New Joiners - People #590

I rather like this, and, despite the fact that it's shot very wide, it certainly gives a good impression of atmosphere. I like that the bar (and the lintel) are used to bisect the frame but most of all I like that there is a clear delineation between figures and a central 'action' of a conversation well-captured between one of the customers and the barmaid. Well done.

This is a very mysterious and ethereal image that works rather well. I like the shape that the figure makes and generally the exposure is generally solid with the air bubbles and beams of light nicely signalling to the surface. To be picky however, I think I'd have like to have seen more of the figures legs - either one or both to full extent because as it is, the frame seems somehow squashed. That said, still an excellent effort.

What I like about this image - regardless of its simplicity - is its 'feel'. Sometimes images tell and show and this one captures a very innocent moment. I like very much the perspective that includes the pebbles on the beach and uses both the breakwater and the shoreline to make a definitive division in the picture. The smile and the pose of the child is a delightful counterpoint to the emptiness of the rest of the frame. Well done.

This scene might be straight from a Mediaeval (Peter Bruegel?) tableau. It's rather too expansive but I can't fault the intention behind it. By too expansive I mean that it's trying to do too much and relying on far too many possibilities of a 'decisive moment'. I think it might have been better to focus on one quadrant and image the interesting permutations within that - as it is the 'action' is disparate and the viewer starts 'looking' for connections. Better yet - although the promenade does offer an excellent overview, getting down amongst the people (and dog) would have at least isolated several interesting moments. Keep pushing - this is a good effort.

Messing with perspective seldom works but here in this rather humorous and light-hearted image, it does. I rather like the exposure (it's a tiny bit green - watch your overall colour balance) and the viewpoint that includes the soles of the boots. I also like that the tree is not straight - makes the viewer do a little work in following its trunk upwards. A really nice effort.

This is a very odd image - and all the better for it. I like that the two main elements are completely disconnected both literally and thematically and that all of the subjects are clearly delineated by the (neurally coloured) terrain. A decent overall exposure (watch your highlights in the white hat of the man on the left) and a rather Surrealist feel. Well done.

Nicely done. A well exposed and effective portrait. I like the (anti-) symmetry of the pose and the softness of the (single?) light, subject left. I wonder whether however a small secondary light - or even a reflector - might have been used opposite that to fill in the shadow of the Basque/underarm and make a slightly less harsh jaw delineation? Still a great effort.

I think that this is a quite interesting idea but might have been better executed. I like very much the bold silhouette of the figure and I very much like the focus on the raindrops on the glass through which we see (her?). However, the shape and alignment of the frame is distracting. I can live with the window ad its light, but the door frame to the right means that the eye is pulled in several directions. Better perhaps to frame this as a portrait shot and follow format with the figure. That said, this is a good idea and could be re-created.

I don't mind this as a photograph but I'm trying to work out, if the figure reading is the subject, why is so much prominence given to the colourful advert that is distractingly behind him? I think that the only way around this is a more carefully framed image that excludes what is unnecessary. A simple equation of foreground and background. Still, well seen.

I think that this is a strong portrait of a clearly engaging character which captures something about him - but it's let down by the exposure. I like the framing and the moment but the man's features are lost to underexposure. The galabiya has fared better and only some detail of the river behind him has blown highlights. The most obvious solution would be a better metering from his face or, just a tiny amount of fill-flash to put some light into his skin. Either way, not a bad effort.

This is clearly a tricky situation: religious ceremonies especially when someone's taken in a trance or deep meditation are difficult to navigate. In that sense this isn't a bad effort and the 'softness' of the frame and it's rather green colour balance are acceptable given the circumstances. However, if the central figure is the woman, the photographer has no option but to be closer in order to exclude some of the visual distractions that obscure the viewer's gaze. Tricky but there it is - keep pushing on.

The job of a photograph - as opposed to a 'snap' is to allow the viewer to understand in clear terms what the photographer wants them to see. Here, I presume that the photographer wants us to look at the clown and the balloons interacting with the man and child. However, because the image is so loosely framed, there is much irrelevant and distracting detail. Context is fine but here the eye is drawn in several directions at once. I think that a greater physical closeness would have helped as well as potentially framing this as a portrait shape. Well seen however - but try and work out the most visually effective way to showing what you want to show.

The problem here is that despite your processing (and explanatory text) it isn't visually obvious of whom or why you're making this image. If, as I think, it's about a crowd, then a more judicious framing that excludes the shopfronts might have helped. As might a wider aperture to narrow the range of focus to just one face. It's an interesting idea so keep pushing and have another crack.