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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
2/12/2006 3:19:39 AM
Starman,
I recommend an Epson scanner if you want to scan negatives -- it's the way to go. I just ordered the Epson 4490 Perfection scanner which is only $250 from B&H and there's a rebate in addition. I had another Epson scanner, but it was damaged in shipment when I moved overseas, so I'm buying a new one. They come with frames for negatives and "Digital Ice" software which takes care of lots of dust spots.
There's a higher-priced version which gives you more software, but you can do a lot with the basic package (I think it comes with PhotoShop Elements).
I have thousands of negatives to scan, but I was making progress with the other scanner. I create 48 mg .tif files which let me edit them and they produce very high quality 11 x 17s when printed.
I do not digitally manipulate many of my images, mainly because I don't know how. In addition, I haven't been real satisifed with the results. Even adjusting the lighting frequently yields unsatisfactory results.
-- Nancy
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| Photo By: William Lee
(K:1783)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
2/11/2006 9:25:47 AM
Terrific image, Starman. The perspective adds a lot of interest to the subject, and the wintery sun in the upper corner is an added bonus to the photo. Nice detail in the grave stones and snow. The weather blends perfectly with the mood of the subject -- sad and forlorn.
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| Photo By: William Lee
(K:1783)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
2/11/2006 9:22:53 AM
Great photo, Starman. I love the perspective, the frosty background, and the graininess. Good job. I like photographing monuments in cemetaries, too. You created some great images in this series. Do you scan your negatives and then work with them in PhotoShop?
-- Nancy
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| Photo By: William Lee
(K:1783)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
1/15/2006 3:42:16 AM
Mark,
Thank you for your kind comments. I have been very happy with Kodak Portra VC and NC 160, and have used them almost exclusively for several years.
Maybe I missed my calling -- I have always enjoyed photo journalism. I am a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department, so I have the good fortune of living in one country for a long period of time. We have lived in the Former Soviet Union for nearly 8 years since 1992, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. We have lived in rural areas for nearly 3 years, and we really enjoyed that experience since we are both aggies.
I'll take a look at your portfolio soon.
Best regards,
Nancy
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
1/12/2006 6:43:44 AM
Paolo,
Thank you for your kind comment. The photo is pretty sharp on my computer, so something might have happened in the upload process. I'll take a look at the original again.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
1/1/2006 1:09:18 AM
Mark,
I have the great fortune of being a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department, so we have tremendous opportunities to live in places for 2 or 3 years at a time. We spent 2 wonderful years in Azerbaijan. I highly recommend Azerbaijan for adventure travel. People are very friendly, crime is very low, and accomodations in the rural areas are affordable and comfortable. The food is very good. Azerbaijanis are warm, friendly, and hospitable. There's a wonderful guide book to Azerbaijan by Mark Elliott, probably one of the best guide books written about any country in the world.
We're in Uzbekistan now, and I am still learning the culture, history, and the lay of the land. I look forward to doing more people photography during the next few years, but the historic places are fascinating. I'm just trying to figure out how to creatively capture these images.
I have lots of images of Russia and Ukraine that I haven't posted yet -- another rainy day project.
-- Nancy
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
12/31/2005 10:58:42 PM
Mark,
I think this is a great photo -- very intense color, wonderful composition (with the subject looking into the photo), nice blurred background, and great contemplative expression on the subject's face.
It looks like the negative was a bit dusty when you scanned it, but that's minor.
You have a terrific portfolio. What took you to Mali?
-- Nancy
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| Photo By: mark Brunner
(K:-99)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/7/2005 3:12:24 PM
Billy,
I am amazed how you selected some very simple, everyday things and turned them into something artistic through photography. That shows great creative "sight." This corregated metal becomes something abstract and moving. The key, the snail, the house numbers, the billard balls all become alternative objects, not just the original simple (dull) objects. Thanks for the reminder that there's always another way to look at things and another way to consider things, and cultivating this alternative view can make all of us much better artists.
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| Photo By: Billy Houck
(K:2725)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/6/2005 7:09:07 AM
Great idea to frame the food with the women, using a top view. The turned head of the one woman on the right shows anticipation, too, which helps explain why they are not eating. The photo looks a little blurry on the left -- not sure if the subjects moved or maybe unsharp mask would fix this. Great photo overall, though.
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| Photo By: BISWAJIT DASGUPTA
(K:2818)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 4:17:14 AM
Bravo, Slava. You caught the light perfectly in two locations in this photo -- the golden highlights on the tip of a few ears of corn, and the filtered light streaming in through the barn window. Great silhouettes which are very black and very sharp. Strong use of lines, too. These many elements overall make a very strong photo. You were in the right place at the right time and found an interesting perspective, too.
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| Photo By: Slava Z
(K:1124)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 4:10:55 AM
Great choice of a subject to put with the lensbaby, Patrick. The ropes all come together and disperse into the blurred perimeter of the photo -- nice affect. The gray sky as the background contributes to the overall impact of the image, too. Great photo.
