Okay right so I think we're now live so we're gonna wait here for a little bit until anybody turns up which would be nice so soon as anybody's in that chat just let me know we're all we're all friendly and stuff like that I'm just a poster thing and we're live we're live so I hope everybody is doing pretty well who knows who knows who knows who knows there's just check check check we're all good so we're all live is this live now and we don't need to have that up there here we go hello Eric how are you doing thank you how's it how's it for being here my man I think you are the first person in today's chat that's awesome where you from Eric let's find out I'm gonna take a guess you're not from from here you're not not from outside my window so whereabouts and we got Sims with Sean and Liseka Juris and Ivan Buckingham we are live yes we are today thank you for joining me this is can you all hear me okay as well I'm gonna guess that we can I've gotten you from Switzerland I love Switzerland we used to go on holiday to to Lichtenstein when I was a kid and hello metropa which is which is always guys of Kentucky a whole it never ceases to amaze me how broad a broader world we live in I've got some Texas and the Philippines and South Korea wow everybody I think that's that's awesome we're going to obviously it's scheduled for five o'clock so I'm gonna wait a couple of minutes and just to you know let everybody get here and stuff we've got so we got Victoria from British Columbia we got some Buffalo New York I said with Montana there's a very famous Frank's episode I'm good moving to Montana we got some Floridians in the house we've got some Portuguese and now Morocco's wow it is just I think this is awesome you're all here and you're here with me in my in my den of shame as my wife calls it this this behind me is the only part of the room is decorated and and also we have a fly in here today who's just flying around happily merrily buzzing we've got somebody from Worcester stock home I've got some more people from Florida I used to spend some time in Tampa back in the early 2000s and what have you said so really nice yes and so if you haven't seen already I'm just gonna give you a quick just a heads up I have been talking with some other creators who are on various discord channels about finding a balance between obviously creating great content for you guys and that you will seem to love I do you know I used to live in Buckinghamshire I was I we lived in North Crawley which is just outside Newport Pagnell until I was nine that when we when we moved to South Africa and then Andrew Simpson hi Andrew I responded to your your comment Andrew on on the Jeff's video because yes I think we ended up getting getting it confused across purposes and so that's anyway so there's a comment there if you haven't think but I also I spend some time in Edinburgh my mum is a Scott she's a she's a soap dodging Ouija and yes so there we go anyway so back to I was talking to some some creators about finding this balance between creating content that obviously you can go to as broad an audience as possible but also they're not burning myself out and creating sort of lesser quality content the hey Warren Warren's in the house and I sort of I feel that you know three times a week it's okay but it is a treadmill it's like don't don't don't don't constantly trying to try to do things and and occasionally I know that everybody said that you know the content is fine and the quality is good is I feel that you know you guys are very gracious and giving up your time to watch you know the videos that I create and and I know even though there's a cause come across as a parent that this video or that video or something it feels like it's like it is like a make-wait kind of video and and I feel that that's that's you know is disrespectful to your time so I'm what I'm going to do is try and put a bit of my effort into crafting videos that not only sort of stay true to the sort of the ethos of photographic eyes you know so we are continuing to talk about you know the wise of photography but also hey a Charles you're right and you know also kind of you know helpfully hopefully taking the videos to a wider audience and being able to get more people to to you know to come as I say I'd better say come to the dark side but come to the light side you know realize that photography is not all about gear and what have you and obviously we need to kind of you know craft videos that sort of you know encourage people to to explore with us you know the things that we understand about photography that are you know equally as important about as gear but more difficult to quantify which is which is probably the big reason why they there are so many who don't talk about this kind of thing on our YouTube which is which is lovely so so yeah so we're just couple of minutes I make it 1656 here and as I said at the beginning of the stream we'll wait just a couple of minutes it's all right Andrew I am I am constantly confused I think confused could be my middle name but my middle name is it's Neil there you go some TP trivia for you I am Neil nothing like the young ones me although I do I do plant my seeds nature grows the seeds and then we eat the seeds and it's yeah Warren it's getting to a point where it was okay and certainly you know it was all right but then certainly have the last I won't say the last month but you know over the last little week or two I have been you know thinking about it there is a you know there is yeah I was gonna say that you know somebody somebody said because obviously you know the YouTube has a thing that it's easier to make a really strong video that can reach like a million people than it is to create 10 videos that would do like 100,000 views or something like that and and ultimately while obviously all these things you know end up having a sort of financial benefit I I I have over the course of the life of TP what sort of discovered really what I get a kick out of photography which is talking to photographers on an individual level but also seeing the comments that that not necessarily comes through the channel but when you search for it on the place I read it what have you that people are like oh my god you know it's like I am so inspired by Alex that you know Alex's as kind of help me reconnect with my photography and I really really enjoy it and obviously the more people who I can you know sort of encourage to stick with photography the better obviously slightly at launch with the kind of the ethos of do things for yourself and it doesn't matter but you know but the fact is there is a platform here that can help people you know sort of come back to photography as well because a lot of a lot of you guys you know have written to me said oh you're in your 60s or 70s or you know recently retired and they're coming back to something you enjoyed as a teenager and I'm afraid I don't James I don't have a profile on Twitter I do I am on Twitter as me but that's I don't really tweet but the only other place that we had the TP has a has a footprint is is Facebook which Warren I think see if you can pop the link in the chat we'll find out if not go on to Facebook and yeah search photographic higher so there we go anyway right ladies and gentlemen it is coming up on 5 o'clock in the afternoon here and I sound like my wife used to work in radio and she says I've got a face for radio I'm here all week yes okay so we are going to today look at the images that have been submitted to the TP Crip feedback folder what have you and for those of you who are watching who are not members of either the YouTube channel so you know there's YouTube membership or patreon and this is when you are members of that you are able to upload images that we do this once a month with so if you're interested yeah probably the easiest way to do is go through YouTube membership and you'll find in there's a link for upload for the next time so there we go right so we're similar little little junk of that and then we're going to go and start looking at the photographs which is why you're here you don't listen to me me waffle about myself in there look at that fancy fade so pro so pro okay so the the the main thing with with critiques is that as I was writing to to Andrew Simpson Mr. Simpson earlier is that you know obviously we want to find a balance between you know things that are positive I think that's always you know we want to see positive things in photography but we also want to make sure that we are not sort of blowing smoke up people's backsides because it doesn't really benefit anybody and I think this is this is a case in point here this this first-off picture and I don't mention anybody's names in this and also feel free to share your thoughts about the images but do remember that obviously it is more from your sense more what for all of us it's more of a one-way conversation and sometimes what can be you know well-intended feedback can come across as a slightly sort of passive-aggressive so let's try to keep it sort of nice and nice and nice and simple and so here we go sorry you've got this says ladies go there's a lovely long hair and and I can see what the photographer is doing that he's he's trying to highlight the shape of the hair rather than the you know rather than the face so a kind of bold statement for a portrait you know and there's and there's kind of I think if you're going to go this route where you're breaking things down into a very simplistic very sort of graphic orientated approach that one of the things that I think you need to be mindful of is that tiny details there are small things in this that are kind of letting it down not from a technical point of view but from a stylist you know sort of point of view one is that her hair and sit on the right-hand side of her or our right yeah well her right and it's all it's all messy it's kind of it's stuck all over her shoulder and stuff I guess so I appreciate that maybe you're saying well it's a juxtaposition between the smoothest on the left and right it just doesn't kind of it feels it feels like it's a mistake you know which is which is not not keen so so if you're going to do this play with her she's got lovely long hair and stuff you know so it's the next time try and imagine what it would look like to have a very straight on thing so the hair is going down like a waterfall down between her or you know or something like that but just yet it needs to be cleaner I think that's really the kind of what I would like to see you do with this is is revisit this but make it make it clean and make it a bit more like you kind of intended and and I don't know the circumstances that you photographed in this but it was obvious it's obviously not a kind of a spur-of-the-moment kind of image that hairband I'm sorry the hair band you're gonna do this clip some sort of hair clip or something not just like a ratty old hair band it just you know I you know it's it's not it's not working something else you could also consider which is slightly more technical this feels like it's shot you know there's lit with a strobe or something is that that black background it's gone very dark like like proper black and I don't think it's necessarily doing her a favor I appreciate maybe one I wanted to have any sort of distraction removed I think in this case you really there's the fact that her head is going into into solid black kind of lets the side down a little bit as does this fly there is a fly I mentioned the TPE fly he's determined to get out of that window right next to me so and so there we go yes it's a try someone like that but I see where you go with it and kudos for at least thinking outside of the box so that's so that's a good I think you know a good start but yeah I'd like to see I'd like to see this when you worked at it a bit more okay right so here we have a this the first thing that springs to mind with this this picture is children of men I don't know why but it's got this kind of for lawn look or maybe a kind of like you know like oh where's the place Chernobyl it's really something got a post pocket to filter whether or not that's what you were thinking about and I you know it is I can see where you're going we got this this this interesting scene and what kind of jumps out of me straight away is while I kind of obviously we can see outside and there was this this very overgrown lush environment outside and then inside we had this very sort of spot and almost run down sort of a very cold environment that I think if you were going to do that what what sort of what sort of I doesn't quite fit with me with that idea is that you can see those houses there's something in about those houses I it's not quite I think it's taken away from the image somehow and and I'd appreciate that because you've focused on the shadows and I like all that shadow stuff it it could be that that's obviously how it works but I think that those those buildings are taking away somehow because they remind you the outside is not just purely wild now focusing on the inside of the building I love what's going on there that you know this shadow and very coldness with it it's a very sad looking dustbin there it just it feels like this is two pictures I don't know if you that makes sense to you but what I'm saying is there's one picture which is focused on the shadow and the interior of the building and there's another picture which is the frame of the glass and this frosted nose and then the outside so that it they're two of them keep competing with me it's like a one hand I want to look at the one that's got the bird stencils on the on the on the top of the window and then this framework with the outside and there's the other side I mean because I don't want to see all the outside I want to see this kind of pseudo dystopian thing on the inside and and looking at the shadow work on the on the floor I think there's a really strong case here that you could explore the shadows in you know in a far deeper way I think if you were able to revisit this in environment that you may find that now that you see it I mean I said there are actually two pictures here that it helps you actually focus in on the thing that you like I think it's a great idea about kind of trying to layer these things together in this case it's not I don't think there's not enough stuff outside that's kind of gonna help that but those buildings for some reason there's some it just it doesn't gel with me but certainly the shadow work the blues and it's very very strong again it's graphic I use the word graphic within photography quite a lot and I just yeah I like it there's so many things to this that I like but they're not coming together very weird you know that's all for feedback and yeah I think focus on one or the other with this that dustbin is definitely the star of this show but is getting lost somehow and and yeah some someone in there and maybe if you kind of move down a little bit so if shooting down the window and close that door that you've come through then it might help to sort of change up some things but anyway yeah I'd like an interesting environment and I and I feel that there's a lot more here that you've also photographed that would be would be really cool to see so this is down this is you know we talk about challenging preconceived ideas and and I really like what you are doing is this this slow shutter I'm gonna say it's a slow shutter speed where you kind of you're pulling up and then we'll have you rather than a multiple exposure because of the nature of how things are working and the first thing that certainly leaps to me is that you can do these things absolutely and I think well done for doing it but it doesn't make up for the lack of basic compositional ideas or you know an aesthetic and this is this is kind of where you've you can fall foul of this idea of the the the the technique is the technique is kind of what we're seeing here rather than the depth of the photograph and if you were to redo this and I'm seeing as it says the spirit of wells so I'm gonna get this as well as cathedral that go back and and being tuned with the people who built this place right so they are there you know cathedrals are huge because they want you're supposed to walk in as a medieval person and lift your eyes to the sky and once you understand that and put that into your composition so make it sound compositional picture and then bring in this wonderful idea that you've got of the the you know the slow shutter speed that I think you're on the winner here it feels like it's a bit of a mess that there's nothing quite grounding it is there's too many arches there's too many I don't know you know somebody in the comments knows what the things are called the the flying buttresses things right and they're just they've become distracting rather than helping to solidify the the wonderful idea that you have and then you've got these two figures down the bottom there they're just it they're in the way and again that's why if you if you found a composition and you went like this but then it would be a lot better this I really like where you're going with this idea but I think you need to just not let the technique push aside the the need to have a sound image underneath all of this yeah so pretty pretty cool I like that I like this when where people take something that everybody's photograph the same way you know if it's a hundred years and then look at it a little bit differently so here we have you know and again you know this is kind of the flip side of the cut it's a you know it's a fairly I don't want to say standard because that sounds unfair so so and also I can see the name and and and I think I'm gonna guess this is in South Africa because the names is cross call on there and and I think what's happening you you have this and this this very interesting looking waterfall and I think you've at least tried something you know with some foreground here with this these rocks and what have you know I'm gonna guess this is in the canyon and it feels like it's kind of it's it's still in these sort of the foot of the camp that says this is how you are supposed to photograph things right you got a wonderful waterfall and you're doing this and and and now it's not to say that you need to take every subject and make it crazy or photograph in a in a completely new and unexpected way that here it just it feels like while it's you know obviously I can see it and I know you have the project because I have some lights in my eyes I can't see it as well as I probably should and and I can see there's lots of detail and you know this all the shadows and stuff but I what's happening is that the composition you've tried this this very sort of daring idea of having this stone here and then this kind of stone here we're looking through them it what is doing is it's a big barrier to us actually going into the image it's not allowing the eye to go and look at the waterfall especially given the waterfall is somewhat hidden by that stone and so what we have is when when we have the these these angles that we're looking at it's actually drawing us to a very dark place in in the image there's all that left-hand side of the waterfall is extremely dark and and really we want it to be pushing our eyes towards the waterfall itself now this I think comes back to you know an idea where next time you at this you know you're in cross-cop or you know maybe you don't know if you if you live in I'm actually eastern trans well but it's not it's a longer and revisit the places and and and try and think about how the whole composition works rather than taking an idea because all we're gonna try and put some stuff some very heavy foreground interest in it sit with it and you can do this with landscapes because I think this is beautiful is sit with the image for a while you know and it used to be I mean back when I used to smoke and stuff like that you know sit set up the camera you know and have a cigarette and wait those five minutes or something just being in the environment and come back and look at the photo these days obviously you don't but you know but try something like that take set up the shot that you think is working and then take a break from it and then come back to it and then look at it with fresh eyes and see if you are seeing somewhere that it's not quite working I think in this case you may sort of see that that darker part on the side which you probably looked at initially and went I'll be really cool because I'm not gonna have all this this details you've got some highlights and shadow detail and all sorts of things and it is unfortunately we just you kind of lost sight of what it is that you would like to photograph here which is this this this waterfall which is very interesting but it just it feels like you kind of you weren't quite where you wanted to be with with this but yeah again I will say if you're able to revisit this place it certainly do and and look at them but I think next time you see a an image or a scenario like this I think focus on the on the obvious thing first and then build slowly yeah it's sort of thing yeah all right so here we go so this is an interesting so it's interesting in so much as yeah it's like the image is cut straight down the middle with these red topped bollards and and I like that I like this this idea that you know you're sort of seeing two things because there's a higher level and a lower level and it's it's almost like one of those kind of classic who asks this feeling that this is one of those classic you know artists you know the lessons they used to teach you in school about you know about like perspective drawing where the lines would go together that these things are really kind of sort of sitting out so so I'm just my trade of thought was just completely gone because of the twit don't you hate it when that happens there we go all right okay and it's just let me know in the chat I have a feeling that something has stopped like the stream of stuff there we go okay there we go it's very interesting okay something just boom boom boom boom boom yeah okay anyway right so we're back and so so with this here we got these bollards down the middle and stuff okay and then there's this this there is the lighthouse and what is going on with that lighthouse is that it's kind of dominating the scene because of the you know because of the because of the bollards and our eyes being drawn all the way to there and I'm not quite feeling this I'm not quite feeling the shot in this format right that it's it's a it's a portrait orientated image whereas if you maybe went landscape orientation and you've still got you cuz we can make use of these bollards I think you've got the right idea the bollards are the I think they're the center point to this image the bollards and the the the the the lamppost not the lamp has the lighthouse are the real things here but the way that it's framed feels a bit odd because it's not central they can't be because of the you know the bollards don't need directions to the lighthouse and there's a a misbalance thing with the people on the right the people load down on the bicycles so if you went landscape and kind of moved slightly so you have the bollards more rather than going straight into the image that they're coming across and leading through I wonder how that would feel like doing it and essentially the groove hole has said that they like the framing that it's super interesting and it's a great observation that you know for them that framing was for me it feels like there's something missing that you've seen an idea but you haven't really kind of like pulled it together too much I guess sound like a stuck record I would like you to revisit this place if you can and and think about how you can expand on this image think yeah as a blue sapphire talked about the sky yeah the sky's got nothing in it there's there's no sky in fact I in fact until blue sapphire you mentioned the sky I hadn't even looked at it that's how nothing there is in that sky so I yeah I think of a different format and and possibly less depth of field on this what I do what I what I the one thing that I don't get with this which one would assume you would given these lines is any sense of depth it's it's it feels like it's just very it's compressed like you almost photographing like with it with it like a telephoto and you know just it's not it's not feeling the fact that you are recognizing all these things is a very positive absolutely but it just feels like it's not quite coming off but I would encourage you to go if you are to go back and forget everybody else for a moment and concentrate on those ballards and the lamp that keep selling that house the lighthouse and see what you could find see what you can find and and I think that there is there is a you know there's a there's a far better photograph here for you and it certainly looks like there's ample opportunity to explore ideas with this good stuff okay so we have to do okay so we have a what looks like a very cold very very cold and a twilight I'm gonna guess I'm giving this quite a lot of lights on in the houses and okay so the the colors on this are what really pop out immediately that you know you got these blues which are very cold you got that you got that cool orange and the indigos and the violets and what have you in the sky and they all are conveying a mood which I think I think you have you have captured the mood and the feel beautifully but echoing back to you know a couple of images where we talk about the idea is has sort of trumped the image is that the image itself here is it's it's it's just missing something it could and with all due respect it feels like you've you have you know you've been in is it's early afternoon in the house and you've looked at the window and you've got oh the wow the light and the color and stuff is beautiful and you just walked out of the house with the camera and take a picture and that's what it kind of feels like and that is not a that's not a I'm not slagging you off that is kind of a it is kind of a bonus actually because at least you're recognizing at least you weren't looking and and being aware of what these things are here couple of people mentioned about the car yet the the backside of that car and it looks like it's in a parking lot so it's not moving that is yeah okay you've got to spend a bit more time thinking about the image itself here now what could you do what can you do from this vantage point to make it more about the bigger picture the weather right because the weather and the coldness and the cool quality is what's carrying this and that sky is beautiful so everything down in the bottom let's say the bottom quarter of the frame can just disappear right the car the parking lot everything we then just cut off right the and then move the camera up move the camera up so we just got the so almost like the houses are kind of growing out of the bottom half of the bottom of the bottom of the frame and you've got more of the sky right and again if you went to where as I told the last bit to go to to vertical to horizontal if you got a vertical format then you bring in the sky because that sky is beautiful the colors in that sky and stuff like that that's where the picture is it's it's you know it's a beautiful thing you know we're not going to start talking about you know the fact that there's some twigs in the left-hand side and stuff like that I think next time think about what it is you are photographing because here you you've got a gut idea about what is your photographing but you are not photographing it you're taking a picture of the street which I'm going to assume that you are familiar with this is a big assumption in a way that you see it all the time stop taking the picture that the person down the road would take right and be be you right just just get in there nice big idea as I said that I think the atmosphere and stuff everything is spot on it's the way that you've treated it is a little bit kind of it's a little bit average and I hate to use the word average but it is it feels like it's snapshot and stuff so so you've got the right idea but yeah again like and this is often what it comes down to with with Christie you need to kind of just spend a bit more time thinking about the the photograph rather than the snapshot okay so here and here we've got somebody who has spent more time thinking about things so we got this this flower which which is which is really nice and and again I'd like to say that the petals are it's not it doesn't feel like it's actually like out of focusness oh this is focus not it's not like that depth of field thing going on it feels like it's it's like a movement but then I kind of look at the the statement of bits in the middle and and they're not moving so whatever you've done I really like that idea it doesn't matter if it's post or whatever I think that works what I don't think works with this is the black and white treatment it it's it is a subject that we are mostly familiar with it's it's a flower it's a really delicate thing and it could be very pretty and the way that you've treated it from a technical point of view with the blur and stuff like I think it's lovely and I quite like the square composition or sort of things but the black and white doesn't carry it for me I think the reason being is that while the tones on the outside of the petals are lovely the actual the whatever you call the heads the statement things they don't have enough tonality to them to make them stand out from where I'm looking at them a lot of them are getting lost into into darkness and blackness and something like that so it's not quite panning I think in color you would be picking up the subtle colors and changes of all those stay many things and it would make the picture a lot stronger suddenly that that's kind of my my gut feeling with this is that it's the tones of letting it down in the black and white that as I said that the petals wonderful it's just that the head of whatever is this this flower is not giving me that same that same gorgeousness of what's going on and and I don't with these kind of critiques I don't really often talk too much about technicality kind of things but they see these little bits here I don't know if that's picked up these little bits of white and stuff in there and I know you know you really kind of if you're gonna do something like that this kind of image those need to go you've got it you've got to get those gone because if you if you kind of screw up your eyes when you look at the squid what you see are those little specks of wine so your eyes always kind of drawn to them and so trying yeah if you're gonna do this which which kind of is breaking an image down into very you know sort of smooth tones and things bits like that I real distraction and I think it would have taken maybe like five ten minutes just to to to Jay brush them out you know so like a dust dust brush God I've I'll learn to speak one of these Chuckie speak good proper and yeah I think I think color on this would with setting work if you have more of these try it in color process in color see what see what it does and try if you are able to print them out big I think these would benefit from being really big you know 30 by 40 at least see see what happens and friend of mine grows crystal flowers is a weird thing and she has some very big print and they look stunning so yeah yeah try it out okay these are like a flower themed more flowers okay you know it's yeah so it's a little bit of chess here and I feel what's what's happening is you got the word sort of collateral damage in the title and and this isn't I'm never like a huge fan of titles but I know a lot of people will try to their images and and it gives us an insight into the sort of thing at least that you're thinking with with the image and you've got here all the all the the backline pieces or hanging out going hey we're all chilling and then of course all the pawns are in this in this field of smashed up flowers and now now Peter Reba Reba in the comments he said that the images is top every day yeah that this black the black thing the top it's too much for me I kind of I think maybe you're sort of going for an oppressive sort of look you can do that with your lighting and now I said earlier in the previous thing that I think the black one was wrong choice I think color is the wrong choice in this one and I also feeling that there is too much going on here it is confusing the the message that you were driving home that this is all about you know there are pawns in life and there are people make decisions and they're not they're not having to suffer the consequences of those decisions the fact that you have all of the background pieces you've got that you know you've got the castles and the rooks and the knights get rid of them get rid of those guys entirely go you have maybe the king and then a couple of of the pawns down make it simple you need to you need to simplify your idea right when you and then and blue sapphire said they're not quite getting the idea here right that's because you're not communicating the idea that you have in your head in a in a simpler more direct and an easy to grasp idea right so that's why I would say if you get rid of all of the pieces apart from the king because he's the one that ultimately makes all the decisions and the at a one or two pawns those those pawns must be down the ashes I like yeah that's a good idea that the flowers and the ashes and stuff like that get in close get in so this is less wider grand Napoleonic kind of scale and be more like I'm here right this is this is a king piece and these people who have been wasted right and do a little bit of you some black and white stuff I'm thinking possibly you could explore the ideas of a very shallow depth of field and stuff like that where the where the pawns because the pawns are the subject here not the people not the not the king piece it's the pawns that we're interested in put them at the front but the king of the back looming over because that's what he's doing he's looming he's distant he's a loof right now he's in the front right the kings aren't at the front they are you know that Pink Floyd line you're from the rear he forward he cried from the rear in the front rank died that's what you need to be doing here and if you can if you are a Pink Floyd fan then welcome to the channel we are going to discuss the Pink Floyd lyrics and but it's that kind of thing I think you've got the right idea needs more work more work but yeah going in the right direction pair it down make it simple look at that when you put me on the spot having to remember Floyd lyrics but I should do because obviously that's dark side of the moon which is obviously a classic okay so here we go so so a misty kind of feel I would I would love to spend you know a day in this environment maybe not standing in the wet but certainly in those woods it's my kind of my kind of place so yeah I think what what we've got here is you know a potential we talk often about you know people seeing the idea seeing the photographs and what immediately strikes me with this image even in a very short view is that that stream the stream is coming through the foreground and the way that the trees were leading to that one standalone looks like a pine tree Christmas tree what you know in the middle there he's lovely is framed by himself he's the standout guy in a forest right and the fact that there's mistiness in the background is it works so well but the thing is he's being shot he's he's lost right okay that he's in all this kind of stuff going on and it's because he's in the background in with the middle distance that he's being lost right often it and then you know if you ever watch like a Bob Ross thing and stuff and he goes I'm gonna put a little happy little tree here or have a little crowd they're not stuck away in the background they're kind of front and center and I think this is what's happening is I this photograph is great without the if I just do this if I crop out I keep keep the stream I like the stream crop out or just just the at just the tips of the the trees coming in at the side right so if you do if you do this that tree in the middle then is so much stronger right he is like the star of the show he's a little trees little baby tree I don't know baby tree but now he is the star of the piece right now he just he feels like he's kind of wandered on the stage by accident so I think you you've got the right idea but you wanted I think you want to be a bit more bold in your choice and uncle Eric says you know the feeling about the mist was a bit heavier the sky was a bit more interesting I think in this case unlike the the image with the with the with the oh my god you know the light house why is it so difficult and so I think the image with the light house that was a sky that we kind of we sort of inherently go there should be detail in this because this is a cloud sort of a misty environment I think our minds are more inclined to go it's okay we're okay that there's not too much going on there because it's it makes sense it has a purpose if this were a if is we were not a misty day and that was a just a very let's say like an overcast sky but like a high overcast when there's really nothing in the sky then it would be less you I think I'll be less inclined to say we don't worry about the sky too much and but with this it makes it makes sense so I think yeah you really got to get in there a bit closer tighter crop and I and I and I'm kind of actually I think a real tight crop in it and maybe like a four by five ratio portrait would be really nice and I like that and somebody to mention in the comments also about getting down a bit lower getting down off I like use that stream which you're doing correctly to lead a Ryan to think but to lead a little bit more I think there's a making some really nice photograph here but but yeah yeah it says I think there's too much I know what you're going for but it feels like it must be tighter and Merrick I really wish yeah I could spend a day with you in this environment I love I love forests so here we go from the sublime with the small strip to a real you know like a very scar that just runs through the environment now this is this is an interesting you know a an interesting look a way of thinking about a landscape and I and I I feel that this is somebody who's gone and photographed with intent which you've absolutely have done and and done it pretty well I think you know if you look at this image there is a you know there is a very strong line goes central and then of course the trees are sort of break and the fact that the trees also stops so that line continues past them I think makes it far stronger because we can also imagine going up into the to the sky the thing that I don't particularly enjoy about this is that runner I don't think he lends anything to it and unfortunately he is a distraction coming through this this whole image and you know we look at you've got such a good you've got to such lengths to really think about this image and and I was gonna say it's raining but it doesn't it's not raining and and yet there's this guy who's running through it that doesn't add anything and is actually really distracting so that would probably be you know yeah let's just lose him you know let's just wait wait for him to run past it would have taken you know 10 seconds from to disappear so I like what you're doing here in the fact also looking at some of your your post work could you have I think rather cleverly dodged there's the middle section of the sky so it's slightly lighter in a very subtle way which I like I'm less keen on the kind of a the haloing around the trees on the edges because it makes obvious what you've done and but that subtle lightness in the middle well played well played thing and so so yeah I think it's it's it's getting this very strong and well done for seeing the potential here of something that I I probably would have missed you know yeah just it's a lovely it's a lovely image it's just it's a it's a it's that runner man just get rid of him and I think you could probably have a little go with some more a little bit more dodging and burning and stuff just to just to give the image a little bit more scale you see how on either side so we got this culvert right and then that the field goes flat on either side maybe make those fields a little bit just a little bit darker like it like a like a you know a quarter of stop darker just so they kind of reinforce this zoom sort of thing because it would also another add a lot of the aspect because even looking at this here I can sort of see that there are there's obviously we've got the path on the right hand side but on the right on the left-hand side feels like there's remnants of a pommel or something similar so so I think that would be look pretty cool it reminds me I've just started running again my knees are not thanking me and so here we go so oh snowy this is a because of course I suppose for a lot of people in the world that the you know the weather is still still a bit cold which is thankfully it's not here I had enough of the cold and hi Diane thank you for thank you for being here and so we've got here and yes so this is looks like it's Japan someone like that I think that is Japanese can't quite see from there and it's a it's a snowy scene you know the people are walking and and I think it's it's one of those kind of scenes that isn't necessarily the most exciting image in the world but does offer a little bit of of chance to play with something that's that's fairly ordinary now I'm thinking one of the first thing that the cross by white when I look at this is that you are you know you have at your disposal this this this this little street of light you're the pathway of all these lights that are punching into the darkness and they're catching all the snow then you have this single person with their umbrella walking along now I'd imagine there are people coming back and forth along this the whole time someone mentioned the comments it was William about not knowing what he's supposed to be focusing on and I and I sort of echo that here you've got the right idea the leading lines and one sort of stuff and I think maybe you've put the lady where she is probably because you fed you felt to have her if you look down the line of lights there's two lights at the bottom and if you shifted her in front of those and stuff then you kind of gone if I do that it's too obvious that it's always on the nose it's I can really think but what happens is because of that with the with the things she's getting lost she's not standing out at all so there's so I think you need to kind of just move your vantage point possibly just a little bit something else I think would benefit this image is a fumble shallow depth of field it would certainly help isolate her from the images and it would I feel break down the the more obvious parts of the photograph that are somewhat distracting so when you have her when she's kind of like isolated that you're sort of going this is this is a swirly whirly thing of snow and you know and that you and snow and and this kind of way that makes you want to be tight and insulated and and I think bringing that into play would certainly be a lot better than being able to see I can see figures in the background I can see a lot of others sort of somewhat slightly distracting aspects to this I like the fact that you're down a bit low you know that there is sort of the you've gotten off the eye level but it's just as it it feels like you haven't made the most quite of where this image should be and and I appreciate it was probably very cold so you know so maybe you don't want to hang around too much but I think that there's either you can carry on down this route that you're going with and just sort of tighten up the compositions a little bit or try something completely different and you've got the flyover the bridge what have you and then these rows of street lights and they're intersecting is to change your vantage point so they are kind of like coming in and going out rather than straight lines and actually photograph people in more or less the same scale that we're at now but when they're underneath the bridge right somewhere somewhere like that and and I think that would kind of you know maybe give you a little different perspective on on those sort of things but again kudos for you being out in the cold because yeah I don't mind cold so much but if it's snowing like that outside I'm just like I'm gonna sit I'm gonna sit at home so well don't forget no okay so how is everybody doing we got to look at that look some lovely lots of lovely flowers today which is always always very nice and so you know I'm doing this you know why I'm doing this it's because that glass of water vase whatever you want to call it is beautiful love that it's almost like a charcoal sketch is wonderful that the the daffodils in there are beautiful the surface you have put them on is horrendous I'm sorry what do you think yeah it's that surface is doing you no favors it is really really distracting I'm sorry if you're looking for some sort of you know it's an interplay between the roughness and things like that it is just yeah that surface is really it is all the hard work that you put in with all of this has been just it's been put on to use my language by that surface you know the countertop whatever it is that you're photographing on all the other aspect I I really love yeah the daffodils they're beautiful the glass and those of James said it looks a little tad solarizer stuff I don't mind that I think all of that looks really great this this countertop and it's not even like we're talking like a little bit of things now it may be as I've been saying this it may be that you in a restaurant or you're a pub or some sort of street cafe or something and you saw the reflections on here and things like that and and in which case and you can't just pick up their table decorations and move off with them and so I'm not going to be too full on right but so if that was the case then well done for seeing the seeing the options in front of you I think that was really really well done if that is not the case and you put this vase wherever it is and I think it's I think it's five minutes on the naughty step for you because you know what you're doing here you know what you're doing then you should know that that surface is not doing any favors I can't buy a new slab I just yeah but I think looking at the positive things yeah well done for seeing this this is this is great work you know really really nice yeah it's just that surface is really it's letting it's letting us down it's it's a shame and but yeah more and more of the same from a technical thing but less of less of the surface and and yeah daffodils so yeah they're out of season now so you have to wait until next year all right so here we go so there's a guy walking with these little birdies little statue there and all sorts you know obviously there's there must be some sort of story in the background and I kind of I saw to see where you're going with it then it's it's it's a bit of layering and things like that I have to say that I'm not sorry I was going to say I'm not a huge fan of the framing the framing is not not the problem here I think what is lacking is that there feels there's lacking not once it not so some sort of drama but some sort of feeling a mood anything at the moment it doesn't really have a personality the photograph is it's it's I was is flat throughout because it's just it's not particularly flat but it doesn't have any kind of like strong tones to it no you know obviously given the scene it's I don't think you would see strong turns but that's kind of part of the problem is that the lighting is very flat the the image itself is somewhat static because obviously he is a statue we know we know this that everything seems to be just stationary I think that's kind of kind of thing there isn't one aspect in here that is giving a little bit of dynamism dynamism to the image now that would be it could be you know just a change of perspective I know you're kind of framing the scene is as well with these trees but if you kind of change the what's happening is then that the house itself it's it's kind of just flat or the building it's it's more sort of flat on to us and if that had been changed so if we still focus on the you know on the statue that then there's at least a bit of movement going into leading lines or something like that I think it would elevate the picture just a little bit because at the moment it is it is yeah it's just it's just it's very yeah it's just it's static it my eyes not being led around at all everything it's all just very up and down and left to right and and I think you you got the right idea but it's not it's not panning out and you know you could probably I think you could probably push this idea of a little bit further and added in some sort of either making it extremely static in which case you need to get rid of the trees or going completely the opposite direction I think here you've you yeah it just feels like you kind of you have the right idea but you you've kind of put all the elements together in the same way where's one of them needs to be different you know like a line not being horizontal so I mean just to break it up a little bit it's not a bad shot it just it it just lacks it lacks a little it lacks a little life I think it's going to sort of say but but I think you know you when you look back at this you may look that yeah I get it I get I could see that it's too it's too straight it's too too square on a little cows when cows don't photograph me I haven't signed a waiver like it's okay and okay so you're framing choices and things I think it's nice to see that Pete tonight certainly or this evening or the morning or the afternoon where you wherever you are and that people are starting to yeah I'm starting to see more consideration regarding framing within shots and stuff and that that's really really really nice to see and and today's theme seems to be incorrect format choices of orientation choices did this image I get it that you know you're looking for the trees and and and you know bringing up some of their branches and that's all very very cool my feeling with this is that you could have more cowbell that you could have if you wanted to go that route that what's happening is with this long up and down sort of look to the image that what's happening is that because the cows are quite big you know these are actually bulls bulls or cows I'm gonna get their bulls that they are quite hefty and stuff and they don't really fit with this this sort of feel and the fact that you are shooting from an eye level means that the horizon and stuff in the background of some of the other guys and it is another bull in there and then the cow shed and so it's all a little bit distracting if you went let your landscape format kept the wide angle thing again come right down right and then shoot up so the bulls are now like almost on the horizon and they're like really big you will still get all those trees coming up you know and but there will be the bulls themselves will be framed a lot stronger and the whole thing would be tightened up now you're I think quite sensibly photographing on the other side of the fence to the bulls because you know we live in the countryside and yeah you don't really want to get into field with with bulls so you might say well the fence is in the way or something and okay fair fair comment and what you could do is you kneel down and put the camera through the fence I certainly wouldn't and I will say this to to anybody who's watching this and is new to photography do not ever put yourself in a spot where you could suffer harm right by taking a photograph and this caused like mucking around on waterfalls and you know being on train lines you know train lines have trains on them and it also includes going to fields with livestock you know if you especially if you're not used to the countryside cows are in fields or bulls are in fields for a reason right and you must not go into to fields anyway that's my little public safety announcement over yeah because it is that they can be ferociously bad news to you and even here in the UK people often get get mauled by cows and things like that anyway alright so here we go so so little bit change of change of pace change of pace with with this guy on his phone I'm assuming taking a picture of another thing while this this young girl casts her eye from the past over over what's going on this man with a man with magic thing in his hand and an interesting image I think you know it's I like that you've been aware of the idea of what's going on you know well well done you know it's always interesting to see these sort of things and especially given the placement of her that she is casting her eye both at us and at him through this the only you know obviously the light look the lighting is what it is it's this crappy horrible indoor lighting that there's nothing we could do it is every wedding photographers nightmare these down lighters that just look like junk and they they give us really horrible horrible and color balance as well the excuse me oh look at that okay I've had a very long weekend you know the yeah the light and stuff on here is just there's nothing we can do about it right so that's kind of sort of thing what we could try that I would like to see you explore next time you do this sort of thing it's a slightly looser crop I think you know the fact that that girl is giving us the eye right is is strong enough that you don't need for it to fill the frame quite as much as as as you are as a standalone image it's it's okay right it's it's yeah it's amusing but I don't think it's a great photograph illustrates a point you do you're open to sort of things like that however having said that I I feel if you were to do a project like this that if you did a collection of images and they were all in the gallery of people doing what people do these days which is take a picture of something else just to prove that they've seen it then we start having something a little bit more interesting and that's kind of where I think you know you find the the the way that people interact with your photographs changes significantly because you're giving them an idea of the story that you're trying to trying to say we're here on we're here on the pier the pier is here and so just a little little sort of public service and all sort of stuff so obviously with these images what I do they are submitted to me through people who who are members of the channel either from a YouTube membership and point of view or who are supporting on patreon so every month I do this we'll go through the images and we'll have some you know some some talk about them obviously it's a one-way discussion unfortunately given the nature of the medium but if you are interested in being part of all of this of having your images critiqued and also being part of the private membership groups that we have that are beyond the Facebook discussions then there are links in the description box below you know we've got the page on and the YouTube membership if you would like to have a longer half an hour one-to-one discussion about your photography we can actually do it back and forth then there again there is a link to the the website where you're able to sign up and you can organize a schedule or a session and we can we can have a chat about your pictures or your photographs so we should take pictures but yes your photographs or anything really that you you know you'd like to talk about in regards to photography so speaking of which I think if the whoever took this photograph if you were excuse me I couldn't find my water bottle so this is my son's newbie speak up if we if you were standing here or sitting here with me and we were talking about this photograph I feel you you've got the right there's an interesting subject but immediately the things that the leap to mind or