I wish I could think of stuff like that. It'd be intersting to see what the original colour image looked like.

Great visual effect obtained by the toning. I like the composition. The graininess (is that a word?) further enhances the picture.

A very strong picture indeed... I suppose the original colour print would be strong too, strong enough for me to leave it as is if it was mine. The idea to tone it in this fashion is really admirable, and an idea that would never cross my mind. Congratulations.

Very nice picture. I like the colors. Good vision. Well done.

Lovely! I like the aesthetics of the woman as much as that of the picture, and that says a lot! Really, as an amateur - I can safely say that I can't think of even one improvement to suggest.

Great shot. Visually arresting. Wonderfull texture and composition. At least 1000 words. Makes me want a cool drink of water.

Living in the southern hemisphere, and with several days of constant rain, this photo reminds me of what we're missing out on. Nice picture, simplistic and well coloured. Congratulations on it being POW.

I can't really tell whether she is coming towards the camera or leaving. Maybe that's why I like it. It's definately not my favorite of such a great portrait portfolio though. (unless of course you can convince me that this was the most suitable portrait for this woman - using the silhoutte technique, that is) Should I dare break into the age old argument of what defines a portrait? I'll just assume that this is what you considered the most suitable still-life representation of this person and their character/environment/lifestyle/etc. For some reason now, I have the urge to go to the beach. mmmmm.

I think it's an extremely good photo, well thought, composed and communicative (bravo for your darkroom attitude!).

Congratulations for the POW.

Nice composition,Excellent technique.Could be a summer evening walk on the beach.I would say she is walking away from the camera by the way she is holding the parcel.Well done on pow.

purple haze..undistinguishable silhouette.. what this piece tells me is: "I refuse to put any thought into this." Yet it gains admiration. I guess the same folks admire Malevich' Black Square without knowing what the primitive painting symbolizes.Ye, rock on..

I think it's a helluva nice shot, and would make a great Evian advert. Good Job!

Leslie Koller

Nice composition, nice subject matter, nice enhancement, nice timing (I love the uplifted foot :-)

Nice job, congrats on POW.

She gotta be going to the beach 'cos the bottle's got water in it. ie you'd have drunk it all if you were on your way back from the beach.

Unless its actually a sample of sea water and Abbie's a marine biologist.

Great technique and idea to tone as you have done. Congrats on POW. Great use of subtle colour with contrast.

This is a wonderful photograph. The thing that disturbs me is that in spite of the general agreement on this photo, and in spite of the fact that it was chosen picture of the week, it's score is less than seven. Do we have people going through and rating every single picture as a 1, or are we just being too harsh in our judgements?

Great image, Jed, well done. Highly evocative of carefree days as alluded to earlier. Just wonder what the reactionaries - sorry, the reaction - would have been had the toning been done in a software programme?

This is a great shot. Would make a great bottled water ad!

I appreciate the time people have taken to make a comment, no matter what the opinion. On the whole, reaction to this shot has been positive, but it is strange how, since becoming POW (just a few hours at the time of this note), the rating has dropped below seven for aesthetics for the first time. Oh well.

By the way, she is walking away from the camera (probably for the sixth time if I remember correctly). She is a really pretty girl and I do have several "true" portraits of her. In this instance I had a very strong idea of an image I wanted (the silhouete and the light passing through the bottle) and asked Abbie to help me out. She was very patient. I used colour film because I had run out of B&W and was on a campsite in Italy at the time (supplies of B&W very limited). The colour original is not far from B&W anyway as the colours were overwhelmed by the strength of light, but it does not have the guts to match this version.

Am I the only one who thinks that the picture is just too trite? I will confess that I dislike silhouette pictures -- they usually seem to reduce everything to a cliche. I can see what you liked about this scene when you took the picture, but I don't find it to be that interesting. I don't want to be too negative -- you have many fine photos in your folders and I am (admittedly) a less skilled photographer than you are -- this isn't (in my opinion) your best work.<p> I don't have a problem with the fact that the elves get to choose the POW -- but comments from the elves like "and the simple composition recalls carefree days..." makes me think that the Elves are really the editors of Popular Photography! You can pick what pictures you think are worthwhile, but why justify your desision with snappy (and silly) phrases?

