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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Tom, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I am glad that you agree with my philosophy that there is always something to photograph. Unfortunately, I cannot find the original image so I cannot show the 'Before' version. |
Dec 30th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Lisa, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. Like you, I love ICM and the results it can produce, all which cannot be replicated. I like your suggestion of cropping out or at least toning down the cream strip at the bottom of the central frame as it tends to draw the eye. |
Dec 30th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Nadia, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I wish you well with your ICM endeavours. One thing to remember is that there is no right/wrong way to do it; they are all right and more importantly, each iteration is different. I like your interpretation of the two ghostly figures floating in the landscape which adds to the visual story. |
Dec 22nd |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Nadia, The more I look at your image, and I have done so frequently, the more it oozes quality. Congratulations. |
Dec 16th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Henry, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I like to create images that are not reality but in some strange way they are. This is very much a case of joining up the dots in the mind's eye. I wish you well with your ICM experimentation. I have always been a fan of Giles cartoons. They are so busy and full of information that the more you look, the more you see; not unlike images that are more than the sum of the parts. |
Dec 16th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Henry, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I have always considered photography to be an art form although there are many traditional artists, of mature years, who would not share that view. I always reinforce it whenever/wherever I can. I keep meaning to update my website but I never seem to find time to get round to it. This must be something to do with retirement and not having enough time. |
Dec 16th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Henry, Isn't it good that we can interpret images in different ways? I saw the horse passing through the 'drop-shadow' portal for his new life beyond in retirement, but before he made the final transition, there was a rearward glance to reflect on what had been in his life, before continuing his journey. Within that storyline, perhaps the horse 'leaving' the frame is the appropriate orientation. I agree that it is a good idea to prioritize in retirement as things can creep up on you; as in your case, you no longer have 10/10 vision. I know the feeling well as I have had shaky hands (recently diagnosed as Benign Essential Hand Tremor) ever since a teenager. Clearly, this is not an endearing quality for a photographer, but it has encouraged me over the years to develop my use of ICM and produce images that reflect feeling, emotion and mood rather than a mere record. |
Dec 16th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Brad, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I quite like producing images either in camera and/or in computer where the final version is more than the sum of the original parts. In other words, I try to create something that was not present in the reality. I also like to bridge the gap between photography and traditional art. The bottom line of course is that they are all art forms and in photography we are painting with light. |
Dec 12th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Lisa, This is a good example of taking the time to see. Setting the camera to a long exposure, the end result allows you to see the sum of the parts. I visualise your image as a stage performance. The darker toned areas of foreground left, river and strip mid-background create the empty stage which is lit by the flood lights of the gradient sky. The scene is set and all we need are the performers and we have them in abundance with all the vehicles travelling to-and-fro. The time lapse has produced two arrowheads of colour, all travelling to or originating from the right-hand-side of the frame. Many years ago, I was reading an article in a photographic magazine that was exploring this technique. However, in this case, there was one car on the wrong side of the road as there were two white light trails among the reds; obviously travelling in the wrong direction. This is an uncluttered image but it is very effective in its graphic simplicity. |
Dec 12th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Nadia, You have certainly created an image that is full of impact, thanks to the saturated yellows of the transformer and the complementary blues of your grandsons, all set against that wonderful landscape. The image is technically very competent (re exposure, sharpness, colour saturation, tonal range, composition) and it is good that you were so ably assisted by your two little helpers. Although at a family bonding level the addition of the red car works a treat, at a photographic level it is a little distracting. I can sense the brotherly love between your two grandsons and had to chuckle at the thought of the younger just about to decapitate the older with his light sabre. This image works at many levels. I particularly like the skeletal tree and birds silhouetted against the moon (this is a picture in its own right); how the moon dissolves seamlessly into that wonderful night sky; how the transformer is so dominant in the frame; how your grandsons are perfectly placed in the lower right quadrant to add a human dimension to the composite; and the overall complex visual story. Well done. |
Dec 12th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Reply |
Tom, That sounds like a fun idea for the group. Count me in. |
Dec 11th |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Tom, This is a very thought-provoking and engaging self-portrait which grabs and holds the viewer's attention. It is set in a sombre, moody and atmospheric landscape which enhances the visual story that you are telling. I like the link between the expression on your face and the monochrome treatment you have chosen, which is reinforced by the tonal range and contrast you have selected. Compositionally, there is a good recession into the picture. Placing yourself as foreground interest sets the scene well and we follow the winding road past your cat, to the house with the lit window and then upwards to the bird soaring in the darkened sky. The more I looked at your image, the more my eyes were drawn to the two buttons on your coat which I found a little distracting. Similarly, I noticed that you had included a 6-pixel lighter 'border' at the top and bottom of the image. I wondered whether some judicious cropping off the top and bottom would help, per below. I have also stroked a one-pixel white line around the image to prevent bleed-over of the dark tones of the image into the black background. |
Dec 11th |
 |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Henry, You will have gathered that I am a fan of Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) and therefore it will come as no surprise that I like your submission this month. I like the dichotomy between the variation ot the analogue shapes of the ICM of the lily compared to the geometric regularity of the rectangular shapes. This reminds me of when I did my MA Degree in Photography, one of the photographers I looked at was English conceptual artist John Hilliard. He deliberately placed obstructions within his pictures; his rationale being that he wanted the viewer to look over/under/around these to get to the content of his images. I agree with Brad that your addition of the rectangles transcend your image from reality (albeit ICM) into the realms of Fine Art. The limited colour palette of yellow and green is begging for a focal point of complementary colour. I must be a lateral person in that I find your image more visually appealing when it is rotated 90 degrees clockwise and then flipped vertically per below.
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Dec 11th |
 |
| 41 |
Dec 22 |
Comment |
Brad, It is interesting how the inspiration for our photography picks up on the changes in our lives and in your case, the label on the signpost 'Transition to Retirement' would be apposite here. I retired on April Fools Day 2002 and when at work, I used to scoff at colleagues who said that I would not have enough time when I retired to do all the things I wanted to do. How right they were! Anyway, back to your image. This is another of your very believable composites which is very visually appealing. I like the way that you started with the landscape and then introduced a rectangular drop-shadow in the centre. The result of this was to create the illusion that this central part was standing proud of the landscape in the background, almost like a portal from one to the other. I also like the way that you have been selective in your use of the effect to give the impression that the transition out of the landscape towards the lower right corner was seamless. Having created the theatre backdrop, all you needed was the 'performer' to play its part and your choice of the horse was a good one as it stands nobly within the landscape. Compositionally, there is always a danger when placing subjects on the edges of the frame that they seem to be going 'out of' and not 'into' the picture. However, you have got away with it in this case as the horse is looking towards 'you the photographer' and encouraging the viewer to look back into the landscape thereby creating good circularity within the image. Well done. |
Dec 11th |
6 comments - 8 replies for Group 41
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6 comments - 8 replies Total
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