Wonderful.

WOW....... you couldn't get a better photo for this topic. This is a bench with a story.
Great Shot !

Hello
I wonder if you would be so kind as to allow me to post a copy of your bench picture on my blog with a credit and link back to you? If you agree, please would you email me a copy of your picture to djkirkby@gmail.com

Amazing composition. Nice find.

Definitely an image that tells a story. Great capture.

Really well composed and presented.

Very creative! Nice job - those eyes pull me right in...

Best,
Jon

Great work. On your place I would have "cut" hairs in the left corner.

Thank you everyone

I really like the saturation in the eyes, great job....

@Ana, thanks for you "complement". I call your comment a complement because you found the image to be accurate representation of what this part of the forest really looked like. It was a bright sunny day, but under the oak canopy it felt dark and cool and very inviting. The California Black Oaks have a very gray bark. So yes you are right, dark and gray trees!! Oh, BTW, did you see the bright areas of sunlight landing right on the red blooming camellias??

This was taken yesterday at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge, CA. Spring comes early to Southern California.

@Jon, I tried a couple of different crops, but kept coming back to this, which is the "in-camera" faming. What do you think would work better??

Clyde,

I would have let that beautifully lit tree on the right function as the right hand frame. I'm sure you considered that - just a friendly suggestion.

Best,
Jon

Clyde
Love this shot very much, the lighting @colours are great!! the reveine appears to pull you right in to the very secret garden :)

Andy

i like the use of light and shadows you made in this shot

Nice low down shot, i like it, very dramatic.
I would like to see a portrait version also, with more sky :)

Thanks Pradeep....I wish I could have taken more time when I took this picture and taken a picture with more sky...but I was in a hurry to catch up with the group :)

i love the perspective

Very nice.
Great to see different angles and attempts!

great shot. I feel the road adds a lot of character, almost giving the photo a backstory. Great job!

YES ! Excellent contrast, very nice angle, I like it all.

I agree I really like this shot!

59 Caddy?

Great perspective.

Perspective is wonderful, makes it huge ! Good B/W too !

WOW!
Excellent shot.
Great POV that really lends itself to this angle.
I really like the inclusion of the sky and the cloud in the corner!
I also like the reflections that are seen all the way down the rails!

Thanks everyone for the comments. This photo was a lot of fun to make, except for the crick in my neck. ;P

@Jeff: I always tend to lose my balance when trying to capture these types of scenes. Annoys the hell out of me to be honest. I really need to learn to keep my balance :D

Love it.

Nice angle.
Love the colors and the contrasts

This photo is magical. The colors, the cropping, the action, the stillness and the dust. Wonderful capture. Excellent job!

love the action and it's motion
where did you take it?

Amazin shot.. Thanks for sharing..It is like a frame from a dream ...

It is a stunning capture.

This is a beautiful & colourful candid shot.

I have to agree with both comments. It seems strange that he is holding the magazine up directly to the camera but looking somewhere else. That incongruity attracts attention in an otherwise good photo. If the subject were interacting with something else, like the magazine, it would be less obvious.

i have to agree with all the comments. but also this picture looks really good being black and white. but i dont no if this is the look you were goin for.. but this magazine sticks out in my eye to much.. makes me look right for it.
but other then that very good picture

jason..

I love this shot. The composition is amazing!

Thanks for the critiques. Perhaps this photo needed a little explanation ...

I shot this as part of a "project" for a blog that I share with a few friends (see monochromebrisbane.blogspot.com/search/label/envir... for more details of this shot). Mick is a Big Issue vendor who uses a very passive approach of sitting on the church steps holding the magazine out. He rarely moves or changes expression. I was drawn to this angle (using a 135mm prime from down on the footpath) because of the relationship between the portrait on the cover almost looking at me and Mick who was looking to left of camera. He gave permission for me to take the shot, but he immediately assumed his "position" and did not change expression at all while I mucked about for the next few minutes.

Hope this goes some way to explaining this not-so-traditional environmental portrait. More critiques, however, would be appreciated.

good pic i like the blurryness of the background... adds alot of character to the pic

How did you get this one? Great capture. Love the gold fields. Well done. Best, jon

Striking image. It jumped off the thumbnail page at me and I had to see it full size. Wonderful composition.

Lovely capture! Belongs in the Wildlife topic. :~D

Nice use of warm colors and repetition and proportion.

great use of the theme

Nice colors. I guess it would look better if you crop a little more closer, removing the pink from the top. Also when you are this close, it should be sharp and with good details.

I like this one, but it is a little noisy for this kind of work, and Pradeep is right in his assessment of the shot, in my opinion. Beautiful light you have captured, however!

Best,
Jon

It looked great in the thumbnails but is unfortunately is not sharp enough and very noisy, especially in the lower left corner. It's a shame because light and colours are beautiful...

I agree with the above comments....it should be a little more sharp...but I still think the photo is beautiful!

i like it - particularly the composition