I like the picture. The silhouette of Abbie seems too dark to me. There is detail in the very dark boardwalk, detail in the netting, but a total blackout of Abbie. I am wondering if during the sepia process the silhoutte image was enhanced to make her much darker than the surroundings? The sparkle of the water sets a nice touch.

Thank you William Blake, The first sentence of my comment was going to be are you all blind. This picture, is of utter disappointment if anything. Nice contarst... Great shot...WHAT??? People it's a black shadowed figure walking with a water bottle in a grainy pic. No significance, point, or validity. With nothing else to say but Yuck!!!

If you can't say anything nice - please don't put a photo down. Your comments are hurtful - we're all photographers here, whether professional or amateur, our love of photography brings us here. Obviously you don't like art!

That's what makes it so beautiful. No significance, point, or validity. Just a mnemonic for good times. Once again, I would like the usual suspects who knock the POW for lack of pithy values to provide a link to a photo that demonstrates these qualities. Link us to a photo, for example, with significance, point, and validity, so we will know exactly what you are talking about.

A worthy POW - excellent image.

Who gives a toss about ratings?

She is obviously walking away from the camera due to the fact that we see the bottom of her raised foot. I like this photo very much because of its simplicity. We don't know Abbie, but we can easily put ourselves in her position and feel the pleasure of a trip to the beach!

Hey! I've already admired and commented on this before it was chosen for POW - if some of the elves need replacement...<br> I remember the picture nearly knocked me off my feet when I first saw it. A bloody good job indeed, that. I can only congratulate.<br> I also remember that originally I wanted to say something like "the fact that you toned it this way that seems very obvious to me now, but I would have never thought of shows how much better a photographer you are, and an artist as well..." - but than got somehow entangled and couldn't put it right - be it because making any kind of comparison between us seemed so inappropriate, be it because I have difficulties in expressing my admiration. Well, now it's time to do so.<br> By the way, this is the first time I can say that the elves have picked the best picture of a portfolio for POW. So there are more to be congratulated then just the photographer. Thanks, all...<br> Cheers

<i>Once again, I would like the usual suspects who knock the POW for lack of pithy values to provide a link to a photo that demonstrates these qualities.</i><p>I don't include myself in any set of "usual suspects" nor do I think I deserve a reputation of being overly negative -- read my comment again - I mention all the other pictures in the photographer's portfolio and even say that I think he is probably a better photographer than I am...is that humble enough for you? Its not a <i>lack of pithy values</i> that bothers me --- if I understand your phrase corrrectly, the picture dissapoints me because it embodies too many <i>pithy values</i>. "Pithy" in this case should be understood to mean empty sentiments, halmark card emotional shallowness, all the emotional range of a "Beach Boys Greatest Hits" anthology. Someone else compared it to a bottled water advert -- they meant it as a compliment, but I think that is the picture's weakness -- advertising photography is usually designed to control or limit interpretation of the image -- that is not a good thing.<p> This image is already linked to what I consider more interesting images -- as I mentioned before, the other images in the photographer's folder.<p>I will repeat: I am not engaging in personal attacks. Just because nearly everyone else thinks this picture is the bees knees, does it make me a bad person if I dare disagree?<p>I admit that it is well done -- I would argue that I think the picture lacks much of an emotional range and I much prefer the original photographer's portraits.

I have to say that I have some sympathy for Mr Blake's point of view. I certainly don't take any offence and indeed I am grateful to him (and with everybody else who has expressed an opinion) for taking the time to offer his views. I find his opinions interesting and constructive and that is all I ask.

There seems to be some arguement over this image and what it may mean. I don't usually offer any meaning to any of my images as I feel people will read them in their own way. A given image may strike a chord with one person but leave others cold. This is true for any image created by any person and I will not deny anyone the oportunity to say what any of my images means to them, no matter how far that view is from my intentions.

All I ask is that people should try to be constructive.

As for this image, all I will add is that it is one of my own personal favourites ... but don't let that stop you!

Well, i think this is the closest I'll ever get to having a POW. :p Congratulations, brother.

That being said, I find this photo to be trite and meaningless. Some of your other portraits are very beautiful and evocative however, and certainly would merit POW in my opinion. But this says nothing to me, even though it was well done.

