brad_farwell

I have to say, I really enjoy this image. The overexposure doesn't bother me, and though I suppose we could zone system this thing out, it seems that exposing the sky and sea to a grey would have wiped out the skintone of the figures... which, isolated against the blank sky/water, is one of the bits I like the most.

Its freezing the figures in the range of poses, in a semi-abstract background, lends the image a surreal air which, reminds me, as it has others, of Bresson. There is also a interesting tension created by the posture of the diving (falling) female figure, which I enjoy.

(in composition and atmosphere, it also reminds me a bit of Gabriele Basilico, with the starkness of the image and the isolation of the people in the environment.)

One of the few POWs that has jumped out and grabbed me. Congrats.

Actually, this is a rare shot of the fairly reticent SuperGirl, in the act of flying down to rescue a sheep that was in danger. ;)

Great shot- I love the lighting, composition, etc.

As someone who shoots a lot at the beach, I think it's a very nice shot, with what appears to me to be a lovely tonal range- the darkness of the image (perhaps my monitor, as always) really give it a darkness and ominous foreboding/strangeness that really appeals to me. It makes the jump from just a candid landscape to a symbolic one, with enough ambiguity to let you come back and view it again.

The sloping horizon is a bit of a bother, but I must admit that it took my coming back and looking a second time to notice it- probably the landmass at the right threw my eye off. I also agree with those who said that the seagulls at the left seem to interfere- but I would probably say to photoshop them out, rather than crop- the expansiveness of the shot seems an important aspect of the composition that would be injured by cropping. A larger image would help, but i would prefer even more to see a really big print of the thing; the squareish monitor always frustrates my viewing of panoramic prints, even at high dpi.

Though it is doubtless fat in the fire, I would also point out that these things are *always* a matter of taste, and perhaps humility from our weekly critics would be appreciated... Your own photos, Tris, seem extraordinarily banal and predictable to me, so perhaps you should carp less. I am certain there are those who find my own work (and certainly the little bit I uploaded however long ago) terrible as well, but I'm not claiming to be the world's prime arbiter of taste.

Have to agree that the image isn't terribly shocking or heart-wrenching unless you live far away from a major metropolitan area. Do like the guy's posture, sort of echoes a formal bow at the end of an opera or somesuch... but the sign breaks that mood.

Do have to completely disagree with the smug cocky self-assured comments of the monied classes about the bunch of cell-phone toting bums running around secretly having a great time being homeless and crapping on doorsteps.

(I mean, really. Are you mad? Did you miss Dorothea Lange? Have you been to Detroit?)

Irrespective of the specific quality of this shot, I think that the confrontation and the subsequent issues raised by street photography make it an important genre for all photographers to at least experiment with. Getting a good shot oft requires guts, forethought, and people skills, and shooting on the street is an excellent way to develop them all.

I like the composition a lot, but the grey area of the tree at the top (flare?) really doesn't do it for me; I would much rather that it maintained the overall dark tone... a flat image as a foil to the soft greys behind it.

Having said that, if I saw the actual print, there could be more tonal range in the rest of the tree that would change my mind. ;)

A beautiful photograph just on composition and tone, to say nothing of the subject. It reminds me of images of death-masks, and the feeling that the hand on the right is either holding up this image of the face or about to remove it is really fantastic. Big thumbs-up.

I disagree with the "voyeurism" implication. I don't think there is any sense that you are taking advantage of this guy any more than taking a photograph of anyone else on the street is taking advantage of them (though there are folks who would say that is immoral too. I just disagree with them.)

It seems to me a photograph and portrait first, and not some sort of squalid sensationalism. There is a tenderness in your approach, I think aided by the close range, that exalts rather than denigrades the subject. And heck, most folks I have photographed and then approached afterward and given a copy of the picture are very happy to have an image of themselves, that someone cared enough to take a picture.

Trite subject, but a _great_ composition. Texture, graphic layout, it's all really nice. I might want to burn down the white bit between the two of them, it seems a little distracting, but that's just a quibble and I could change my mind if I saw it. Excellent cropping, as well.

(though, again, no deep meaningful reaction to girl and horse conceptually)

Does anyone have experience trying to capture to moment of ignition for a setup like this? It seems like the burst of magnesium or whatever it is that first catches would be really bright and quick, requiring a short exposure, but could throw everything else into black unless there is some good flash going on.

Anyway, the beginning of the next match igniting could also contribute to the feeling of dynamic motion that is being discussed. Just a thought. Did you require air blowing from the right to keep the lit match from igniting the next one?

Come *on* people. I mean, a still-life photographer who shoots mostly stock is going to have different ideas about what is a good shot from a sports photographer from Ed Weston from Chris Giglio.

I think we would be much better off if we could both lose the inane "hey, cool picture" comments which say nothing *and* lose the "the inclusion of this picture destroys the entire concept of photography" garbage.

Perhaps, just perhaps, we could be intelligent enough to find interesting things to comment on in many types and styles of photography.

Perhaps, if we did this, the author of the photograph would then feel okay about JOINING THE DEBATE and we could all LEARN SOMETHING about how and why they created the picture they did.

So stop your damn whining. I've looked at some of your portfolios and I think they're banal, and I've thought some were brilliant. That is irrelevant to an intelligent discussion of a photo. (Perhaps I'll upload mine and you can form your own opinions about them, as well.)

The snivelling immaturity shown here does a disservice to photographers as a group, and I apologize for my continuing the distraction. I would still love to know what the lighting for this shot was and what kind of matches they were.

brad

I'd also be interested in the technical how of the exposure for such a shot; and just what the heck those matches *are*, anway. I can't say I've seen anything like them.

Did you use (or try) a flash for this shot? What effect does/would flash have on the image of the flame?

Anyway, it's an interesting stock shot. Nice work.