I'm sure it would be creepy in real life, but in the photo, the spider looks beautiful. I like the way it seems to glow against the dark background. and the frame created by the torn web.
This is not just a good macro, but a very attractive image.
Pete
I like the scene, but I agree with the suggestion to crop off the reeds at the bottom, which distract from those stark dead trees.
Pete
Your text gives this photo extra significance, and we can see the rough, grey water as an allegory for the trials of their life. Their bright red clothing links the mother and child and also sends a bright message of hope. Or is it danger? It is also endearing to see them sharing their interest and learning to fish.
Pete
All of your work is very interesting.
The diner may be closed at the moment, but the rich reds, the chrome shining almost to the point of burning out and the deep black shadows give off a feeling of youthful exuberance, which suggests the place is very much alive. I like the flare effect on the chrome and reds, which is just enough to be effective, but not enough for it to seem gimmicky. The composition works well toowith the window sill on the left matched by the chair legs on the right, for instance. I also like the fact that the pictures on the wall and the chequered floor tiles are only hinted at in the darkness. They add interest and character, but do not distract, which I think would have been the case, if they had been shown in bright light.
Pete
The solarisation (?) is a really effective choice for PP here and really enhances the original, and gives it a real twist and strong voice. The black ground looks like an oil-spillage, and the black sky looks like wild air-pollution. Even the underside of the roofing seems to have been blackened by poorly controlled exhaust fumes! Everything is absolutely perfect for a business named Fuel City.
This could be a poster for an environmental campaign. A superb image.
Pete
I agree with what Mike has said and done here. The bottlebrush tree, if it had the usual blooms on it, would have added a lot. The harsh light that turned the beautiful bird's midsection into a puddle of shadowed confusion was not your friend. I doubt you could retrieve enough from the shadows to make it work - the retrieved areas would probably be noisy and less saturated and give away the retrieval. I would try, but would not be optimistic about it. But the interesting crop shows you do have a quality photo in there, waiting to be discovered, tack sharp, with beautiful details and colors.
These are so interesting, especially the last one (love the name too) of the red bokeh ball caught in the grip of twisted broken wire.
I totally get what Mike has said here and agree with what he says about the revised image, but I am still torn between the new and original version. The disconnected character, who was jammed up against the edge of the frame and looking out, breaking the rules of harmonious composition, seems even quirkier and more of an outsider in the first version than in the more pictorially balanced second version. The situation is explained more clearly in the reworked version, but is that a good thing? I am undecided at the moment and could live with either.
Pete
The quality of the light and the colours are remarkable and well worth scanning. As is so often the case, the beauty of the plant is enhanced by its imperfections and without the drying and dying leaves, the image would lose the contrasting brown colour and the contrast between the living and dying parts of the plant. The bottom is tightly cropped, but actually, I don't think it detracts, as we are used to seeing plants "cropped" by the soil and there is still plenty to see as shown.
Excellent image.
Pete
The complementary colours of orange/yellow and blue make this attractive, although it is a shame they go a bit green in the transition.
I'm not sure about the fences. They almost zig-zag as a leading line, but not quite, and so form a bit of a visual barrier into the image. However, they are so thin and the nearer fence so low in the frame, that they don't ruin the shot.
Pete
Actually, that is a creative answer to your 10:10 challenge, with your playful use of focus and the lens characteristeics and introducing the golden bead as a focus point.
Pete
Showing the wormholes in the apple is a clever idea and well executed.
What are the fruit in the second? The stems seem too long for apples. In any case the image seems to be coloured with an orange wash over the exposed flesh abd a blue-green over the background. However it has been done, it is quite effective and gives it a depth and also a dream-like quality.
Pete
Many thanks for your in-depth analysis and feedback!
The original shows the lorikeet playing peek-a-boo through the branches, although a bird that coloueful must find it impossible to hide!. The branches are a bit busy, and the leaf top left is a distraction, so I find Mike's suggested crop to be a good idea.
Pete
"Photography" is an extremely broad category. I have given up trying to define it and what might be considered a photograph. With images like these I stop thinking about the process and consider simply my reaction to shapes and colours.
Number One. Space/time/the universe and all that. I like the soft focus of the planet like orb as compared to the sharp edges and complex detail of the shape emerging from the right. Kubrick, then Star Wars accustomed us to large objects sliding into view when approaching distant planets or similar. distant planets. All the web like matter suugets threat to the distant, soft object.
Number Two is more difficult. I like the red ball that seems to be in a force field between the points. The hot red goes along with this response. The whole image reminds me of a Miro painting. I like it. something to do with the fuzzy v sharp and the hot red v blue/greys.
I have waited long to comment on this image, and now Pete has beaten me to it, articulating what I also felt.
I do not mind (at all) the unconventional composition of the original image: the lone main subject close to the image's edge gives us a beautiful speculation about what is just outside the frame: is there a whole other band there, and is he conducting? Or is he just isolating himself for a moment and stretching his arms, maybe nervous because his band is about to perform on this apparent jamboree. I like that ambiguity.
The revised and AI enhanced image (though technically well done) loses that magic of uncertainty. Now there is just empty grass in front of him.
Moreover, I really liked the square crop: it had an internal logic of lines and tensions. That unravels in the wider version.
The very tight crop on the bird's face is an excellent idea.
Almost everything that got deleted here, was a distraction.
But most importantly: this crop made me realize what fine feather detail there is on that head, and also it made me remark the catchlight in the eye, creating a sense of the bird making eye contact.
In the uncropped image, I had not remarked those details at all.