atlatling

Louise, I don't know it by that name. It is just a small road between Cuchara and Aguilar going over Cordova Pass located 10 or 15 miles to the northwest of Trinidad, Colorado. A great drive and little traffic.

 

Bill

I've never looked at your work before, and now I wish that I had. I certainely would have learned a few things. I think your compositional use of the "rule" of thirds is in play here with the tree being the subject. I wish that the tree had more strength, but sometimes what you have is all you get. In looking at your other images, I see wonderful use of low sun angle and color saturation. Really great!... Loved that lost lamb shot. Great seeing.

 

Even I would not think of cropping this image.

 

Willie the Cropper

I admire anyone who can find, much less photograph such a magnificent scene. I don't think the artist achieved anything by his use of gaussian blur. Possibly it could work by selective use, leaving the bridge, for instance, sharp.

 

My problem is with, what else, cropping... I can find half a dozen crops which I feel make a better picture, but most especially by cropping the left side just past the brightest of the red leaves. Those leaves are striking, but tend to draw one's attention away from the subject.

 

Nice overall...

 

Willie the Cropper

I was immediately caught up with the very excellent composition of this image. Absolutely dead on for pleasing the viewer with no extranious material within the picture to compete with the subject. Cropped perfectly as well. I liked the choice of sepia as did Erik above. You get my vote of approval on this splendid piece.

 

Willie the Cropper

Yes, "Willie the Cropper" is back and although not in great form, will attempt to critique this week's POW.

 

My first impression, without looking at your gallery art was that I didn't particularly like this image. When comparing it to your others, I still hold that position. It's not that it needs cropping, which is my specialty, but rather that it suffers from too much floating material. There are the arms out front with white cloth, then the same material is floating above the girl and behind her head and again behind her back. It's too complex for what it is and that's the beauty of your other images. They are seamingly simple and straight-forward. I don't think darkening the corners brings one's attention to the subject either. It looks phony, as I'm sure it is.

 

Please don't let me burst your balloon. You do deserve the honor of being chosen for POW, but in my, book any one of the others shown on Photo.Net rate higher than this one.

 

Sorry for being so blunt. Normally, I'm a pretty nice guy.

 

By the way, I wouldn't crop it at all.

 

Willie the Cropper

Cute, but not particularly well done. A bit too "staged." the lettering and numbers in the lower left confuse me a bit. The flash reflects on the books or windows at the left rear which also bothers me. Use of the wide angle lens seems to distort the whole background. It could be cropped a bit closer on right and left making almost a square pic. Not my cup of tea. It might look better if it was two or three times this size, but difficult to read the man's face which is what the picture is all about.

 

Willie the Cropper

Caffeine, I wish you had givin us some idea of what we are looking at, but with abstract, I guess that's half the fun. Wondering. I am assuming we are looking at erosional features along a rock coastline. I like the diagonal composition, in fact this has a second diagonal making an X, and adding the rounded feature following the rule of thirds all add up to an eye-catching image.

 

I see a redish tinge to some of the rock shadow surfaces. This is more apparent in the image in your portfolio than this copy. Is that all in my head? (You have a most impressive portfolio, by the way.)

 

I can see no way of cropping this that would improve its square shape, so I guess my work is done.

 

Willie the Cropper

Sam, you make some lovely photographs and control the images to the point that it looks like magic. This is one of the best in my view. Wish I had some of your talent with photoshop. Nice!

If someone had given it s shove, I wouldn't have had a picture. Thanks for your nice thoughts. Bill

The above feeling that the image is too tightly cropped is correct in my view as well. I think we need more on the left, top and bottom as well, and not a whole lot, either. I would stick to the vertical as a personal preferance -- Verticals appeal to me.

 

One thing that could improve this already fabulous shot would be adding a bit more contrast and saturation. Again, not a lot, but enough to give it a dab more punch.

 

I really enjoyed looking over your portfolio. Everyone should! Lots of lessons there on how to make landscapes. Congratulations, neighbor on being selected by the elves.