leaps to eye rather there's the boat on the left it's like half in half out of the frame and there's this car underneath it that appears on on the jetty I think probably calls a jetty and and unfortunately they are the first things that you sort of see so you've kind of a you know you've you've recognized a picture and you go I want to photograph this this subject that is interesting and the next time that you photograph something like this I guarantee you because we have myself and a couple of other people have also mentioned that the glad that the the boat in the car in there you never do that again so in that regard don't worry about it it won't happen again you'll be you'll be aware of the things that are in here so the question is how do you avoid this right well first with your your composition I think you've you've kind of gone well there's nothing in the sky so I'm going to focus more on the the the the the stanchions of the pier and they are instinctive the high watermark so line on them something going on but you kind of when you've done this and you've dropped down you're looking them yeah you brought the cars and the stuff and into contention with the image the cows are Jose yes this is going to be live all the time so anytime you come back to this link the video will be here I was just going to say yeah Jose if we had a long discussion about your cows and your balls and they also included a PSA so you know but yeah you're like literally look kind of like ah like five minutes ago anyway and yeah so what's happening is you're kind of including down the the stanchion and the car and stuff is is ruining it what you could what you can then do you've got two options right so if there were loads of clouds in the skies I forgot then you've got well okay I can do loads of clouds and that will be because the sky will carry the rest of it I can I can move the camera up and then we don't have to worry about or something in this case you don't have any clouds so what you can do is rather than being like kind of five or 10 feet to the left of the pier get down right close get down like literally say you were on the side of the I'm trying to find something so imagine this is the pier right so you are like looking down looking down the edge of the pier with a wide-angle lanes or something like that so the pier is filling the frame all the way down to the to the boathouse whatever it is at the end of this this pier and you still get the wonderful concrete the colors and also stuff but at the same time you can cut out all the cars and the boats on your black and white front this is very flat we talked about the picture with the the statue that was very flat overcast day it's there's not too much in here and I think had that image been contrast here it would have just felt weird this on the other hand because you're you're because of the nature of your photograph you can be you can afford to be a bit more contrasty and now I think would give the image a little bit more punch at the moment it just feels like it's desaturated like you've taken the the color out and the rest is it's just yeah it's just it's kind of wishy-washy this is this is not you know this is not a rare occurrence this often often happens but I think with this you know once you get close and stuff like that and being a little bit more punchy and stuff with the processing this then starts becoming a far stronger image with that so yeah so it's a well done for seeing it and a couple of sort of rookie mistakes but you won't make them again you know and yeah I think you know yeah try to be a bit explore a subject explore a little bit more okay all right so here we got Stephanie yeah don't you hate it when you go look at you go I'm gonna go and get a bottle of water or something for my for my live stream and then no bottles to be had so you end up with with your son's juice bottle so here we go so we got Stephanie and the major thing is that the jump sound of me is that from a lighting point of view it's fairly sound actually I don't know how much experience you have with you know with strobes in the studios and things like that but you know the lightings kind of it is a little bit of you know sort of side lighting a bit of bit of room lighting on our left and so we're hearing is speaking of ways and now thank you so much welcome welcome welcome to the family you know that that earring not necessarily clone out the the highlights but sort of take them just a little bit because they're a little bit distracting what I feel with this this this photograph is I think I can get a feel where you're going that you're wanting a little less of just kind of like this right and you're kind of a little bit more kind of not essential sort of thing but a bit more kind of a bit more attitude you know so yeah I don't know what she's she's done with her hands I can't quite see that's what she's doing so she's doing so she's doing this so it's maybe kind of like I'm looking for this framing thing that you also have been rubbing on the mic yeah I'm looking for this framing thing and stuff like that and it's it's not quite working probably because the crop is very close on this and given the nature of her pose I don't think it works necessarily for this kind of crop especially given that when we are so close to a subject like we are with this nobody wants to see up your nostrils that's it doesn't you know you can you can do you do arrogant but you can't do this you can't see up there so it's kind of unfortunate you know she is you know she's what you're attractive looking looking woman and and so but it's her nostrils that are coming there right in the center so I think if you pull back they become a less less dominant but it also means that you can have this kind of arrogance without having to go right up like that and it also fix this this little thumb that is just on her chin it's like an orphan thumb that's coming off of the frame they always just you know they really is yeah stuff like that kind of is a bit much and I'm not gonna make too much comment about the skin because it looks like it's sort of makeup and stuff like that just on my side it feels like you said the bits where there's this this side light and it's coming in and it there's something going on with that skin that it's quite rough it's probably because that lights picking up the light is probably shooting across the side of her which means it is actually you know it's exaggerating the texture of her skin which which isn't quite doing anything again if you're if you're less tight on the crop it becomes less of an issue because it's it's relatively smaller in the frame so these are all kind of sort of things to to sort of consider and so yes and I would say also one of the very minor things is that that lights a little bit even though she's got her head up that light of the main light feels it's a little bit far away I don't know there's something going on that it might be because her hair is in front of her but that catch light looks like it's a little bit the light feels like it's a bit high but then again looking at the shadows it's not so maybe it's just just the hair and yeah I think the bigger thing with this is that yeah it needs to be further away and some of Vincent said is she about to be strangled and that's kind of thing yeah when we can't place the hands with her wicked connection our minds can wander into some weird places hands always difficult in in in portraits always always difficult so we got okay so we've gone so if a large face with with you just a few hands to loads of hands and no faces which is sort of interesting now the thing immediately that I'm kind I'm I am missing with this photograph is context I know it's rugby but there's a lot of people who won't and that's the problem for a lot of people it's there's no context to this what is going on why is this a sport is it is it you know is some sort of weird tradition is something I do you know it's it's it's a moment and then it looks like there's a ruck going on here or something like that and and it's raining and I think I don't think there's so many things that you can look at I did that that this seems to be it yeah it's an image it's not quite it's not quite there it it it feels like it's a it's an image that's part of a story right what I would love to see with this kind of thing and you obviously you're standing there at the at the at the match is I want to see some focus I want to see some passion from these girls right they are playing they are playing what is traditionally a man's sport right and they are in the mud and the rain and it's just it's physical and stuff okay and how hard is it going to be if you know they must be exhausted get them at a line out get them when they're about to scrum or someone like that get get a human element in here right now I'm not seeing it the closest I can get is yes somebody mentioned about the arm going on to number one from from the girl in the blue jersey she's starting to show us something and I know and I appreciate this is difficult because obviously you're on the sidelines and they may be you're rocking on the other side of the field but you get low get in there you know all these sort of things you know get get one of the girls black and white would which I think work he you know you could do a sort of a gritty kind of thing but let's let's see the let's see the the let's see the faces of the girls I see the passion let's see their their strength you know and I'm not talking about from like a manish kind of thing I'm talking about you know the strength that all athletes have inside the commitment to being out there in the rain and the mud and the physicalness of this because if you're not familiar with rugby it's like American football without the without the armor so yeah so there is there is no body armor in this you just smack into each other you know so it's a physical committed it was all sort of things but yeah I just I just feel if you go like back into the great sports photography like Tony Duffy's and stuff like that look at what they do with with rugby and and see what's kind of lacking from this picture which is the human element and and see how they in how they include it in them I think and people keep saying about the Jersey grip and I think that's kind of what you've you've built this out of that's the picture that's the one and it's not I don't think it's strong enough to carry the image by itself but I'd be interested to see and other frames from from this particular match to do okay so we've got we've got somebody's style in euphoric stinger it's gone yeah I I like this kind of stuff this this sort of you know urban sort of degradation you know what was once a city hopes and dreams and things like this building's obviously been around for some time you can see in the brickwork that there were arches that have been knocked out and then door frames have been put in there and stuff like that and my gut feeling with this is that is that the red sliding door and the fire extinguisher missing that's the image the empty door on the left is not really it hasn't it it's not been invited to the party right let's put it that way it's just kind of it's it's gate crashed in here and if you kind of do this right that picture where you got the red door with the slider thing because there's so much going on there right there's so much history there's so much patina you know to use that phrase that they use in in in antiques with the door on the right and the missing fire extinguisher and the colors and the tones and stuff and then you contrast that with the door on the left and it's just it's a blank white nondescript run-of-the-mill door it doesn't have the thing that the color hey Rory yes better late than never man the door on the right that's your picture that's so lovely I think you know you kind of is like you had the picture and then you've sort of I think you were probably in two minds you said I really like the fire extinguisher thing and I really like the red door but if I just concentrate on those in the fire extinguisher thing is too close to the edge of the frame and so it feels like it wouldn't be included and so I'm gonna go even wide and I'm gonna include the door I think that there's times when if you if you if you go back to this that's okay I mean you can go right up to the edge of the door and you've still got you've still got a nice composition it doesn't really matter I mean you know it's adds a bit of tension in there possibly something like that but yeah I think this door on the right is where you're at that's that's definitely yeah it's it's gone I think you obviously color is the right absolutely color is the right choice here and again I this might work as a nice sort of series but this this kind of I think kind of trying to juxtapose juxtapose the the red door and the white door and stuff okay it it's not coming off for me it's more yeah next time you're out photographing try and focus in on one thing and see how that plays out you know spend a day with just just one thing and if it means that some some elements are going to be quite close to the edge of the frame or creeping off that's okay then you know in this case because they're quite strong graphic elements you can say you did it on purpose so which you have done so here we go now this for those of you who were not here earlier I'm just a brief recap we looked at a photograph and I'll go back to in case you haven't you missed because it was a little while ago so this is an image we're looking at in earlier and as a lovely sort of thing but I felt that in in in black and white it was losing what was really kind of the strong selling point of the image and now we have this and this is what I was getting at the tones of these petals in black and white would look great the stem less so because it's very subtle it's very lots of little fidgety sort of things so this is where you know so this is kind of where I think you know the color would work really nicely there isn't a whole heap that's kind of I think you