Documentary

So much depth in the image drew me in. It has great lines that lead us along a storyline from the foreground. As the rope zig-zags back into the frame, it follows varied textures, colours, and strong lines.

It is sharp in a way that brings out these best qualities of the image. The colours pop and you can really feel the textures of the twisted ropes, metal rings, the wall, the wood and the canyon wall.

This is another great pairing of strong artistic elements and storyline that are interesting on both accounts.

I like a lot of things about this picture. Photographically everything is spot on: great exposure capturing deep blacks as well as a wide range of the lighter tones. From sparks to fire to the light, I can see it all, and the image has a lot of energy.

As a documentary photograph, it is also engaging, and makes me wonder. But that is almost where it loses me... it makes me wonder too much more about the story of this place.

For me, the image is too tightly framed, and shows the main subject of what could have been a wider and thus more descriptive and engaging image.

When I look at this photo, I feel like I am missing part of the story. Where we are? Who is there? Who is watching? Is there only one person there? Is this a festival? Are there thousands of people there? I want to know more.

I love all the repetition of pattern in this photograph: the balls hanging from the ceiling, the lights, the arches of lights, the building architecture.

There is also a lot of great light and lighting in this photograph: fish-eyed reflections, diffused skylights, many broad tones.

The arch-like necklaces for sale at the market fit in well. But in this scene, at an open market the people is what is missing in the story. Specifically, there are not enough faces.

Too many backs-of-heads always turns me off from an image. It automatically makes me feel like either they are avoiding us, or the photographer is avoiding them. It dis-engages me from the story being told.

I love photojournalism that is both news and stands alone as art, and this photo falls right into the sweet spot. What appears to be a policeman dressed in his riot gear becomes almost statue-like, posed in a most awkward yet somehow elegant pose. He almost appears to be dancing, but at the same time we would expect him to be doing something much more adversarial, perhaps avoiding an attack, maybe a thrown rock. He is balanced and graceful, but at the same time so awkward and in anguish.

Simple, clean, deep contrast and an array of grays all make this photo work.

Yet more great color and texture in this story. Cast in a beautiful light, the wrinkles of the brightly colored clothing picks up wonderful shadows.

There is very good composition in this image. I love how the eye naturally follows from the left across the arch of her back and down her arms, into his bent elbow, and on to the pot.

Her eyes are gazing outward, widely at us, while his eyes turn inward, literally, staring deeply into his pot.

This is another documentary action, a part of a story, that is coupled so well with the pure artistic appreciation of making an image.

There are so many wonderful lines in this photo, your eye is constantly moving. The tombstones in the foreground, the arches, the pillars, the steps… they all work so well. And then there's the man, a sole human standing amongst an otherwise all-stone frame. He is hunched over in the most perfect way, a cane delicately balances him, and then his shadow is cast in from - “Their Name Liveth For Evermore”. I also really love the shadow on the rear wall, almost like a nose, the profile of a man - every man - looking over him.

This is a beautiful photograph: another simple, clean shot. It tells a story but leaves something to be wondered. It is vast and open, light an airy but with muted colors. The isolation of the helicoptor works so well with the two-toned oil-on-canvas-painting-like background.

Great composition, clean, calm lines, and a nice soft light bathes the scene. Beautiful colors and the vast open water make this photograph work, evoking a kind of harmony and peace, offering some juxtaposition to the theme of rescue.

Leading the eye down a dock towards a lighthouse and spectacularly crashing wave, shooting into the sun gives this photograph many of its best qualities.

The posts on the left become silhouetted and the water on the dock is given flaring highlights, with the sun shining through the mist. And then the two old men, relaxed, looking indifferent, both cut with the sunlight.

The image fills the whole frame, and uses the high contrast and light of the sun in fascinating ways.

Creating a sense of place is so important in documentary photography, and this image does just that in a beautiful and engaging way. The wide angle lens brings us right inside, and the distortion combined with the intricate colours, lines and patterns inside, really draws the eye in and moves us well through the photo. The space feels small, but artfully cozy and packed with visual energy. At the same time, we are left wondering more: "What is outside?”

Lots of contrast, edges, textures, and wonderful lines drew me in to this photo immediately.

Literally, the lines of the boats and tones of the water draw the eye to the center of the photograph, where the two women, again, are almost symmetrical.

The women appear to be waiting, and we idly wait along with them, the photograph aided by the boats, the water, and a sense of slowness. They look a bit distraught. Their puzzled faces and hands in pensive positions leaves me wondering more about the story. I'd love to see more of the story.

Beautiful in its juxtaposition in so many ways, this photo of a falling smokestack struck me immediately. The photo manages to embody contrasts - the eerie quiet of the photo against the impending boom of the fall; the elegant flexibility of the bending tower against its inherent rigidness. The exposure is good, and brings out the details of the brick, the cracks in the tower…

The lines of the fall itself is so elegant. As the tower sweeps across the frame, the cracks in the brick are spaced so evenly across the arc, bookended with the puff of smoke at one end and the orange of the fire at the other. The crumbling wall in the foreground leads to the main focal point of the image: the fall of the tower. And then out in the distance we see a green hill dotted with people.

The lines lead us through the image, hitting many parts of the frame, and clearly placing the subject in a newsy, documentary setting. A great photograph.

Although seeing faces in a photograph is immediately engaging and often very important for me, this photograph almost manages to work very well for me too.

Instead of losing my eye with the turned heads, it creates a bit of an abstract design with the lines of the dark hair and flows of heads through the picture.

What would make this photo better for me is a slightly better use of exposure. The highlights are a bit blow out, and we are losing some of the potential color and textures of the grasses and lines of the muscles.

Finally, I would prefer this image to be either a bit MORE abstract, OR include a bit more of a storyline. It is riding a fine line between the two, and I want it to go further one way or the other. Were it cropped a little tighter, and given a bit more contrast, I think it would work very well as an abstract photograph.

But, as it is not completely abstract now, it leaves me wondering more about the story here. I think with a wider view, there would be more of a story to see and it would be more engaging.

This shot of a mother and sister having some fun with an infant near by FortKochi, India is so close to being such a strong documentary photograph.

It has great, strong contrast, good deep blacks and varied greys. Emotionally, it strikes the right notes as well, balanced with love and wonder and a bit of mystery as to what is happening with the child.

But, that back turned at the center of the photograph is just hiding too much of the frame and the story for me.

The child's eyes on the left are so wide, so expressive, and the mother's one gazing eye is so powerful. But while they both lead us towards the center of the image, my eye is just left there.

This shot of women waiting on a bench has a very good eye. The lines are strong and essential to the balance and the feeling of distance. The image is well balanced and has a strong composition.

The lines and textures in the floor, the bench and the walls are fabulous, and combined with the child and women's distant stare makes for an interesting life moment.

For me, one of the reasons this image did not garner high awards is the cropping. The long and squat crop isn't working for me here. It feels artificial. Instead of working to create a further feeling of distance and vastness, the low-ceiling'd crop is holding those other elements back.

It feels a bit crushing, the top edge pushing down on what feels like should be opening up.

Additionally, I think this image could benefit from a bit of straightening. The horizontal lines here are so powerful and strong, and so central to how this image works that even the degree or two the image is leaning to the right is too distracting for me.