chjohnson

August 8, 2001

Amy, this is merely one of many wonderful images not only in Photo.net but in your own photography web site. I always love the simple, elegant lighting and poses that you use. I do have to ask what you are trying to say with the bars, especially since your back is to the camera. You seem to be saying something about isolation. Are you isolated from others voluntarily or against your will?

August 8, 2001

Beautiful, wonderful soft colors and shapes. Elegant reflection. The only down side is the dark object in the lower left-hand corner. Very nice.

August 8, 2001

When I first looked at the larger version of the photo, it looked like it was shot with IR film. I must say that I enjoy the grainy feel of the image and the uneven lighting that was surely the result of your dodging and burning.

August 7, 2001

Stellar photograph! It's funny, but I never would have thought of using IR on palm trees... then again, we don't have those in Alaska. I have only previously seen that film used on coniferous or deciduous trees. Great perspective, too.

August 7, 2001

Alright, I know from my own experience that most of the people in

this community are fine art photographers and tend to snub outdoor

photography. (Trust me, I look at the work of others who rate my

photos, and the lowest ratings come from people who are doing mostly

fine art, black and white, sometimes abstract work.) So I am really

going to go out on a limb here and seek feedback on a wildlife shot --

something rarely seen here at Photo.net. Perhaps there is a reason

for this? The answer to that question most certainly is NOT "Because

wildlife photography is not art." Prove me wrong.

June 12, 2001

I will tell you the first two words that came to my lips when I saw this photo: "Moody. Cool." Really nicely done to have the detail and color in such a dark setting.

June 6, 2001

I had a similar experience on a solo trip I took a few years ago during law school. It was spring, so the water should have been high, but there had been less snowfall in the winter, so the water levels were really low. I was paddling into this really isolated region, and when I was approaching the end of the lake that had the portage, there was no water. So I bushwhacked into the next lake, and found mud. It is when I bushwhacked again and found mud that I decided to turn around and try a completely different route. The challenges of backcountry travel!

June 6, 2001

So what next -- a bushwhack? I think the composition is good if you were trying to convey a dead-end sort of feeling. The canoe traveler certainly has nowhere to go. There are a couple of things I would suggest technically. Since it is a more mid-day shot, the light is harsh. You could reduce that with a polarizer and 81A warming filter. It is just that some of the detail is washed out by the light... whatever you could do to minimize that would help. I worked as a guide in the BWCAW for two years and shot in all sorts of difficult situations, so I can appreciate your shooting conditions.

June 1, 2001

I think there is an automatic assumption that a sky of that color will be the result of either smog or some other particulates, like smoke from a forest fire a few hundred miles away. But I have taken sunrise shots with those colors off the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, where the air is very clear. I really love the depth of field in this shot -- truly wonderful. It really helps the tone and texture of the smooth waves come out nicely.

May 30, 2001

This is a fantastic cat portrait for two reasons. First, I can only imagine how technically challenging it must have been to capture the detail without the cat moving. Second, and most important, this image really does a wonderful job of illustrating an integral aspect of feline existence -- watching over the outside world with a longing curiosity. Very nice. Don't ever let what other people think of pet portraits deter you.

May 30, 2001

If this is your first attempt at still life photography, then I can see you having a wonderful career of it. This image captures a wonferfully warm, hearthy emotion. The flashlight "painting" technique was masterfully executed. Very nice.

May 30, 2001

Beautiful, soft image. The longer exposure effect worked nicely, but I particularly think that the perspective of the shot, taken from a higher position, is what really distinguishes this from the typical waterfalls shot. The only thing I can think of to improve the image... I would have tilted the camera down to crop out the sky. With B&W, a sky can be distracting unless it has texture (i.e., clouds) to it. Here it is a little distracting. Wonderful image, though.

May 25, 2001

Love the blues and the greens and the super long exposure. The inability to actually see details in the water adds a mystical quality. Very nice.

May 24, 2001

I've seen quite a few star trail shots, and this one really has a great deal of originality to it. Nice composition, great colors, very intriguing.

May 23, 2001

Two things: (1) I think the polarizer filter hurt more than it helped, and (2) it would have been more dramatic if you would have crouched down to eye level with the flowers, yet maintained the same cropping on top -- just above the tree.

May 23, 2001

Sure, this shot has been taken time and time again, but what makes each shot fresh is a variation in the lighting and sky. Here, the soft clouds are simply marvelous. The overall image does look a little dark, but I am sure that it would print better than it appears after scanning and converting for the web. The fact that I can see detail in the foreground building to me means that the original is probably even better. Plus, I do not think a graduated neutral density filter would have worked because of the height of the Needle.

May 23, 2001

This is the type of scene that seems to have been created solely for the purpose of producing a great, high-contrast B&W image. Your photo represents what great B&W landscape photography is all about. Very nice.

May 22, 2001

As a former ship's photographer in the Navy, I can appreciate the difficulty in getting this shot. I don't know how many helo or missile shots I had to take in order to get the right image. Great presentation!

May 22, 2001

I have to agree with all of the feedback on how fantastic this image is. But I have to disagree with two themes: That it appears like the subject is engaged in a bowel movement and that the photographer is shooting down on the subject. It looks more to me like the photographer is almost at eye level, when you look at the angle to the face and the lines on the sidewalk. What makes it look like shooting down is the subject's pose, which looks less like taking a dump and more like the subject crouched down to check out the camera. This photo is so successful and so appealing that it helps you to appreciate photography for what it is, not whether or not it conforms to any rules.