rychousmama (228) [2009-02-04 22:28] [+]

My goddess, I can't believe I haven't written a thank you and a critique of this! I can't describe how flattered I am that you made a painting of my photo, but you already know that from long ago ;)
I think my favorite part of the painting is how you rendered the folds in the cloth, as well as the cloth's iridescence and color. Love the way you captured the lighting on the shoulder and neck too, just like in my photo (if not better! hehe).
How are you doing lately? Your recent photos are great!
Much love.

-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-31 19:31] [comment] [+]

You wouldn't like it if someone posted a voyeuristic shot like this of your sister, would you? Spying on women and invading their privacy so that you can objectify them simply isn't funny. This could have been me, it could have been one of my girl friends, it could have been any woman. Why did you post a photo like this? Did you think dehumanizing women is funny? I'm not laughing...
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 19:04] - [workshop] [compare]

I love your notes about Andrew :) And I can kind of understand your internal conflict with trying to reveal the hardships that Andrew endures while also trying not to patronize him, or to show that he is a complex individual like any other with joys and loves as well as fears.
I really like the way you played with shadow and light here, it creates a mood and dynamic quality in the shot and brings out Andrew's expression even more (he looks satisfied and perhaps a little smug, haha ;) ). You've done a great job with the composition placing Andrew off-center. Although portraiture shots are traditionally supposed to be framed vertically, I think this horizontal framing works because it is supposed to show the play of highlights and shadows surrounding Andrew. Great point of view from a little bit below him to show the way the broken lighting hits the background of trees and grass and various surfaces. I did a workshop on this, I hope you'll like it!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 18:33]

I really love the sense of movement and life in this shot with the blurring and the movement of his hair. Also what makes this so focused on the musician is the tighter cropping and square framing that also creates an amazing balance between his head, the head of the guitar neck, and then the open guitar case and his shoes. The high contrasts and deep shadows on this make this moody and dynamic. I love the inclusion of the text on the film strip at the left and right edges of the shot, it gives it a candid and somewhat grungey feel. Really good capture of the person on the bike moving blurred in the background, emphasizing the "hustle and bustle" of the city scene you mention in your note. You can tell someone is an excellent and experienced musician when they are completely absorbed in their instrument and how they play it, in their own world. Makes me wonder why buskers like him are not making the top 20 on the radio instead of that uncreative "pop" crap the DJs play, haha. Really wonderful point of view too at-level with the musician so that we identify more with him than anything else. Thanks for sharing!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 18:14]

Wow, the focus and detail on the bee's head and parts of the flower are great and the use of lighting to slightly illuminate the top of the head and part of the upper abdoment (and that nice glint of light on the wing in the background). Excellent colors and tones, the title is very fitting for this shot. It's just full of yellows and golds. Great point of view very close-up and from just above to play on scale and make the bee and flower look huge. really good amount of negative space all around, and good vertical framing, although perhaps you could have cropped just a slight bit off the top edge (not even a centimeter) to create more flow and balance in the composition. Really stunning though, I have always wanted a macro lens ;) TFS!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 18:03]

Wow, I really love the movement that you "froze" and captured in the shot. The way that lovely red-orange hair is flying and swept about her face, her happy and lively facial expression, her "pose" and the way her feet barely touch the ground as she reaches for the sky, all evoke so well that carefree joy of childhood (why can't adults do this sometimes? haha). Excellent tones and natural but vivid colors, I love how the greens around are warm yet still contrast beautifully with that red-orange hair. The element of that bandage on her knee shows she's already been playing like a kid should ;) Excellent vertical framing and her placement off-center gives good balance and composition. I might recommend leaving in just a centimeter more or so of negative space at the top edge to evoke the feeling of air and space above her, emphasizing her jump and movement. The warm late afternoon lighting hitting her from the right side creates amazing highlights and tones. The background with the trees also being hit by the sunlight makes this even more dynamic. Beautiful. TFS!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 17:42]

Hi Marina, really nice black and white that does have a very eerie and mysterious feel to it. Really good way to convey the feel of a nightmare too with the diffuse glow or blur used around the edges and corners of the shot. Excellent balance and rhythms with the multiple rocks in a neat pile at the bottom, and the skinny branches of the tree radiating to the top edge and corners of the shot. Really good otherworldly contrasts and tones, and I love how the shadows are deepest on that strange tree. Even though you're not typically supposed to center objects in a photo, the centering of the tree works here because the top of it balances so well with the rocks. Excellent sharp detail and focus, and really wonderful metering with that diffused backlighting. There are so many textures in this shot. Thanks for sharing!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 17:34]

Hi Agata, really interesting portrait here. I like the unique cropping of the head at the left side. Beautiful warm tones brought out in the young man's skin, especially with the use of that diffused natural lighting. What really makes this dynamic too is the crisp and colorful reflection of the buildings in his sunglasses. Excellent rich tones and contrasts, and good shallow depth of field to make the man pop out against the background. Good placement of the bulk of the face off-center, near the bottom left, although I would have been interested to see this with just a bit more negative space at the right edge to decenter the profile of the man's face. Really sharp and focused and great quality. TFS!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 17:25]

Hi Amri, really nice silhouette and sunset captured here. Although there are so many sunset shots on this site, I really love the way you gave this a tight vertical cropping, and leaving more of that soft cloudy sky in the frame. It gives the shot a heavenly and open feel. The tones both in the sky and on the water are beautiful and the contrasts and metering are perfect. Very good balance between the bottom, then the people's silhouettes, then the strip of land across the water. Good framing too to not center anything in the shot. The frame is good in that it has black to pick up on the darkest tones in the shot, but I do find all the tones on it at the outermost edges, as well as the white lines, are a bit distracting from the photo itself. The photo definitely speaks for itself ;) Great shot, TFS!
-Lara

rychousmama (228) [2007-08-26 17:21]

Hi Luis, really wonderful concept here and I just love how their love for each other is "immortalized" in these variously-colored frames set vertical to each other at the right edge. And then you have the large black and white shot at the left. Really nice complex tones in all the shots, but especially the black and white. I will make a few suggestions though: for one, I think that you could have sharpened the images just one notch, and also try to not crop the bottom of the woman's shoe at the bottom edge since that interrupts the composition and unity. Really interesting balance and rhythms though with the way their faces are gazing in opposite directions, creating a little bit of a zig zag motion. TFS!
-Lara