|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 2 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Nice capture. You have done very well with the lighting here. As others have commented, you can surely improve the details on the bride and groom. But the totally blacked-out background, with the crucifix only illuminated, is extremely effective.
I suppose all Christian groups place emphasis on marriage, but in the Catholic masses I have attended, they often quote from Scripture about human marriage being a reflection of the relationship of Jesus to the Church. You have all that in this image. |
Feb 14th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 2
|
| 3 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Good shot. It is quite a place.
Read the Wikipedia article to learn about the immense cost of erecting this building in a poor country, and the deterioration of the foundations from the Atlantic salt water. |
Feb 8th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 3
|
| 4 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Sigh. I made a typo of the most important word. She said, "If you WAIT long enough ..." |
Feb 9th |
| 4 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a wonderful shot, and very poignant for me, because some years ago I had a chance to sit in the Grinnell College library Special Collections room, reading the personal letters of Rachel Carson. She wrote to her friend something like this: "We sat out on our porch last night [at their Maine summer cottage] looking at the full moon. You know, if you want long enough, you can see a goose fly across the face of the full moon." |
Feb 8th |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 4
|
| 6 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Tom, great source of unending variations. I like this one very much. Other Digital Dialog members have done colored pencils from time to time. I like your color choices and ordering of the colors on this one--lots of possibilities with 72 to choose from. |
Feb 14th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 6
|
| 7 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Ha! I did not pay attention to the empty barrel, as Tom points out. If you shoot a diagonal view, you can consider placing the empty barrel very near the camera, half-way down the line, and in the distance, then see which you like. |
Feb 14th |
| 7 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Very good idea to switch to b/w, as the color subject is not special. About point of view, how about a diagonal shot showing a receding line? |
Feb 8th |
| 7 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Hi Tom, nice shot in Williamsburg. We go there often from DC; last trip was a year ago with children and grandchildren.
Good job with the added yellow--looks perfect--and I like the glow on the smith. I prefer the unblurred shot. |
Feb 8th |
3 comments - 0 replies for Group 7
|
| 8 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
The individual images, and the combination, are very striking. I think you are on to a personal art form--arranging multiple images into larger compositions--sort of a photographic equivalent of Matisse's cut-outs. |
Feb 8th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 8
|
| 9 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a striking geometric image. I like very much your choice of elliptical framing--an interesting contrast to the angular subject.
Please tell us your story a bit more. Is this a shot into an artwork? What is it made of? What is its name and artist? How big or small is the object? Is it constructed with mirrors or is this the actual depth of the artwork? |
Feb 14th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 9
|
| 15 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a wonderful travel image, taking the rest of us around the world to visit your country and culture. It would be great if you told us more of the story of the Chhath Puja festival.
I see from your bio that you are an applied chemist--any chance that you are partly responsible for the dyes of these womens' clothings?
Also in your bio, you say your are impatient about doing wildlife photography. May I suggest you look at the many Nature groups in these dialogs, where other have done the patience of getting the images for the rest of us to view. I particularly recommend Group 67, where Larry Treadwell and his colleagues are stunning photographers of nature. |
Feb 14th |
| 15 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Nicely done, fun, and original. It also looks a bit like a Medusa. |
Feb 8th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 15
|
| 17 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is so much fun and a highly original idea.
Yes, we have Morris dancers in the USA. We see them most every year here in Washington DC at a Christmas cultural program put on by a group called "The Revels," when has chapters in a few dozen cities here. |
Feb 8th |
| 17 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
All your efforts are rewarded. This is a fine shot. I especially like the receding line and the silhouettes.
Some of our Digital Dialogue colleagues have taught me that this kind of receding line can be fun to reflect and double. See my image attached. |
Feb 8th |
 |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 17
|
| 21 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Hi Joan,
I like your clever combination of the twirled image combined with realistic M&Ms.