I like this photo very much, but I don't get the calm, pleasant summer afternoon at the beach or a carefree feeling at all. I like it because I like the composition and because it is probably one of the best silhouete pictures I've ever seen. It doesn't evoke a lot of emotion in me, I just like it. The detail in the planks, the lacyness of the fence, an excellent model for the picture and the maintenance of the color in the bottle show exceptional skill, patience and a great eye for the potential of the setting. The grain creates just enough tension to make the background interesting, without it, it would be substantially less interesting. I think the potential of the scene was beautifully met. I have nothing constructive to add, I don't think it could have been done much better. I don't think criticism has to be watered down or that it has to beat around the bush, but if you are going to rip a picture, I think providing something useful or insightful would be appropriate, in my opinion. Mr. White's comments were strong, his prerogative, but he said it himself recently, "What happen to critiquing someones picture for POW. For what it needs improving on, different approaches it the photographer could have taken." Good advice.

for me,it is the best pic out of your portfolio.. put your headphones on,look at the image and listen to the song "the girl from ipanema go's walking"...fit's perfectly! like it very mucho.. paul&patriz

Nicely done. BTW, unless she has big feet, she is walking away. "Hey wait, I'm back here!"

Remember that little boy and girl holding hands walking away through the tunnel of trees (Life mag)? If that pic is a 10, then this one is a, a, darn good!

There is nothing here. Anyone can take a silloute, Within the exposures avlible for the photographer in these situations theres infinate differnt photographs, here is the most cliche and lest tecnicaly profound, at best this is an average photograph 6/10 says it all

dear oliver..you are right,anybody can take a silhouette,but..not like this one,otherwise i would have seen it before..never did. paul

Sure, it looks more like "illustration" than "art," but it's a nicely done illustration. Leave the bottle in and it does become an ad for bottled water--you might have a well-paying career ahead of you. Take the bottle out and it becomes one of those trite greeting-card type photos with the text of "Desiderata" printed alongside of it. The grain works, focal length provides just the right amount of compression, toning is effective. So it's not Weston, but well done nonetheless.

Hey Jed, that is a nice picture. I offer the above (Gatoraid) rendition of your pic to all those people who feel lost outside the commercial world and sit at home on their computers all day. For all the rest of us who do not live our lives vicariously through a TV but actually go to a real beach once and a while, this picture evokes warm memories of a great day at the beach. I have to admit that it is not what I would consider a spectacular exposure but I think you succesfully acheived your objective by creating a specific atmosphere and that is what photography is about. Way to go! Oh ya, BTW Oliver,... mabey you should learn how to spell before you slam someone else' artwork based on your 8th grade technical expertise.

The photo is ok, but doesn't warrant some of the 'glorious praise' that it receiving; it's just ok. Oh, btw I'm sure if Kyle looked at Oliver's portfolio he would see that he has more than enough technical ability.

I wouldnt get personal Kyle, ive seen your work, im enjoying the 8th grade it means i still have the capacity to learn, their teaching us informed judgement, maybe when you make the 8th grade youll understand.

We can also understand that everyone is entitled to an opinion and that the crit is of the work and not the photographer.

Very nice composition, the right time ( lighting ), very good exposure.

Yes Richard, I have seen Oliver's portfolio and comparing it to Jed's is proof that all the best equipment in the World can't make up for God given creativity!

This photo catches the mood and the subject matter needs no explanation. The photo explains itself. LOVE IT

The trick to taking good photies is just that and you seem to have it. Forget the asthetic this and that. I am very interested in how many times the girl walked the walk way, Her figure and clothing add to the feel and by the way the contest on which direction she might be going is rather a non starter (red herring) but feel the warmth and the sand and the moment. She hits the peak of the walk way and with the swing of a hip and flick of the hair you managed to get that perfect 'moment in Time'. When you were looking through the lens did you know - This is the one! All in all I look forward to seeing more of your work cos ... You have that special touch that makes a great! Well done and all the best. Ken

Jed,

A lot of the above need to get a life. Great picture! Very evocative and enjoyable to look at.

I have been married for 31 years. My wife is beautiful and I am fathful, but love to look at pretty girls. If I am about to miss one my wife often points one out. This photo is a beautiful scene and I really will keep in mind the use of walkways in special lighting I have seen here and the one by George McCallum. I love to be drawn into a landscape and if I am about to follow this lovely creature for a better look I better just do that. Well, see You later. I am off into the image.

