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Critiques From Shyamal Addanki
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
12/13/2008 11:32:29 PM
ah, Nick ... perhaps the idea is exactly the lack of validity in the details, the lack of strong definition of everything's place; surely a tree does not belong dead in the water, but that is a detail that adds to the atmosphere.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
12/11/2008 3:11:05 AM
Hi Nick,
Brilliant crop on my hands&feet picture, I really prefer it.
Of your lightcube/shell set, I think this one is my favorite, perhaps because I am a fan of chaos represented in lines going all directions, and this one satisfies me the most.
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Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
12/6/2008 3:19:09 AM
Great exposure, especially in the details.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
12/6/2008 3:17:38 AM
Hello Nick,
It has been a while since I got on usefilm, and of course I had to check out what you had been up to in that time. I really like this image because you claim to show the conchyls; however my eye is not drawn to the obvious subject but instead I really like the contrast that the moisture trails offer below them. Also, the almost-but-not-quite-entire loss of the far distant background makes me want to know more about it; and I feel like I am peering over a wall to see on the other side.
As always, well done.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/31/2007 1:20:36 AM
Stunning shot, the separation of the subject from the backdrop is very well done, and the light falling on the Eagles beak really adds to a pensive atmosphere. I'm not sure about the eye-colour, though. It's not distracting or anything, I just don't think it adds anything to the image, which is spectacular in its own right.
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| Photo By: Gene Zonis
(K:6949)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/22/2007 4:50:28 PM
As everyone else says, excellent composition and amazing clarity in this shot. The details of the hand are, to me, more interesting than the cup, which seems to be the 'main' subject of the shot (if there is such a thing here, I think the hand and the cup are one, but I feel like separating their importance so that I can focus more on the hand). What I also like about this shot is the stark contrast, the hand is *almost* overexposed on the top, and the shadows have no detail at the bottom. It suggests the absolute and the desperation of "staying alive", there is no middle ground. We must do what we need to, to stay alive, to keep going no matter what, or we will fail.
I especially like the lines in this image, you have captured the rigid, straight lines of the table and the window frame, and they perfectly frame the hand, with the squiggly lines of veins, holding the cup with its circularity, both if the cup and the shadow, and the short vertical lines around the sides, finally leading to the straight shadow off the lower right. Makes for a very interesting image in many respects.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/22/2007 4:09:54 PM
Thank you for your comment, Martina. Yes, in a way, I am trying to indicate our failure to see "beyond" the curtain, but also that we are seeing *something* beyond the curtain, just that it is not clear because of the curtain. As if we are looking for the light while wearing sunglasses ... it won't prevent us from seeing it, but it will change *how* we see it.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/22/2007 4:01:42 PM
Thank you very much for you comment Nick. I certainly wanted to get across the idea that *how* we shoot is at least as important than what we shoot. At the same time, I didn't want to pick any common still life, like an apple, because there can be so many levels of complexity in an image with a simple subject, but when different sources of light get thrown into the equation, the complexity goes exponential. Thus I wanted the flame.
Yes, most pictures of candles are either underexposed, to show the detail in the flame, or overexposed, to show detail in the candle. I was certain I could do both, and would force myself to if I had an interesting piece. The flame was not the only source of light, I did have a lamp (no flash) on the left side, using the shade to diffuse the light falling on the subject.
Incidentally, I purposely lit the subject on the opposite side of the flame, so that the flame is on the darker side of the image; which I thought would give away my lighting concept.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/22/2007 3:33:30 PM
Nick,
I have been waiting for your comments, as they are always interesting to read, and you certainly have not let me down.
In this image, I wanted to capture the breaking of "rules" that we all want to do, the social rules that keep us where we are, expressing whatever is acceptable to express and nothing more. Sometimes, I just want to be let out, but that can also lead to dark areas and danger.
