Leslie Reid

I love this photo, Sanford!

I like it, Michael! The warm light really adds to the feeling here, the framing works beautifully, and the propped up feet tell an eloquent story. Just looking at the image makes my stress level drop.

This is definitely moving in the direction I was thinking of. I see what you mean about the sharpening on the background hill--it's hard to get it to look sharp without artifacts showing up. I'm curious about the source of the blurriness in the image--the blue-green version seems to preserve sharpness back there. Is there something in the post-processing method you used for this version that introduced blur there (and on parts of the right-hand cactus)? If the original image was sharp everywhere, it might be interesting to try superimposing a black-and-white version of the original with this version as layers in Elements using a luminosity blend mode--that should make the blurry parts look sharper. You'd have a lot of control over how much of a blend you want by using the opacity slider.

Because of the colors, this is my favorite of the two dreamscapes-with-cactus. I like the concept of these, and I’m very intrigued by the experimenting you’re doing with colors on these two images. The feeling I get from this one is that I’m glimpsing life-forms in a parallel universe, where things are half-familiar but eerily not what they seem to be. Twilight Zone landscapes, maybe; and the leaning cactus on the left adds to the sense of disquiet beautifully. I like this color palette more than the blue-green one because these colors aren’t as serene—the purples and pinks somehow seem more in tune with the spikiness of the subjects, and they contribute well to the eeriness. For some reason, the blue green palette draws my attention away from the image itself and more to the technique—I’m not sure why yet, but it may have something to do with a disconnect between the more serene colors and the landscape depicted. It might also be because the blues and greens aren’t as in-your-face alien as the pinks and purples.

I think the composition works pretty well. My eye goes first to the right cactus, then follows the ridge line to the hilltop, then coasts down to the left cactus and foreground bush. The unfortunate thing, though, is that the place my eye keeps returning to is the hilltop, because of all the lines that lead to it. If it’s possible to keep the hill sharp, it would reward the viewer’s eye and also would prevent the viewer from stepping out of the image’s world to wonder why it’s blurry—the spell is momentarily broken every time I return to the hill.

The light cactus against the dark sky on the right is beautiful. I think it’s that contrast that makes the cactus compete so nicely with the hill as a center of attention, and it makes the cactus the major player in the eeriness factor—I want to take a few steps backward to get out of its range before it decides to attack.

I’m of two minds about the contrast range in the image. Currently it’s mostly mid-tones, which contributes well to the dreaminess here. But part of me wants to see some light lights and dark darks. The left bush almost gets there…but I wonder what would happen if you threw in a gradient that would up the contrast just in the foreground, and used an adjustment brush to carry it up into the righthand cactus?

And finally, a few nit-picky points: (1) It might be useful to tone down the two large bright orange areas in the foreground bush—I think they draw too much attention away from the structure of the bush itself; (2) where the more distant cacti break the skyline their tonal value appears to change—I had to isolate some of the stems to be sure it wasn’t an optical illusion…and I’m still not sure that it isn’t just a matter of the lighter edges blending with the sky. Even if that’s the case, it might be useful to lighten them slightly against the sky just so the apparent change isn’t distracting; (3) the light streak (con trail?) on the right travels in front of the cactus, and that breaks the spell—I think it’d be useful to use a healing brush or cloning there; and (4) I’d like to see a little more headroom for the right-hand cactus—what I usually do (in Photoshop or Elements) is enlarge the canvas, then fill the added top sliver using context-aware autofill or by cloning.

All in all, I found this image to be a lot of fun to explore—I thoroughly enjoy images that make me think about familiar things in new ways, and that introduce me to new ideas—thanks!

There's an interesting feeling of energy here that works really well, and I can't figure out where it's coming from....maybe from a sense that the blues on the left are ocean and sky seen through a portion of a window, but a window with a painted view. And maybe it's from the realization that the image poses a lot more questions than answers, and that invites my imagination to run wild as it wanders through the possibilities...aha!

That collection of grays really makes the little patch of apricot sing, and the little patch of apricot provides the power that makes the whole composition work--this is beautifully put together. You're able to find the most satisfying compositional balance in the most unlikely subjects. I'm also thoroughly enjoying the textures and lines in their own right.

My golly--I just recalibrated my monitor, and this was one of the first images I saw; instant deja vu! And what's more, this was my first foray back into my portfolio and favorites in about 5 months--it's such a joy to see your photos again. My world becomes so much richer in possibilities when I catch a glimpse of your view of the world through your photos, and I appreciate that immensely.

