Hi all, and the photographers commented on below. I am very, very sorry for being this late with my comments this month. I have had a very busy, and a rather stressful time for most of this month, and more or less been "off-list" most of the time. Had I known it would take this long I would of course have notified earlier. However from day to day I hoped to be able to send my comments, but at the same time I didn't want to just make some quick notes just for the sake of it.
These are my comments. "Where There's Smoke", by Glenn Arthur Jr, USA I like the general impression of the picture. The silhouettes of the fire fighters with there helmets contrasted against the dramatic background reminds me of some wartime pictures. They - the fire fighters - are inherently perceived as some sort of peace time "soldiers" or "heroes", and as such provide dramatic secenes just by the nature of their work. However, when playing around with the picture I ended up preferring a much tighter crop than the one submitted. I cropped it below the top wire and imediately to the left of the trunk of the tree, leaving the far left figure out of the frame. I am not saying this necessarily makes the picture better (by doing so I may have taken away elements that are important to you Glenn). But it did bring up the "soldiers" and their current dramatic environment much closer to my attention. In my web and image browser the picture also comes across slightly too bright. Anyway, it's a well captured scene, whatever cropping you'd prefer. "The Sea", by Matjaz Osojnik, Slovenia I seem to recall someone suggesting another crop and symmetry to this picture. I like it fine just as it is. The assymetrical character sort of gives my mind more "space", and allows it to wander a bit, than had it been perfectly symmetrically arranged. However, I do think that a motif like this, very simple (not sure of the connotations of this word in English, no pejorative intended) and clean, can be cropped and arrranged in many different ways without necessarily being compromised quality wise. To me they may simply end up as being different pictures, not necessarily better or worse (although you could spoil it too of course...). I must admit too, that one of my initial impressions of it was like: "Fine, the great empty space to the left can be used for (any type of) commercial or information messages. Not sure whether the artist would like any such heresy be done to his picture though :). Concerning the rendition of the water surface, there are two opposite wishes in my mind. On the one hand I wouldn't mind getting a clearer, "closer", rendition of the water surface - I don't know whether the original allows for this; on the other hand I don't mind the the water being just a blue surface, since there is a general formalistic(?) touch to the whole picture. (By this I mean that I haven't perceived Matjaz wanting to really depict a subjective experience of any dramarical boat ride, but rather using the elements for a more formal depiction of elements.) It is simply what I'd call "a nice picture", however trivial it may sound. "Presque Isle Kettles" by Ken Waller, USA This is too a classic photographical motif. (Even maaybe "a classic American motif", or am I mistaken?). It's like in the music world when you have another go at a classic 12-bar blues structure, or in jazz have another go along the chord structures of "I Got Rhythm" or "All the things You Are". While some commentators may think that this is not good, since "it has been done before", I always like to see what someone can do as far as a new interpretation of a classic theme goes. The color balance, as well as the balance of highs and lows, are good. (The lack of reflexes would make me beleive that a polarizing filter was being used, but it has not been mentioned). The vertical panorama crop comes with the territory so to speak, and that's fine. But I did ask myself whether there were any disturbing elements immediately to the left, or I may have wanted the upper turn more completely included in the frame. The decisive (successful) element to my eyes is the final bottom burst or shower og water which gives you a feeling that your feet may get wet. Because of this I would have preferred that your copyright notice be more discreetly placed elsewhere. On the whole a good example of well "crafted" picture taking and a conscious, well trained eye. Thanks, Lasse - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