 

Willie the Cropper

We have a word in English -- Flabergasted! I have not previously seen Saul's work and I am Flabergasted! Saul is a master of his craft, a truly gifted artist who knows and understands light better than anyone I have observed. This picture, granted is not his best is still an attention getter. I have not seen such sharpness achieved often either. Perfect light, perfect setting and perfectly exposed. My congratulations to you on being chosen for this week.

Willie the Cropper

To me, it looks as if the lower leaf has excessive burning in along its top edge and around the top lobe. The middle leaf being mostly underwater makes it look as if a slipper were being held under water.

 

Those were the negative (no pun intended) thoughts I had when looking at this otherwise beautiful black and white photo. As Erik above states, I too, love the sharpness of the water droplets. You have a great many magnificent black and white prints in your portfolio and from the looks of it not too many visitors. Wonder why? If I could only get over the slipper and the impression of burning in you would get my vote for something, but I think many of your other works far surpass this one, that it makes me wonder about the elves a little...

 

Willie the Cropper

I like the triangular composition you have achieved here. Boy, is it stark up there. (I wouldn't dream of commenting on someones POW work without at least briefly scanning through their portfolio. When first I looked over your work, I thought eastern Montana or North Dakota, but I see you hail from farther north. At any rate, I see that it is possible to make beautiful photography without including mountains or ocean waves.)

 

It looks as if you are facing south or southwest if that upper left corner is the sun's light pushing through the overcast. I think that bright spot detracts a bit from what otherwise to me is gorgeous work. If it is cropped at all, it is cropped well.

 

Willie the Cropper

A beautifull and creative image. Almost unbelievable, it is so sharp. I looked over your portfolio before making up my mind on this photo. You are not new to taking chances and being creative, and I see your cat, dog and other species represented. I would like to compare this photo with one turned about 30 to 45 degrees counter clockwise just to see if the same effect is achieved. If this were mine to do with as I pleased, I would crop the top portion with your copyright about one quarter the way from the photograph's top to the tip of the cat's nose. Just a bit too much black for me, but I really like and admire your shot a great deal.

 

Willie the Cropper

I enjoyed your comentary on cropping, and am glad you did crop it down, and feel the way you do about such things. I almost stated in my original comments that the cropping is about the only thing I liked about the photo. Having heard from you and a number of other good photographers, I guess I should have toned dowm my displeasure of this image. Maybe I will hang you in my family room after all. Well, maybe not... Actually the colors in the final image just above improve the photograph in my estimation.

 

Willie the Cropper

Aside from it being an unusual photograph, I find it uninteresting. the background LOOKS fake, whether or not it really is I don't know. I think the red triangle which I finally figured out was the man's neck draws attention to a portion of the image which I doubt was intended.

 

Maybe photographing smoke just released from the subject's mouth and nose is difficult, I don't know as, I have never tried it, but I for one am not impressed. I wouldn't hang it on my wall. Maybe it needs a smoke ring or something.

 

Willie the Cropper

Doug, I think his purpose is humor, in this case, at the expense of the horse--same with the "Donk" photo. Humor is good for the soul, and the animal doesn't get hurt one bit.

 

I loved this shot and many more in his, both his animal photography and object photographs. The simplicity of his compositions are absolutely top notch. I can't seem to make a simple photo like this man seemingly does with ease. I wish the elves would give us more with humor like this than those with either little expression or dourful feelings. Congratulations on being chosen, and I wouldn't change a thing on this near perfect image.

 

Willie the Cropper

A beautiful, but somber portrait. When I looked at some of your massive number of images in your portfolio, I noted that nearly all of the people you shoot have that same somber expression--even the children at play. Not a bad thing, but makes me wonder about you. Are you really that sad? I think not. Just your style, probably. Most of my feelings are already expressed by Doug B. above. Especially about the hands. Does she bite her nails? It might be better to hide her hands in shadow in other works. You could crop off this image at where the hands begin, but would lose that nice shadow at the lower part of the picture.

