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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
10/26/2005 4:26:19 AM
Everything everyone else has said about the SX-70 colour palette is true. There's a delicate, washed-out quality to it that makes it feel dated, left out on a ledge in the sun and forgotten. Love the angling of the image in the centre and as I look at that particular one I find it fascinating that the cab seems super-saturated while the van on the right is almost completely washed out. That's SX-70 for you. So sad that they're pulling the plug on it but I guess the writing has been on the wall for awhile (especially when Kodak has decided to flush their B&W paper division ). Beautiful triptych my friend, love to see you continuing to post this kind of work.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Carlheinz Bayer
(K:14220)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
10/26/2005 4:11:36 AM
Carlheinz,
You know, I feel pretty sheepish that I haven't replied to this sooner. Well, I guess better late than never. This shot is taken in a totally dark storage area in my friend's condo in New Westminster in B.C. when I was visiting in June. The only light was a flashlight she had that I used to 'paint' the entire scene. The total exposure was about a minute, maybe a little longer. I think the reason for the extremely red colour-cast is twofold. First it appears that unfiltered Fuji film (Sensia at least) when cross-processed yields this red tone. I think it's accentuated by the digital scanning and printing process because when I've had Fuji processed by the rapidly shrinking number of analog (optical) printers, this colour-cast is not as prominent. The brassy red seems to come directly from the combination of Fuji film and the digital minilab. That's fine when it's what I want but when I'm looking for a more delicate (usually blue-green) tone this is not the outcome I'm happy with. When I want that outcome I usually shoot with Kodak Ektachrome and try to find an optical lab to process and print it. That's getting harder and harder to find in this rampantly digital age. Hope this is helpful my friend. All the best.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Russ Hewitt
(K:1831)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
10/3/2005 4:58:37 AM
actually i'm glad you didn't have a real camera. there's a beautiful, delicate, dreamlike quality which this has that a much sharper 'real' camera couldn't possibly give; it would have been too sharp with too much detail. the low megapixel quality means colours merge into each other and sharpness is soft at best. that's the way it should be.
as far as the image itself, you captured the perfect moment when sleep was deep and awareness was long gone. beautiful.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Amber and Renee
(K:111)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
8/20/2005 6:55:38 AM
I haven't been here for awhile and that's my loss for while I've been away you have been busy. This was the first image I saw when I clicked on your page and I thought "Wow, Jay's doing lovely female portraits". Then I started looking around and there was more... much more. I'll save my comments on those for another day but tonight I just want to say how you never cease to amaze and delight me. Just when I thought I had you 'pegged' you come up with this new series and this lovely, unexpected portrait. It's fairly straightforward, simply lit and altogether elegant and direct. It is what portraiture should be; an artistic rendering of a human being by a sensitive and gifted artist. Thanks Jay, keep surprising me.
all my best
Russ
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| Photo By: Jay Gumm
(K:3084)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
7/29/2005 3:58:57 AM
Thanks Irma, I finally took your advice.
cheers
R
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| Photo By: Russ Hewitt
(K:1831)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
7/11/2005 4:59:55 AM
interesting...
guns are a great prop, partially because they're dramatic and also because we can use them as a kind of visual shorthand to convey a message or a feeling. i have mixed feelings about using them, almost the same way i have mixed feelings about photographing someone smoking because of my own personal anti-smoking stance. still there's no denying we as photographers often slide toward the symbols which we can use to create the impact we want because it's easy. i've done it (at four examples in my usefilm portfolio), i know many others have as well. makes me wonder how much harder it would be for us if we didn't have these visually charged cultural symbols at our disposal.
for me the power in this piece is in the eyes and it is almost impossible for me to tear myself away from them. the 'blood spatters' add a layer of texture and disturbance as well. this is a fine piece of work shelby. i've just come to your images through jay gumm whose comments i've read and had to come see what attracted him. so glad i did.