know sort of I wasn't wrong because that's the wrong that's the wrong idea about sort of critique there's nothing necessary that is wrong about the image I like what's going on the lighting is is subtle it's soft and obviously when you have small objects you don't really want to be blasting them with you know with the giant light you you know you know harsh light you need to be mindful that small things are delicate and they're fragile and the lighting wants to caress it rather than punch it in the face what you're doing here with the lighting is picking out the petals and stuff like that on the right hand side is gorgeous lovely the rim lighting on this petal is fat the left hand side of the frame it feels a bit feels a bit dense but that's kind of sort of fancy I think this is looking at this I think what what's kind of what is I feel could be could be worth exploring is something that we looked at in the the previous flower image where they've tried something different with the petal a bit of movement bit of something like that and this one feels like you're trying to be very precise that you're trying to do a you know say a very classic still life of a flower and what's happening is that when you when you want to do those sort of things and you need to be you need to be up here you need to be on our life everything about that image needs to be spot on right it needs to be so precise is so focused because if it's not then it's then you're left with a kind of a not a not a visually flat image but an image just doesn't have the same impact because it's not technically perfect and here it feels like you're kind of in there in that camp and you can correct me if I'm wrong if I'm wrong then I apologize it feels like you're trying to go for these kind of very precise still lives and what's kind of letting you down with this is that while I do like those petals that are bent because they're kind of showing sort of something off and you know and and changing up the image is a bit of an unexpected thing it doesn't quite fit with me for some reason I don't know why and again this is where we dip our toe into the murky water of objectivity and in critique that it's not there's something about it's not right it's not it's not so right that it's right and it's not so wrong that it's wrong I wonder if you're not familiar with excuse me with Robert maple torps flowers I would suggest you maybe have a look at some of his or you go even further this and go to like look at Renaissance sort of paintings and things where they are doing still lives of flowers and food and things like that that everything is just so and I think the reason why I'm thinking this is not just so it's not quite right is that the crop is quite tight the more that I look at it now this kind of tightness of a crop feels like it wants to be more stylized stylized might be the right word so you're really focusing on the stem and these bent flowers so really kind of anything that's extraneous to that so all the stuff on the left and all the stuff of the right just crop out right so you got the square in the image of this this kind of wonderful fan of the petals and there's this green almost like an arrow that's kind of to the bottom of it and then there's those four odd petals at the bottom then it starts becoming a little bit more than the sum of its parts but if you're gonna go like this be more so classic then you I think you want to be further back you want to show the flower in a little bit more of its environment so make it a little less dominant in the frame it's just one of those I think you know and I think maybe when you revisit these images and you look at them with now you've heard this that you might hopefully get that feeling that it's it's it's not close enough to be close enough but it's not but it's too close to be far away it sounds like an awful awful sort of thing but it's it I think you're kind of in that kind of murky water where you've got the right ideas but you're not quite sure about you haven't gone to you haven't gone far enough in on the focus I think that's kind of kind of thing but having said that I think it was a tighter crop in the square us that's what it is technically technically with the light and all that sort of stuff yeah great so I hope I hoped all of that wrap it's sense okay so so here we are so you know talking about sort of you know wider spacing on on crops and things of that nature if initially when I saw this image I was like is he supposed to do is it turned this thing sideways and then the the title is called vertical Jesus so obviously yes it's supposed to be like this now this image would not work at all if if we were kind of cropped in quite close to him because we wouldn't feel we wouldn't feel the the hanging in there vibe now there's there's a couple of things going on here I the major thing that sort of grabs me is that I think it's I think you've got an interesting approach an interesting idea and all that sort of stuff about you know so playing with with perceptions and you know and perspectives from a purely technical point of view the the window the bottom I think it just I don't know it doesn't it doesn't work for me I think this picture would be a lot stronger that window was just gone because you got a very straight up and down and also there's there's a like an empty cup at the bottom from a second point of view and I know this this can be a somewhat sort of obviously contentious issue is that I and if you if you disagree with me obviously that's that's an entirely fine I find that if you are on the street and and you are photographing people and they are awake and they are you know they are they are not necessarily a hundred percent aware of you taking photographs of them that they are on the street and that they are kind of that they are you know that there's an expectation that they could be photographed because they're in a public space for somebody like this you know like a you know somebody sleeps rough is probably the way of saying it I feel this is a little bit opportunistic and I feel if you were doing a series on this person right so say like a Mary Ellen Mark was doing you know stuff with with tiny and all that sort of things that you are kind of I think you are you're it's it then I think there's been more of a connection with person or if this was a series about people who do sleep rough and and how the world goes on around them when they are not awake I feel this it just feels it just feels like this I don't know there's something about this man and maybe it's because there's something about this man that I can't quite put my finger on it just I feel like it is just that there's something and maybe it's because of this this crop you know the way that you've shown it there's a good profound sense of empathy with him for what reason I don't know I don't know and this is kind of where I think where we you're where the waters of these kind of things become very muddled and become very gray and murky and that's why that you go back to that window the window and but yeah there's something about it and and not and not to say that you shouldn't I mean obviously you must photograph however you want and but that there's something about us I just can't quite put my finger on that is you know a thing and yeah it's just it's a thing I can't can't quite put it on but anyway you know I think yeah I did this if photographs are supposed to provoke a reaction in somebody and make them think about things then you have certainly certainly succeeded on this case so now this person so you know talk about people who are not necessarily engaged you know he's right there context yeah we mentioned context earlier and I love the cowboy this I love this you know he's in action he's he's focused on roping at steer and doing all the things that cowboys do but I'm not feeling this one I'm sorry I think the I think the crop is wrong and and we're not seeing enough of that that steer in front of him it's it's not a picture of the cowboy and it's not a picture of the roping of the steer it's like it's like you know like that phrase six of one half a dozen of the other this is like kind of half a dozen of one or six of the other it's like it's just yeah it is talking about the Marlboro man you know that sort of thing so the focus there was the man right and the thing and stuff and I think if this photograph if you hadn't had tried to include some foreground context with the steer right then it would be a better image because you would then be concentrating on the one thing that's carrying the photograph because the moment you're trying to juggle two things you're trying to juggle the steer and the man and so if you gave him he's in his in action he's in motion if you gave him some space to go into by photographing horizontally you could also then allow yourself to I think come a little bit lower because and I appreciate that he is moving and he's doing some things that that that hat is blocking his eyes and it's such a tiny little thing but it does I think it takes away from from him because he's not stylized enough to represent a feeling right like the Marlboro man represented a thing a vibe right because there was nothing else in the frame so he's not but he's not really able to do it because there is you know the guys behind him and there's another horse just going them horse you know so this is also other things competing in there so yeah I think you know next time that you're there think about what it is that you are photographing is it the man or is it cowboy or is it the roping right because you've got here the title roping a step then okay well let's see more of the state the moment the only thing to suggest that this is actually cow is tiny little horns on the front and you know there's not too much so so I feel like you want you you're kind of again you like we're talking about the pedal you're kind of in this murky area in between that doesn't quite add up but again you guys I mean you have so lucky to have all these sort of things you know we don't have stairs here in the UK and cowboys we have we've got farmers who are you don't know you talk at they talk at one one one word an hour I go don't know you know and and they drive manky old tractors that stuff none of this kind of cowboys you know sort of thing but anyway love okay all right so so so so so here we are and you know and again it's funny how these things always have like a like a theme and like a you know a kind of a vibe that runs through the through these meter with the meetings yes welcome to this meeting to these these chats this this is a lovely I think you know we used the framing correctly here and this feels like it's getting into more of a pano feel so great idea I think you know there's I haven't made I haven't mentioned Alex Webb tonight so I'm gonna mention who now this reminds me of Alex Webb the inky shadows stuff like that great work love it and my my initial thing is that you've done such a good job recognizing the shot the girls in the right space work in the dog it's all lovely that little boy jetty marker pier whatever breakwater thing is is is great love that this the swooping promenade whatever you want to call it is awesome the White House at the end of the thing where eyes being drawn is just that does not know it's it it's breaking the whole artist thing and then somebody I think Charles has said that it reminds him of a hopper picture and and he's right I think in many respects it's that white building at the bottom that is it it just ruins the whole vibe you have we can have a square crap yes let's have this with this with this there Warren talking about and something and I don't know you know use Andreas there says that the left 30% it's not really working for him and stuff okay and I actually feel it does I feel from my own sense and that sorry I've just noticed something here we'll get to in a second and it's it it gives a sense of scale and so wow sort of you know sort of size a big sky kind of sort of thing and and that sort of encapsulated by the by the way that this shadow so looks and there's just one I've been talking and I've just been doing this because that's that was me wondering if it's not my thing I don't know if you can sort of see that let's have a look don't think it's anything on on I just in the middle here like like just here where my little loop thing has gone it feels like there's a it feels like it's a very light dust mark which is like slap bang in the middle of the center it may because I've that's what I'm doing this I thought maybe it's something on my screen and but I don't think it is and just just double check your sensor it feels like there might be a big lump of dust in there especially which will start showing up if you when you start shooting and very small apertures you know like the 16 22s and stuff mmm yeah it's it is definitely something that was saying is if somebody else can see it that's definitely yeah but yeah I do like this yeah but yeah it's that that white building that I can sort of see that and yeah it's definitely through there one of the ways that you can double check this is photograph something blank like some white paper or something like that at f 22 or as small as your lens will go so you know as much depth field as you possibly can and then look at that on look at that on your first shop someone like that and you'll see those spots and then you'll be horrified we're gonna my god my sense was filthy and then you realize that you and you really sort of see these things when you have shots like this but yeah I recommend maybe you go and get it cleaned if you can but I like this I know the jury's out I like it but it's that that white building but but again I like where you're going with this I like the ideas again you know sort of here so it's an interesting you know people I think you know we start to get a little bit wider with things so that's always always nice for time okay because I'm also mind-fudged and waffling yeah one of the reasons why you know we did this it