Elegance
by LevT

Comment:

Originally posted by willem: Originally posted by posthumous: Originally posted by willem: The light on the front of he face and shoulder is very nice, drawing the outlines. But in my view the transition from light to dark is too harsh for the shape of her face and then the light from the left is too strong again. Rather then a light (or reflector) from the left I think a slight reflection from the direction of the camera could have filled in some too strong shadows and emphasised the round shape of her cheeks and face. this is like telling an artist who works in ink that he should use charcoal. I made the comment because in my view chiaroscuro is more about using charcoal than it is about using ink, i.e. use the pressure of the charcoal (the intensity of the light) to provide shape and depth to an object. If you prefer to use ink, please feel free.

willem in any BW photography the intensity of the light reflected from an object provides shape and depth, there is nothing else there. Chiaroscuro implies strong contrasts between chiaro (bright) and oscuro (dark), that's the whole point. I intentionally left the front in strong shadows, actually I even darkened it in post-processing a little bit specifically to amplify this effect. I also did not understand your original comment that the light from the left was too strong - I think it is very soft actually.

Soliloquy
by Alex_Petrini

Comment:
thinking "Should I eat it all or leave something for breakfast?" :) Congrats on your ribbon Alex!

Wistful
by grahamgator

Comment:
congrats on your win Mary Ann! Lovely portrait!

Dark and light
by Neat

Comment:
beautiful light!

Elegance
by LevT

Comment:

Originally posted by posthumous: Originally posted by willem: The light on the front of he face and shoulder is very nice, drawing the outlines. But in my view the transition from light to dark is too harsh for the shape of her face and then the light from the left is too strong again. Rather then a light (or reflector) from the left I think a slight reflection from the direction of the camera could have filled in some too strong shadows and emphasised the round shape of her cheeks and face. this is like telling an artist who works in ink that he should use charcoal. by the way, I meant to write "can't tell why" but I'll leave my addled comment the way it is, let it have its own meaning.

Thanks for defending me Don! :) And yes, I was puzzled a little by by your original comment but chalked it up to your poetic lyricism

basking in the morning light
by roz

Comment:
Congrats Roz! Light is gorgeous indeed!

Golden Hour
by salmiakki

Comment:
beautiful landscape Sarah! Congrats!

Still life with a mask
by LevT

Comment:

Originally posted by mariuca: I think that it might be the first time that I tell you that you lost the mystery. The sfumatto. To me it's all too crisp, too ... shall I dare say?...technically oriented. I say this because I am such a fan of your pics.

Thank you for the comment Mariuca! Mea culpa! )). In my defense I can only say that I was not going for mystery here. It was an attempt on parody and stilization of old classical still lives like the one I linked here that were extremely detailed and 'technical".

Favorite Soccer Ball
by glad2badad

Comment:
Love! Congrats Barry! Just wondering, did you catch the ball in flight or had it hanging on a thread? Wait, or he is holding it? A little hard to tell ))

Message edited by author 2021-02-13 01:22:38.

Three hundred years
by LevT

Comment:

Originally posted by roz: i love books .. especially old ones .. i can rarely stop myself putting one to my nose and drawing in that wonderful scent .. i bet this book smelt delicious .. !! .. my only disappointment is that i dont know what the book is about .. 300 years old .. would transport the reader to another time and place .. very different to the one we are in now .. having said that .. many ideas that ppl had years and years ago survive to this day as wonderful insightful and meaningful texts . take Cicero (106-43 BC) "gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others."

actually, I don't really know, maybe this book is even older, 300 years was my conservative estimate :). This is a Russian religious text of some sort (not a Bible) that has several front pages missing, so I don't know neither the title nor the year. It is beautifully hand-written in the old Cyrillic alphabet (half-Greek).