My 3rd online class assignment with Carol Leigh - Twos and Threes.

CRITIQUE: Linda Jeffers
Twos and Threes

THREE ON TWO

Woof! What a terrific photo,
Linda. I'm not sure what I'm
looking at, or looking through, or
looking into, but it doesn't matter
and I really don't want to know.
What you've created is an abstract
image with a lot of mystery, a lot
of drama, and a lot of power. You
lined things up just right. Your
exposure is just right. I love the
little highlights running along the
horizontal elements in the shot. I
like the grainy look to the scene.
And I like how the cars are so out
of focus yet sharp enough that we
know we're looking at cars.
Your three lights set the scene beautifully. The two cars?
Perfect. The grids that form a frame? Excellent. Do I have
any suggestions regarding how this picture could be any
better? Not a one. Major kudos, madam.

MULTI-PURPOSE VASES

This one's good, too. I like how
you've got a lot of depth of field, a
lot in focus from front to back.
Usually this is the result of
selecting an aperture that's quite
small -- the smaller the lens
opening or f/stop, the more will be
in focus.
Your lighting is good in that it's not
overly hot; there aren't any distracting hot spots. Yes,
there's glare on the glass, but it's not overexposed and
we EXPECT glass to have reflectivity.
I especially like how you put the vases on the diagonal.
There's also a diagonal line behind them, running in a
different direction. Those two diagonal lines give your
photo movement. We begin with the foreground vase,
move into the frame, and then the background diagonal
encourages us to move back toward the left. The vertical
nature of the vases and the reeds or stems within them,
give your photo a lot of height -- yet another direction
for our eyes to go. Lots of movement here, and done in
an orderly fashion.
Interesting photo, well-composed, well-exposed, well
done!

HAPPY UGLY FEET

Ha! I wish I could say you're the first to feature feet
in these classes, but Rebecca Ford (once of San
Francisco, now living in Mexico) beat you to it. She
would be pleased to see yours, however!
What makes your photo particularly compelling is
the lighting. The way the light is hitting your feet
and accentuating the texture of your skin and
creating shadows that set your toes apart is excellent.
What I also like is the combination of the bluishcolored
fabric at the bottom of the frame and how it
makes the warm golden tones of the background
look especially good. Complementary colors.
You created movement in
your shot by having a
long diagonal line lead us
up and into the frame; the diagonal line of your toes leads our eye
down to the foot on the left. Again, well done.
You should be INCREDIBLY pleased with these three photos.
They're not the sort of thing you usually photograph, and I hope you
had a fun time doing it.
Carol Leigh

I am so surprised by the Woof! I got in the critique on the first photo - Three on Two. I had read tonight's email I'd received while I was away in LA today. My friend Carol D. sent me the following email. I had not read my photo critique yet.

Linda -

I hope you know about a "woof" from Carol Leigh. It is like winning an Oscar. She rarely gives a woof and when she does, we covet them. In six years I have had One (1) "woof".

So, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Your photos are great and the "woof" is well deserved. You should be proud.

Good stuff, Linda.

CD

Funny thing.... while driving home from the meeting tonight I told Ray I wasn't feeling very good about my photography.....that yes I was learning a lot, enjoying what I was learning, especially since the Santa Fe workshop.....but I don't feel I have had the time to practice and digest what I have learned.

In about 9 days I am going away with my teacher, Carol Leigh, and 11 of her other students to photograph Half Moon Bay. The photos we all take will be featured in a book our teacher is going to publish. Many of the other students going are much more experienced than I and some are professionals. My mind has been telling me I shouldn't go. I should give up my spot as I know many of her other students wish they were going....wish they had read the email Carol sent out before all the spots were filled.

I am not going to listen to my mind. I'm going to go.

I am thrilled and surprised with the critique of my Twos and Threes photos. I did have fun with this assignment even though these are not things I would normally photograph.