might be it may be but anyway yeah so here I think you know this can be nice I can nice that you're starting to see things and sort of you know I think being a bit more daring with with images rather than you know trying them out for you know just just for the sake of doing things I must I'm not sold on the on the cyclist but I understand I understand why he's there I feel if you're going to if you're going to try this kind of approach with your with your image that I would like to see you try a number of shots that have sort of similar things and working you know working back and forth through all your through your photographs that try these bold compositions where the folk where you are only working on the tree or whatever of the subject you want and then add in elements like the cyclist like that I think because I think what's you know we talked about the steer there's a couple of elements and and I think you've got the right idea you're going in the right direction and you kind of go what can I add and there may have been these people walking past and cyclists and stuff like that and you go well that that will elevate the picture and in that regard I think you know you're you know you're quite right to to try and push the picture through but it just it does it feels like this is not quite right I think that trees probably a little bit close to the to the edge of the frame the cyclist he's not in the middle and he's not off to the left he's sort of in this kind of limbo he's sort of area along that horizon and and it just feels like he's got his arm out which I know kind of it shouldn't distract but but unfortunately it's a little thing like that that is it's making my mind spend a lot of time on it does he have his arm is he signaling to turn left and it's distracting from the picture itself which is unfortunate and it just goes show that sometimes how it can be the most inconsequential little thing that that makes people just unsettled with a photograph and what we should be doing is looking at this going well I think the composition is not quite right and also feel that the treatment of the cloud in the sky is or the sky itself there's you're losing a lot of detail in that that that in the in the cloud and and unfortunately I think had you had the detail if you forget the cyclist for a second and working on the exposure to create not only you know is a proper exposure across the image then have actually detailed in the cloud the cloud excuse me it can be more of a compositional element whereas the moment it's not really and if it were to be it would be complete it would be very obvious that it's not quite right so I think you know if you if you photograph this in raw go back and see if you do actually have any detail in that cloud try and you try and bring the cloud into play because if the clouds in play and I'm just gonna leave this chat box because it's on top of that so if the cloud was in play and it's they said this is the cloud and this is the tree that's then touching the cloud and that's the floor then you actually got that kind of weird thing and you don't need the cyclist so you know it's kind of interesting thing but yeah go and see if there's some detail in that cloud we lost the shadows tonight so we've got here looks I don't know who knows what this is is it a subterranean thing is it is a tower could be could be anything and of course I think that's that's that's the beauty of the shot is that we don't really know we're not quite sure you know what it what what's here and not a whole heap to say I think beyond I like the fact you've seen and I like that whatever you're doing with the treatment around the edges I'm not often a big fan of just solid black but I think in this case it works because it is so it's like a strong sort of graphic element and then there's a sense of mystery right a disconnect we're not quite sure is it you know is it subterranean is it is it a tower you know that's kind of the thing the the fact that is in color I feel is is right here there's something there's something that is right about the color and the fact the skies burn out and all that sort of is perfectly suitable for this the this is kind of one of those sort of weird images where there's not you know there's not a whole heap more to say look you know you could do this and you could prove it in that way what have you beyond I think it would be I think it is again a series of someone like this as a stand-alone image it's kind of like okay well it's it's interesting I've you know what you've got here I'm not quite sure what's going on but it doesn't hold my attention for that long and I think that's unfortunate about these kind of images is that there isn't anything that the eye can revisit now somebody said about like a face peeking down or something you know something from in that regard but I think that would be wrong I think you know that would be too on the nose something like that but yeah I think it's it's one of those pictures that is you know it's it's not awful it's not great but it's an interesting photograph and I think you know well well seen for the potential of what's there I'm sorry that's not particularly groundbreaking critique but I think you've done a good job and I would I would probably suggest you if you could explore more sort of industrial sort of places with this kind of idea in mind would you you know work quite nicely yeah somebody has talked about the the highlights a little bit specular um don't mind it so much um and yeah I think it also gives a little bit of at least a little bit of a visual marker somewhere for us our eyes to go okay oh lovely colors yeah so this is now we're talking about color I think that if going right back to the beginning um you know somebody was talking about somebody so you know we were talking about the the the image of the the the the very cold sunset and and how the focus was too much on the foreground and what have you now here we've got something going on so this image has been flipped upside down so the reflection of the of the lake is is the sky and the sky is the bottom um which which doesn't always work um it has to be said but here I quite I quite like it um you I think if you're going to do this sort of thing you need to be careful about when you do it um and the only two things that I I feel distract from this particular image with doing this technique are this little chap here and this little chap here uh they look like they're little stanchions out of the water or something like that um obviously you can't that's I said in a previous one where everybody's went oh you know you can't do that 20 feet away and you you can't get there and stuff um a little bit with those uh just you know a little bit cloning out would would make the picture stronger but I like the colors and I like the fact you've seen something different and and what have you and and I again um you know I can't really see this this um because I've got these lights in my face it doesn't uh it's a bit tricky to see I I I think I would like to see just I'd like to see maybe like a like a like half a stop brighter just yeah the moment it's it's really nice but it just feels like it's just a little bit dark just a just a scooch and that's why I said excuse me just a little bit lighter it's obviously as a late evening it's you know ones that was early morning you know but it feels like it's late evening and that broad swath in the middle of you know the edge of the lake with the palm tree and all that stuff it just feels dark it feels oppressive whereas I see this and I think florida and I think you know like like swampy humid you know like and and the colors that come to mind are bright and and you know and not necessarily because it's a wrong time of day but there's a vibrancy to them and what's happening is you've got this wonderful sky with the storms and all this sort of stuff because it looks like there's a storm cloud brewing here and yet we're losing those colors that can be really and if you you know if you live in florida where I lived in south africa had similar weather to florida so I know these these skies they can be brilliant dark but still vibrant and this is kind of what I think is lacking lacking in the image here but but you know I do like it and at least we warmed up for now we were talking about cold things earlier okay so doggies hungry for tea god my dog is hungry for tea first thing that really just leaps out is that I thought that lady had like some sort of a pipe or a cigarette in her mouth um or she was holding something it's you know I sorry that's the first word out of my mouth but it's that yeah um if you're going to do these kind of pictures you know um if you're going to do let's call it loosely documentary stuff about you know what's going on in the house this is obviously the dinners having you know or oh no sorry I mean you know the lady is making a ham and she's putting some some pineapple on it and stuff like that and the dogs look her like what do you want a piece of that um yeah so so it's kind of interesting but yeah what's happening is I think you've gone oh look I can frame her head in that window and that's kind of great and you've gone I that's really clever and you've forgotten that the other tap is sticking out of her mouth um which is a shame um you know it's a real sort of thing uh you know so if you're kind of new to this kind of this approach and your your photographing in the house of things and what you've got here is this classic idea of like I like what's going on I like oh you know it's funny the dogs are looking at you know let's sit I don't know if it's your wife but it's my wife you know making a a roast ham and thinking that like oh that's that's the picture and and yes it is but that is not enough to carry the picture you then need as the person who's seen this to push it forward to go right what can we do what would happen rather than because your wife again I don't know if it is to say right she's not the focus of this picture she is absolutely the focus are the three dogs and that ham right the fact that she is there why okay the fact she's there means that they haven't eaten right go around the other way right the ham and then dogs looking at the ham because that's that's what the shot is the shot is not the the lady doing the the ham with the thing coming out of her mouth that because that's what this shot is at the moment is that you need to go around the other side of the table get the dogs to be the subject right shoot through the lady's arms shoot through and use them as a frame for the doggies and if they are your dogs you could you know you kind of know how they behave and you know all those sort of they're quick so so try that next time good job for seeing the possibility of and this is kind of a great example of you've got an idea but you're not quite sure how to execute it but yeah it's it's looking good and now i'm feeling like gammon and pineapple and cheese for dinner which my wife isn't a fan of but tough i'm the one who cooks in the house all right here we go so we've got some eyes you know we're talking about eyes some buff you know so here with this this picture it's really straight on the crop is too close i'm sorry to say you don't need to be this close you don't need to be like right here when you're doing these kind of direct to image shots right i can talk to you like this and i'm really in here and still make a connection with you because i'm talking straight at the camera right and you don't need to be close to give that to give that intensity to the photographs she's got a lovely expression i there's a story here going on behind her eyes which is so often lost but because you are so close to her you're not giving her this this young girl enough space to breathe right you just you don't have to come back and watch you don't have to like you know have a like miles away but we want a bit of closest i don't mind if you crop bits of hate or something like that that's okay but she feels like it's too close it feels like she's just just here and and and i kind of i think about one of the things is and and if this is if this is your daughter then this is this is super you know this is super easy to do just sweetheart look just move that right just yeah can you just you don't even touch can you just do this right and she'll get those hairs out of her eyes if it isn't somebody who you know just kind of go i love this those naughty hairs can you just move those naughty hairs right and she'll she'll just do this in fact that's probably a better way to just do this just get them to run say and and with young kids you need to show them what it is you want them to do can you just do this with your finger right and it will that will save all of that don't mind the one on the her right eye is fine this one all over the the the cheek her left cheek is it's too much but yeah come back a bit give a little space and and the light is all behind you so that's really nice it's lovely soft i do think it's just it feels like it's a bit muddy um so it's a little bit flat so it's kind of a little boost boosted in lightroom somebody said about color yeah i think it'd be nice yeah give it a try so see see what it's like black and white isn't it's not always the best option especially for somebody's got dark eyes like this black and white and dark eyes uh so like browns and very dark grays and things like that can make their eyes just well just pools of inky blackness which is not necessarily a good look especially especially in the kid and yeah uh my son has brown eyes i really wish he didn't because it makes my life difficult here we go again you know we're talking about brown eyes dark so it's this image is too dark right it's i know what you're going for you go for this moody and he's got this great expression he's got that moody expression but this image is too dark for me it puts me in mind of and if you've not seen um the exorcist then you won't know what i'm talking about but for those people there's a face in the background