I agree with this appreciation.
It’s one of those examples where photography truly lives up to its potential AND to its etymological meaning.
The way that soft warm light caresses the contours of the face in order to reveal them, is breathtaking.
Photography with a single and most unusual light source can be SO rewarding.
It’s like the smartphone-lit portrait of the two children last week.
But (without meaning to degrade that one) that shot was a beautiful personal memento while this one is National Geographic grade.
The only thing that could improve it is just a bit more free space above the head.
(BTW : I also adored the Riksha driver of last week, but when I got around to commenting, Mike had already said it all.)
I enjoy it when we get a peek behind the scenes. What you did with PP here is impressive and I like the final result (but we will have to disagree on the finger.) It would never have occurred to me to try this from your original.
Excellent street portrait but more interesting because of the extra information you provide. He looks iconic and it turns out he actually is - a story of Australia wrapped up in a single individual. This is perfectly composed, with the main character clearly identifiable even though the others are interesting too. Catching him mid step lets us hear the music and sense the rhythm of his movement. Fascinating character and image.
The green stripes of differently toned water at the different depths are sandwiched nicely between browns and blues that are extensions of the same hues. The compositional element that holds your sandwich together is the long spear of the breakwater (or whatever it is called there) which points to the little tree covered island, turning the whole design into one big "Z". Very satisfying visually.
That shadow sequence could turn anything into a good image, just the same as a good stretch of beach fencing can. The balanced diagonals, the sharp edges, the range of tones, all contribute to the success here. I'm not much bothered by the silver bar at the bottom, or the light switches, or the picture frame. They are stray notes dominated by the strength of the larger more powerful music piece.
Beautiful cultural portrait, as serious as Mike's is jolly, but in that same subset of pictures that open us up to a culturally unfamiliar world that is rich in detail and depth. The best of travel photography happens when we perceive the richness that is foreign to us and stop to ponder it. This is that kind of image. The rim lighting is beautiful and the background is just the right degree of blur to interpret but not interfere. Lovely work.
A lovely portrait of a fairy's umbrella. I can imagine its occupant. Perfect triangular forum creates a certain type of balance in the composition. I might consider toning down the blues in the shadow just a touch. Will you switch from dragonflies to fungi? I once spent a season obsessed with them and was amazed at the variety I'd never noticed till I started taking pictures of them.
With this image, I find myself disagreeing to some extent with the previous comments. The boys face, the outlining and the shirt detail are marvelous. Full of early morning atmospherics and a suitable touch of mysticism. After that, there is a lot that is difficult to distinguish. I wouldn't have worked out that a tika was being applied without Pete's introduction. Even then, it's difficult to make out that this is what is happening. We have to explore the dark areas very closely and know what we are looking for. A couple of suggestions. Can anything be done to the original file to selectively recover some details in the lower right? It wouldn't want to be done across the whole image as this would destroy the edge detailing on the boy and the lamp highlight would need to be restricted. It depends on the file. I noted the exif and the iso5000 but I think Topaz might be able to do it.
A crop down the left side would help. I went searching for details in the image and found nothing down the left. Taking some of the left off would concentrate our search into the region where there is more of significance to be found. I feel that the square format further encourages us to look at the left hand side whereas a more portrait format would give more visual movement connecting the two figures.
I agree with the comments re a little more headroom but I suspect you don't have it on the original to play with.
It is a superb photo that conveys the spell of one of the most atmospheric places on the planet.
I'm very confused and disturbed.
Is this camouflage gear to enable keen photographers to get in close to a reindeer? If so, it appears to work.
Or, does Viking Hunting mean we are hunting Vikings and this specimen has been lured in with a reindeer bait?
The device of the back of the two legged subject is a worry as well. Could it be an Alien with direction problems about to burst on the scene?
Come home Roel and Els, I'll have problems sleeping tonight.
Last year from a train window heading north in Italy towards Bologna, I took a number of remarkably similar shots. I thought I was looking at water pollution from the town. Perhaps not?
I think there is a problem with the dof here and I note that the f stop is F4. The subject feels as though the whole image should be in focus but only a relatively small area is really sharp. The area that is sharp doesn't seem to be an area where you particularly want to direct the viewer's attention. On the other hand, it might have been possible to make the image more abstract by throwing more out of sharp focus? I don't know.
The block of blue sky , horizon, diagonal breakwater and then the second horizontal line of water gives a promising Z pattern to work with.
This is a genre of photography that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle excelled in. The fairies are certainly there.
The perfect parasol, balanced form is quite prefect. By getting down low and peering through the grasses, we enter its world. I very much like the sharpness of the grasses we peer through, secret invaders of an unknown realm..
Lovely image of this creature whose tones and textures perfectly match the tree he is resting on. The profile angle showcases the exquisite details in his wings. Nature's artwork well caught.