But I like your original best, as I shoot a lot of such images, which I call "Jumbles." See my image in Group 32, Jan. 2020, where I show a jumble of nail polish bottles. |
Feb 8th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 21
|
| 22 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
It was all from your group colleagues--I just seconded their suggestion. Fun for all of us to talk together and experiment together! |
Feb 19th |
| 22 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Yes, the vertical does look pretty good, and you are about as close to the boat and people as in your first version.
Considering my reference to "Breezing Up," Homer does not show all of his sail for the same reason--to focus on the four people in the boat. But in your shot, you have less interesting people to look at, so I think your vertical shot of the full sail is very successful. |
Feb 14th |
| 22 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
What a great result. Everyone is saying the same thing. Would you be willing to recompose it for a vertical format and show it to us this month (or next), showing the full sail?
The reference to Winslow Homer is to "Breezing Up (A Fair Wind)" at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, shown below. |
Feb 13th |
 |
| 22 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I like very much the way the light falls into the room on the urn and its surroundings.
I was a little uncomfortable with the apparently unlevel base and tilted window. Perhaps some of that is from your lens or angle of view--not sure. Anyway, how does this look to you? |
Feb 13th |
 |
3 comments - 1 reply for Group 22
|
| 24 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I like both your original and your finished images.
Was this in Taipei? Do you know the name of the square and of the buildings? I sure would like to hear more about the image, and also the story of your visit there. Thanks. |
Feb 13th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 24
|
| 26 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
A bit of elementary science and math: Shooting at 1/4 second, and seeing the length of the tail-light streaks gives us the speed of the cars. |
Feb 13th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 26
|
| 31 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a very clever shot of a color subject into monochrome, emphasizing the patterns. Well done.
Read the Wikipedia article on the Hassan II Mosque to learn about the staggering cost of erecting this building, and the foundation deterioration from the Atlantic Ocean salt water. |
Feb 7th |
| 31 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Very refreshing to see a different kind of shot of the Palouse. Good eye, and well done. |
Feb 7th |
| 31 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
It's so hard, in my experience, to get a good shot of a silver-barked tree, so that it stands out nicely against the forest background. This looks very successful. Nice going. |
Feb 3rd |
3 comments - 0 replies for Group 31
|
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Our trip to Egypt nine years ago was a family vacation, with our adult children and their special others. Therefore, I sent this version out to them (and to my wife) as a "blast from the past." I got back double-exclamation point emails in response, and my wife asked me to print an 8x10 to hang. I gave you credit for the excellent post-processing. Thanks again. |
Feb 19th |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Here is Larry Treadwell's suggestion. He worked from my high-density original. Thanks, Larry. |
Feb 7th |
 |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Tom has a good point about not darkening the background--I withdraw my comment about that. |
Feb 2nd |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Thanks, Larry, I would like to take you up on sending you a bigger file. Please write to me at my personal email address and I will send it to you: sflevitas@gmail.com.
--Steve |
Feb 2nd |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Oh, I think you did remarkably well on this one, getting to direct the model as you did. He looks like a young monk at prayer. I don't know much about competition, but I hope you can make a go of this one. |
Feb 1st |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
It's hard to find a good composition in the field. This one is fine, with the water droplets, and a nice range of tones. Your objective of getting a natural display is fine, but in monochrome, I think you need more separation from the background--can you darken the entire background? |
Feb 1st |
| 32 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Yes, I agree with the character of the subject matter, and your dislike of the door color. It looks just right in monochrome.
But there seem to be white flecks all over the entire image, as if you had printed it on an old enlarger and the negative was covered with dust specks. |
Feb 1st |
5 comments - 2 replies for Group 32
|
| 36 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
You did such an impressive job of emphasizing the artistic monumentality of this sculpture! |
Feb 22nd |
| 36 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Thank you, Michael; that is very interesting to hear about! |
Feb 13th |
| 36 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Fascinating! "the human eye sees at about 1/60 sec." Please tell us more about that. I think I get the idea. Can you refer us to articles or websites about that? |
Feb 13th |
| 36 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Thank you for the information. It was easy to find now that I know the artist's name.
This is certainly a monumental sculpture (in the artistic sense), and you have photographed it to emphasize that. I think it appropriate that you have shown no human scale in your photograph, but I am curious to ask its actual size--I am guessing 50 feet, but that is based on its artistic monumentality. |
Feb 13th |
| 36 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Really stunning subject and a fine capture of it. The comments are very instructional.
Please tell us the name and exact place of this monument. I can't find it using Google. I am guessing that it is a soldiers' or martyrs' monument. Which side of Cyprus is it on? Thanks. |
Feb 12th |
2 comments - 3 replies for Group 36
|
| 38 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Really great angle on the tents and cable cars.
But it looks a touch over-processed. Suggest you tone it down a bit so it does not announce itself, "I am post-processed." |
Feb 22nd |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 38
|
| 43 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I love your image of the objects of daily life. Was this taken in an actual home in use, or a museum house? If in a real home, did you arrange any of the objects for the composition?
I tried to convert this to monochrome, since I am in a Monochrome Group, but the noise from the high ISO was terrible--fortunately not so much in your color image. |
Feb 12th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 43
|
| 45 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
My Group 32 is a monochrome group, so I thought I would try this excellent shot in monochrome. But I did not like the way it came out--it was way too busy. I think the slight color variations in your shot help the eye organize all the planes. |
Feb 11th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 45
|
| 47 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I like everything about this shot (architecture, lighting, composition), except the people--since I have a fondness for architectural shots empty of people. I don't care for the concept that there must be a focal point, usually a person--I think emptiness and tranquility are themselves excellent focal points. |
Feb 7th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 47
|
| 48 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
At first, I thought I would like to see the green bushes blacked out, but I have changed my mind, looking at these four options. I like the last one the most: black background, green bushes, very dark dirt path. I would just also get rid of those two little red streaks at the left, under the bushes. This, to me, approaches a formal studio portrait, lending grandeur to the pose. |
Feb 23rd |
| 48 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Wonderful subject, but I am an extremist for black backgrounds. How about blacking out the bushes also, and darkening the dirt path to just barely show that she is standing on something? |
Feb 22nd |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 48
|
| 49 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Good story of your visit, and a fine shot of your time there. The rivers are usually sacred. It sounds like you got a sense of that. |
Feb 11th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 49
|
| 50 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is an excellent study in emptiness and perspective.
I like that the vanishing point of the right-hand road is in the frame, and wish that were the same on the left.
Both roads converge at the viewer, who of course sees the focal point directly in front of them, so my eye sees: 1) roads, 2) viewer location, 3) focal point. (Vivian Maier would have put her own shadow into the foreground of this shot.) |
Feb 7th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 50
|
| 52 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Nice shot, and it must be hard to get, following them for an hour. Good story about getting the shots.
See Group 67 this month, where Larry Treadwell is discussing shooting at eye level. |
Feb 7th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 52
|
| 58 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
See also Carol Sheppard's image this month in Group 80. |
Feb 9th |
| 58 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
What a great discussion in this image, showing only two pairs of feet, but telling so much.
Is the standing person going to walk by, or engage with the homeless person? I think they are actually pausing in thought, balanced delicately about to move or not move.
See Oliver Morton's similar subject this month in Group 62. |
Feb 6th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 58
|
| 60 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Beautiful shot. I like your careful choice to have the stem enter from the 2/3 point along the bottom.
Of course this is also great for monochrome, and here it is. |
Feb 6th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 60
|
| 61 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Great subject and pose, and very interesting use of drapery.
For portraits like this, I like to darken the shadow side of the face (even run it to black in some cases). What do you think? |
Feb 6th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 61
|
| 62 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
See also Carol Sheppard's image in Group 80 this month. |
Feb 9th |
| 62 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
I can't say the attached shot is perfect, but I hope it illustrates my idea. The boy I shot is standing in a hallway facing an open door. The light is flooding in from one side, but all the light falling on him is indirect. Some may say one side of his face is too dark, but I have a liking for deep shadows on the dark side. |
Feb 7th |
 |
| 62 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
A fine subject and a good pose in a doorway, but it looks like you still have harsh direct light on her face. If you can get her back two or three feet and turn that source light into entirely indirect light, I think you would get better lighting. |
Feb 6th |
| 62 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Pete, I am fascinated by your success at showing such a fine portrait of a person with almost none of the person visible.