Well done, well done. Such sights are very common here. And all I can say this picture DOES reminds me of our wonderful summertime (November thru February), where the brazilian beaches get full of poetry and magic. Sure this is not the best photo I've seen, But it is a good one and does deserve the POW honor.

More, this POW comes in a special time for us, when we have "Mr. Fall" and his son "Coldness" knocking our doors around here! Brrrr...

For the Editors: A great improvement this week.

Saudações,

This is a good photograph, deserving PoW. I’ve come back to it several times during the past few days and if anything I like it more each time, surely a good sign? But why?

First, the composition. It breaks the basic rules but I like it for that, though initially I thought there was too much boardwalk. However, if you crop off the bottom of the picture it does not help, in fact the amount of boardwalk used gives distance to the subject.

Second, the timing of the model’s position is perfect – on the brow of the path, left leg raised, swing of the hip, lock of hair, etc. This aspect of the picture cannot be under-estimated in that it would appear from the discussion above that several passes were made. A picture this good is either set up painstakingly well or was just plain lucky.

Third, the processing. I am a fan of sepia toning and I recognize that not everyone will agree, but the grain in the sky and the duotone effect gives the picture a certain “lazy hazy days of summer” appeal. The blue water bottle is a matter of taste – I wouldn’t have thought of it – but it acts as a foil to the overall composition – jockeying for the eye in a way that makes the picture more interesting. On a gallery wall this picture would be very competitive to the eye.

As to the negative comments about silhouettes – surely a silhouette is the ultimate compression of a three-dimensional subject into a two dimensional plane? If it is then able to be as evocative as this example I would say silhouettes can be very effective indeed.

Again, a good photograph!

The camera orientation that is. Great photo indeed, well done ! Portrait is really the way to go here, too bad it prevents me from using this good looking photo as a wallpaper ...

The image is uncluttered, focuses you to the young lady and her clutched bottle. It is striking in it's apparent simplicity, yet very direct. It could easily be on the cover of LIFE or as a movie promotion poster. It's both nostalgic and contemporary by using the sepia tone, yet targeting the modern water bottle for highlight. I can't help but like it.

I like the shot. I think the silhouette of the woman is very sexy, and almost sassy.

But why tone the bottle? It doesn't seem to serve any meaningful purpose. It might be cool if this was an ad for drinking water, but otherwise it detracts from those wonderful curves.

Finally, to all the people who cry at a hint of criticism - get buggered. How do you expect to excel at anything (especially photo) if everyone keeps telling you:

"Oh, gee that's really nice."

"Good job."

"Cool."

"Neat-o."

"Spiffy."

Etc...

I invite criticism and embrace the thought that assimilating others' perspectives in with my own will only make me better at what I do.

I love women on this photo......the force will be with you! Adrian (Poland)

The idea of picture is okay but not too thrilled about the enhancement in photoshop. What happened to pictures shot well enough to the point that no digital altering is needed? Seems many have to use photoshop to make better pictures. Why not do it with the camera from the start?

Classic.... Well done. I also can't understand how anyone would rate this below an 8 in either catagory... However, I suspect good photos get higher ratings by good photographers and genuine and striving amatuers and lower ratings from "critics". I always check the work of each person offering a comment...and the most helpful critiques come from people who have work up. Photographers have a deeper understanding of photographic art and what it takes to create an excellent image. Critics (who are not photographers or good photographers) are not necessarily "wrong" in their opinion... they are judging based on what they like and don't like. And although perfectly entitled to their opinion -- they are speaking from personal taste (which is fine) with no understanding of what it takes to find the shot, create the shot, make decisions re: camera, lenses, lighting, composition, exposure etc. Then there is - I suspect - the sour grapes syndrome. Those people that like to bash a photo out of jealousy as well as show how much they know about photography technique and rules...however, oddly enough those people don't have any work to show! I'm not talking about anyone here or anyone in particular.... Just something I've noticed over the past two months.

I don't even allow nonphotographers to look at my work. Photographs should be viewed only by experts in making photographs; the public at large, even those "educated" in art (only artists can know what art is) have no place even forming an opinion, much less offering it here. I propose that all photographers from this day forward, refuse to publish in newspapers, magazines, and galleries that are open to the general public. After all, who are we taking pictures for--us or them?

Good looking girl. Good idea. Great execution. I like it.

That's the best word I could find to describe this image. The image of the woman is very appealing. And the stories (that could be told) are too: Where is she going? Will she be meeting someone there? Who? Why? well, I better stop now.

