Crystal Rose - My Pet Rockby
hughletherenComment: Pet Portrait: " Crystal Rose - My Pet Rock"
Score 3.8 with 14 comments (largely complimentary).
266 out of 277 - nearly the brown - must try harder!
This was my 63rd challenge entry, with scores until now from 4.47 to 7.74.
As a student of photography, some of my entries have been dire and deserved their low scores. Each low score hurt at the time but helped the learning process.
What about this entry?
Did it meet the challenge?
Perhaps most of you thought not! Maybe many of you are too young to remember the "Pet Rock" craze of many years ago. There were more pet rocks than pet parrots at the time.
As a pet, a rock has many advantages over the breathing kind.
They do not:
Make a mess
Excrete foul smelling liquids and solids
Damage the furniture
Generate vet bills
Need food or water or treats
Leave hairs (or feathers) wherever they go
Smell
Make any noise
Require much maintenance
Mind you going away
They are, like their breathing fellow pets:
A source of comfort in times of stress
Therapuetic
Pleasing to the eye
Friendly and loyal
A source of inspiration
"Crystal Rose" has been my pet rock for many years and a portrait of her did, in my opinion, meet the challenge.
Was it a good portrait?
A portrait should tell you something about the character of the subject. "Crystal Rose" is compasionate and
gentle and yet very strong. She has both polished surfaces and natural rough crystalline features. She is beautifully marked with mineral traces. She could have been captured in a harsh light with strong shadows but that would have belied her character and nature.
Was it a technically good photograph?
The image is largely high key but covers 90% of the luminosity range. There are no blown highlights, not a single clipped pixel at either extreme. The focus is pin sharp on the subject and yet no background detail distracts. The soft shadows provide depth and also contrast with the hard nature of the surface of the subject. The rule of thirds influenced the composition, the negative space providing some balance.
Was it, is it "art"?
No, of course not but the same was true of most of the entries.
Did it have "wow!" or cute factor? No, of course not but the same was true of many of the entries, except, quite rightly, in the opinion of each owner.
Did the photographer take time, care, patience and enthusiasm to capture this image?
Oh, yes! A passive subject helped but getting the composition right, through angle of view and positioning was a considerable challenge. Lighting was difficult. Using natural light from a window and a mirror to reflect a little of that light into the shadow area, it took much patience to create that soft shadow. Capturing the shiny flat surfaces without any distracting refelections was an achievement.
What does all this tell you?
There is often more in an image than at first appears!
Is this a whinge? You be the judge! 3.8?
By the way, this portrait was captured on Sunday 3rd April. It was conceived 2 days earlier. Thank you to my lovely commentators, most of whom understood!
PS - The Pet Rock craze really did happen. . . .
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