 

Overall, I like the photo and wish I could do half as well. And my congratulations on being this week's subject for critique.

 

Willie the Cropper

This image is indeed controversial and I think it's all because of the color of the bathing suit. It should be stripped along with the rest of the picture. Actually, in my untrained view, I think the woman is the weakest element, yet should be the eye catcher. Possibly if she didn't have that suit on at all it might be better, of replace her with a bit of rock or driftwood.

 

I think the photo should be cropped on the right to put the subject a little farther from the center of the picture.

 

Actually, I like the horizontal lines, and only with study, did I notice that they cover the entire photograph from the bottom into the sky at the top. I find them intrigueing and make an interesting photograph out of what might have been a bland over produced beach scene.

 

Willie the Cropper

Needs cropping, I think. Crop the top almost to the top of the head to eliminate the side of the bath tub in the upper right corner, and an equal amount from the bottom which adds nothing to the picture - just extends the view of the leg which is identifiable anyway with that small crop. This makes it a landscape photograph shape. I see that I am not with the crowd again on my views of the POW. I really think, regardless of how inventive the photograph, if it doesnl't appeal to me I wouldn't want to display it on my wall. This is one of those.

 

That being said, I admire anyone who makes a photograph which attracts the elves eye. I congratulate you on that success.

 

Willie the Cropper

Hi Lissa. Congratulations for being the one chosen to run the gauntlet this week. I have not fully examined your picture yet. Just a glance or two but have one problem with it. It is too red. It's perfectly posed, composed and executed as far as I can see, but the redness--possibly from my own monitor, but I don't think so--shows up in the beautiful child's skin tone, the clouds, and especially in the rock. The rock could be that color, but the baby shouldn't.

 

I like your name for the photo, although several others popped into my mind immediately. I think a good name is importent to any piece of art, and you done good!

 

Willie the Cropper

What an opportunity offered itself and you made the absolute best of the situation. I really cannot offer any improvements under the circumstances of what was available. I do have a few items which I wish had been different. I wish you had been on an old rocky gravel road rather than the painted paved one at hand. I wish your wide angle lens included enough of the scene to show Polaris, the North Star. (I think you should clone away or darken the sign reflectind so much light at the left of the road.) I wish I had been with you and had made the shot.

 

My hartiest congratulations on having been chosen this week and I congratulate you on a great image.

 

As an aside, the last time I saw a sky like this was in January way back in 1954, flying in an unheated C-54 circling for nearly four hours, attempting to make a landing in central coastal Greenland and unable to get our wheels down. I took no photographs. Never even gave it a thought. I guess I'm not a real photographer at heart.

 

Willie the Cropper

Gerard, I too have looked at your other remarkable work and find this particular one wanting. The loss or weakness of some of the wires in places yet they are strong farther on indicates some technical difficulty your are having with such slender parts of the image. I do like your composition, but believe a smidgen could be cropped off the left edge to rid us of the toppling power line support in the extreme lower left corner. The others lean as well, but not to this extreme. I believe the picture is clever and well balanced but is technically flawed with the weakness of some of the wires and the leaning towers.

 

Willie the Cropper

Charles, I think I agree with Janna. There is a whole nuther picture in the foregroud. That turbulent water washing the rocks is absolutely beautiful without all the spiritual concept.

I couldn't view this marvelous photograph without expressing my admiration for it. I am assuming you were using a rather wide angle lens here to give it that added depth of field and the vignetting. Great shot and excellent stitching of a wonderful subject.

 

Does this circle display a relationship to the solstice as does that more well known circle, stonehenge? And, what direction are we facing in this view? I am sincerely interested as we here in the western U.S. also have stone circles, some of which may be solstice connected or were used as directional aids to travelers. None, however showing such magnificence, either in size or age, as yours. I too hope your eye problems improve.