regards
russ
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| Photo By: shelby koning
(K:5450)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
6/2/2005 5:26:38 AM
y'know, there's something about that rock in the lower left that i actually like. maybe it's the counterpoint between it's smooth greyness that contrasts with the colours and textures of the rest of the picture. maybe it's that it leads my eye (or forces it to leapfrog over it) into the rest of the frame. not sure why but for me it works. thanks for this striking image pat.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Patrick Ziegler
(K:21797)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
5/23/2005 4:27:53 AM
There's so many cool details to look at in this pic: his painted nails, the bracelet, the shimmery scarf --- all attached to a guy who looks like he's ready to keel over. Ah the toll life on the road has taken. I love this shot C.H., you have a way of catching the perfect moment in all it's glorious detail. One other thing, the fact that his eyes are obscured by the hair is the icing on the cake. If the eyes are mirror to the soul I expect if we saw them that we'd be wondering how he's still standing. Yet like you said, he gave a great show. Very cool.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Carlheinz Bayer
(K:14220)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
5/19/2005 12:01:06 AM
sounds like you're getting lazy just like me. my warning to you about not keeping in shooting shape is that if you don't practice, it eventually shows up in your work. i know this from sad experience.
i chose this image because nobody has commented on it. i've had a chance to look through your entire portfolio and have been very impressed by some of your work and a little lukewarm on others. "arising from despair" is a brilliant piece that i was absolutely blown by. it is beautifully lit and sensitively executed. "gas mask" and "arabian myth" are creepy enough to give the faint-hearted the willies. there are a few others i quite like as well but i think i'll eventually comment on them individually. as far as this and some of your other heavily manipulated images go, i don't feel they have the same power as your other, 'straight' images. i think what you're trying to do with the manips is stretch yourself and expand your visual horizons by trying out new things. while some of them make for interesting images i'm not sure if they carry as much emotional resonance as your other work. this image for example just feels too 'worked on'. there's a whole lot going on in it but i'm not sure that the story or intent of the image comes through as clearly as it could or simply gets lost in the glitz of the manipulation. it's less a photograph and more an illustration with so many competing visuals that i'm not sure what i'm supposed to be looking at. now i can tell you that i'm still a die-hard film guy who is ever-so-slowly entering the digital age. i barely know anything about photoshop and thus any manipulation takes place in-camera using alternative processes and lighting effects. this may skew my perception of some of your manip work but i guess if i was to suggest anything to you at this stage of your photographic career, it would be to go a little easier on the flashy manipulation stuff and concentrate more on the heart of your work. look for the meaning or the core emotional power in your images and have that as your driving force. whether it's a fashion shot or something more artistic, try to find the truth in each frame you take. now i know that sometimes a picture is just a picture and that's fine. just remember that if trying to find the truth in each picture is the driving force behind what you do i think you and your work can only get better. you've got a lot of talent ethan, the world deserves to see more of it.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Ethan .
(K:881)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
5/9/2005 11:49:03 PM
very nice ethan. love the details like the gold leaf on the model, the contrast of the feathers texture against the smooth of her skin. your model is stunning and she is obviously the focal point of the image, however those finger extensions are quite dramatic and integrating them more into the composition may have added an additional element of excitement/danger/edge to the overall feel of the image. of course you probably weren't necessarily trying for that feel so i should just shut up. hey by the way, where DID you get those extensions, they rock!
cheer
russ
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| Photo By: Ethan .
(K:881)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
5/8/2005 5:12:14 PM
being a diehard B&W guy i prefer the toned version. the colour version is great but there's just something about a monochrome image that i think is more dramatic and focusses attention on the content of the image as opposed to dazzling them with the colour. so much of this image appeals to me, the model's pose, her expression, your use of the high, tilted angle; it all comes together to create a sense of time and place while adding an erotic element as well. good work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Frank Beer
(K:10112)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
5/1/2005 9:49:00 PM
this picture combined with your comment about your sadness makes this a devastating combination. it is utterly beautiful and deeply moving in it's bleakness. i hope you are using your art to give form to your sadness and thus purge yourself of it. i too am in the midst of a situation that holds me deep in sadness and i know that i must either reach out with my art or else to my friends for their support. i have chosen the latter. if you have not may i strongly encourage you to reach out to those who love you and find comfort in their presence and their words. if you have no one to reach out to please email me.
