atlatling

Yep, a great shot of the dog, but the moon seems too central to me too. I like where Doug Bays planted it. Nifty idea and beautiful dog.

Doug, caught onto you just now while looking at Matt Laur's dog photography. You suggested and demonstrated where the moon should be over a Shorthaired Pointer as the subject. I see you also use the moon to advantage in your work. This one in particular impresses me, although you have a lot of landscapes which are very dramatic. Nice work!

I guess, because I really like this photograph very much that I studied it for a long time. The fisherman's face is weathered and wonderful with a great expression. Birds and clouds were cooperative.

 

The more I studied it, the more I saw that I wish could be changed. Little things, nothing major at all, but a number of elements bother me. The picture shows, or rather hints at strength, but lacks true feeling of movement by the subject. Maybe hauling the net is just a slow activity. I feel there should be a slight blur to the hand.

 

I would like to see a little more sky above the figure's head. It's cropped a bit tight there. Along that line, the image is rather busy and some of the busyness could be eliminated by cropping much of the area to the left of the subject's hand. In fact, this might have been better as a vertical or square photograph.

 

Why is the whole upper left of the photo above the fisherman's hand out of focus, yet the hand is sharp as a tack as is another object, possibly a glass covered light, above and to the right of whatever the drum-shapped object the net is being hauled around, yet it is farther away. The area between is blurred. Strange? - I think so.

 

I like all the shades of gray and interesting details. You have a most impressive series of pictures in your portfolio. Nice portraits. Congratulations on being chosen this week.

 

Willie the Cropper

Photographed under very difficult conditions, you did well to dim what must have been a bright, bright light from the windows. I still wish I could see the childs face a little more clearly. The pose is about as natural as it could be, and whether moving in or out, the situation is clear. I don't understand the title however. You follow one of the rule of thirds--that having the action occur in the lower third. The child's gazing across the open space brings the two, the child and the TV, together. If this went through post production through photoshop or some such thing, I personally, would have removed the TV antenna. As far as I can see, it detracts by attracting my attention. The photo is guinely great, stirs a sympathy in the viewer, and requires none of my non-expert cropping.

 

Willie the Cropper

Thanks to all. Dave, I only have a cheap old flatbed scanner (Quite old) and was scanning an image just under 8X10 inches. I see what you are talking about in the rainfall of the advancing storm. This was th most turbulent cloud formation I've ever encountered in my experiences with working with clouds.

It's a good shot, but I think you've cropped it too tight. I was there in 1965 and it still looks the same. Also, after further deliberation, I think the background blends into the central figures hair too much too. Good luck.

I too like to look at cloud pictures. I can tell you, but you probably already know this, that the white cloud on the left in a small, but mature cumulonimbus capillatus as is the gray one at right top. But you can mostly see just the anvil shapped incus portion. The top of the center cumulus congestus has begun to flatten off as the top turns to cirrus as has already been done with the other two and we could call that cumulonimbus calvus.

 

The orange and yellow colors are due to smoke at lower levels permitting only the redish tones to pass through.

 

Oh, by the way, nice picture. It would be a nice one to play with in Photoshop. (My thirty-seven years as a weather observer comes out sometimes.)

I just spent the last 15 minutes trying to crop off (mentally), the upper black portion of this photograph, when it hit me like a slap in the face, this picture doesn't need cropping. In fact, it leaves me with the feeling that there could be something sitting on the hand -- that is where the subject would be if there was a subject other than the hand. By cropping that black area off we lose the space for that imaginary subject. Instead, we are left with an empty hand as the subject.

 

I get a feeling of anticipation -- waiting, still waiting for something to pop into that hand. It keeps me looking at the photo.

 

I think she has accomplished a couple of things with this photograph. First is attention span of her viewers and second is a view of simplicity. I rather like this image. Congratulations on being the chosen one this week.

 

Willie the Cropper

Great sky. I guess you've already heard that a lot. I think the light and tree are exactly in the right place for compositional reasons. I would like to see the clouds in the upper portion, especially the upper right corner brought out a little more. Then again,... why ruin a good thing. Nice work.

thanks Lucy and others above for appreciation and suggestions. I have removed the extra tree in another copy and I suspect it is better that way. I still have some work to do on it and will probably mess it up, but will eventually add it here on these pages for comparison purposes.

Vittorio, put me on your list of people who would like very much to see or hear about your list of resources for artistic manipulation. Once again, I thank you for opening my eyes to a Master's work.

 

In retrospect, I too was a bit bothered by the size of the image as displayed. I would have loved to see it bigger. Someone noticed the bicycle in the lower left corner of the image. I thought that was a signature of the artist, but now that it was called to my attention, I guess it is a bicycle.

 

Now in my old age, I find I can sit in front of a computer and work most of the day, but my time on my feet making photographs is quite limited.

 

Thanks again old friend,

 

Willie the Cropper

Esther, thank you for taking time to comment on one of my images. If nothing else, it called my attention to a cloud lover. They say that the only people who look at clouds are scienists and artists. I qualify on the former and you on the latter. I enjoyed looking at all of your portfolio and see you are also an animal lover as well. Nice work and you have definitely achieved a style all your own. Bill

I just don't know where to begin. Well, actually, I do know. I began by looking at your portfolio. I think one should study the style of an artist before commenting on a single piece of his art. Maybe what the elves show us is a fluke. I was enthralled by your presentation. I could rate your work with a three word scale: Good, Better, and Best. Or one, two and three. or any number of simple terms. I rate this week's POW as a two, or one of your better works. You have many that make me envious of your skill--Many number threes. Even at a two it surpasses most of the POW images I've seen in many weeks.

