Right. Continuing on, then:
Red Light, by Wendy Beard - I like this one. I don't know why, but I do. It's such an ordinary, run of the mill, mundane scene, but I find it compelling. The angles angles or geometry in the frame? The sky? The "red-ness" of the light? I guess it's that, but to me it seems an interesting commetary of our urban existence. There's not a human in sight - not even another car! It's so bleak, devoid of any beauty. It's absolutely dehumanizing. It's just there, and unfortunately, it's everywhere. For whatever reason, I think there's a hell of a lot more to this photo than meets the eye. I think this is a great photo, Wendy. Golden Gate, by Arnie - I love the Golden Gate Bridge. To me, with it's Art Deco inspired design, it's the most beautiful bridge I've seen (sorry New Yorkers, the Brooklyn Bridge may be more historically significant, and it certainly is beautiful, but the GGB beats it). Lovely photo. Perfect time of dusk, with the sky still a bit light, the lights of the bridge on, one evening star visible, the silhouette of the hills in the background. Perfect framing, it seems to catch the bridge at its most majestic. It should be on a postcard or in a coffee table book. Gorgeous. Red Leaf at Noon by Thawatchai Kongsaktragool - Interesting composition; the nice tight crop gives it an almost abstract look, especially with those vibrant reds. Two mild criticisms: 1) It's not really too sharp on my screen. I suspect that the initial slide is quite sharp, but that something was lost in the scanning/resizing for PUG process. If so, too bad, because I think this would look stunning if it were tack-sharp; 2) At the top of the frame, there's bright blue (the sky?) and a completely blown out yellow highlight. I find these a bit distracting, especially the yellow. Maybe there's nothing to be done WRT the original slide, but if possible, I might try to tone those down in whatever scanning/imaging software you're using. Even with those two crticisms, I think this is a strong photo. Thanks for posting it. Madawaska River Red by Dave Brooks - I'm a bit of a sucker for these sorts of shots - a little forelorn looking red-leaved tree among giants. I kind of wish the reds were a bit more vibrant, but oh well, you gotta deal with what you deal with, right? As well, I suspect that you're being sort of penalized by scanning and resizing for the web - you must lose much of the big 6x7 impact that way. I'm sure it looks lovely all blowed up on a wall. Good composition - I like the brownish crap in the foreground, and the green/yellow background - they balance out the red tree nicely. A lovely capture of a typical Canadian fall day. Thanks. Oriental Poppy by the lovely Annsan - A different look - nice! Usually we see flower shots looking into the bloom, but you've wisely chosen to show us the back of it, and it's a refreshing interpretation. Terrific composition - I really like the stem of the top left bloom snaking it's way around the bottom flower. The crop and proportions are about perfect. Love the dense foliage in the background; I don't know where you took this, Ann, but it seems as if it's deep in the jungle of some exotic Asian local (even though it's likely at some greenhouse in Brooklyn or something <LOL>). Nice photo, Ann. Hibiscus by Ryan Lee - Real narrow dof - I gotta be honest, the first time I saw it, I wasn't sure, but the more I look, the more I like. The OOF petals are pretty cool. I'm not so sure of the bokeh - I don't know if it's the lens or the way the light's falling on those green leaves, but it seems a bit blown out on my screen, and not entirely pleasing. That may just be me, and others may really like it, so don't put too much stock in what I'm saying (as if anyone ever does <g>). Having looked at it a few more times whilst typing this, I like it even more than a few minutes ago - I wonder, though, Ryan: Have you thought of a square crop for this? It might look real nice. Just a thought, but overall, a very nice photo. Flower Within by Steve Desjardins - Gorgeous. Not much that I can say by way of critique - just look at it and enjoy! Everything works and it's beautiful. Thanks! More later, when I have a few minutes to kill. cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson
