New Joiners - People #442

A classic portrait in the National Geographic style. It reminds me of a Steve McCurry, the great color portrait photographer who made the famous Afghan Girl photograph. This has a similar feel, The tight crop, the stunning use of color, the sharpness on the face. It's not easy to get this close to a subject. It shows the belief the sitter had in the photographer. This is a powerful image that we cant stop looking at. The stare of the lady is so intense, thankfully not aimed at us. Classic and truly stunning. Great image.

This was so close to my top photograph. I love the story that I can read into this image. The Madonna and child with the face of a saint or Jesus Christ to the left hand side in the background.. The intense look of the little girl staring back at us the audience. She seems afraid maybe unaware of the environment but looks back for reassurance maybe from her father? The symbolism of the tattoo adds to the story. The shallow depth of field means we are taken straight to the little girl, we then move around the image which reveals so much. Lovely.

This takes me back to my own childhood and the hours of frustration at trying to do a rubik cube. I never did finish one. This is lovely and we will never know if the lady was successful. But this is a cleverly seen photograph. The way the patterns of the cube are mimicked in the same styles within the background fabrics behind her head . The tight crop brings our attention straight into the scene and its all we need. The different arrangements behind really add that extra dimension to the photograph and this is a great example of a candid street scene. very well done.

This is a great example of a candid photograph and having a camera with you all the time as we never know what might present itself. We don't know what they are laughing about but that's what makes it so fun. I especially really like the lady to the left who has the pose of a photographer ready to take the frame that gives a great angle to what they are discussing. Fantastic grab shot. and a real slice of New York.

One must be reminded occasionally what it must be like to feel something special and then to share that moment with a friend or cousin in this case. We can only imagine the wind, the water running across their feet and the vista in front of them. The photographer gives us a glimpse and that is enough for us to be engrossed in this image. The light on the clothes and the stunning backdrop really bring us into this image. One small consideration for me would have been to really straighten the horizon line but that is such a small detail and one that does not spoil this wonderful photograph.

It s nice to see a variant on the theme. This is a fun and also well seen image. using the warmth and low angle of the sun to provide these long shadows gives this image a different feel to most within the competition.The central haystack and the two bikes interlocked by its side gives the photograph its viewpoint and perspective that is needed to balance out the frame. The use of a wide angle lens helps take us the viewer from the bottom of the image to the top and this works so well. A great capture.

The framing is perfect, the use of the muted colors with the pops of blue and green are wonderful in this game of hide and seek. The out of focus leaves in the foreground really take us into the scene and we have to look hard to find the little boy hiding away. It would have been easy to lose him photographically within such a dense scene but the photographer has done very well to keep the little boy at the center of our attention. Great capture.

Beautiful, powerful and so intense is the stare of the child we can't look away. We are gripped. If we manage to break the grip then we can admire this stunningly powerful photograph even more. The black and white adds drama as does the well controlled and subtle tones within the frame. The shallow depth of field focusing on the eyes really adds power as does the small metal button at the bottom of the frame. I keep looking back, its that good.

This is a really lovely study and controlled photograph. The skin tones work very well against the vibrancy of the plant leaves and put attention on to the eyes even though one is obscured, we start to notice the little things like the hair out of place going across the eyebrow and how the lips are parted because of the leave cutting through them. The close crop allows us to look around the scene and its then that we notice things we did not after a casual glance. the wonderful pendant around the neck with what looks like a child's face A lovely clam and well structured photograph