I guess I should be ready to get flamed, but I don’t like it. The grain adds nothing to the photo. It does not have a positive influence on the mood, or the overall quality of the image. It is a negative for me. The color is drab, and the massive area of black foreground with it’s minimal detail is just that a giant area of nothingness. The sky is very uninteresting, and covers too large an area as well. For those that think the form of a pretty girl is enough to carry the photo, so be it, but this has been done so much in print media that I can’t see how anyone could consider this original. Picture of the week?? What were they thinking?

After looking at this for a number of days, I would say that I have ended up where Jonathan Burdick did. The gesture is excellent, the composition is pretty good, but the anemic color fights the intensity of the composition rather than complementing it. The grain here seems wasted - in fact, high grain in color photos often looks unpleasant rather than "photographic" as it can in black and white photos.

Commenting on one of the comments above that recurs here on a regular basis:

I always check the work of each person offering a comment...and the most helpful critiques come from people who have work up. Photographers have a deeper understanding of photographic art and what it takes to create an excellent image.

I disagree strongly with this. The skills of a good critic are an ability to analyze and an ability to communicate with the written word. Being a good photographer has nothing to do with either of these skills, and many photographers think about how a photograph is made rather than what it says.

And my work is widely available on the internet, on my own web site and at photocritique.net.

Ladies and gentlemen, may I state the obvious? This picture is sexy as hell. And it manages to bring that off without a nipple or a pubic hair or ... hopefully you get the idea. I mean the woman is fully draped and backlit, for crying out loud!

How does Jeff do it? The figure is classy--some might say classic--to be sure, but that's just the price of admission. Note that she's posed at the top of the composition, as if at a height above us ordinary mortals, and note the crosswise planks that lie between her figure and us--ah, how hard it is to ascend to that height! How about the hair swinging one way and the skirt the other--remember "that brave vibration each way free" from English Lit? How about the gauzy netting either side of the figure? How about the bottle (help me out here, all you Freudians)?

For my money, there's no mystery about where the "Oh, wow!" reaction in these comments comes from--it comes from the Oh-Wow complex hard-wired into all of us. Congratulations to Jed for taking a picture of that.

This photo suffers from the fact the subject it much too centered. From an aesthetic point of view she should have been positioned a little more to the right when making the print. This would add a "dynamic tension" to the image and draw the eye down an toward the right (making the Primary Optical Area contain the bottle and main part of the silhouette.) It's a nice shot, but I don't like all the darkroom screwing around. My personal viewpoint is that a photographer should "see" the photo, shoot it, and then print and crop to present "what he saw" when he released the shutter. Anything else is just "Adobe Photoshop" and not art.

fucking unbelievable! good shot dude!

great photo

It seems that anyone with constructive criticism gets bashed. I don't always agree with the critics, but I do read them and look again at the picture with their critique in mind. This particular picture just doesn't grab me. Doesn't mean it's not good, just means I don't like Jackson Pollock either ... but Pollock made it into a lot of museums. <G>

I think this photographer's strong point was overlooked. In looking at his portfolio, I was taken by the portraits of the children. It's a lot easier to work with adults than children. There is no doubt that the children's portraits in his portfolios have all been enlarged and framed, and are proudly hanging on their families walls. (And Grandma & Grandpa's) They're simply fantastic.

Jed, I had a chance to take a look at your folder and love your portrait work. I'm still okay about your POW selection but love your B&W .Keep up the good work!

Dear Paul Rootare, I would love to know what planet you are from. At exactly what precise point in our space-time continuum did you suddenly become an expert "Photographer"? Does God go around handing out certificates? I thought that you had to study, practice and learn to develop your skills. Mabey I was wrong and all my years studying art history, fine arts, graphic arts, environmental design, Roman history, and latin were all just a waste of time. My GOSH, some people are so full of themselves! I appologize for not being born a bonafied, certified, licenced photographer, but I want to learn how some of these imaginative artists manage to create such great images, not how many jewels they have in their crown! And YES Jeff Spirer, being a good photographer has EVERYTHING to do with being a good critic! A critic who lacks the ability to practice what they preach doesn't have a clue what they are talking about! OK, now you can all hit me with everything you've got, I can take it as well as I give it, unlike some other people.