Thank you for showing a compelling human story. Far too many of the people photographs in these digital dialogs are merely quaint.
See Gloria Sprung's current image in Group 58 that treats of the same subject. |
Feb 6th |
2 comments - 2 replies for Group 62
|
| 64 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
I don't care for this particular model--I think she has shown up before in the DDs--but your efforts to shoot her are very interesting, and I learned from your discussion with your group colleagues.
I like that you are willing to break rules. If El Greco can show the underside of a nose, then so can you. Here is his painting of The Vision of St. John. |
Feb 22nd |
 |
| 64 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Great detail and texture.
Old barns are dangerous to enter--they can fall down on you.
I only shoot with a G10--the G series are truly great cameras; I use the manual settings on mine all the time. |
Feb 9th |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 64
|
| 66 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
For all the reasons your colleagues have said, this is a most pleasing image.
Consider it flipped left/right, and ask as I am if it makes any difference??? |
Feb 9th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 66
|
| 76 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
In cinema, this is sometimes call a "day-for-night" swap. I like it very much; I think your effort was quite successful. A few other members of our Digital Dialogs have done this from time to time. It is a great technique to remember. |
Feb 9th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 76
|
| 77 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
The many layers of receding karsts in your shot are fascinating, and of course the old Chinese scrolls were painted more from life than we realize until we see wonderful photographs such as this.
I suggest toning down the golden brightness just a touch, so that this image does not announce "I am post-processed."
|
Feb 22nd |
| 77 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Our son got married in Leavenworth ten years ago--I still remember the trees around the outdoor pavillion where the ceremony took place. You wonderful ICM shot brings it all back. |
Feb 5th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 77
|
| 78 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Great subject and nicely captured.
Even though the perspective is true to what you saw, since you have cropped out most of the road, I found the angle of the road a little disturbingly slanted. So here it is rotated .85 degrees to the right. |
Feb 5th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 78
|
| 79 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Hello Karl, this is a MOST interesting discussion! By getting very original and going outside conventions and boundaries, you have very much succeeded in stimulating reactions and discussions from your group colleagues.
I have learned from you and others in the PSA DDs that it is often the model that stimulates the shoot. You have certainly followed your model's lead here. She projects a great deal of personality and feeling--always great. I think this is the key thing I am getting out of this image.
Your result is a fine image technically, and an extremely original composition--the angle from which you shot, your model's muscular activity, and the rope-climbing setting.
My basic reaction is an unspecified startle. I am not concerned about the nudity or suggested role-playing, but rather wondering what is being said by this image. It is not in praise of the nude form, it is not about role-playing, it is certainly not about rope-climbing. I come back to concluding that it is a discussion about being a model and utterly acting while being a model. In that sense, I am fascinated, but I am also one layer removed from an actual story.
Thanks for sharing this. It is really interesting! |
Feb 21st |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 79
|
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Yes, I encourage you to visit the other groups. I have found it very interesting, enriching, and pleasant. I have made several internet friends among my contacts. Beverly is one of them. Remember you can overview all the images in all the groups at once with the new "Current Images" button at the top of this page. |
Feb 21st |
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Like Beverly, I visit all of the groups (several times) every month, and have been doing that for the last two years. There are always a few vigorous discussions that tell stories about getting the shot, traveling to the place, or what the image means to everyone. Your discussion here has been for me one of the reasons why I like the Digital Dialogues--to learn what each person thinks. |
Feb 20th |
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Excellent analysis of the dynamic relationships between the live woman and the two painted women! Now that you point it out and I think about it, the museum curator must surely have placed those two paintings deliberately. |
Feb 20th |
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I take your point to heart. Every time I see public art work, public parks, public libraries, publically supported performing arts, even a median strip on a highway planted with flowers, I wonder if the money and effort on those were properly spent. In the most extreme analysis, it can even be public decoration vs. the loss of health or life. I don't know how to solve this imbalance, but I do know that it is a great failure to even let a single person have an unassisted existence.