So I knew I wanted the lighting to approach the image from one side, and for the motion to go towards the opposite side, i.e. into the darker area of the image. Also, I did have a softer light source on the left as well, so that the image does not go into shadow entirely. Then, it was simple enough to have a 2 second exposure with a front curtain fill flash bounced off a while wall on the right. Once the flash fired, I moved slow enough to fill the remaining 2 seconds with the motion, this way the movement was a lot more defined, instead of just being a slight haze in the shadows.
What I was trying to lead to, and the reason the movement does not extend all the way through the image, or out of it, is that the protagonist is not going anywhere, nor intends to go anywhere, but merely intends to step outside of himself.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/20/2007 6:20:36 AM
Stunning capture, Andre. What I love most is the shadow play all along the image, these lines that are hacking the picture from top right to lower left, just hacking away and hacking away until the top. In that sense, there is a lot of activity here, and I can even go one step further and say that there is a lot of motion here, just in the suggestions of the shadows. The brilliant thing of it all being, of course, that there is no literal motion, yet your exposure makes this image so dynamic.
While I am not sure if the greenery really takes away from the image, the length of the trail extending away is what gives me this dynamic feeling to this image, and I fear that cropping the bushes out reduces this effect.
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| Photo By: Andre Denis
(K:66407)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/20/2007 5:55:21 AM
Nick, I am almost running out of things to say for your images, I fear I am starting to sound predictable. To that end, let me first assure you that this image is fantastic, and only for the sake of not beating that drum again, I will not mention how much I like your concepts and the execution of shots such as this. It makes me too envious.
Instead, I will blither about how my eye roams around the image like a vagabond, trying to see everything and yet not being able to find an anchor to rest beside. Maybe it is just my eye that feels the need for this anchor, but as one of your recurring viewers, I feel entitled to mention this. You have great pictures, and in their complexity I feel lost.
Also, I am now curious: Have you exhibited your work? I think your images are of the type that should be seen on a grossly large scale, and viewing them on a web, on my laptop's screen, cannot do them the same justice.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/20/2007 4:43:44 AM
Ah, I see ... I never thought of that, while the column is a distraction, the image does not seem off balance, which would mean it would, if the column were not there. Looks like you went into detail to get this image just right, and it worked out perfectly.
You are very welcome on the critique, I have come to learn and appreciate the detailed critiques I have received, versus the usual "Very nice/Well done/great shot/etc", that, while being nice to read, do not offer a person much to learn from, or for that matter much to really appreciate what another person seen in your image.
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| Photo By: Drew Jackson
(K:65)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/20/2007 4:15:47 AM
As always, I love the complexity in your images, and I always want to sit and analyze each pixel, and to that end this picture is a buffet for me. I don't even know where to begin (which I suppose can be seen by *some* photographers as a negative), but I am drawn to the newspaper first, possible just because my mind sees something instantly recognizable in the face, then I wander to the "background", i.e. the objects behind the reflection ... but wait, which one is the reflection?
Wonderful exposure, maybe it's just me, but I can twist the image so that my mind believes the trees are part of the reflection, or maybe the red thing (I still can't quite figure out what it is) is the reflection.
I really like how each corner of the image has something interesting; trees, a piece of trash, the newspaper, and the lines of the red thing.
I also like how in the top right, the lines of the window merge with the lines of the corner of the newspaper, and the lines of the electrical pole merge with the red/yellow structure. Did you plan it like this? This image is at one chaotic and yet smoothly flows around itself as the viewer continues gazing at it.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/20/2007 4:03:24 AM
That is a stunning image, in its depth of perspective, depth of detail and yet how the eye wants to return to the figure in the center, even though it is in shadow. Maybe some fill flash would have taken away the wonderful contrasts, but I would be curious to see what it would look like with enough light to just expose the statue for a little more detail. However, my two cents worth is that I think it would be a tad easier on the eye if it were a little more centered, only because the column on the left is a little distracting.
