Yup - its really that big. If California was a country, it would have the 5th largest economy after the US, China, Japan and Germany.

…and what do you think the internet will look like 11 years from now?

Thanks! She’s a Saluki

It’s so nice to see someone remembered my photo from years ago. My husband put this up on Reddit on my behalf.

Or yam. I feel like the texture of the outside is more consistent with yam. But then again - it feels like there isn’t consistent descriptions of the differences.

Hi Husband!

Your usage is more traditionally correct. Typographers and writers agree that the use of exclamation marks (also referred to as ‘bang’ or ‘screamer’) should be done sparingly.

But with so much informal (digital) communication, it’s taken on a new life as an indicator of friendliness.

Unlike the Germans, who have international government agreements that change the rules of their written language, English simply evolves with the next crop of teenage whims.

Which may be another way of saying that while you are correct, your wife is more hip.

I agree. I feel like there isn’t anything for my eye to anchor on and draw me into the photo. It’s got some interesting stuff going on - but maybe a new crop would help.

Also agree on the saturation and contrast being too high. It’s blowing out the details of the building texture.

Everlane is a solid choice. They focus on styles that are timeless and well constructed so you can shop less. I have clothes I bought from them 7 or 8 years ago that I still get complimented on wearing and look fantastic. I find them affordable - but I realize that won’t be for everyone.

These are great! And the back story of when you took them and the longing is really reflected in the mood they emit.

I have very little to critique in the way of technique, cropping, etc. which is fantastic, because instead of thinking about the photo itself, I’m more concerned with the story and the subject matter.

The ramen photo is my favorite. I spent some very happy rainy nights in Japan eating ramen. For me the photo provides the intimacy and comfort of the ramen shops.

I feel like the third Oktoberfest photo doesn’t quiet hit the mark for the reason the other two are strong: Oktoberfest is anything but an intimate experience. It’s loud, busy, expansive and invasive. It crowds out the kind of intimacy being portrayed in this photo. Except for the fall leaves, it reminds me more of my trips to the Hintersee and eating germknödel with my German ex.

Before I got to the “tri-x” comment in you explanation - the only thing I felt was lacking was some beautiful grain of a good ‘ol film photo. (Something to rough it up). The darkness of the photo reminds me of shooting with Poloroid Polapan (a film I loved so much in art school). It had the richest blacks and was moody like nothing else.

I also agree that you shouldn’t pump up the contrast any more. I like the cropping you did. The eye runs down the platform to the sign and back up the rail. I also don’t think having more people in the photo would have improved it. I think it would have made it too noisy. It feels implied that the man sleeping on the bench was forgotten because no one is there.

Yeah - I’m with you on adding in grain. I’ve never felt comfortable with doing it on digital images.

Film is very expensive. Even back in the day it was expensive - but that cost was a great way to slow down the work and force you to think through the whole image. I miss the entire process, but love the immediacy of digital. Maybe try large format class? Like this: https://theimageflow.com/photography-classes/large-format-photography/

Can’t wait to see your red poppies! I’ve never managed to get a good photo of them. It’ll be great to have some inspiration.

No - I guess I didn’t think about merging them or doing any photoshop. I’m a pretty lazy photographer. I’m intrigued though. What would you do? I’d love some inspiration.

The thing I’m most drawn to in this photo are the two tiles in the front that are highlighted - really like how they are catching the light at a different angle then the rest of the floor.

With that being the first focal point, cropping could help as mentioned by some others. I actually wish though that the camera closer to the ground for a more dramatic angle and a different perspective.

I didn’t notice the person on the left until I had my lights off, so yeah maybe a tad too dark.

Thank you for all your thoughts! I’m really appreciating hearing how you are perceiving this photo and where your eye is drawn to.

Thanks!

Yeah - so reds are tricky with Digital. They blow out easily (it’s something to do with the sensor being more sensitive to that part of the spectrum). Every picture is a little different, in this case, shooting under a cloudy sky helps to reduce extreme shadows while still achieving a perfectly white background with diffuse lighting. In editing I added back a tiny bit of contrast and depth in the black to get more distinction between the petals and the floret.

I kept the flowers and a few days later under slight brighter sky I desaturated and reduced the contrast.

Oh - I hadn’t seen the collage aspect of it, but I totally see that now. Cool. And yes - you’ve put what I’ve liked about the photo into words. Thank you!

There are so many great elements in the photo. From the color to the movement in the water and also the stillness of the dragonflies.

I agree with yenahmik on the cropping. I’ve done a different cropping solution that keeps the movement in the water and also guides the eye around the photo (compositional/visual flow). I think moving the dragonflies off to the side and utilizing their verticality as a reference to the edge of the frame gives the photo more drama or tension. I also added a little more black and contrast to improve the depth of field.

Oops! Forgot to add my version:

Thanks! Yeah - I can see there being a need for more of a place for the eye to rest.