Reflected Portraits

Love this. A really thoughtful and interesting image that challenges our gaze with both an engaging portrait and a unique angle. A nicely captured turn by the model so we can discern a face and a pose with both the abstraction of the pier and space left for the sky allowing the frame to 'breathe'. Excellent effort.

There's something here of the iconography of Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' in the pose and direct gaze. This is a deceptively simple image that belies a real impact both in framing but more in the harsh processing that excludes most of the mid-tones. Whether by luck or judgement one is arrested not only by the eye but the shape of the hat and its off-kilter shape. The strap of the blouse is (again whether by luck or judgement) a counterpoise to the regularity of the composition. Lovely - and arresting.

An intriguing image that does indeed nod to Victorian spirit photography and the notion of occult and ethereality. That said, this is additionally complex in that it appears to be divided between 'in and out' of water. I'm intrigued by the composition and the surreality of it. I think that this is a well thought out and especially thoughtful entry.

Although this was taken on an iPhone ("the best camera is the one you have on you") with limited control - except as an excellent framing device - this image is intriguing. I was immediately reminded of Mondrian's geometric painting and then the beautiful mid-century chaos of Saul Leiter's street work. The portrait of the man is neatly or fortuitously (the same thing...) squeezed between planes of space and colour blocks. We just get an impression of the location and much is left to the imagination. Lovely.

I'm afraid that this really doesn't work for several reasons. We might want to examine the people who beg in traffic in New Delhi and using a wing mirror might be one - if rather non-confrontational - choice. However, morality aside the issue here is one of both composition and exposure. Not only does the frame show extraneous detail of other cars which is confusing, but the autofocus has presumably been fooled by the angle of the glass and reflection. If we are going to undertake this work, I really do think we might have a good reason and at least allow the people who are forced to beg some dignity by photographing them honestly and openly - or, if we are using a reflective device then by doing so effectively.

There's (just) a feint touch of Lee Friedlander to this frame. The background with the blue and yellow and excellent bike rider is well seen as are the strip lights and ceiling of the interior. Indeed I think that this would work better without the photographer - unlike (for example) Friedlander's self comment, the presence of the photographer adds very little. Difficult, I appreciate but another vantage point - and even more visual confusion in the frame might have worked better. Still, a good effort.

This eye-catching image is well thought out and balanced not only compositionally but also in terms of colour. Clearly cropped slightly, the refection is a device that reminds me of the late Congolese photographer, Kiripi Katembo whose work on the (difficult) streets of Kinshasa employed the same technique out of necessity. Well done.

I like this. It reminds me of Tom Hunter's 'A woman reading a possession order' (after Vermeer's 'Girl with the Pearl Earring') but it could be a little improved with a bit more care. I like that the window dominates and its light shows the woman's face - but it's a brutal and rather harsh light. A little less exposure on the window and perhaps an inch less of it combined with an accurate exposure on her face would have made a winner. Nice effort.

I like this very much - I like the circularity of the mirror, its colour and the pattern around it. I especially like the failing paint on the wall that is an excellent foil to the action in the reflection. The only thing I don't like is the photographer within the image. The device of the mirror and it's distortion is an ideal way to anonymously examine the street and everyday activities - but for me the image of the photographer ruins the artifice. That said, I think that it's certainly a strategy and the mirror has been very well see. Well done.

I really do like the strangeness of this - and it's one of those images that requires a good look. The portrait is clear - central and bold against the incongruity of a drinks cabinet. The ring lights at the top have I suspect given the frame a rather fluorescent cast but I like the planes of layers that we can look through. I'd perhaps metered a little more carefully as there's a 'muddy' feel to the exposure but for all that this is a good effort.

I like this but I think that this only partly works. The composition is a very good idea and allows us to show several planes simultaneously - the road, the inside of the rickshaw and of course two views of the driver. The issue is that the elements are slightly incongruous. The frame distracts by showing on the right hand side, a deep blue from the street. Perhaps a tighter frame of the reflected face without the back of the drivers head might might make a more impactual image.

This is potentially an excellent opportunity. The frame within a frame, bordered by the green wall is gorgeous and I think that the image of the woman is strong but again, it's about inches and space and timing. That she's colourful in red makes this work but for me the issue that her hands are partly obscured and she seems to be looking straight at you lessens the impact. It's up to the photographer to adjust his or her position to make sense of what we see and an inch up or down would have sorted the hands. Additionally the light is incredibly harsh and I wonder whether this location could have been revisited so that the gorgeous, saturated Carribean colours might have worked in your favour. Still, a really strong frame.

This is great and it's nearly very good indeed. The issue I suspect (if this wasn't posed) is really about timing and anticipating when the figure more clearing separates from the lamp's reflection. Sometimes, it's a question of just waiting and waiting and other times it's a question of exactly when to press the shutter and fractions of a second can make all the difference. For all that, a really engaging image and one that was well seen.

I really do like this and I think it's a very brave framing with a good deal of emptiness and a strong line bisecting the mirror with the colourful mouth detail. That said, I think it could go further - the right of the frame is still a little loose in that beside the colourful costume, an inch or two of black hair (with a wisp of face) is, for me, a little distracting. If we have time enough to compose within a controlled environment like this, it's the tiniest details that matter. Even so, an excellent frame.;

This is very well seen and almost as well, captured. I love the abstraction of the face and the instrument and the vertical lines that that encourages. That said, I think that the exposure is likely a little off as is the colour rendition - but I do like the counter-angle of the frame as opposite the reflection. A well seen image requiring just a tiny tweak to make a cracker. Well done.