And YES Jeff Spirer, being a good photographer has EVERYTHING to do with being a good critic! A critic who lacks the ability to practice what they preach doesn't have a clue what they are talking about!

Ever see photos by A.D. Coleman, who is, for now at least, the most widely known photography critic?

How about movies by Roger Ebert?

I'd suggesting getting an understanding of what critique is about before you go yell about it.

Ooo, ooo, ooo, now we’re into sociology!!! Alright! Since you brought up the concept of immunity, lets’ clarify... Yes, Mr. Ebert doesn’t have a lot of movies in his portfolio. That is exactly what makes his opinion so widely acceptable. If somebody who had actually produced something gave a critique of someone else’s work, then their opinion would be subject to the scrutiny and merit of their own work thereby eliminating a large percentage of the public (bad for business). This concept makes it really convenient not to have any practical experience and stay immune from criticism themselves and simply rely on media hype. That is also why I can’t lend those kinds of people much credit. I mention this here because it is very pertinent to the kind of “critiquing” that happens on this web site. It is usually the ones with nothing to show who act so smart. The ball is in your court now.

This particular photo is one of the kind which does not sway me to one side or the other of emotions. Perhaps the greatest value to acknowledge is that some viewers do not know in what direction the girl is walking. The re-occurring request of "CONSTRUCTIVE" criticism is as much 'flogged' as the word "DEMOCRACY" and is wide open to interpretation. I prefer LESLEY AGGAR's (photographer) attitude to criticism: "OTHER PEOPLE's OPINIONS ARE VALUABLE AS LONG AS THEY ARE HONEST!" To pick on peole's spelling mistakes (speak: typing errors) is very petty. My left little finger, for instance, likes to punch an "a" whenever possible. I've tried everything to cure this problem, except for: tieing a helium filled child's balloon on to this trouble maker. As far as I'm concerned, there is no point in analyzing the photo if it doesn't have any impact on me. Judging for the sake of it, is not my style! Adelaide S.A.

Michael. I give you two 10s and two thumbs way up for that last comment! Well said and I agree completely! The voice of reason in a war-torn site! LOL Thanks.

I would have loved to have seen more bounce I her hair, instead of those few strands of hair protruding leftwards. It looks as if she is wearing a baseball cap turned sideways. The image is very strong in every other respect. I loved the IDEA!! Keep those images coming!

Many thanks to Frank DeJeet for his comments about composition, as I have said before (somewhere up above!) I appreciate any input. This is particularly true when you look at the viewing figures. Currently this image has been "viewed" over 89,000 since this counter began working. 73 comments, some of which are mine, from 89,000 "viewings"?

Frank at this point has posted no pictures for anyone to look at, but the question is .... how do I know whether or not he is a photographer from this fact or from the extent of any comment he makes? Hmmmmm....

As usual the POW becomes a forum for controversy. I was not saying non-photographers didn't have valid opinions... I was simply saying that the pattern I've seen in this forum is that the most harsh - and non-helpful and amost mean- spirited citiques are 99% coming from people who are not brave enough themselves to put work up...or are possibly the are not photographers themselves. Everyone DOES have a right to put in their two cents.... Most of it is helpful food for thought. Main thing as a photographer is - if it excites you it will excite others and there will always be others,,,photographers and non-photographers alike that won't be excited. Taste in art will always be subjective. The controversey is fun too... otherwise we all wouldn't be in here every week to look at the work, commment, read the other comments and dream and strive to be the best we can be at our passion. All comments - good and bad - as long as they are constructive, help us all to improve our vision. Thank you Jed for your beautiful work.

Coming in a little late here, but I really like this one. I remember seeing it when it was first posted. Personally, I don't like the grain or the toned bottle and think the photo would be better without either. But the composition and execution here are excellent IMO.

I'm going to leave the arguments above alone and get back to business here.

Jed, this is a good photo. Not excellent, but very good. You are to be commended for your intitive in the darkroom. Very few people take the time anymore with the advent of photoshop. The one thing that bothers my eye is the fact that while the subject is almost centered, the walkway is not. I would have liked to have seen the right side of the walkway as well. Other than that, its great. For all those who think that the colors are blah, remember that this is a toned print and not a color slide. Not much you can do there.

Hey there Jed, just me again. I thought that after all the bickering I did on your POW page, I should at least offer you something more constructive.

