Kozakov 2
by LevT

Comment by adrian45:
Very nice exposure - and the gesture is captured well. I am 'gobsmacked' as they say. I can't imagine how you got the exposure so well in what appears to be bright ligting, but must have meant a very tricky exposure

Congratulations on the whole thing - colour, lighting, right contrast, timing, and so forth.

I have noticed how much travelling you do. I didn't think Physicists were such globetrotters - how wrong I was.

Charlie Chaplin "The Golden Rush"
by LevT

Comment by adrian45:
Lev - I got here from your comments from another shot, and think you have great skill as a photographer. Most impressive work on this site. Do you do photography professionally? I think you should. You have a lot of Photogrphic flair, and it's lovely photographs with excellent control and the right levels in all the shots I have seen of yours

I will keep an eye on your work - I am sure I will learn a lot

I like this shot, and remember the scene from the film - I think you look more like Albert Einstein than Chaplin, but the idea is definately a good one.

All the best for your future

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by LevT:

Originally posted by agenkin: Interesting, no I didn't "read" the "disconnected date" idea in this picture. I thought that the two were simply reading menus (hence the ideas of cakes in their heads). Having looked at the picture closer, I see that the woman is, actually, reading a book (while the guy still seems to be studying a menu), but, still, I don't think that the photo conveys the disconnectedness.

Actually, from the full-res photo it is obvious that the guy is reading some document, definitely not a menu, the meal is clearly finished. And it was not my intention to imply that this photo shows disconnect between these two. I believe they actually feel good and comfortable in their own slightly odd way just sitting together at the table doing their own stuff. My own reaction to this scene is how different a "real world" date can be from a "supermarket romance novel" date, and still be a date.

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by pineapple:
Looks like some sort of religious ritual is going on there. The texture on the wall is a nice touch. It all has a nice 3D feeling to the scene.

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by posthumous:
I like how intently they are looking down and how perfectly perpendicular it is, which of course makes them parallel to each other, and therefore not connecting.

The odd perfection of this, the straight lines up and down and across that agenkin complains about, works for me. I, too, would like it even better if the front chair and table were removed, I think. This is in the "accidental perfection" school of candid picturetaking.

Alpine
by LevT

Comment by Cutter:
Looks good to me. I would simpy burn the top most section of the sky to offest/balance the dark mountains.

Alpine
by LevT

Comment by Bernard_Marx:
My soul just took a deep breath of fresh air. Thanks.

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by emorgan49:
The real world isnt a Hallmark Card world is it? Here are two people. Are they on a date? Are they married? They seem totaly absorbed in something besides each other. Her uncomfortable looking neck seems to say she is deliberately distanceing. They are in a restaraunt maybe? but they have no food, only bottled water, The empty table? Where are their friends? Did they just leave? All the clues to the setting say happy gathering, food, good company. The people seem content to say something completely different.
PS- I really like the way the light walls on the woman.

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by agenkin:

Originally posted by LevT: I did not really have any time or space to move around and adjust the composition (moments like this last seconds as you well know),

Not really a point, but I'm sure you know it. Imagine bringing an unfinished book to a publisher, explaining that you ran out of paper - will it make any difference? :) As a viewer, I'm quite uninterested to know about your difficulties at the time of capture (although, as a photographer, I may sympathise).

Originally posted by LevT: Not every scene demands perspective, strong diagonals and a rule of thirds. Here it needs the left-right symmetry and balance, IMO. Furthermore, I wish the front table and a chair were not there, even thought they add to the spontaneous feel of the photo.

I agree, in general, but not in the case of this picture.

Originally posted by LevT: I like your interpretation of the cakes as cartoon bubbles a lot. I thought about them more in terms of a contrast between what the date is supposed to be, symbolically, and what it really is here.

Interesting, no I didn't "read" the "disconnected date" idea in this picture. I thought that the two were simply reading menus (hence the ideas of cakes in their heads). Having looked at the picture closer, I see that the woman is, actually, reading a book (while the guy still seems to be studying a menu), but, still, I don't think that the photo conveys the disconnectedness.

Date in BW
by LevT

Comment by LevT:

Originally posted by agenkin: Not bad, idea-wise, the pictures of the cakes are like cartoon bubbles which show what each of the characters is thinking. Photographically, I think that the shot is boring because most of the lines in the frame are either vertical or horizontal, and the plane of the wall and the two persons are parallel to the image plane. This gives a strong taste of an up-front shot, which ruins everything else for me.

Arcady, I respectfully disagree. Aside from the point that I did not really have any time or space to move around and adjust the composition (moments like this last seconds as you well know), I actually like the "up-front" and symmetric composition, I think it works well here. Not every scene demands perspective, strong diagonals and a rule of thirds. Here it needs the left-right symmetry and balance, IMO. Furthermore, I wish the front table and a chair were not there, even though they add to the spontaneous feel of the photo.

I like your interpretation of the cakes as cartoon bubbles a lot. I thought about them more in terms of a contrast between what the date is supposed to be, symbolically, and what it really is here.

Message edited by author 2007-05-07 01:02:00.