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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
Paul, you will be missed; I wish you the very best in your next adventure.
I enjoyed viewing your image today. You had a good eye to find this great capture from the original photograph. I believe converting it to black and white made it a better photo. I like the detail, contrast, and texture in this image. I also think your choice of crop was excellent.
I have two suggestions--one is to work with the brightness on the clouds. If you can isolate the highlights and bring them down a touch, I think that will make this a perfect image. Secondly, three clouds seem to draw my eye off the ship. The first one is in the upper left corner, and the other two clouds are on the right side of the frame. One reminds me of a dog chasing a ball and the other is brighter just below it (looks like a bright half circle).
Best regards,
LuAnn |
Jun 16th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
You have improved, Pandula, with every photo you submit. I agree with Julie and Oliver; this is a beautiful photograph!!
You have nice texture in her hair; her face is exactly where my eyes are drawn, her hand and fingers are softly touching her face, and her fingers are at a very feminine angle. I do not see any blown highlights, and the fur wrap is showing good detail. Her skin looks natural, and her neckline area shows a lovely female form. Lastly, as Julie noted, the chiaroscuro lighting is beautiful.
The only suggestion I can give is also with the eyes--too light as the others noted above. Your model has beautiful naturally dark brown eyes so work with them and you will have a perfect image.
Best regards,
LuAnn |
Jun 16th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
Hello, Gary, you are a superstar when it comes to creating sepia tone monochrome images! Your photograph is beautiful, and I bet it was an excellent travel experience--very inspiring!!
I had to look up the location of this monastery to get a better understanding of where you were. I am always intrigued by countries that have historical landmarks that have been around for centuries, such as this one.
The point-of-view you took shows how difficult the terrain would be to get to this monastery "in the heavens." I can also see, as you said, a semblance to M.C. Escher's paintings specifically "Cities on the Shore."
As I see it, using the white vignette was the right choice; it makes use of the white sky and helps bring the focus to the center of the image--it also goes well with the sepia tone.
My only suggestion is to play a bit with the white vignette. I know this is totally subjective. Would you consider a vignette that was a little narrower and a little less noticeable?
Bravo my friend another great image!
Best regards,
LuAnn |
Jun 16th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
Hello, Julie, nice to meet you and welcome to the group!
I worked with Scott Fowler on an online PSA class a while back--very nice guy and an amazing portrait photographer!! You were lucky to have the opportunity to attend his workshop in New Zealand.
I like the woodland setting of your portrait--almost ethereal feeling with the visible background. I am not a portrait photographer, so I can only comment from what I have seen and learned online. I do like chiaroscuro and Rembrandt lighting.
With that said, I think you did well with your attempt at chiaroscuro. You have bold contrasts between light and dark and no overly blown highlights. I also appreciate being able to see the musculature on the model's body, which I believe gives the image depth. Your model's nose ring is fine with me as it provides the viewer with insight about her as a person.
My only suggestion is to add a small adjustment to her ear, her neck where it meets her shoulder, and the white spot on her dress to lower the brightness just a little bit.
I hope you do more portraits it will be nice to see what else you learned from Scott!!
PS: I just went back to look at more examples of chiaroscuro online and they don't seem to correct for bright spots. So disregard my suggestion above. I think your photo is fine just the way you have it!!
Best regards,
LuAnn |
Jun 16th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
Very nice shot here, Hattie!
I see no distractions just a lovely portrait of the gorilla lounging in the tree. I find the blank expression on her face very interesting. Is the gorilla's facial expression saying that she is at ease or longing to be free? Nevertheless, she is pondering something. We often never know the circumstances for these animals to be where they are though they teach us so much.
The first thing that I see that is missing is a catch light in her eyes.
You were wondering about the tree branch. I do not think the tree branch is too bright-the structure/contrast might be a little intense though. The tree in the scene does contribute to the story, and it is keeping the distractions at a minimum. I do not think the darken tree branch takes away from the image. The histogram is well laid out from blacks to whites. I don't think you would want her any darker because then it would take away the texture I can see in her fur-very nice details.
Since the subject is stationary, I suspect you could have used a wider aperture and then lowered the ISO to help with the noise. You were concerned about the focus being on her, and I think there is no question that she is the subject. She has a beautiful dark color to her fur. The tree has texture, and there are no blown highlights. The only other thing you could try is a vignette that is felt but not seen to help her stand out, perhaps, in a way more to your liking.
Best regards,
LuAnn |
Jun 15th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
I agree with Gary; this is a really nice change of pace for black and white photography, Oliver. You did a great job on capturing what I interpret as a crown of glory over the droplet itself! I have never attempted this type of image though I have done soap bubble photography--that of which I don't think would look as nice as your water droplet when converted to monochrome.
My suggestions are solely my humble opinion. I would work on the distracting elements that the container is producing where the tones show as black and white on the histogram. I think if you could even those tones out it would take the distraction off the dish and leave the droplet as the single subject as you would see in a minimalist style ocean landscape with the smooth water. So, I suggest persevering, Oliver, you are almost there.
More shots may be required, but I think there is potential for a beautiful fine art photograph with your chosen subject. Well done, my friend.
Best regards,
LuAnn
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Jun 15th |
| 62 |
Jun 19 |
Comment |
Thank you, Oliver and Hattie, for your suggested edits! Regarding the choice of the crop; it is interesting how the mood of the subject is changed just by the way we crop an image. Comparing Oliver's rendition to Hattie's square crop, I see the square crop taking on a stronger presence may be more menacing as this nuisance perennial is often thought of being when we see it in our yards. But the rectangular crop seems to me to temper the feel of this perennial and along with the sepia toning brings to the viewer's eye, a plant that has been around for a very long time.
On a side note, I learned (from the internet) that dandelions are the first flowers of spring that are actually richer in pollen and nectar than most spring flowers. And, they actually prolong the life span of bees! How cool is that!!
Hattie, you are right in saying the image has a "lonely but peaceful" feel--that was the impact I wanted to convey.
As far as the noise in the image goes, I am a bit of a rebel by nature, so I tend to like to go across the grain of what everyone else is doing--trying my hand at defining my personal style and creativity. I don't see noise in many photos, but there was noise in images back in the day of sepia and black and white so this is my interpretation. Maybe I got it wrong, so feel free to comment, and I am open to corrections and your advice.
Have a wonderful day my friends!
Cheers -- LuAnn |
Jun 15th |
7 comments - 0 replies for Group 62
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7 comments - 0 replies Total
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