Very interesting take.
Great fit for the theme!
I like the dramatic lighting as it really does accentuate the face!

I would like to take that nose and twist it! Very unusual take - love the eyes and the dramatic lighting.

Best,
Jon

Perfect for the topic :) Great detail in the eyes.

All of you >>> thanks for your comments...
really appreciated !

Great idea!! Could be so good, but a couple of things pull it back. The highlights are really blown out and the framing/cropping is not the best. This would be great as a square compo. The eyes really need to be sharper.

I don't have a problem with grain in general, as long as it adds to the visual interest instead of detracting from it. There's just so much more going on here, I do't see it as a benefit.

No issues with grain here. Nice abstract. I think i can make out a cross with the bottom cropped out...am i correct Clyde? is the effect PS?

This is a strange cross sculpture that my wife bought at Venice Beach. It is copper with a main cutout of a cross and with concentric cutouts of the same shape and then twisted around itself for @30 degrees. Odd looking. It hangs outside our kitchen window and spins in the wind sometime. This is taken with the cross spinning slowly and the sunset light shinning thur. Thanks for the comments guys!!

This is an interesting abstract. I like it.

Did you alter the color cast very much? I have no problem with the color, I'm just curious.

@willie, this is a scanned color negative, just a little curves work in PS and some "dust-busting" This is pretty much the color that scanned. This is a copper cross sculpture.

lovely shot,i agree with the comments above,
i think the shot is spectacular enough to be on its own..! no need to frame it...
the circles are a bit distracting...!

Buena fotografia tipo windows, pero has dejado demasido rastro del tratamiento que le has dado, quedan marcas circulares a los lados del arbol y en las nubes, puede que el biñeteado sea excesivo especialmente en la esquina superior derecha

I reworked this image without the frame...just doesn't have the same impact. Just my thoughts..The circles are a big mistake I made by using too hard a brush, oh well we live and learn. That is just one of the advantages of digital imaging. As long as you keep your orginal image you can always go back and make changes. I looked for many years for this type of image and on a photo trip in Virginia I found it.

I feel that the red line in the frame is the culprit :)

The unnatural color of the sky and the flat tone of the hill don't work at all for me.

I do like the composition.

Noah,

Would almost work better as an abstract, I think. Mike is right in regards to the focus - way too soft. NIce colors and the composition is not too shabby.

Best,
Jon

I agree with Jon, it would work better as an abstract. Just a tighter crop would take it there. Love the colors :)

It's really hard to pull a successful motif of "symmetry" from raw nature, since nature is by nature chaotic. Most successful symmetry photographs are of man made subjects. To me the beauty of this subject is the nuance of detail that is slightly different on every petal, every leaf and therefore "chaotic" in nature. And once in a rare while nature by it's chaotic nature will land symmetrical, just by accident. Those are the treasures of landscape and nature photography.

Mas gracias porvtu comentario.

Something in this need to be sharp for it to work.

It is too close to being in focus to be abstract.

Great lighting and emotion...just like all your work. Thanks for sharing.

2 Pradeep:
thanks for whatchin' and commentin' ;)

I love the lighting and the use of b&w here to focus on the intensity of the exchange between these two. I love the body language of the player on the right and the goal in the background to place them by the field. Great work.

wonderful,B/W works really well here,
the lighting is great...

Well done.

My criticism depends on whether or not this is a crop. If it's a crop. then I think it's a bit tight.

Am not sure which of these topics it fits more...

Ryan,
Yeah i am not using the greatest scanner so i am dealing with what it gives me.
this actually is a crop from the original!
The bottom was 3x longer before!

Great composition Mike. I guess its blown on the lower left. I bet this would look fantastic in B&W.

Cheers :)

Pradeep,
Thanks for the comment.
This was shot on kodak BW400CN film so it is B&W.
IT is processed in c41 chemical so it may have a tint to it due to the print.

Mike,

Not having seen the original, I still bet this is a much stronger shot with a crop right up to the bottom of the stairs - nice work.

Best,
Jon

Thanks for the comment Jon.

Jon and all who suggested a different crop, you can go here: vazaar.com/user:mikeock/photos/id:27771/

Seems to lack a focal point or any direction. Maybe bring the colors out more or could cause your eye to be drawn in.

I second Ryan, I feel that there is no focal point. Try working on the contrasts in the image...maybe a greyscale :)

The sweet area of this subject that I would be nice to see "featured" in your composition is the 2 stalks that cross each other on the left of this composition. They have a nice area of focused light on them and a composition that really explored that area of the scene would be much stronger. This is just too busy and, as others have said, lacks focus of interest and it lack sharp focus as well.

I can only agree what people have said above. It's very disorderly. Try to find out for yourself what you had in mind while you were photographing. Maybe it did look very beautiful for you at the time, but for us it simply doesn't work.

There is really nothing to commend this photo, I'm afraid. Be sure to have a purpose for your photograph!

Cheers,
Jon

Me gusta.

Thanks Ana :)

That is one surreal capture. Great colors.
Cheers :)

Muchas gracias por su comentario Pradeep. Saludos