Think about this; You want your picture to captivate people right? You want them to stop for a minute and actually examine your picture when it (eventually) is hanging on the wall in a museum. In order to do this, it helps to learn how to control the eye of the viewer. Unless the picture is very simple, people need road maps built right into the picture. That is because it isn't like writing, there is no rule that says you have to follow the image from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. This can be achieved in many ways using perspective, patterns, color, and almost always with light.

At first glance your pic is a silhouette and therefore by default is classified as a relatively "simple" image to read. In this case that is not true since it has far more than the usual two textures. There is the texture of the boardwalk, the filigree of the fencing, the grain of the sky, the flat figure of the girl and the posts, and then add to that the blue bottle. There is also a healthy variety of lines. The ridged straight lines of the posts and boardwalk, the curvaceous lines of the girl, and the wispy lines of her hair and the blowing fence. Yes, there is a lot going on in this limited chromatic picture and it might explain why some people think that "the sky is too much" or "the blue bottle is too much". If you wanted to reduce these elements you could simply crop it and eliminate the fence although I think that would take away a lot of the atmosphere.

It actually has a very primitive look to it and reminds me of the early Daguerrotype copperplate prints of the 1840s.

The perspective of the boardwalk is exactly what I mean when I said you need a road map. It really draws the eye up to the focal point of the picture, the girl. This effect could be enhanced by doing the same thing with light intensity (chiaroscuro). By using a Neutral Density Graduated filter from the bottom up, you could have made the boardwalk increase in brightness as it reached the subject without sacrificing the clarity.

You might also consider what emotion you want to inflict on your viewer. Images which draw your attention to something above the horizontal centerline are more up-lifting or inspirational. You have managed to do just that very succesfully while still keeping everything in good propotion.

Well that's my two cents worth. I hope it is more constructive than my last comments.

those who speak as experts but offer no evidence lack credibility.

As for the picture...
I like the composition and the selective toneing (sp?), but I don't think the grain helps.

Meanwhile, I'm removing all my photographs from public display.

hey Jed, it's all body's veiws - sum'may b just jealous as they didn't do it - OR how u did it be4 them!! JEALOUSY + ENVY+>>>>.........><><><><>.... Anyways- it's a nice job & pretty well done.

ciao` & keep up the gr8 wrk.

I totaly agree with Steven Worthy

<i>Beyond what is necessary to be able to appreciate art, all that is necessary to be able to criticize art validly is intelligence, perceptiveness, analytical skill, honesty, and a good ability to articulate oneself. Not experience as a photographer. </i> <p> The problem with that statement is that so few of the general population meet those criteria, particularly where it comes to the ability to appreciate art and visual perceptiveness. Owning a Nikon and knowing how to operate it don't automatically grant you this capacity, but successful photographers (and visual artists of all types) almost by definition must have either been born with or developed a high degree of visual awareness. <p> You can call me an elitist for saying that the average person's artistic sensibilities are for shit, but it's hard to come to any other conclusion when I look at the prefab bubblegum pop acts that rake in 90% of the money spent on music, when I go into the frame shop in the mall and see the crap people are actually hanging on their walls, when I drive into a new subdivision full of architectural mostrosities, et cetera ad nauseam.

Who said he did anything in PhotoShop, Steven? If you're going to criticize someone's work at least get your facts straight. And so what if he toned the image in PhotoShop? That's nothing more than he did in a darkroom anyway.

This incessant babbling against PhotoShop is as tiresome as people's insistence that any photo could be enhanced with a split ND filter.

This is a damn good photo. The grain lends an impression of heat, which helps the photo. The toning further adds to the mood. Cropping about half the space from the top to the model's head would move her higher in the composition and strengthen the image. Other than that, leave it as it is.

even tho i, nor my children or my childrens children will ever be as good as some of the people who think they have the god given right to critisize other peorles works, would still like to leave some mustard on this side. Fantastic photo. Nice comment from Hazel B. But.... dont forget "if you do something & nobody says anything about it", it either wasnt worth doing OR it was so F*#k*+g genial(means GREAT)that some, running through life thinking they are so good or not thinking at all, just dont see the things some others do. Beauty being in the eyes of beholders.

Great photo. It captures that feeling that we men get when we see the silouette of a woman. Our minds fill in so much that we fall in love. It would be interesting to see a different crop--a little less path and a bit more sky. Not sure it would be better but it would be worth a try if it is there in the neg. Bravo!!!

