Not my usual portrait - C&C

Trever1t · Apr 28, 2012

Waiting in Silence by Trever1t, on Flickr

Not my usual portrait of my usual subject

Processing and composition C&C all ya like

jaxx419 · Apr 28, 2012

I really like it!

tirediron · Apr 28, 2012

Nicely captured.

Dominantly · Apr 28, 2012

It pops, I like it.

Granddad · Apr 29, 2012

Sorry Trevor, I have to be honest, it does nothing for me. The young lady is the focus of the image but the stance seems "zombie like" and there's no face in view. I guess that's my personal taste.

cgipson1 · Apr 29, 2012

Granddad said:
Sorry Trevor, I have to be honest, it does nothing for me. The young lady is the focus of the image but the stance seems "zombie like" and there's no face in view. I guess that's my personal taste.

My take is more that she is grieving... the shot is very somber. She stands there totally defeated by life.. looking out to sea... WHY? Did she lose someone? No face? Doesn't need one! She is symbolic of every women through the centuries, that has lost a man at sea, or is waiting for one to come home. (Or is that a stretch? lol!)

Of course, Only Trever knows why he shot it this way!

nmoody · Apr 29, 2012

I also interpreted it like cgipson where she is sad/grieving. Hands loosely at her side, no facial expression to be seen, overcast and cold feeling day. The single line of footprints makes me think she lost something/someone and is trying to come to terms with it.

manaheim · Apr 29, 2012

I always like shots like this... however, just for fun you might want to play with some extreme crops.

I have a shot that is VERY similar, and as much as I love it more zoomed out, I hate to say that the crops in close and tight tend to work a LOT better.

Regardless, I definitely "like" this shot... for whatever that's worth.

Trever1t · Apr 29, 2012

Manaheim, I'd like to see how you envision the crop, feel free to give me your edit if you like

Thanks all. I am glad that the image carries the emotion that I saw and atttempted to share.

Granddad · Apr 29, 2012

cgipson1 said:
Granddad said:

Sorry Trevor, I have to be honest, it does nothing for me. The young lady is the focus of the image but the stance seems "zombie like" and there's no face in view. I guess that's my personal taste.

Click to expand...

My take is more that she is grieving... the shot is very somber. She stands there totally defeated by life.. looking out to sea... WHY? Did she lose someone? No face? Doesn't need one! She is symbolic of every women through the centuries, that has lost a man at sea, or is waiting for one to come home. (Or is that a stretch? lol!)

Of course, Only Trever knows why he shot it this way!

I must have a limited soul; I must be the one who's "zombie like". That's art though, for some people a work will grab them by the short and curlies, for others the same work does nothing.

I've looked again with hindsight and it still doesn't get through to me. :guilty:

On consideration I think 3 things distract me, the angle, the splotch of green in the sky and the colour of the dress.

Oh, well. You got me thinking and that's one of the things art is about.

Trever1t · Apr 29, 2012

lol, that is art though isn't it? It's just fine that you don't like the image, I respect your honesty and wouldn't try to convince you to see otherwise!

Derrel · Apr 29, 2012

I really like the way the sand is rendered...just an outstanding rendering of the sand, across the frame. She's right at that transitional zone where the surfline ends, and is at the very,very beginning edge of the hard-packed sand. The depth of her footprints, and the way her toes are almost curled...all adds up to some very subtle, but very realism-based visual cues that observant beach-goers (and clam diggers!) are familiar with. It's a certain, narrow spot on many beaches. Her body language is ambiguous,and that helps with the shot I think. The cloudy skies and the grim ocean all add up to a sort of somber, contemplative, moody photo. It's not the happy-happy-joy-joy that Stimpy talks about, ya know? I don't get the sense of her grieving, but more or less just sort of contemplating.