thanks for all your comments

Cool photo. I'm still trying to work out what you've done here!

well done!
(I would like to see this view reduced to the reflection!)

Very nice. After reading the comments and looking again, I agree that it would be stronger with the building in focus.

Interesting perspective

good photo
but too much contrast for me

A good idea , but I'd choose a different point of view to accentuate the move.

Very nice shot. I like how you captured the motion there. You should also try out different angles because I think you would have gotten a greater effect if you cropped. Somehow the emptiness kinds of plays in with this image.

Thanks for all the critiques...I did try various angles but this is the one I liked best...and wanted to know what everyone else thought of it.

But my obejective while taking this picture was very modest...you see, I got this Newton's cradle from Smithsonain in DC and the picture in the packaging box was a little better than ugly (!). I wanted to do a better one and maybe stock it to them :P. I met the modest objective...:)

Initially the thought was that I absolutely loved the contrast, and the capture of light that make the steel/metal look liquid. So simple, minimalist, eloquent. If anything, I had to look hard to see the movement. But - where having to look hard for something sometimes takes away, it actually helped me appreciate this even more. Also like how you attributed it to your own pet project :)

Good picture, appropriate BW and great compo: I like it much !!

Very cool BW photo! Good work.

This is great. Timeless, as others have said. Nobody seems to have mentioned it, so I'll add I love the faded word "motorcycles" given that the shot is full of bicycles. One critique, I suppose, is that you might have used a wider lens (or stepped back) to reveal a bit more story. Is there anything interesting about the context that this shop appears within? I would keep the bottom line the same, but I'm interested to see more up and to the left and/or right. What lens did you use by the way?

@Grayphotog : Thank you for your critics.
I used a DSC-F828 3 years ago ;) Today I'll use my D200 and another lens, more luminous, sure ! Just to see inside the shop (because it's so funny, with full of suspended bicycles ;)
But I don't know if a wide lens would have been a good idea because this shop is the most interesting thing within the street (cars, other shops... too recent).
Remember you : done it 3 years ago only (not in 60's )

brilliant scene of great interest...i love a pictuure you can look at for a while, noticing different things...this tcks that box

Wonderful series - quite zen and well composed.

Very nice, it works for me. Interesting how you combined different tints as well. I wonder if it would work better if the dark space on the left was a bit darker. The shadows are a bit more dramatic on the right side.

very beautiful, love the tone combinations

Great work on these shots! Sure
it will be featured soon!

thanks for your comments.

@vernont: i took the image in the german national theatre in weimar. i work there as a freelance photographer.
this is the first scene of the "walkuere" by richard wagner.

@grayphotog: i don't know, what they want to show with the kids. i'm not the dramatic advicer of the play. ;)

This is one of those pictures where you just want to know what is going on. Good capture.

i really like this. both for the background, lights and of course the kids, great capture

Excellent work! Very well done!

love this shot...reminds me so much of one of my favourite artists Gottfried Helnwein's work.

Striking! I like the b&w tones.

Nice, I agree about the tones -- that's what drew me to click and have a look. It makes such a different where the sun is at when you take a photo like this.

It's almost eerie. They seem to be coming alive. Great shot!

this is outstanding Andrew

point well taken :) thank you Mysight and Soyrosa for the comments

The cut on her lip doesn't add anything to me, so it's a distraction. You could remove it in Photoshop or, if that's not an option, make it work (look for a mood and angle where it contributes rather than just sits there). Also the eyes seem almost but not quite sharp. It looks like the focus point may be a bit behind her eyes (the hair looks slightly more in focus). Finally, the girl looks in between expressions -- not quite comfortable and not settled into a mood either. I like the framing and the girl is very cute with wonderful eyes. I would suggest taking lots and lots of shots looking for a "moment" that stands out with the focus, etc. all working, and then add a little (not too much) sharpening in Photoshop to make the eyes come alive even more. Hope this helps.

this is a lovely portrait-would also like to se more of the hat :)

Beautiful portrait.

She looks cute and I liked the tight crop.

excellent!

This is a wonderful subject. I'd personally like to see it slightly less exposed or just dodged around his face.

Realmente es una fotografía muy bonita y con mucha fuerza en la mirada del personaje. El encuadre, el enfoque y la luz están perfectamente conseguido.
Felicidades

i can feel the emotion, and im not even there. great job at capturing what you set out for.

The crumbs really bother me I'm afraid... :-(

Good, photos are intended to bother us, I think. If the bothering succeeds, then it's good. If it's unintentional and/or fails to work, then it's bad. I think this photo is intentionally off-putting and works -- not as a pretty portrait but as a picture of a real person who plays tennis and eats cookies and looks both athletic and slightly childish/nerdy at the same time. (I'm not saying he really IS that way, but who isn't...and the purpose of this portrait isn't to portray anyone's ideal image of the man but an image that the artist wants to show.)

Thanks for the comments everyone. This was at the annual Bay to Breakers Race here in San Francisco. I was in the middle of the race taking random photos of people as they walked by and I was able to capture this guy. If you're familiar with this race, it's similar to say...Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Anyway his "costume" was a tennis player and people in costumes love to have their photos taken. I must have photographed him while he was eating a cookie or something.

Oh, what a coincidence, another tennis player at the bay to breakers, it seems we posted these at about the same time but for a different topic!

Great minds think alike! Hahah..love your work btw.

i don't get detracted by the name but i miss the hole head of the man, in other way, i think that the bottle is the only thing that detracts me from the focus, it makes me look at the details insted of the hole image.
The colour is so great, that orange is incredible.

To me the bottle is very important, because it's a documentary photo. The monk has gone from house to house begging for his breakfast. Here you can see what he has to sustain him for the day. There is water and a glass, the pot with rice remaining in the bottom, and packets of food to eat with the rice. Someone else mentioned the angle; I angled slightly down in order to see into the pot. As for cutting off his head, that's something I often do. Are others bothered by that? Keep in mind, including the top of his head would mean seeing more to the left and right with more potential distractions. I come in close like this when I want a feeling of intimacy, like being there with the person.

The colours are very good but I think the intimacy of the picture could be improved by including all of the subjects head.

This reminds me that people who shoot in very close like this (right in front of him) often favor a 24mm lens. I was shooting at 40mm (24 x 1.6 crop factor). To have included his head I would have needed to move away. It would be better to get even closer with the 24 and do it. Anyone have a 5D to sell cheap?

I also tend to crop the tops of heads off for a feeling of closeness. If the angle was lower to include his hair (what there is of it anyway) you would lose the focus on the ingredients and the pot would look too important... detracting from other details like the strength in his arms and his sense of calm concentration. I like it!