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| Photo By: Rafael Ollero
(K:696)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
3/22/2005 6:29:39 AM
This is probably the lightest I've ever seen your work Jay. It's quite beautiful and very striking, especially the strong sidelight. Both of you look radiant in this captured moment. So real, so warm and so deeply human. Even here though, even taking this with the smile in your eye you still add a little edge... in the deepening shadow of which there is much, in that oh so slightly ambiguous expression, in the fact you've chosen to partially hide yourself. Just a tiny bit of darkness amidst all that light: for how empty would be the light without the dark. No wonder your work perpetually grips and will not let me go. Your art, your life, out here for us all to see, to feel, to love. Thank you Jay.
Russ
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| Photo By: Jay Gumm
(K:3084)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
3/22/2005 6:09:42 AM
Beautiful repeating patterns and perspective that make this two-dimensional art of ours seem like 3-D. I've always loved images like this that have the abilty to invoke that feeling of vertigo even when I'm just sitting in my chair in front of the computer. Also love the rich copper colour cast to the whole image. Nice work.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Sony Kusumo
(K:7190)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
3/22/2005 5:52:19 AM
Billy, Interesting that you took a colour neg, printed it and found such beautiful, rich B&W tonality in it. Actually I guess it could be PS but who cares, it's a beautiful rendering of a stunning woman. There's almost a 40's-style Hollywood glamour vibe to it that adds just that little extra. Nice work, hopefully we'll see some more soon.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Billy Cobb
(K:436)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/23/2005 6:22:50 AM
too bad you can't put them all up because this is really good work. the beauty and mystery of long exposures is that you're never really sure what kind of results you're going to get until you see them. i love the foreground splash of colour that grabs my eye as soon as i look into the picture. i plan a good look at all the others as well.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: D M
(K:79)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/21/2005 4:17:40 PM
i love the swooshy, shimmery quality of this picture; almost as if urban ghosts are floating through a glittering, shiny firmament. the miniscule details i can pick out --- a smile here, an almost-face there --- make this a joy to look into to see what other treasure there might be. thanks for this.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: emily savva
(K:21113)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/20/2005 3:49:27 AM
i have started this critique at least three times and each time the words 'simple, direct and stunning' inevitably flow onto the keyboard. the eyes are mesmeric pools of blue, the blood red lips invoke more fiery thoughts. i am transfixed by this vision that captures my imagination and refuses to let go. this is what all photography should aspire to: the image distilled to it's essence, no frills.
i do notice this is originally a B&W image so you have added the colour yourself (PS i assume). nice work, almost imperceptible. wonder if the original had the same impact? probably, just in a different way.
