Mother & child

[johnlim]

1. in what area is critique to be sought?

Composition, post-processing and critics' feeling about the picture.

2. what one hopes to achieve with the piece of work?

The feeling of joy between the mother & the child; A mother's love;

3. under what circumstance is the picture taken? (physical conditions/emotions)

It was taken in the botanic garden at around 6.30pm, against the cloudy sky. The statue is in the open space; I was instantly attracted by it's posture which speaks/evokes a lot of emotion of love & joy in me; Especially in the midst of the wide open field and the vast sky above, that really lightens the mood.

This photo was taken with my Canon Ixus 40, at ISo 100 which is a bit noisy( I should have used Iso 50, somehow forgotten to dial back). So I added some grains & vignette into the photo during editing to make it look more presentable. The bushes at the lower right corner has also been cropped away as I find it distracts the viewers' attention from the statue.

4. what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture

I think the boundless sky symbolises the unconditioned love of a mother. The birds in the sky symbolise freedom of the child, that the mother will someday has to let go of. As to the moment of joy, the statue speaks for itself.


;

 

[Sispecho]

I dont know man..... I got kinda mixed feelings about this shot.

I think its compo is good, but the processing makes it feel a bit eerie/ dark whilst the figures represent some sort of celebration. IMO The birds in the skies compliment the photo, though it would be better if there were more of them and more visible. I have this idea to put some human interest at the bottom left of the photo. Maybe a human representation of the statue? Wonder how that will turn out.

 

[johnlim]

I dont know man..... I got kinda mixed feelings about this shot.

I think its compo is good, but the processing makes it feel a bit eerie/ dark whilst the figures represent some sort of celebration. IMO The birds in the skies compliment the photo, though it would be better if there were more of them and more visible. I have this idea to put some human interest at the bottom left of the photo. Maybe a human representation of the statue? Wonder how that will turn out.

Thank you for the comment.

Yes, regarding the addition of human figures at the bottom corner might be a good idea. I frequently see families with kids strolling in the garden. That could have induced me to shoot this picture.

 

[reventonrage]

This is an intriguing photo in the sense that it captures the joy of a mother & child coming together. Obviously, from the posture and stance of the mother and child, the sculptor aimed to bring out the closeness of the relationship. Personally, I felt that the colour composition did not bring out the joy of the relationship as it seems kinda spooky.

However, I think your use of grains and vignette was excellent and I truely enjoyed looking at this picture.

 

[zac08]

Mebbe you could have waited for the birds to fly off first. As they are rather small and in black and white, it's not easily identifiable and seems rather distracting to the main subject.

Either that, or you could choose to clone them out in PP.

 

[johnlim]

Thanks for the comment, reventonrage & zac08.

I did a colored version of this photo, it's a cross process. But I am can't tell the overall feeling about it(whether it conveys the mood of joy & love). Visually, it just looks nice and the color adds a little bit more dimension to it.

As for the birds, this is the only one I have got in the photo(incidentally), the rests are without them. I thought I could make good use of the birds in the sky to add some meaningful story to the photo.

It's good to hear different views here. :thumbsup:

 

[Mantou85]

I find this a good shot - love the composition and that you use this shot as b&w. It brings out the sculptor's excellent skills of creating the curves of the statue. Simple shot but has meaningful theme. But I feel it'll be better to wait for the birds to fly off first.

 

[pinholecam]

Nice try!

I like the photo.
Its evocative.
But sorry, it does not give me a sense of joy looking at it as you intended.
It makes me like it and think over the relationship, but joy is not the first mood it brings out.

The lighting is the likely culprit... sky is too dark. :think:

 

[johnlim]

Thanks for comments, Mantou85 & pinholecam.

 

[denniskee]

i feel b&w is ok, since the sculpture has no color to speak off.

but not sure why u decided to do silhouette. would suggest abit of light on the subject.

proportion is too much to the mother. what if crop till her hip?

including birds is good, but i can only identify the top 2 birds (wings, head & tail) , can make out if the rest is dust or bird.

the angle of view is nice.

 

[orangebokeh]

nice shot. even more so considering you used a Canon Ixus 40 and not with a DSLR FF with a whole arsenal of lens to choose from!

like the contrast and your composition. personally i like it with the birds.

however i would lessen the noise (but still have it in the picture) and tint the B&W with a warming filter in photoshop to match the mood you wish to portray.

cheers!