New Joiners - People #524

I think this is lovely: a photographic meditation on stillness. What I particularly like is the softness of the face and the curves of the glasses contrasted to the angular window. I like also the subtle exposure on the face and how the photographer has ensured the catchlight in the eyes. The highlights from the water are a little bright but that seems churlish to point out when the overall frame is so pleasing. Well done.

I think this is really excellent. A graphically strong image that suggests as much as it shows. Is it about a person wheeling a bike across the beach or is it a meditation on longing and loss? Either way we can read into the frame what we like because it's clean, clear and simple. I'd have perhaps like to have seen the remainder of the shadow - but that is not to take anything away from this lovely effort.

There's something very pleasing about this frame and that's mostly to do with how it's been framed. Potentially a crop (unless shot on a 6x6) it's very well worked with a central figure leaning into the empty space to his right. The wires(?) frame left and the platform seem to compliment the graphic nature of the brickwork. For me, the final touch is the rather balletic reach of the workman as he pivots on his standing foot. Lovely.

Generally, direct flash with its sharp fall-off and harshly light is usually considered to be a device of necessity. Here however that appears to be a deliberate aesthetic choice where we find reference to in work ranging from Weegee to (amongst many others) Diane Arbus to fashion and reportage images in the 1990s (I'm thinking of Nick Waplington and his snapshot aesthetic, albeit in colour). The flash makes us 'jump' and examine the tattoos but also to note the faming of the woman's solitary eye in forensic detail. Cropped to a medium format framing this image is arresting and intriguing. Nice.

I think that this is really well seen and its strength is that its simple composition echoes the emotional intent of the frame. The colour palate, dominated by the mustard yellow is entirely harmonious with skin tones and, although I'm never too keen on a direct gaze within what is a reportage image, here the half-smile signifies both pride and security. Well done.

This is a lovely frame that, as its title suggests, uses photography to speak to memory not only by subject matter but by its texture and feel. I like the shape of the man against the tree that follows the shape of the frame and I especially like the muted colour that echo the smoke. The distant gaze feels a little posed but for all that the exposure takes advantage of the shade and (generally) keeps intrusive and distracting highlights contained within less relevant sectors of the frame. Lovely effort.

Sometimes the simplest images - however captured - on a phone or a camera - are the most successful. Here, a full frame of a face not only allows us to concentrate on physical and emotional closeness but also use photography as a kind of cartography - see the face as a map of memory. All these lines and contours can be studied. There are issues with focus - the closeness other sleeve has fooled the autofocus somewhat but that's a minor point. Reminds me somewhat of Steve Pyke's 'Philosophers' series (and book) from the 1990s. Lovely.

Despite the enthusiastic descriptions around this image, I do wonder whether some simple improvements might have been made to elevate it. I can see from the catch-light in the model's eye that it appears only a single, rather small flash has been used. While this works reasonably well, a larger, more diffused key light source positioned slightly further back, might have resulted in a softer, more flattering image with fewer harsh shadows. This might have prevented and prevented the nose and dress/knee from over-exposing and becoming the (slightly distractingly) brightest segment of the frame. An additional one (or two) fill lights would have given either a more rounded look - or simply softened the angularity of the light shape. A separate light to illuminate the background would have additionally alleviated the shadow that the model casts.

This is potentially a really interesting image that combines a strong composition and framing with lovely human moment. However I suspect that the use of an average exposure chosen by the camera to compensate for the reflective nature of the wet sand and the contrasty figures, has resulted in a photograph where the highlights are almost completely blown. It's such a shame but a more thoughtful exposure next time will ensure a more even tone and result. Well done though for seeing.

This is a fascinating and important image but as a photograph it remains quite unclear without the addition of a caption what is going on. That stems from where the photographer has chosen to stand and when the photographer pressed the shutter. This image doesn't show dancing and, although that very ambiguity can be one of the intriguing facets of photography itself, in a documentary situation where we're trying to explain something, framing in such a way that makes an image 'readable', is really important. This is a good effort but have a think next time as to how you'd like the image to be viewed and the clearest message you can make with it. This is doubly important as native Americans were of course subject to the full rigour of photography's role in colonial representation (see for example Edward Curtis' contentious representations). For a counter to that, see Leslie Marmon Silko's writing on how native Americans have viewed the medium of photography itself.

This is an image of a lovely moment and one that certainly speaks to the photographer's (good) memories. However as a photograph, it could be improved. I like the idea: the stilts and the generous smile, but the framing against such a complicated background with the additional complexity of bright sun and deep shadows, diminish it. It's a little tricky to have someone on stilts as the camera will always have to tilt upwards but I'd have moved and/or looked for a more neutral background. Perhaps a subtle touch of flash might have equalised the shadows. All that said, this is a lovely moment to remember.

There is a picture in here but it requires the photographer to move themselves around the central characters and make an image that is readable. We know there are two figures at the beach - but we can't fully make them out. Moving an inch or so rightwards, we'd be able to clearly delineate the child from the other figure. Always good to think how others will read what are likely our own perceptions in the viewfinder.

Really nice. It reminds me very much of the kind of image you might see on album covers. Firstly I like the cool tonality that emphasises the loneliness of the figure and I like that he's walking out of frame and isn't slap-bang in the centre. I like the framing under a vast sky - and his head is just about separated from the darker hills around the bay. Smashing.

I really like this. It's a brave and well considered composition that balances stillness with movement and lines (the bridge; the bow) with curves (the blurred speed of the bent leg). For me however the exposure's a little bright - the red of the busker' blouse is blowing and the pedestrian's hand is also a little over. Additionally a tiny bit more space so we could see the violin case more fully and you'd have a real cracker. This is a very good effort however and it's well anticipated and seen.

Sometimes what we imagine that we understand or want to convey from a scene isn't what a viewer might see. This is a case in point. The image works as evidence - this is Kings Cross Station (although I actually think that it's Waterloo...) and shows us exactly what the photographer saw. However it does so in a way that doesn't engage the viewer in any way that uses the creative or engaging aesthetics of the medium. It's neither architectural nor a document of the station and people. We successfully read images that are harmonious and recognisable. A little bit more thought to 'lead' us in to what the photographer wanted to capture would be good. Keep pushing.

I like this. I like that the image is direct and simple and that structurally we have a collection of of simple shapes (the 'triangle' of the scarf and the 'triangle' of the bowl) and an engaging face with a charismatic smile. It speaks to naturalness. That isn't reflected however in the processing. There's be a lot of work to darken the background and increase contrast (and clarity) on the face - possibly because it was shot at a potentially shaky 1/50th... In a case like this I'd rather have the natural connection of the encounter between people shine through rather than trying to re-interpret the scene afterwards. Well done for seeing but if we are to engage on a human level, let that human level come through...