it. You have much more impressive work. (ratings : orig.4, aest.3)

I've tried a couple of pictures that show *and* the landscape *and* buildings *and* the weather in my folders in Scotland, but they never really worked as well as the combination we see here. I love the way the foreground is very detailed, yet the whole is still a very quiet image because of the simple composition. I think I'll look at such scenes differently now. (orig. 7, aesth. 8)

I don't really care what it is. It's, again, a very strong composition, and the vivid bright works really, really well. You have a very good eye, Bert, as I suspected after seeing your automobilis-stuck-on-a-polis picture. (ratings : aesth. 8, orig. 9).

I agree with Ken Durling about the little triangle on the right hand side. If you put your finger over it, the strong simplicity jumps at you. Very nice ! (ratings given separately : aesth. 7 because of the triangle, orig. 8)

Very funny picture. It made me go "what the **** is that ?". Even though I don't find it extremely pleasing to the eye, I love the originality. I'll be looking at more of your portfolio.

The horizon isn't straight, and the mailbox's left side makes a weird angle too. But that's not important, on the contrary : the two correct each other. The way the mailbox breaks throught the horizon is rather impressive. I would crop off just a bit of the right side, to remove the plant breaking through the horizon too. And then enlarge it : make it very big. (ratings given separately : orig. 7, aesth. 7)

This photo clearly shows the fractal geometry of the tree : it looks like it's a close-up of a leaf, but it's actually the tree itself. Very interesting !

Hey, hey. Just like a Monet painting in his later days. Fascinating !

Of the whole 'Moments of Dance' folder, this is the one I like most. "Cabriole" is also a nice one. The reason I like this one better is the cropping. The figure looks like it's framing the picture. Because the background is plain white, the dancer comes out even stronger. Very nice !

I really don't understand why it was necessary to double the picture. By itself, it's quite interesting already.

The fact that that one window is open, makes the picture all the more interesting. It also adds a very strong colour to the other pastels, making it stand out even more. Simple, and nice.

Hm, this looks like an unexpected snapshot. But it's blurry. Quite some potential, but it doesn't come out.

Really simple concept (that's a compliment). That bed linnen really comes out quite well. Adding a nude would have made the shot worse :-)

Cropping at the bottom would make the picture a bit more dynamic, IMHO.

Even though the top is overexposed, I like the effect it gives. I'm giving a rather lowish rank on originality, because there isn't really a 'story' to the picture, i.e. it's very beautiful by itself, but it's not a picture to come back to and watch again and again.

Hehe, reminds me of some reflection photographs I've done a couple of years ago. Nice confusing effect.