Very nice image indeed. It evokes a response, and that's what a photograph should do. Nice application of imaging techniques to a strong composition.

After reading the comments I feel like Rod Serling is about to step out of the corner and announce his usual...People are criticized for their criticism? Why not? This is what comment is meant to be, whether you like it or not, write whatever pops into your mind, it's all about first impression, Phil doesn't enforce any censorship or moderation. By the same token - there is nothing wrong with those who see feely-touchy-pink-fuzzy-bunny slippers in this "thingy". Surprisingly though, admirers of the "technique", while rolling their googly eyes, couldn't figure out the direction of the "nice girl" movement. Hint: look at the knee bend, calf curve and grip on the bottle. Personal attack however is a different issue: BTW, Kyle if you consider this photo an artwork I wonder what level of "technical expertise"(huh?) you posses. Not tough to figure out considering that by your standards inability to spell is an 8th grade attribute. I don't think one even needs a camera to achieve this "specific atmosphere"(I don't suppose you can be a tad more specific on this notion): place an object on a flat bed scanner. "and this is what photography is all about". Really? According to whom? One would argue that this is a sweeping generalization. Can't we all just get along...

I'm no artistic expert, just a typical guy. I like the picture. The color in the water bottle is great; it looks like it should be in a bottled water commercial. Abbies shape is great too. For me, the picture achieves what the artist wanted - to invoke the mood of going to the beach. Hey, it makes me wish I was there right now – going to the beach with my camera and a pretty woman!

My kinda shots ... congratulations on this great idea ... the shot maybe simple as the photo.net suggested but I bet that you put a lot thought and time into making what it is now.

Why did you recycle a photo from the past. Take some new pictures.

Why did you resubmit a picture that has been already reviewed?

It's a great photo! I'm jealous because I rarely get such a perfect set-up as that. It is a bit grainy for my taste, but the grain does suggest the heat. Maybe smaller grain? I'm not qualified to judge.... it's better than anything I could do....

Hot little body !

Quite beautiful. Love it! I've been working on a lot of silhoutte shots lately myself. Aren't they so much fun? I would like this photo more though if you cut off part of the bridge. It's not all needed. In fact, most of it is unneeded.

Every once-in-a-while I come across a photo that relaxes me the second I set my eyes on it. This is definitely one of them. Your creativity is brilliant, and I can almost smell the salty air. A very peaceful image. This is as close to perfect as it gets.

I see no real flaws in this image and just a few things that could be improved. Yet, I see no real greatness either. <p> I see a potential minor improvement, as somebody stated, in cropping the top a tad, but nothing really significant there either. I also see another possibility, which is a squared cropping, cropping off a lot of the ground and some at the top of the picture as well. But it doesn't convince me any more than the original post. <p> I too feel that the grain adds something here to anotherwise quite boring sky. I find myself looking for a beautiful cloud, but well, it wasn't there. Then I look at the bottle. It stands out because it's blue, whereas the rest of the frame is brown. I wonder WHY it should stand out. If this would be for an ad, then I'd say that the model wasn't right, and I feel that not many art directors would go for a silhouette effect and for this brown toning. So, as an ad, I feel this doesn't stand out as great. <p> So, I would tend to believe that the purpose wasn't advertising, and then I wonder why the bottle should be given such strong emphasis ? <p> I somehow miss the point of this shot and of the bottle's color mostly, but at the same time, it clearly isn't a bad shot - aesthetically quite fine. <p> So I am forced to conclude that it leaves me quite cold, and so do many silhouettes in general, unless I see something really special about one of them... Here, what's special is the importance of the bottle, but I don't see that as a positive thing. Overall, a good looking shot that lacks some depth of thought imo, and some impact. A 5 / O 5.

Makes me long for summer...

It was this image which invited me join PN. I still remember this photo.

Very nice picture. I like that you've keep the color of the bottle through the sepia. The silhoutette is nice and lighting very good. The grainy effect give a ancient picture look that is very cool. Great job.

So much sky bores me and nothing, so much sepia, the bottle is a so important element? the image I believe daria for a great deal more but itself is not bored is able me that be the sky, the color and the bottle. I believe that is an interesting image

Just beautiful, There is noting to ad -I love it I´ve looked at this several times times I don´t no why