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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 18 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Joan, I love your image which works so much better as a monochrome negative. You have created a wonderful high-key image and I particularly like the way that the flamingoes stand proud of the white background. Three is a compositionally strong number and the two beaks at the top of the frame are isolated perfectly. |
Feb 8th |
| 18 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Andrew, Your transition of colours from Original to Final image works well and adds to the visual story. The overall blue tone with the complementary yellow lines works well. I like the way that you have minimised the Topaz effect on the driver, fireman and nameplate. The curve on the front of the boiler reminded me of the 'Streaker' Sir Nigel Gresley which often passed through Inverkeithing towards the Forth Bridge en route south to Edinburgh and beyond when I was train-spotting as a youngster. Question if I may: how do you scan your transparencies into digital form? |
Feb 8th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 18
|
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Nadia, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. Your point is well made about the emptiness on the left side of the frame. However, at the time of creating the image, I thought that the yellow circles and blotches was sufficient to create an interest on that side of the picture, particularly as you had to look for them to see them. A case of 'Once seen, never forgotten'. |
Feb 23rd |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Tom, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. You are too kind. Don't do yourself down, as your own images are well-thought out with good pre-visualisation through to execution and work at many levels of (often academic) understanding. They are visually challenging and I look forward with eager anticipation each month to seeing your latest submission. For me, the best form of feedback is always from the heart and describing what the image says to you, what feelings it invokes, whether it engages with you and so on. The advantage of Study Groups such as this one is that it exposes each one of us to different genres of photography, some of which we may not be familiar with. |
Feb 21st |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hazel, I would normally have been delighted to judge and/or give a talk at Hay Camera Club but for medical reasons I have recently taken the decision not to do any more judging and lecturing. Therefore, from next year, my name will be removed from the PAGB Handbook and the MCPF Guide. |
Feb 20th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hazel, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I take your point about the red area being rather empty but there is always a balance to be struck between having lots of visual stimuli in the image and creating visual cues to direct the viewer to where the interest is. In the former case, there is always the danger of having too much in an image which can overload the viewer. I find that the attention is drawn to where the detail is and this can be aided by having empty areas in the picture. |
Feb 20th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Nadia, Thank you for your kind words which are much appreciated. I am delighted to hear that your model did not want her birthmark to be removed. She is to be applauded as that makes her who she is and she is obviously proud of her body. |
Feb 18th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Brad, Thank you for your kind words and suggestions which are much appreciated. I like the sense of water in the lower right corner tumbling over a waterfall out of sight. I also like your suggestion of introducing a low opacity landscape over the black bumper to reinforce the sense of water flowing through a landscape. |
Feb 18th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Hazel, I know of Lisa Rendell but have not had the pleasure of listening to one of her lectures. Google identifies her as the Rebel of the Art of Photography, FreeStyle Creative Photography, Multi UK Award winning Creative photographer. As an aside, we are doing a Home Sit near Abbey Dore but unfortunately I missed the opportunity to visit Hay Camera Club last Tuesday and we are returning home next Tuesday. Perhaps next year we will be able to meet up. |
Feb 18th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Brad, The changes you have made work for me and makes the image much more interesting. I like the way that you have added the additional layer with the drop shadow which creates an added depth to the image and created a burning watery hole through which your son is swimming towards the new landscape in the distance and taking us with him. This is further reinforced by the bubbles from the aqualung appearing on both layers. Congratulations and well done. |
Feb 18th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Reply |
Brad, My philosophy on rules is that they are merely guidelines towards a common understanding which can be broken or ignored as the author wishes in accordancee with the visual story being portrayed. I had a look at your January image 'Migration' on Group 54. Interestingly, in this case, I note that you deliberately placed the bird in the upper left quadrant yet I don't see the bird as flying out of the frame but transitioning through it. Perhaps this is because there is such a powerful visual contrast between the mid/dark-tone background and the much lighter tones of the bird. Perhaps it is because the milky way reflection is anchoring the bird into the lower right quadrant. Without a knowledge of your personal experiences during the past year or so, it is only when we read the background to your image that we start to appreciate your primary consideration was to create an image which had a resonance of transition; loss, change, leaving. The bottom line is that if the image is right for you, then why change it?
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Feb 18th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Hazel, When I first saw your image, I wasn't quite sure what I was looking at. I could see the stained glass window and the crucifix on the altar in front of it but what was the human-like shadow towering above them? Because I didn't fully understand what I was looking at, this drew me in to the picture and encouraged me to engage with it. Of course, when I read your summary of the image, I realized that the brown humanoid form was in fact was a faded image of the Grim Reaper and then it all made sense. I like the way that you have retained detail in the stained glass windows without any blown out highlights. The size and placement of the Grim Reaper works well and links the various elements of the visual story. There is an interesting radial tactile quality to the picture that I find most appealing. Well done. |
Feb 7th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Nadia, It looks as though you had fun with this image and I am reminded of the comment that 'The camera never lies'. Clearly, in this case it does, as you have created the fabric of the lock, introduced the lightning, imported the rain and altered the falling waves. As we are looking through a keyhole, there is a sense that this is a covert activity we are observing and we are witnessing a private moment. I like the way you have created an interesting visual story with the windswept model gazing into the shapes, patterns and textures on the water. I would have preferred if you had kept the original line of the leading wave which would have created a good lead-in line beyond the keyhole. A small point but it is a pity that you have not cloned out what looks like a port-wine stain near the model's right eye.
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Feb 6th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Tom, I like your Original image, the romantic quality of which is enhanced by the sepia toning and minimalist approach. It is interesting how you have pre-visualised the process from your three Originals through to the end composite. When I first saw your image, I spent some time looking for your good self, as you normally like to include yourself in your images. I wondered whether you had come to a crossroads in your photography. Perhaps you were subliminally masquerading as the monkey or the woman to make us ask questions of ourselves. I like the way that the model is standing in the room yet her arms on/behind the curtains introduces a sense of uncertainty. However, I find the inclusion of the monkey a little incongruous and the light fitting in the top right corner distracting. On balance, I would have preferred if the sepia toning had been retained and with the absence of the monkey, the empty chair would have conjured up a much stronger visual story in the mind's eye of the viewer. |
Feb 6th |
| 41 |
Feb 23 |
Comment |
Brad, This is an interesting concept to combine underwater with over-ground pictures in order to create and/or enhance an overall visual story. In combining the images, it is a pity that you have lost some of the technical quality of the Original which makes the composite slightly opaque. Compositionally, it is also a pity that you have placed yourself in the top left corner which creates the illusion that you are snorkelling out of the picture, and taking the viewer's attention with you. I would have preferred if you (and your son) had been placed in the lower part of the top right quadrant and with all the air bubbles showing. By so doing, you would have created the illusion that you were swimming 'into' and not 'out of' the landscape. Alternatively, you could Flip Horizontally your Original 2 and import it into the landscape. This would strengthen the visual presence of the double yellow lines and maximize the left-to-right flow in your composite. You might like to think about adding a touch of Radial Blur, centred on the snow-capped mountains, which would further enhance the overall sense of movement. |
Feb 6th |
4 comments - 9 replies for Group 41
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6 comments - 9 replies Total
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