At the moment this is my third favorite—I really like how the sharpness of the inner spiral gradual softens and seems to become one with its shadow, and I like the interplay between the soft warm and cool colors. I think it’s the softness of the background that, for me, gives the color version an edge over the b&w version—the fact that the only moment of sharpness is the inner spiral makes it the perfect eye-magnet. One thing that might be interesting to experiment with would be about a 15% to 20% crop in from the right—that would keep the strong diagonal from landing in the corner, which in turn would make the blue corner more of an integral design element (or at least that’s how it feels to me—I can’t quite figure out why. I’m one of those people who composes by feel and not by rules, which means it’s often hard to explain why something feels the way it does. In this case, it involves the balance between the spiral and the rest of the frame, and the satisfying repetition of the forms defined by the diagonal elements.) (and as always, it's also a matter of personal taste--the best decision is always the one that feels best to the person who made the photo)

I think this is my second favorite of the group, so far. This one I particularly like for the tonalities you’ve brought out in the image—you’ve made it glow in a very beautiful way. I love how it seems so sharp and potentially understandable from a distance, yet once I move in close, it becomes soft and ambiguous, and I become completely captured by those gorgeous tones. There’s a delightful tension between a sense of dizzy spinning and a feeling of solidly planted mass here, and the composition works beautifully to keep returning my eye to the descending spirals, yet also inviting me to explore the outer edges.

I’m thoroughly enjoying your Lines gallery, Tony. There are three images in particular that I keep coming back to, and this is the first of those—probably my favorite of the group, thought it’s hard to choose a favorite. I love the graceful shapes in this, and I love the fact that it’s so well-defined yet so incomprehensible (not exactly the word I’m looking for…”intangible” may be closer)—it’s pure shapes and lines without representing anything “real,” yet it makes me daydream of flowers, spines, stained-glass windows, butterflies, feathers—I can’t look at it without drifting off in my imagination, and I like that feeling a lot. And the composition is superb—very satisfying and complete.

Beautifully done! The lighting is magical, and the sequencing seamless. The "mountain range" (I was thinking of it as "the aurora") is the perfect foundation for the composite. I spent a little bit of time trying to figure out if I was bothered by the difference in lighting on the left-most take, then decided that I liked that lighting so much that the difference really didn't matter. Really nice image, a great idea, and a lot of fun to look at!

A very effective, thought-provoking image, and I like the black & white treatment a lot. There are so many levels of content and meaning here, and the reflection of the photographer draws me in so deeply. This is a photo I could look at for a very long time.

I love it! The theme holds from toes to umbrella, and the neutral background is the perfect setting.

This is my second favorite of the set of 3 you have posted now--it definitely needs to be seen at larger than a thumbnail view to fully appreciate it, and once I'd enlarged it, it came very close to unseating "Walking the tide. 3" as my favorite. There's something very engaging about the ethereal feeling that the blur gives the image. One thing I'm noticing is that the lack of detail gives me permission to fill in details in my imagination, and I was startled to find that some of the details that were being filled in were sounds--that's something I rarely get from looking at a photo.

I really like what you've done here with the camera motion; it gives a ghostly, dynamic, transient feel to the setting and to the more distant figures (I love their seeming randomness), while leaving the larger, nearer figures--and particularly the dalmatian--more real (I'm searching for the right word: tangible? this-worldly? corporeal?). I like your choice of black & white--it really adds to the feeling here. I also like the crop and format. Ordinarily I'd bemoan the loss of the woman's reflection, but in this case I think it would detract from the "plot" of the image by adding too much foreground; as it is now, as viewers we're plunged right into the scene, and that's very effective. Really nice!

Very effective colors and lighting--they instantly set the mood for the scene. I also really like the composition--I want to be walking along that promenade, it draws me in so effectively.

Really nice. The image is at the same time timeless and modern, and provides an intimate view of a scene that few would otherwise see. The people here are clearly comfortable with your presence, and that makes us viewers feel welcome, too. The composition works beautifully, and the lighting is perfect.

Absolutely beautiful--a world within a world.

I like this a lot--there's such a rich variety of greens here, and the light trunks work very well in contrast and in providing a really nice structure to the image. The photo gives a powerful sense of the density of the vegetation here.

I'm very much enjoying the colors and textures here--the image looks like an impressionist painting. The blue rims around the leaves where they lie across the darker reflections are particularly enchanting.

Me too--I think part of what's recently sent me deeper into B&W is the Monochrome Monday thread. And I forgot to mention how much I love the reflection of the-man-who-isn't-there in this image; it adds so much to the puzzleness (a word that really should exist).

The root shapes are particularly nice in this image, and the strong purples and pinks in the roots make them seem almost more like undersea animals than trees. I like this photo a lot.

I particularly like this one of your leaf-and-root series. The contrast in colors and textures between the leaves and the roots is beautiful, and the small green plant provides a nice accent.

The black and white treatment here brings out the graceful pattern of the roots beautifully--I like how you've brought out the contrast with the light leaves.

I love the enigma here--I get very pleasantly lost in trying to figure out what's real and what's reflection. I really like your decision to go with black and white for this.