Gallery picks for the week ending ... 2nd April 2012

[zauhar]

Late to the game again, but I did have some bookmarked:

From Merelyok, beautiful LF image:


Powerful portrait from Lynn:


Subtle still life from Keith:


From Pete Chipman, overpowering color:


From Edouard, fun domestic shot:


From OurManInTangier, stunning light:


From Neelin, can't beat this attitude:


From Brainwood, mysterious darkness, great framing:


From f16sunshine, I will forgive you for using the iPhone, just this once:


From hteasley, this inspired me the other night, but I doubt mine will turn out as well:


THANKS to Lynn, Berter and Paul for including me!

Randy

[Richard G]

Vivian by zauhar. Lovely character, tone and composition.



Witness by lynnb. Alien.



My Journey's End by OurManInTangier. The light of course.



semrich.



Film Forum, MAnhattan. Mlehrman. Black on black backlit.



Mona. hteasley I've left out a lot already noted but not this one. Love the colours too.



LIIca. My Passion, Lisbon I. I like the informal formality, and those lounging silhouetted figures on the balcony.



Keith. Life #1. The steam is the icicle in the heart of this one.



porktaco. Toy joy and swim 4. The inner silence.



Rogrund. Snowy weather. This is the one I liked best of the great series. The posture of the man reminds me of Breughel's hunters returning: it tells of the cold.



luiman. Parisian bus. The three graces.



And thank you to luiman for picking one of mine.

[luiman]

Thank you Paul and Richard, very much.

[Michael Markey]

Thank you Paul ....

[robert blu]

A few from my side:

Lock 50: cyclist, by brainwood: an image reach of atmosphere, really out of time.



This one by Oliversoares: I like the combination of the faces of "real" people and the one portraited on the wall. And good B&W tones.



witness by lynnb: minimalistic and effective.



Catherine by zauhar: the combination of color, the use of light and the expression of the girl: all is really as it should be.

[taylan]

Thank you lynnb, luiman and paulfish4570 for mentioned

My choices for this week:

An amazing decisive moment by semrich:


A great landscape with very good light and tones by Llyn:


Another one by Llyn:


A spiritual scene by OurManInTangier:


Another one by OurManInTangier:


filmfan:

[steve kessel]

Thank you Richard Berter for the mention

[OurManInTangier]

Walk by Harrejesus - I love the oppressive weight of the building as it appears to hang over the lone figure walking past it.



*** by Snauages - Expression, stance, clothing, colours and image format all come together to provide a superb portrait of this man whilst avoiding many of the portrait pitfalls. He's left to simply interact with the viewer and as such the picture comes alive for me....perhaps this is partly why I saw something of a far more famous painting in it?



Witness by Lynn - I'm often surprised by the sheer variety of Lynn's accomplished photography. Many of us here often tend towards one favourite flavour whilst Lynn often seems to sample the entire ice cream parlour. Perhaps a lesson? This is intelligent, playful and witty.



Untitled by Semrich - I read that Richard hadn't been sure about the merits of this one and whether it was worth posting. I found this quite interesting as the pictures I'm often least convinced by are often a little popular whilst the ones I like are of no real interest to most. This works out to be one of my favourites from his time in Cuba, perhaps behind (but just behind) the ballet dancers. I guess we've all still got a lot to learn from each other.

....sorry Richard, not sure why its so small!

Street Photography by Taylan - A low angle combined with a wide angle lens always works very well with flocks of birds. Here we appear to have a man in control of all nature his effect seen on birds and trees alike.



Ser.1 by Filmfan - Apparently Filmfan's "ass almost froze off" getting this and other shots that night. Without wishing to sound harsh. Good. If it hadn't he wouldn't have gone home with this fine wide shot of fellow strugglers in the park. The snow/sleet/rain is caught by the perfect shutter speed to suggest the now cloying affect of sleet that was once fluffy, romantic snow. The figures bend and twist behind their brollies in vain and the image is split between dark and light but both serve simply to highlight the downfall.



Buddhist Monk by Carole Dame - Another good reason for me to join in Gallery Picks again is it forces me to go through the week properly. I miss alot over the weekends due to work and family and so would have missed this by Carole. I think the composition is near perfect (perhaps had the figure been fractionally to the right, but now we're in la la land) and the solitary nature of the image reflects many of our own expectations and beliefs around Buddhism. The excellent tonality may come down to it being shot on an X100 which made me wonder...had Michael shot this on his x100 would this have received the praise it deserves i.e. 10 or so postive and encouraging comments rather than the one it did get from Paul and the deserving nod from Harry T earlier in the thread?