amazing model by the way, you're lucky to have someone as beautiful and expressive as she is.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Rene Asmussen
(K:138)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/17/2005 4:09:13 PM
your images, especially the 'her story' ones are so evocative. this one in particular, the eyes closed, head slightly bowed suggests so many things: contemplation, pain, emotional fatigue. there are multiple possibilities in this image so it takes on a universal appeal because it can speak to so many aspects of the human condition, not just for women. beautiful work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: isabelle de gauquier
(K:353)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/17/2005 4:02:29 PM
i love your exploration not only of pure form but colour as well. interesting because i almost find the texture of the glass to be distracting from the abstract form and colour. it's as if the sharpness of focus on the glass draws the eye to it and thus detracts from the out of focus towels which to me are the true subjects of the image. have you considered merely throwing everything out of focus and seeing what kind of results you get? my suggestion would be to try varying degrees of focus shift to see what kind of images that yields.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Ahmet Baki Kocaballi
(K:13618)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/17/2005 3:42:49 PM
i'm assuming this is a picture from a theatrical production and looks as though it was taken during a performance. from experience i know how hard that can be so i salute you on your composition as well as excellent timing in capturing just the right moment to get such an intriguing image. good work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Mohammad Reza Shahrokhi Nejad
(K:7396)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/8/2005 7:56:27 AM
mostly a monochrome, repeating-type image except for the splash of orange and child here. love this because there's lots to look at yet my eye keeps coming back to him. also like the shadow work as well, it adds an extra dimension and texture to the image. nice work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Jeff Bennett
(K:158)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
1/4/2005 6:19:02 AM
despite the fact that this is essentially a snapshot there is a true sense of friendship and the closeness that goes with it that glows out of this picture. it reminds me why photography can be so important, so immediate in capturing those single, seemingly innocuous, yet important moments in our lives as we share them with others. very nice work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Rona K **
(K:2375)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/24/2004 5:51:10 AM
very elegant jayne. the pose evokes another era yet the modern process adds another layer to the feeling, almost as if we are seeing her through mottled glass. the blurred, fading face is a little disturbing because the subject almost seems to be disassembling from the top down. i'm not sure if that was the intent yet it is one thing that struck me the longer i looked at it. were i to print this (in a real darkroom with real chemicals) i would choose B&W and burn in the face so that the evocative blur lent a sense of sensual movement to the piece. even so this is a lovely piece of work that matches and complements the rest of your portfolio.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Jayne
(K:168)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/21/2004 10:14:10 PM
great piece of street photography with the twist of all the added bits. i love the dialogue boxes and the eye bar but honestly the thing that makes it for me is the guy blowing his nose. it's funny but also acts like an anchour of reality amidst the surreal colours and other odd elements in the picture. very nice work.
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Marco Fichera
(K:1135)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/21/2004 9:01:41 PM
i love this sensuous explosion bursting from the calm surface of the water. beautiful symmetry of her figure which is contrasted by the randomness of the water drops flying through the air. the rim lighting adds extra dimension to this fine image. very nice work.
cheers
russ
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Photo By: Jonathan Charles
(K:5248)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/21/2004 8:43:39 PM
i love the clean lines and negative space in this image jeanette. the previous image is strong but this one has more dynamism with it's oblique lines running through the frame. i also like that there is just a touch of texture on the back of the bench that interrupts the rest of the smooth tones in the picture. fine work
cheers
russ
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| Photo By: Jeanette Hägglund
(K:59855)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/21/2004 6:20:33 PM
As soon as I saw the thumbnail I thought "Mondrian!". I have always loved B&W and started my photographic life shooting with B&W film but one day shot a monochrome on colour film and found it opened up a whole new realm for me. This image reminded me of that because I had forgotten what power the colour monochrome has. I love your composition; beautiful and powerful in it's simplicity. The choice of side lighting is perfect. Excellent work.
cheers
Russ
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| Photo By: Ahmet Baki Kocaballi
(K:13618)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/13/2004 7:50:20 AM
deep rich colour, full sensuous lips. makes me want to see more but ultimately am glad i can't. you've made me see just enough to revel in the beauty and depth of this moment.
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| Photo By: Jeanette Hägglund
(K:59855)
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Critique By:
Russ Hewitt (K:1831)
11/1/2004 1:58:31 AM
there is something in his expression which i cannot put my finger on that i find very appealing, even wistful. maybe it is the sense of childlike joy and optimism that i see (or am projecting) on his face. i have only one thought though when it comes to your choice of composition and that is i would have preferred if he were the dominant element in the photograph. as it stands he is in focus and as such the eye is drawn to him automatically yet the other out-of-focus boy in the frame steals some of the focus and i'm not sure why you kept him in there. i'm not sure that he adds to the image's strength. if you were trying to telll a story by including the out-of-focus boy in the picture i'm not sure what it is you're trying to say. i'd be very interested in hearing your thoughts about the creative process in this image. thanks.
russ
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| Photo By: Mike Peuker
(K:180)
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