Broken letters
by lunix

Comment:
well, perhaps no 8, 9 or 10, but 4.2? I found this an exciting asymmetry and, as IreneM (below) has already said, a composition worth pondering.

on the web
by suemack

Comment:
When I look at this photograph coldly (utterly detached), this is what I come away with:

â€Â¢ no, it ain't sexy
â€Â¢ no, it ain't no sweet, no cliché and no aww-so-hallmark-cutie
â€Â¢ no, it ain't no sentiment, no commodity (as a popular print for sale), no easy genre.

What it is, without having to argue a difficult point, is an image

â€Â¢ which embellishes nothing, especially no aesthetic preference, no concept or notion
â€Â¢ which alludes not, suggests not and makes no reference to any thing or idea outside of itself
â€Â¢ which is what it is without pretense, claims to meaning or symbolist properties

There is, decidedly, nothing personally expressive about such an image. There is no message, no hint or complaint, no personal laundry. The author remains appropriately invisible behind the abstraction, the mystery of objects captured here, which are trouvée, found and serve not as means for an intended purpose or effect outside of one that existed naturally and prior to being photographed.

What we have here is a mystery, an esoteric document, if you like, which not only invites us, as viewers, to study it but which, probably, mystified its author in the first place, prompting the photograph.

A photo such as this, I believe, should not conform to any set notions of composition/tastes/appetites and technical conventions that apply to so much we consume and try to recreate. It should instead be executed according to its own dictates, so that we may be able to discover things that are new, uncharted or simply phenomenal, no matter how modest a thing it may appear to be. This has been done here, superbly, and without any traceable interference of ego, as far as I can see, and this, my people, is why I feel

it deserves a 10.

Message edited by author 2006-02-13 13:19:58.

Round and Round
by Falc

Comment:
Aesthetics is not, I thought, what it used to be, once, among the splendours of the old rule. Apparently it is not without effect on a contemporary sensibility. Thus the abstraction is suberbly purposeful here.

Who was it who said "Beauty is aptness to purpose"?

on the web
by suemack

Comment:
After considering this photograph for what it is, then for what it is not, it remains, apparently, exactly what and how it should be, a 10.

she waits
by mandyturner

Comment:
It's a beautiful photo in very good taste, IMO.
As it is the very modesty of the pose and overall manner which is its one remarkable attribute, I really cannot understand what could have, possibly, evoked some of the comments underneath it. I voted it a 6, not a 7+ (on a very rigorous scale at that), because I felt the subject could have benefitted from a little more detail and light on her neck and hair, mainly for contrast against the background here.

Message edited by author 2006-02-10 16:33:57.

Cow Horse
by Ristyz

Comment:

Originally posted by Ristyz: Originally posted by zeuszen: A potentially good photo depicting poor riding skills on a torturously unhappy horse. I very much respect this user for leaving this comment. This horse happened to be very passionate about her cow and is not being tortured in any way (I checked the position of the spur in the original to make sure) I too think the riders leg and foot position is less than perfect, however this is a VERY fast action disclipline and the photo is but a moment in time.

Fair enough. As someone who has spent a lifetime training and riding, I'd be inclined to use passionate language.

I do not believe or mean to say the rider (or anyone else knowingly) tortured this animal. What I see, however, is a horse whose head is nearly half a foot behind the bit, with his mouth gaping and his ears as flat back as can be. The rider sits in a chair seat, heal up with toe pointed out (unable to apply seat and leg aids in this position). The reigns are slack, indicating that the contortion is not caused by the riders hands but by his imbalance on the horse's back, which may indeed be excused considering pace and passion.

My objection, categorically, is with a shot that demonstratively captures a moment which cannot serve as an example of horsemanship and the glory which some unsuspecting viewers may associate with their idea of riding and fun. In other words, this image does not teach. My expectation as a riding viewer was that it could have and, perhaps, should.

I apologize for the terse language of my original comment, however, which was inspired by my particular predisposition as a horseman first, rather than by the enthusiasm of an unspecialized photographer.

Message edited by author 2006-02-08 12:49:15.

Cow Horse
by Ristyz

Comment:
A potentially good photo depicting poor riding skills on a torturously unhappy horse.

Step by Step
by jjbeguin

Comment:
!

Reversed Gravity
by olihar

Comment:
Wonderful treatment. I can't imagine a better way to photograph a swing.
(It's in very good taste too).

Manhole
by zeuszen

Comment:
> Zed Pobre

We can call it Hotel Carpeting too, if you like.