 

You work photoshop like a painter using his palette. I think this work and your general style is supurb. I wish I had the talent to accomplish half of what you do. I suspect you will get a number of comments on work being over photoshopped, but not so in my mind. If god hadn't wanted artists to use what was at hand, he wouldn't have given out colors or textures or imagination. You use them all very well.

 

Congratulations on having such painterly skill and for being selected this week.

 

Willie the Cropper

Lovely pattern. Focus is out of this world. You have a number of very nice shots in your portfolio, but I like this one best. Thanks for commenting on one of my shots too, but it didn't take that to cause me to comment here. Just great.

Love this metalic looking body. Nice work. Good but unusual composition.

Although it looks like a lot of photoshop work, it's an attention grabber.

A most interesting study. Unusual as can be, but nice.

I could use some words of encouragement as I have plans on framing

it and giving it as a gift, however it's been on my portfolio for

some time and nobody seems to give it a second glance. Is it me?

Thanks for comments.

I'd like to hear suggestions on further improvements. It was almost

black originally.

I guess to satisfy everyone, he should shoot from a different angle, possibly closer in would be good too, and add a little more lighting from the left.

 

I used to try shooting pictures with my old 8 inch Meade and have esperienced more dissatisfaction with the problems of steadiness and focus and just getting the scope aligned with North that I just gave it up.

 

This is an outstanding photograph, and I would be proud to display it in my home. In looking at your other photographs, I see you are a well kept secret. I'll check you over again now and then.

 

This is a welcome change to the pictures in POW, and I appreciate the elves selecting you. Congratulations.

 

Willie the Cropper

Please don't get me wrong, but I want more. What's the opposite of crop? I don't know if this image has been cropped, but I suspect it has been. I would like it with a bit more of that wonderful turbulent water at the bottom and a little more wing at the top. Never-the-less, this photograph is the type of thing that all of us want to achieve at least once in ouur lives. Absolutely marvelous. You talk about your WOW factor, This has a WOW POW factor. Did I just make a pun? Sorry.

 

Willie the Cropper

I am surprised that I really like this photograph being on such a slant, but for this scene it works very well. At first I didn't like having the boy in the backgraound, but then figured that he is small enough not to matter. However, the more I look at it the more I think he is excess baggage--besides he's walking out of the scene--not a good thing as it pulls ones eyes away from the center of interest. Beautiful lively colors. Striking. Crop the kid away except for his rear end and legs, and doctor the photo in photoshop and no one would ever suspect he was there.

 

Congratulations for being this week's chosen photographer. I am very happy for you.

 

Willie the Cropper

In looking through your portfolio, I see a lot of images that I really like. Most of these are quite heavily processed giving dark, moody skys or other elements. Some, quite a few really talk to me.

 

When I first looked at this picture early this afternoon, I thought we had another photo by last weeks's POW photographer, Dariusz Kilmczak, but no, you do work at least on this picture much like last weeks photographer does.

 

If my art teacher, rest her soul, were to see this POW, she would have a fit with the little girl running out of the picture,rather than into it, and the other figure of attraction halfway out of the other side. These elements were stressed to me in my early life, so that I cannot say that it helps the photograph. It is totally contrary to my training. I do like the post proccessing work. That, fact, in my view, is about all that it has going for it. Sure, I feel the glee of the little girl escaping or running off, and the the half woman looking the other way, but I don'tunderstand the purpose of the picture. Without the post processing, it would be just another "throw away" picture. Sorry, I just don't get it.

 

I see absolutely no use for the top inch of the picture except it is dark and balances out the darkness on the left, right and bottom of the photograph. What this does is draw ones attention into the center of the picture, but that center has no subject.

 

I would crop off the top inch and a half and rather than have an unnecessary dark band across the top, I think you would achieve more by burning in a little darkness in the upper corners and a little acrosss the top and achieve a similar image.

 

I do like your post processing work, but I cannot say this work provides me with anything but frustration.

 

Willie the Cropper

Chad, I thank you for your comments on the above picture, and I agree that there should be a bit more space on the right. This was truly a "grab" shot and I probably didn't compose too well. I guess I could add a little space with the magic of PhotoShop to improve it. See you in POW.

After reviewing your other images I see that you have mastered a unique style in your work. Most of the pictures are composed of a central object, usually a tree, an open field and a single lone person. Frequently you include a bird, a flock of birds or some other flying object. Often there is a road, trail, boardwalk or streak of light. Very simple and uncomplicated subject matter but real attention getters. They are very "Edgar Allan Poeish" very dark and dreary, lonely, morose, often misty and unusually strange. Pictures in disguise comes to mind. Along with several others, I would like to hear how you achieve these melancholy scenes.

 

Even though I fancy myself as a cropper of images, I would not even consider changing any of these in that way. I have one element in this picture of the week, which does bother me and that is the size of the figure looking at the tree. She seems too small by maybe 10 or 15 percent. None of your others gives me that feeling.

 

I really enjoyed looking at your work. Congratulations for being the selected one this week.

 

Willie the Cropper