Out of a sense of sheer idiocy, I've decided to comment on every single
one of the March PUG photos. I'm not sure why I'm doing this (probably
just to postpone working on my thesis), but I am. We're not talking about
any in-depth analyses, since I don't have *that* much spare time, so I'll
just mention one or two things about each photo that I liked or thought
could be improved. *Please* don't take any criticism the wrong way; it's
not meant to be insulting. If you disagree with something I say, tell
me. It's not a big deal. Everyone likes different things for different
reasons, so all I hope this will do is spark a bit of discussion about
some of the PUG photos, and to acknowlege the work of everyone (including
Mr. W. F. Bill) in contributing to the gallery. Thanks!
(I'm going this in multiple parts, which could take a week or more to
complete. This chunk refers to the first 15 photos.)
" Young Woman " by Larry D. Nicklaus
Nice lighting, shame about the dust and other stuff that the scan
introduced. That can be cleaned up in Photoshop, especially monotone
backgrounds like your dark one. Her hair seems a little overpowering and
out of proportion to the rest of her, but you did a nice job balancing the
exposure between the highlights and shadows. Did you use the 645N's
meter, or a separate one? Spot or multipattern?
" Ocean Of Light " by Charles Fleeman
Very peaceful. I like the colours and lines in the sky, and the placement
of the rocks. It looks like you put a lot of thought into the
composition. I can't tell how dark the original was because I'm sure my
monitor is way off, but it's a little dark the way I'm looking at it and I
like that effect.
" Forum Bath, Pompei " by Joseph Tainter
Not bad for wide open and hand held. I find that huge light on the left
wall to be distracting (what would it look like if it were darkened a
bit?), but it does give a very nice light on the rock in the center. (Is
that the bath?) I can still see detail in the ceiling even with the
skylight, so that's a good job of exposing. Did you expose for the bath
and let the rest fall where it may?
" Surf`s up " by Steve Larson, USA
So... where's the top of the wave? :) Yeah, I know, I know... <g> Nice
shot. It takes skill to do that with MF at 800mm. I would have liked a
bit more space above the surfer and maybe a bit less foam, but don't lose
the foam altogether, as it really adds a lot to the photo.
" Betsy on the Rocks II " by Ed Mathews, USA
Who's Betsy? I like the pose, I like the composition, and I like the
position of the lighting, but I think the light is a wee bit too
intense. Comparing it to your first one, I like the composition and
framing of the first one better, but the lighting on her legs is a bit
smoother in the second. You can really see the 3D effects of the lens,
especially where the rock meets the sky.
" Lounging Around " by Richard Holman, USA
Nice, tight framing and good composition. I like the placement of the
light, but find the almost all-black eyes to be a bit disconcerting, even
with the catchlights. Were you trying for a soft effect, or is that more
the function of handholding a MF MedF camera with extension tubes? :)]
" OPENING SOON " by Ann Sanfedele, New York, NY USA
I like this one. Good, tight framing, yet still encompassing a lot of
material. The glare is a bit distracting, but the colours work really
well together. This is a shot which works well in colour, probably more
so than it would as a black and white. Almost abstract.
" 'Lilli' " by Cotty
Gorgeous. Great focusing and sharpness, especially for a handheld
shot. I wondered even before I saw your description if you had taken it
with a macro lens. I like this photo a lot.
" An Early Baldwin " by Eduardo Carone Costa Júnior
An old steamer taken with an old camera.... nice touch! :) I find myself
wanting to see more of the steamer and less of the background, and the
(stop sign?) is distracting. I'd play around with the cropping or see if
you can re-take it to emphasize the steamer more. It makes a beautiful
subject, doesn't it?
" Kasia " by Dominik Ataman
The contrast and tonal range are a little low for my liking, though I
certainly can't complain about the model. <g> Watch out for the glare on
her forehead, though the rest of the lighting on the face isn't bad. I
wonder if it's underexposed a bit or if my monitor is just set too dark.
" Hand " by Versal Cross
Beautiful. Great tonal range and lighting, and excellent exposure /
printing, particularly for the water. The only suggestion I'd make would
be to clean up the scan a bit. It looks like a flatbed scan from a print,
and the dust mars an otherwise brilliant image. I'd also consider trying
the shot without the rim in the background to see how that looked.
" Dorota " by Darek Zukowski, Poland
Definitely an interesting effect. The white mark in the lower right is
distracting. (I get distracted a lot, don't I?)
" Summer boat " by Niall Woods
This is quite haunting. I'd like to see either more or fewer rocks, but
that's just my preference. The horizon is tilted, but I like the way that
it works with the lines of the boat. I don't even mind the overexposure
of the boat too much, as it fits the mood of the photo. The reflection is
a nice touch.
" Mt. Scott " by Steven Brendemuehl, USA
The rocks seem washed out because of the bright sunlight, which is too bad
because the composition is good. I could live with a little less sky (or
a more polarized one) and with getting closer to the rocks in the
foreground, but I like what you've done with the left-to-right-to-left
flow of the image.
" Storm Coming " by John Cohen
I like your cropping, on the whole. I don't think the thin strip of lake
works as well as it could, and I'd like to see more of it or maybe even
crop it out altogether. I'm not sure that anything in the left third of
the photo is essential to the picture, so I wonder how that would look
cropped out. I wouldn't mind seeing a higher-res scan, since I think I
can see pixelization in some areas. The mountains work well in panoramic
format, and I think a telephoto shot of a single building set against them
could be quite nice, too.
chris
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