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| Photo By: Patrick Jacobson
(K:29151)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 4:06:07 AM
Fun photo, Erik. The tilted perspective makes the photo even more interesting. The blurred kids in the background provide a nice colorful backdrop. I love the expression on your subject's face. Makes me wonder what prompted his look of fearful surprise -- is the coach yelling at him, is he intimidated to have his picture taken, or did you take him by total surprise? Nice shot.
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| Photo By: Erik Neldner
(K:10846)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 4:01:37 AM
Great landscape, Zeev. The road draws me in to the photo and the yellow fields and trio of vertical trees keeps my eye anchored in the picture, exploring it more. They are nicely placed off center, too.
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Photo By: Zeev Scharf
(K:25603)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 3:57:57 AM
What a fun photo, Zeev. Very imaginative to combine 2 different photos of the same location. Nice digital darkroom technique.
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| Photo By: Zeev Scharf
(K:25603)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/5/2005 3:47:42 AM
Wonderful photo, Slava. The diagonal line of the bench draws my eye into the photo. The background is a beautiful color and nicely blurred to maintain focus on the front of the bench. Nice perspective getting down low, too. I contemplate carrying a set of knee pads (or blanket) in my camera bag because a low perspective can certainly add a lot to an image. You have a very strong portfolio, too -- good eye.
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| Photo By: Slava Z
(K:1124)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/4/2005 5:31:59 PM
Beautiful photo! Nice job, and how careful you had to be to get the tinting just right. It would be interesting to see the "before" picture to compare it with this photo. The orange highlights in the sky really set off the beautiful skyline. Prague has been on the top of my destination wish list and this photo makes me want to figure out a way to get there soon!
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| Photo By: Slow .
(K:54)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/3/2005 9:15:52 AM
Thanks Piero, this is one of my all-time favorite photos. I hit the lighting just right that evening.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/3/2005 9:13:53 AM
Great perspective to provide information about the market, but in an very interesting way. The warm light on the warm-colored spices adds a great touch.
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| Photo By: Piero Somma
(K:13399)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/3/2005 9:10:18 AM
Wonderful composition and "starkness." Terrific detail in the flower stamens, great texture brought out in the sand, too. Nice job, Piero!
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| Photo By: Piero Somma
(K:13399)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
11/3/2005 9:08:23 AM
Wonderful candid street shot. The statue adds a fun touch to the scene. B&W adds nice texture and "oldness" to the photo, too.
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| Photo By: Piero Somma
(K:13399)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/18/2004 4:33:43 AM
Great composition, Stephen, and great narrative that explains the caption. The colors are beautiful, and the background blurred just enough to allow us to focus on the flowers in the foreground.
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| Photo By: Stephen Bivens
(K:7308)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/18/2004 4:19:19 AM
Thank you, Patrick. This was a fun photo opportunity that just opened up. My husband was invited to a town meeting held at school in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan (find Mt. Ararat on a map and go south). School was just letting out and I jumped at the chance to photograph the children in their uniforms. They certainly were not expecting a foreign lady to be taking their picture. I bet I took 50 photos that day, and a bunch of Polaroids which I gave to the children. This was one of the best images of the day.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/18/2004 4:07:10 AM
Zeev and Patrick,
Thank you both for the comments. This image was scanned by the photo processor. When I find the negative in my horrible filing system, I will try to scan it with my new scanner and that should improve the quality. I recently purchased an Epson 4870 scanner so I can archive my photos that are on negatives to digital images. Next step -- a digital camera which works with my lenses.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 3:06:11 PM
Absolutely gorgeous! Tremendous photo!
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| Photo By: Lukasz Kuczkowski
(K:14687)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 3:03:57 PM
Beautiful capture, Lukasz. I never thought about photographing clouds in black and white, but many of your photos are very impressive.
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| Photo By: Lukasz Kuczkowski
(K:14687)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 2:59:16 PM
Beautiful photo. Great composition. You have some beautiful photos in your gallery, too.
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| Photo By: Lukasz Kuczkowski
(K:14687)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 2:54:24 PM
Zeev, it is a photographer's great challenge to think of a composition that will present a fresh view or tell the story in a new way, isn't it? Thank you for commenting.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 2:51:59 PM
Jesus, thank you. I never noticed all the curves until I had the image developed and started looking at all the curves in this one corner of this grand tower.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 2:50:18 PM
Thank you, Khaled. I am sold on my Image Stabilization lenses, since I am not disciplined enough to drag a tripod with me when I should.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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Critique By:
Nancy B Brannaman (K:445)
9/15/2004 2:48:12 PM
Thank you, Patrick. I was thrilled to see this photo turn out so well, especially considering the crummy weather that day.
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| Photo By: Nancy B Brannaman
(K:445)
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