Response to Dramatic Light (Response #41)

Uploaded 713 Days Ago by King - 9 comments

Photo © King (Here at the End, Farewell!) - www.kingdouglas.com/
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User Comments

BeakerSt said 713 days ago:

Weird? Hate to be harsh but not sure what you are trying to convey. As a human form it is too far away and if you were trying to use the light to create a bold shadow then it is weak and tapers out. Compositionally the subject/shadow position is not really ideal. Much closer in and you may have got something decent out of it...imho.

dcreighton said 712 days ago:

The feel and atmosphere of the image is excellent. I do with the subject was further to the left a bit to emphasize the feeling of being alone in the wide open. A bit more seperation of the person from the hillside would be nice and a step or two earlier it may have been easier to do against the hillside.

rValley said 712 days ago:

I am enjoying the shadow cast.

Gaius said 712 days ago:

Interesting photo. It really makes you think. I lik e the way the shadows balance out with the lighter areas. You might want to PP the flare in the lower center (towards the right) of the image.

rosedaddy said 712 days ago:

in the style of Steichen; nice; not dramatic

King said 712 days ago:

Thanks for all the comments.

@rosedaddy...Think expulsion from Eden. A nude woman is walking up a barren granite monolith at dawn is not dramatic? I guess I was born too soon. By the way, this is not at all like any Steichen photograph I've seen (I'm a big Steichen fan). Can you be more specific? I'll look it up.

@BeakerSt...natural shadows taper out. This is natural. Thanks for your comments.

@Gaius. I chose to leave the flare in the image...kinda like natural breasts vs. silicone. Thanks for your comment.

King said 712 days ago:

@dcreighton...very perceptive comments. This was shot on 4x5 film with my hand-held Speed Graphic camera. It's a bit slow when it comes to shooting alternative views. Also, although beside the point, it was about 20 degrees F on a winter morning and my model was about to freeze to death.

King said 712 days ago:

@BeakerSt...again...One of the things I had to consider in this photograph is whether to crop it a lot tighter so the thumbnail would have more impact.

I think that photographs that have more impact as thumbnails stand a better chance of being rated in the first place, and rated higher in the second. However, to crop this tightly would violate the sense of alienation and desolation and aloneness that I was getting at.

If I'm right and this is a significant reason why this photograph does not do so well in the ratings (as it is not), that's just the way it has to be.

Flatline said 708 days ago:

No ratings as I know who took this - because you told us in another image comment, silly goose. Yes, that would be cheating, to answer your question ;-)

I like the shadow a lot, and I like the rising horizon, and her angle as she climbs toward the sky.

I have been saying this a lot this week, but I wish I could see a print of this. I just have to assume that there is a ton of detail that gets lost in tiny jpgs. The sky looks pixelated, and the light on her arm also looks a little unnatural.

Good shot.

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