Gee, this is just like being back in school again! An Assignment!
This month, I've been asked to critique:
1. "Snow Shadow" by Paul Stenquist,
2. "Mud" by Alistair Lax,
3. "Arbutus Meziessii" by Rodger Whitlock
1. "Snow Shadow", by Paul Stenquist:
This is one of my favourite images from the Gallery this month. I was
instantly intrigued when I saw it as a thumbnail, before I knew the
title. It was one of those sort of "abstract" looking images, looking
ghostly and ethereal. I couldn't quite tell what the image was of, but
I knew I liked it. When I opened the image, and saw the title, it
became immediately obvious what it was. That little "game" of trying to
ascertain what it was, then the discovery of same, made this image all
the more enjoyable to me.
I can only imagine how vibrant the crystals of snow look on the original
transparency, but even in the image as loaded, they look quite lovely.
The texture of those crystals, so hard and crisp, juxtapose beautifully
with the softness of the shadow of the tree. I love the dark little
"dimple" in the snow in the upper right hand corner; it somehow breaks
the monotony of the blanket of fresh snow, and adds to its texture.
Although I can't put my finger on "why" (I'm quite new at these sorts of
critiques, and not very good at it), the pattern of the tree shadow is
very pleasing to me, and framed beautifully, keeping the image sort of,
but not quite, abstract.
And, I love the colours: the pure white of the blanket of snow, the
purer white (if that's possible) of the flecks of the crystals, and the
blue of the shadows.
All in all, this image is a perfect example of the eye of the
photographer finding beauty in the mundane and ordinary, and capturing
it in an exquisite and unique manner.
Thank you.
2. "Mud", by Alaister Lax:
The two things that immediately caught my eye on this one were the
bright yellow raincoat, and the two distinct textures of mud - the wet
mud that the boy is walking in, along with the thicker, stickier looking
mud in the background. The bright raincoat draws the boy out of the
dark mud and green trees beautifully, bringing him into the foreground;
I don't think this image would have worked had he been wearing anything
other than yellow.
I think what I like about this image is that when you look at the
details, a story begins to emerge. The bright green clearing behind the
dark tree trunks, along with the shiny wet mud in the foreground tells
us that the sun is out. The extremely wet foreground mud tells us that
it has been raining. The fact that the boy has a raincoat of tells us
that the rain is quite recent, but the further fact that it's draped
over his back and shoulders tells us that it was probably raining when
he went outside, and he is now probably pleasantly surprised that the
sun has suddenly broken through.
I love the detail of the mud and detritus hanging from his left boot.
There's a certain "danger" here, in that although he's obviously
enjoying his frolic in the mud, the fact that it's already past his
ankle means that one or two more steps in the wrong direction and he
might end up stuck knee deep in mud. Even if he doesn't end up stuck in
the mud, one can imaging him going back to his tent or cabin, and being
scolded by a counsellor for tracking mud everywhere (could I be
recalling a traumatic scene from my childhood? Hmmmm...)
But whatever consequences may or may not flow from this, his obvious joy
in the moment is beautifully captured here, and is evocative of a joy in
simple things common in childhood, but which becomes (it seems)
increasingly rare with age.
Very well done.
"Arbutus Menziesii" by Rodger Whitlock:
One of the things that I like about this month's gallery is that many
photographers chose to take an unusual viewpoint of very common
occurrences. This gives the viewer a whole new appreciation of these
occurrences and forces us to see the beauty to be found in everyday
life. This image does that for me.
What could be more common than fallen leaves in the autumn? Often
viewed as a nuisance, some fail to see how beautiful this time of year
can be, once the leaves are gone from the trees. It's all too easy to
focus on the colours of the leaves still on the trees and miss what's
going on beneath our feet.
The inclusion of the bright patch of sunlit ground is inspired: it
breaks up the monotony of the dark forest floor. The texture of the
grass and the leaves "floating" on top of it is captivating. The leaves
are like snowflakes: from afar they all look pretty much the same, but
upon closer examination each is quite individual and unique. I very
much like the fact that many of the leaves in the foreground are brown
or yellowing, but there seems to be a swath of green leaves in the
middle, curving up to the left. And, most of the leaves in the sunlit
patch seem to be brown. These are most pleasing patterns. The framing
of this shot is beautiful, as it has captured all of this in a most
understated manner.
I must confess that when I first saw this image, it didn't do much for
me. I thought, "yeah, a bunch of leaves on the grass, so what?" But,
repeated viewings bring out these subtle patterns, and to me, lift this
image out of the ordinary. This image forces you to take your time and
look at it critically, to "pull" all of these details out. Were it
hanging on a wall at a gallery, it would be all to easy to just quickly
walk by it, but if one were to stop to take a better look, it's one of
those photographs that you could stand in front of for about 10 or 15
minutes, to "soak it all in"; indeed that would be necessary to
appreciate it properly - that's what I like about it.
**************************
Each of these images has taken an ordinary mundane event and transformed
that event into something to be appreciated above and beyond what would
be immediately obvious. I very much liked all three, and I thank the
photographers for presenting them to us.
regards,
frank
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