Excellent exposure in what must have been a difficult place for such a good exposure, with the candles and the shadows and the lights above the stairs ... very well balanced, well done.
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| Photo By: Drew Jackson
(K:65)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/18/2007 2:40:23 PM
Of course, I agree completely. One of the things that excites me very much about photography is the ability for many people to view the exact same thing in the same context. That is to say, we can all go to the same place, and view a scene, but we will all see it differently for so many reasons, maybe one person is not feeling well, maybe someone's shoes are uncomfortable, maybe someone's friend passed away nearby, every one has different translations of a situation. However, a photograph of that scene gives less room to play, all the more a photograph on the internet (vs a museum maybe) where I can assume we are all sitting on a chair in front of out computers, there are fewer variables within ourselves.
What I am getting at it this: Now the photograph is everything, how we experience it, what it says to us, what it invokes in us, and the different things it says to each of us, is what is extraordinary. What better place than a forum for such interaction?
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 5:12:05 PM
Beautiful capture.
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| Photo By: Gabriella Carta
(K:22879)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 5:10:00 PM
Thank you very much Terry.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 5:00:43 PM
Beautiful shot, I love the tones and the composition.
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| Photo By: taci yuksel
(K:469)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 4:55:48 PM
Nice! Better without the shoe ;-)
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| Photo By: Kerry Nobbs
(K:2800)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 4:54:11 PM
Wonderful shot, I miss shooting airshows.
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| Photo By: Terry Taylor
(K:1503)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 3:14:48 PM
Beautiful image, I love the way the softness of the clouds and the water are completely jarred by the harsh edges of the mountains, thats what makes this image superb, in my opinion.
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| Photo By: Shirley D. Cross-Taylor
(K:174145)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 3:10:05 PM
Nick, once again thank you very much for your comments. I appreciate the detail you go into when you talk about my pictures, that is what I really need to keep learning, and it is great to hear what someone else sees in an image.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 3:06:28 PM
You are right, Nick, it was an opportunity that appeared. The bride was helping her mother steam her train (I think that's what its called) when I stepped in the door right at that position. I liked the shot, but as you mentioned, did not have time to set up perfectly. All I wanted was for the attention to go to the bride, not to the train or the background.
Thank you very much for your comment and observations.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 3:00:07 PM
i think the fizzy reflections are important to this image, they cast a gloom over the scene that would not be there otherwise, and they add to the surreality of this place. It almost appears a little scary, like I would not want to be part of it, but I want to keep looking.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 2:56:30 PM
Very creative, makes me wish I had thought of it first.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 2:53:47 PM
I mean 'hardness', not 'harness' in the above comment.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/17/2007 2:52:45 PM
Nick,
I understand completely, and I agree there is a difference between creating an image for its aesthetic value ("nice") and its, let's say cultural value. I was purely looking at the aesthetics, and completely overlooking the cultural value of this image.
Beyond aesthetics, this image makes me feel tense, like I am stuck in a traffic jam after a long day at work, and that maybe only because of your comments on the "industrialization of lives on the run". There is lots of 'harness' in this image, from the steel tracks, the train, the concrete platform; in fact, I don't think there is anything soft at all here, and that leads right in to your industrialization.
Anyway, I do like this series of yours, good job on them.
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| Photo By: Nick Karagiaouroglou
(K:127263)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/16/2007 7:15:28 PM
Thank you very much for your comments.
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| Photo By: Shyamal Addanki
(K:1009)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/16/2007 6:14:25 PM
Lovely image, the lines and the exposure are perfect. I do agree about the frame, though, I would go with plain black to 'lock in' the blown out whites at the top left corner.
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| Photo By: Giuliano Colliva
(K:1580)
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Critique By:
Shyamal Addanki (K:1009)
10/16/2007 6:08:00 PM
Beautiful lines and textures, this image is very pleasing to gaze at, yet gives the viewer much to question.
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| Photo By: Peter Usatiuc
(K:261)
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