lovethismoment

Andre, just to clarify on my previous rushed comment, I do like the idea of this picture, I just find the glare (I think partly because of its roundness, if that doesnt sound too stupid) too distracting. I congratulate you on catching a spontaneous moment that I almost certainly would have missed, though like others I keep thinking if only. I really love Illumination though. If I didnt make it clear in my previous comment Marc then count that as 2 votes for it. Like you, I much prefer her face to his arms.

The first thing I saw was the glare under his arm and thats what keeps distracting me from the rest of the photo. It pulls too much attention away from the subject and in my opinion needs to go its really not something I can just ignore or overlook because I find Im looking at it all the time. I wasnt really bothered by the closeness of the girl until I saw Tonys version. With the glare gone it feels unbalanced and I would really like to see more of a gap between her and the boy (not that much Dennis).

I took Marcs advice and had a look at Illumination, which I like a lot more than the POW. It has some glare at the bottom of the photo too but it doesnt distract the way it does in this picture. I also think the composition is more balanced and I really like the way the light behind her makes her stand out from the rest of the classroom.

The look on that guys face is priceless! As Charles said up the top a Fantastic slice of life. Tom, whats wrong with a sense of humour? The day I lose mine is the day I stop living. If you cant have a laugh at the everyday (and natural, Ellen) things in life then you dont have much to laugh about.

Has this discussion lost the plot or have I lost the plot of this discussion???

I dont know if Im feeling subliminal stress (would I know?), but Id prefer it if some (OK, most) of the black on the right was cropped, as well as some from the top and bottom. As it is I feel that the right side of the image is just a big void, whereas with tighter cropping I think it would feel more like youre standing by his shoulder, which would add more interest (at least for me).

 

I like the colour, texture and curve of his hat but Id like to see a little bit more detail in his face. I understand that not showing everything allows you to use your imagination more but I find there just isnt enough here to get started. Is he looking at something? I dont know because I cant see his eyes. Whats he thinking, hows he feeling? I dont know because I cant tell what sort of expression he has on his face.

 

Im looking at this on a laptop so I might not be the best one to judge this but I wonder if what people see as the photo being out-of-focus is really caused by the (digital) manipulation of the image to darken it. I dont have a problem with digital cameras or manipulation but I think if it has degraded the quality of the image you need to look at different ways of achieving the same effect.

 

As an aside (yes, I know Im a bit late and should have done this last week), Im still really bemused by some of the comments last weeks POW received. I fail to see how that photo was tasteless, ugly and a side-show (maybe Im looking at something different to other people?). What is tasteless about people having a good time at a bar? Are some people so detached from reality that they find it offensive to see a picture of people that arent attractive, or at least posed to be as attractive as possible? Last weeks POW certainly isnt one of my favourite photos but I found it interesting and think that Jo has a talent for being able to capture human (not necessarily attractive) moments that I wish I had.

 

Congratulations on a magnificent photo. It makes me feel young and exuberant and leaves me wishing that I was running along side them! I dont think anyone can do better than that.

I love their expressions - particularly Dewey's. How long did it take you to get back into their good books for taking the photo instead of letting them in?

I have to disagree with Ben and Dominic. While Doug's version may be a 'technically' better photo yours has a kind of surreal atmosphere which is what makes yours one of my favourites on photo net and Dougs just another picture. The haze, light, ugly-looking clouds and composition all help to create this atmosphere which leads me to feel, as others have commented, that the tree is sitting there admiring the amazing view.

 

Love your work!