Factory-girl by Marc Apers

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There's a lot to like about this photograph. The composition, lighting, and choice of B&W are all well done, but I find the image boring. It doesn't convey any message or beauty to me. Not that I don't like the picture, but it almost looks like it could be in a textbook on photography rather than on the wall of a museum, which perhaps isn't a bad thing.

At first glance this shot very much reminded me of some photos in Lewis Hine's "Girls in Factory" series. However, when I looked closer I found that this shot is in fact quite the opposite. It seems to portray a youthful innocence in spite of the surroundings. The factories seem to stand in stark contrast to the girl, rather than being a part of her environment.

In Hine's work, the girls were a part of the factory, a cog in the machine. Here, the girl is a rebel in a way. She is the antithesis to the bland industrial landscape behind her.

I am captivated by the powerful lighting, expression, pose and mood that this photo sets.

Congratulations to Marc on an incredible POW.

All the best,
Stan.

Very beautiful. especially third base and lighting. But the skin of her right hand is not natural. And the white of the eye also is not normal.
the Plexus superb.
Congrats!! Amazing work
karam

I think the pose of the girl and the location are great, I would like to know why the author Toned the image, I am not sure that the warmth of the tone adds value or detracts from it, Personally i think this image would be better suited to a traditional B&W tone, perhaps a bit more drama by printing some areas down a tad as well. Overall great composition and setting, pose on girls face is spot on for this image.

I agree that the composition this is strong, and that the models facial expression suits the scene. I also agree that the whites of the girl's eyes look unnatural, and when I viewed the large version it almost looks like she has face paint on, and lipstick. Having said this, I still like the image overall.

I too find the whites of the girl's eyes a bit unnatural almost disturbing. Perhaps this is intentional? The girl's face tending toward posterization to my eye, and the eyes exagerated, but differently than in anime? I'd like to know more of the photographer's intent here. It's certainly provoking my thoughts! Maybe I think too much?
Her somewhat starkly rendered face contrasts with a smoother tonal range in the rest of the image. Overall a nice composition with much interesting detail.

The over whitening of the sclera is very distracting to me.
I think it looks cleaner in black and white, compared to sepia toned.

Nice pose. Looking back with her eyes to one side is effective and engaging. The row of houses is a very strong element, attracting quite a bit of attention, no matter how much her face is brought out. She begins to look almost as if pasted onto the scene, though I know she wasn't. That strong graphic element of the row of houses is also eye level, competing with her eyes. To me, the post processing has gone awry. Her skin looks odd and like charcoal in spots and the eyes seem caricatured. The ground looks like some sort of texturing effect has been applied, which may have been accomplished by a lot of burning or a levels change. It's all a bit strong.