Aerial Acrobatics
by dsa157

Comment:
This shot boggles the mind. Great

Self-Portrait in the Age of Web-Cams and Digital Projectors
by magnus

Comment:
A very ingenuous execution. Going to look at your port.lol Of course, a slight higher clarity to find the eyes would have made this complete.

Didi
by Rooster

Comment:
A truly beautiful study. Soft all through out with great colors. I would have gone a a tad higher to avoid the other earring showing or would have cloned it out. It still remains one of my favorites.

Ponderous
by dagills22191

Comment:
A very delicate study and expertly photographed. Being that it exudes that traditional looks, like the early paintings I would have prefered a simple gown without the drawings.

Fading History
by Resusit8u

Comment:
from the Critique Club:
This is a shot which retains value ourside of the challenge. It is that of nostalgia. It is also historical whether one smokes or not. Yet there are some people that will pass it up because of their brain-washed attitude towards smoking and will vote you down out of their aversion to cigarettes. The composition is nice and my minor compain is that there is much more texture here, but the conversion to grayscale is just a hair weak. One effective way to do a grayscale is to convert the image to grayscale and then back up to RGB. You then employ curves on each different channel to achieve your end. However, this is not that critical since the picture stands on its own with enough detail.
Now, about the desaturation. First remember that you selected a difficult subject because it is old and delapidated, meaning that colors must be added in their most washed-out form. So, the yellow is too strong in the POUC. By weakening or reducing their saturation, it will all fall together. However, I think the image will look more vintage in a straight b/w rendition. Added proudly to your collection.

Message edited by author 2004-06-30 19:23:48.

Winning Shot or Window Breaks
by JPR

Comment:
This is a super image!

Bad Choices
by knklove

Comment:
from the Critique Club: This subject matter meets the challenge. It could be the result of choices or, "will I shape up or not" ? I would have definetly taken the crop right up to the left hand elbow. Look you have the right instinct to take an interesting picture. This is an interesting picture because of the semi defiant-expression. It is not the typical cute picture, but it is a picture that we can all relate because we have all been there!
Whatever you did in the processing stole the glory of the picture, because viewers begin to focus on its colorize effect. First, the light was there, evident in the over exposed leg, but you needed to have directed the light at an oblique angle to catch the bowed head. Another light source would have helped. However, this is what we have, and I would consider going back and re-adjusting levels and redo the saturation. While you are in levels, if you use PS, adjust each chanell separate. If not, then use your sat adjustment. I suggest you spend time shooting items and then trying to duplicate the colors. Your minor fault is simply that of processing technique, but you are only a couple of nights of study away. The composition was nice and the idea superb.

The Soul of a Woman
by librodo

Comment:
Almost perfect. All is silky smooth, but perhaps lips should have been softer to match the rest. Yet, it is a strong image.

Vanity 5
by bil99

Comment:
from the Critique Club:
Well, here you have managed to create a piece of art work. The decisions you took, like the negative form, is well utilized in this study. The composition is artistic and the play of foreground to background is wonderful. The color has not a beautiful, but haunting feel and it keeps inviting the eye back. When people in general like something which they do not understand, it means that they are receiving coded messages which only subconscious understands. Hey that is art. Go and outdo yourself on the next attempt. I will look forward to it. dan

The Softer Side of Me...
by aaronb532

Comment:
I would have desaturated the lips a bit and would have allowed the light a slight shift to remove the visible part of the left bottom lip. Otherwise, it has a great visual appeal. very good composition.