talksII by Andris Polikevics

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Very evocative photograph. Full of soul, as it were. Creative use of the water surface and good post processing. I very much like the colours and tones of the photograph. Good job by the model, as well.

Very calm photo. She probably stood very still for a while, no water waves. Nice done, DDD

Love the black and white, the d.o.f., and the square format. I can't help but wonder, though, if the reflection is real or a product of post-shoot processing. Although it does add another dimension to the photograph, it just looks a bit too clearly defined to be real.

Andris:
Congratulations!
I suspect I've not seen a portrait photograph with the same degree of haunting beauty as this one. The subject's eyes and facial expression convey the feeling that she simply is part of the lake. It reminds me of the Lady of the Lake legend.
My best,
michael

There is this nagging question in the back of my head: What if the film Deliverance (1969) had been about four women who decided to canoe the Chattooga, instead of the guys played by Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Jon Voigt, and Ronny Cox?

In other words, I just cannot quite get past the idea that we are looking at her unseeing eyes frozen open after her bra strap got stuck on an underwater obstruction just past the last rapids. Maybe we better tie some rocks to her, guys, heave her overboard, and trust that she doesn't come bobbing belly-up downstream in the reservoir some months later.

I think that the sheriff is going to want an inquiry about this one. This woman is beautiful, but she appears to have been seriously abused, addled, or worse. Live women who will look like this for you will also sit down, roll over, and heel.

Apart from these considerations, I agree with everything Michael just said above: "The subject's eyes and facial expression convey the feeling that she simply is part of the lake." It reminds me of the last scenes of the movie filmed two counties west of my house in the late sixties.

Sorry, guys. This one is not in my fantasy book. There is an unfortunate nightmarish quality to it for me.

--Lannie

This is a well-made photograph. It is simple as that. Everything works very well together to create the single effect. I could have possibly done without the eye shadow, but what the heck. No need to quibble. It works well enough.

I had a peek at the artist's portfolio. There are several versions that for various reasons do not work, seemed forced. Then there is this image--as right as right can be.

This is a beautiful image. What else is there to say? Nothing.

Oops! Make that 1972 rather than 1969. The latter year was when I got my first invitation to run the Chattooga with my undergraduate research director in the chem lab. Unfortunately, I declined, and then suddenly the river got famous--and crowded. (Still is.)

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm827562240/tt0068473

I do like the picture on one level, Andris. I truly do. I also wondered how on earth you got her to be still so long without making any waves. That is when my imagination started coming up with alternative ways to get the model to be still. I guess that sometimes we bring our own nightmares to the viewing of the photo--not that I have drowned anybody lately.

What else is there to say?

Lots more, Alex. Lots more.

I swear I can I hear banjo music. . . .

--Lannie

The processing here renders a nice, clear, tonally-tuned black and white image. Her eyes feel overworked and the d.o.f. is effectively used for atmosphere. The photo seems to me to center around a photographic gimmick, which seems obvious. It sort of shouts, look what I can do, by the photographer. The gimmick, rather than helping make a point and helping me see something more deeply, keeps me at bay and calls attention to its gimmickry rather than supporting something more penetrating.