A Link to the Past
by RyanW

Comment by posthumous:
i think you have a future action star here

A Link to the Past
by RyanW

Comment by Neat:
He̢۪s very cute Ryan, try using a shallow depth of field next time to blur out the background, also use clothing that̢۪s not so distracting.

Edited for typo.

Message edited by author 2020-05-31 06:31:02.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by Neat:
I had a feeling this was yours. Reading your notes I still think you could of done better - still if there were more entries would you have tried harder?? Just wondering.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by Yo_Spiff:
Thanks for the explanation in your notes and in the forums during voting (though I could only guess which one was yours, I was right). I voted on these entries as I would have voted on any other challenge, but I left comments on every one of them explaining my vote. Sometimes the viewer won't or can't see what the photographer is trying to illustrate and such was the case here.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by primabarbara:
your picture is the perfect visualisation of your title - that's for sure.
There is nothing wrong about it when you want to transport this kind of depressing emotion.
But if I imagine this hanging in a gallery as a single photography I would certainly walk by and not spend a second or third look. Only if it was accompanied with serveral other pictures combined together as an essay f.e. it might reveal ist strength.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by Dennisheckman:
I think I understand why you took this pic, but I don't understand the lack of processing that could have made it much better. Is it supposed to be out of focus to demonstrate the lack of visitors? A bleak image for sure.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by JulietNN:
It is a very bleak photo. Rather bland as well. I personally think, that if you are going to go for something like this, then at least have one point of interest showing through. Contrast could have been a good friend here, maybe a little dodging to brighten up something to catch the eye. Even cropping it to just the middle of the photo and having the snow, the trees with no houses and a strip of sky would have made this more interesting. Another option would have been to crop it at the tree trunk and just had the icy snow and the brown mud on the left, dodge the icy snow a bit and you would have a leading line to the brown snow, to show a path of interest that also translates to bleak and unforgiving. If this was a Free Study, I would have given it a 2 (sorry) for now a 4

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by roz:
gosh .. it really does look bleak and unforgiving ..
your photo has captured that feeling perfectly .. and the trees forming a frame add to that bleak closed in feeling .. :)

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by PennyStreet:
I look at this and I see isolation and bleakness, but also light (even without the shadows). You picked a good vantage point to view the expanse of barrenness but with still the hint of a civilization. Hang in there, times are tough right now! But we're all in it together, even if it doesn't feel that way sometimes.

Social Distancing is easy when the world around you is bleak and unforgiving
by RyanW

Comment by glad2badad:
Hi Ryan. Your title puts the viewer in an immediate state of mind of mournfulness and despair. The image reflects the title in that it does look cold, quiet, and somewhat lonely. I have to wonder a bit about the timing of the photo; sometimes with a cloud layer like that the sun will grace the viewer with a wonderful underside illumination. I'm assuming that moment either never appeared or was missed. I hope things look up for you soon and that the flowers spring forth and break thru that layer of snow.

How did I know this was yours? In the forum thread discussing the challenge you mentioned being the 4th entry in the challenge. Each photo has an image id ... this one is 1246986, which if I counted correctly, makes it the 4th entry. :-)