Sincere thanks go to Taylan, Richard G, Zauhar, photony texas, Semrich, Luiman, Paulfish4570, Leica M2 fan, hteasley, tigerphil, Lynnb and Keith for the mentions....and as Keith mentioned the 'PP flack' I'd really like to thank filmfan but particularly Bobbyrap for going against the RFF unspoken code of only saying nice things and being brave enough to be honest, open and thus a massive help to me. Its important to keep reevaluating what you're doing, how its being done, why you're doing it and if you're enjoying it but sometimes you don't and it takes someone making an honest comment to make you stop and think. It made this week the most useful and therefore the best week I've had on RFF for a very long time. Oh, and a big thanks to Lynn...I haven't forgotten and will get it sent over.

Thanks and congrats to all.

[Merelyok]

Wow, thanks for the pick Zauhar.

I stopped photographing for awhile due to work (My rolleiflex and Hasselblad are long gone). I re-purchased the LF setup i sold to a friend and finally found some time to go out with it.

It was such a joy to finally photograph again (and no, i don't miss my MF cameras one bit). It means quite a bit to me that you liked my photo, thank you!

[zauhar]

Originally Posted by Merelyok

Wow, thanks for the pick Zauhar.

I stopped photographing for awhile due to work (My rolleiflex and Hasselblad are long gone). I re-purchased the LF setup i sold to a friend and finally found some time to go out with it.

It was such a joy to finally photograph again (and no, i don't miss my MF cameras one bit). It means quite a bit to me that you liked my photo, thank you!

Absolutely stunning - you need to shot and post more!
Randy

[semrich]

My thanks and appreciation to the following for choosing to enter my photos as their picks in the most prestigious thread:

lynnb, hteasley, luiman, Richard Berter, Steve Kessel, paulfish4570, photony texas, Richard g., taylan, and OurManInTangier.

[ferider]

Thanks a lot for including my picture, Mlehrman.

[hteasley]

Many thanks to Lynn, Jim, Paul, Mlehrman, Richard, and Zauhar for the mentions. I'm honored to be included with so many amazing photographs.

[lynnb]

Wow. I was completely taken by surprise to see several of my photos mentioned, by so many people this week. Thank you so much, Keith, tigerphil, jcrutcher, ferider, hteasley, semrich, luiman, Richard Berter, paulfish4570, Mlehrman, KarlG, PhotonyTexas, Zauhar, RichardG, Robert Blu, Taylan and OurManInTangier for the mentions. It is very humbling and rewarding to have so many members whose work I admire and respect tell me they like my photos. I must also thank you all for what I learn from you by looking at the varied and interesting work posted each week in the Gallery, and in this thread. This place is alive with good ideas and skilled photographic eyes!

[Mlehrman]

Photony, I deeply appreciate your picking my shot this week. Truly honored.

[print44]

Thank you so much to tigerphil, semrich and paulfish4570 for selecting my pictures this week.

[porktaco]

thanks to richard...

two pictures by semrich are my picks of the week





the first one because it's WTF biznatch sh*t is about to get real time. a perfect moment. the angles in the legs, the poise of the black girl, the cigarette, the framing, the tourists' matching bags with horizontal stripes that pick up every rectilinear element in the shot (and there are so many). the second one is also a great moment, with a tremendous hint-of-butt subject and that ambitious fellow in the front seat. now, these are also technically admirable photos, but they each are (as paul has noted) decisive moments, and for that they rise to the top of my list.

hon mention to harry's deliciously colorful photo of mona.



you, sir, are a complete jerk because you are making my bonus burn an m9 shaped hole in my pocket.

lisa needs braces

dental plan

lisa needs braces

dental plan

[leica M2 fan]

Almost forgot to include another wonderful photo.

[porktaco]

awesome. lol.

[Merelyok]

Originally Posted by GeorgeH

I'm a native English speaker and I can say, without reservation, that I haven't got a clue what the first sentence in the quoted paragraph means.

He likes the photo. Alot.

[f16sunshine]

Harry, Paul, Randy.. thank you for selecting my iPhone Picture !
Many great pics this week. I have not posted a selection for a while.
My favorite was from OurManInTangier

[gho]

Thanks for the pick, Harry!

Between all the interesting shots, this one stood out for me:


I totally like the composition, the repetition of the framing and the symmetry between the foreground and the background, the tree and the pole and not to speak of the gorgeous light shining through the misty air. The written information adds a personal touch. The path leading home. Well done!

[robert blu]

I was going to forget this one which is really good:

1st Avenue by Mlehrman: simply a stunning photo!

[gho]

I find luiman's work highly recognizable. I like the high-contrast, gritty look of many of his photos and usually they are structurally well composed and take advantage of interesting and difficult light situations.

[gho]

Pete treated us with wonderful wildlife-shots and landscapes from iceland this week. Here I like the excellent use of the wide angle lens. The lake almost looks like an extension of the tub! And look at the strong depth inducing diagonal formed by the line of sight of the bather across the lake to the very well placed hill in the background. Fabulous!