See also this month similar subjects by Oliver Morton in Group 62 and Gloria Spring in Group 58. |
Feb 9th |
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Nice candid shot. Your original shows a child with outstretched legs running also for the train. Suggest you include the child and switch to landscape format. |
Feb 5th |
| 80 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Very successful shot, and wonderful to see those two famous Hopper paintings in the shot. I like how your tones are similar to Hopper's, and yes the women are in similar poses!
For a study of people looking at museum paintings, see the work of Thomas Struth--just Google him. Here is one of his museum shots. |
Feb 5th |
 |
4 comments - 2 replies for Group 80
|
| 82 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Yes, of course you are right about sun and sky--I just meant it as something to bear in mind when composing. |
Feb 7th |
| 82 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
I like your unique viewpoint across the rooftops, and your leading lines work very well.
How about telling us the technical data, especially focal length and aperture?
Also, since you noted you replaced the sky, perhaps you should use a partly cloudy sky, because otherwise you have an overcast sky, but a sunlit subject. |
Feb 5th |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 82
|
| 83 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
I agree about never (or rarely) altering perspective--because what the camera sees is exactly what your eye sees. Receding parallel lines will always appear to converge because they subtend a smaller angle as they get further away. This happens for horizontal views like streets, or vertical views like tall buildings. Architectural photographers sometimes alter perspective for commercial reasons--it is not true to the original view. |
Feb 5th |
| 83 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a fine study in perspective--which interests me a lot. I like that you did not alter the perspective, so that the steam plant buildings have a soaring effect. I expected that altering the perspective would render a poor result, so I tried it with PS Elements "skew". I do not care for my result, but it is not so bad as I expected it would be. So here it is for discussion. |
Feb 5th |
 |
| 83 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Congratulations on capturing the life of your city. So many of the tourist shots simply catch "quaint" images of people, without explaining their life, circumstances, or struggles. You show your musician's daily life in his city. This certainly would be part of an excellent exhibition. |
Feb 5th |
2 comments - 1 reply for Group 83
|
| 86 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is very poignant for me. I lived in Minnesota when I was in fifth grade--and we studied State history and geography. I still remember the name of Lake Itasca, as well as at least one iron ore range. Thanks for taking me back in your lovely image to where I never visited, but knew about. |
Feb 18th |
| 86 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Hi, my Group 32 is a monochrome group, so I am always on the lookout for color shots that would also work as monochrome. Your lovely alley shot will also look good in monochrome. You have given it very good light. See the attached. |
Feb 18th |
 |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 86
|
| 89 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Wonderful demonstration of the effect of a long exposure. It looks like morning fog. Beautiful. |
Feb 18th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 89
|
| 92 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
How clever you were to see the excellent picture within the scene! Very interesting that you showed us the broader view. |
Feb 18th |
| 92 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
Good eye to spot this child and capture such a spontaneous and expressive face.
Where was that road you were traveling on, and where were you going? Is there a story to share with the rest of us? I (maybe we) would love to hear it. |
Feb 8th |
| 92 |
Feb 20 |
Reply |
Geoff,
I think both approaches would work fine--either including the half bottom story or not.
You must have some good lens for this, as there isn't a trace of lens distortion (not the same as perspective problem) showing in the parallel lines. It looks just great. |
Feb 3rd |
| 92 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a striking composition, and from your comments I understand that you gave it some thought.
What was your thinking about including only part of the lowest story?
Also, the lines are very precisely parallel. Did you alter the perspective as taken? Did you have to correct lens distortion? |
Feb 2nd |
3 comments - 1 reply for Group 92
|
| 93 |
Feb 20 |
Comment |
This is a lovely spontaneous photograph. In additions to the comments above, it would be wonderful if you shared your story of your trip to China and told us where these people are, what type of place they are gathering at, what they are doing, and if they are family or friends. Thank you. Part of the fun of sharing photographs is to share stories. |
Feb 3rd |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 93
|
65 comments - 15 replies Total
|