of the the more recent hover hover hover horror movies do this you know it's like a very just a distinct face this reminds me of that because this is not that kind of effect you're going for you're going for more of a kind of like a strong mysterious kind of look you you kind of it's it's underexposed right you don't have to make things dark to make them mysterious and i think what's happened is when you're underexposed especially with darker skin tones they go to black really quickly all right and so what happens is you end up with a kind of weird contrasty but not contrasty image and that is unfortunate because i think he's got a great expression i think this would be better in black and white quite frankly i know we talked about the eyes but his blue shirt next time with this be a bit brighter just just a lot it all talking about blasting it but have at least a little bit more there because what you can do is then you can make his face a bit brighter and have some uh some some a little bit of detail that would just kind of stop it being a little bit so i don't know like like somebody's just kind of like taking a sheet of very dark film and put it over the the image it doesn't doesn't quite work so yeah so be be be more brave to kind of push through um just a little bit i hope all of that made made sense yeah it's just a little bit underexposed and now we've got to the other extreme it's it's how do you guys get together and like talk to me about these talk to yourselves about these things before we before we get in there um so here we go again i think the scene is interesting it's a nice sort of idea and and what have you and i can see where you're going with it what i'm finding is from my screen here is that it's it's there's a i don't obviously the sky is not going to have any detail and the fact that the snow can have not so much detail is also okay but it's it's i think there's certainly the snow in the trees the treetops especially of the the the the furs or not the furs the more bushy trees in the middle they have gone away there's no detail in the in the in the highlights which means that they are kind of very they're very they're very gone which is which is a shame because i like this sort of look and stuff like that but i just i feel that in in trying to have this kind of very reduced black and white image and by that mean white and black that you kind of lost something and and given that i have struggled with these also in the past when i've tried to do it because we i think you i i recognize the sort of images i think you're thinking like like some michael kenner stuff and and what have you that you think well that seems really too easy but then you come up against this you're like no it's so tricky with the exposure i think what's letting this one down first and foremost is the exposure beyond anything else um and the only way that i could sort of off top of my head make a suggestion about this is that um i i don't know how you've exposed it but i think what's happening is that given the nature of the scene if you are exposing this through your camera that camera has no idea how to deal with this at all right it's like ah i don't really know so maybe you've gone into raw and then you should play with it but you but the base image is wrong this is where having like an incident meter or something like that would be beneficial because these kind of situations these scenarios these lighting scenarios are really going to play havoc with a camera's built-in meter because it's trying to make everything zone five um yeah so i think i think that's probably next time if you're able to do this get an incident meter they're not very expensive but then you can take an ambient reading of everything and at least then i think you're going to get a base exposure a bit easier um i mean it's not so it's high key okay um yeah okay it's it's if it's if it's not snow i i see yeah oh tell you why that's a brave man trying these things um i think i think yeah i think some of the basic ideas still hold true which is that some of the places where our heads are going i want some detail i want some detail is is being lost and i know you're saying is pushed over the limits by intention and and that that's fine you know that obviously you you can experiment and i did i remember somebody when i printed through a net it doesn't matter um yeah do things by intent absolutely um the problem that we've got here because even though you are trying things with intent is that it is it's not quite landing because it it feels like it's sort of a mistake i'm afraid to say i know some people would would like it warren has suggest increasing the blacks um i think that might be a way through is to give a little bit more density in those blacks um it's i think i think this is a work in progress i think it's a work in progress you've got an idea that you're running with and that's and i applaud you for doing that i think it's really good that you're testing out some boundaries you're going beyond the obvious is that there's somewhere i think the fact that it's in the middle of the tree line where it right here in the middle of the frame that in the middle of the tree line the tops of the trees have disappeared into a white that is it's it's kind of breaking it it's it just feels like it's breaking it a little bit um and i'll talk about like having major depth but just filling in in very light charcoal you see the see the tree light in the background there's this light charcoal kind of thing which is lovely those bits in the middle not not not so much um but yeah i think work in progress think about it with those with those kind of ideas in mind and then start thinking about your your compositions and stuff so rather than trying to do them all at the same time all right okay so lovely lighting here another type of days is what we're talking about great illustration of those ideas that where you have a darker background it makes the colors more saturated vibrant standout lovely because you've got some contrast between between them so it's a great sort of great time of day getting got the storm clouds lovely color i'm afraid though i don't like your composition it's um yeah it's that horizon with the uh you know you've got this tree and then you've got the two aloe cactuses in the background um they are really distracting especially against that black background go down go down lower down and make this thing a bit more anson Adams does a lot of this kind of stuff or did where he gets a bit lower on cactuses but it puts them up on a horizon because it separates them from the noise in the background so like those other cactuses and stuff like that and but i love the feel that you've got here with the lighting but it's yeah it's the horizon that's kind of not doing it for me um and if i'm going to be really panicky and fidgety this dry scrub here like these these um these mcgufters here that's dead brush go in there pull it out just get get rid of it i don't mind you know all this scrub is fine these here you know because they're in front of the tree and stuff you just yeah just just just pop them out but go lower go lower and and the format is right in the day on the day is lovely the beautiful the lighting is wonderful but it's you're being let down by that background that is interfering and just kneeling down would have changed the perspective completely so there we go i don't mind the the the cloudy jack has said that he finds the the clouds too dark against that it depends um you know i that that kind of lighting i've seen a lot in in real life in in south africa um so you know it looks entirely natural but this that's part of the thing you know often it doesn't so here we go so this is a very interesting so we got some state park regulation this this i don't know why this puts me in mind of like some older things i just couldn't telephone um but yeah interesting interesting photograph um you know we've got uh you know wicker chair and then the phone and stuff like that what i'm kind of feeling here is again you've seen an image and it's it's there's an element that's lacking i feel in this and it's not because you've got the telephone you've got the wicker chair um and then so from that regard it could be any period but then of course we can see the stuff and it's got some COVID things in there and what have you and i i i feel you know earlier i mentioned is there were two photographs um thing and the wicker chair i feel is one i think that's something and the the telephone one is something else i i can see where you're going with this and and and i know i the i think the the way you've handled the post treatment this kind of this odd washed out film look i i've got no problems with i i think it suits what you're photographing here these these few things you know we talked a lot today about series like series of series is series series of images and and this feels again like it would be stronger as part of a series or a body of work that explores this kind of feeling not necessarily you know uh you know um uh you know state park waste way houses or whatever you want to call them um but there's you know there's there's something about this that i would have been drawn to the chair with the shadows and that sort of stuff and you've kind of got no no i've got the chair but i'm going to sort of half in there with the telephone and things like that and i think this is in the UK is a thing called marmite which is a a yeast based spread and their marketing thing is either you like it or you don't um and and this is a kind of image where i think falls into this marmite category and and it's not that i don't like it because the more i sit with it it does it intrigues me in a way i don't think there's necessarily something you would go oh well you could do this we could do that because that's going into realms of like how i would photograph it which is not the the case at all so i kind of look at this i go well okay you've got something that you're going on there quite is interesting is something something different um the if yeah it feels like it needs to be part of a body of work much like a lot of the photographers from um uh you know from the sort of the late 60s and 70s but you know so they said they haven't oh um you know the Gary Winnegrants and the Lee Freedlanders and you know all those are Stephen Shaw and and Eggleston and all these guys that they all kind of do one thing right and but individually their image you kind of go i don't really get it right but then when you look at all that kind of work as a whole or broader stroke then it makes a little bit more sort of sense and i think this is kind of what it feels like with this so in regards to giving it critique it it's very hard to do that because there isn't a specific thing you don't know what this is wrong what that's wrong and whatever um and this is where so critique becomes more of a of a discussion about um you know where feeling comes into play how things work you know it becomes less about technical issues and more about sort of aesthetic ideas um but an interesting an interesting image regardless i know i would i'd be keen to see you see more uh right how are we doing here how are we doing right we're we're getting there we're getting there getting there only another 500 images to go so we're here for the long here for the long haul um yeah so here we go um do look to do say it say it interesting yes say like a nice little kind of black and white uh sort of idea it's yeah you're quite funny um you know it again it's it's you know often there's nothing technically wrong with this absolutely nothing is it's sort of leaping out here um it i think it's an amusing idea um what i what i i what i am kind of seeing is that the the image itself i know i said there's nothing is technically wrong it does feel very lopsided like you know it's kind of the the pop plants and the stuff on the left are just just too much it's leaning leaning this way and stuff but interestingly enough having said that it creates some tension with the image because you know obviously the black is visually dominant so it's kind of you know sort of things like that um i don't think there's too much one one could add or say that could be done to improve is i think you know good job for for seeing the image um uh you know and actually sort of responding to it i i wonder if you would be able to see this if it wasn't so signposted uh and i like to think that you would um you know so try that next time try that you're out next time you're out and about try and find these kind of quirky interrelationships between objects that aren't quite as as obvious to the lay person the person who's just kind of casually looking at things and i think you would be surprised about how much you can actually find out there but but you know nice nice exposure nothing you know nice the handling of the of the post and stuff like that um you know the compositions i think you know as i said it's kind of odd sort of sort of vibe to it um but also worthwhile next time you're seeing this you know breaking down sort of the singular elements the the the the the lattice work above the windows is very interesting uh and and by getting into there you could also sort of um sort of do the balance between between the two okay so we've got this this again you know some some nice light um uh you're in nice light here um and i'm trying to i'm trying to think of not what to say but how to phrase it because it's the sort of photograph that i think all of us have taken at some point that we've seen some lovely light and and stuff and the light is nice that feels about 10 minutes you're about 10 minutes late um on that it's just it's just dipped down a little bit too much so we can't quite see things um but what is kind of what i'm sort of feeling with this is that there's a lot of nothing going on um which which i'm sure you feel this is going oh my god what a trouble thing um it's there's you know the there's all these stanchions there's the water there's there's the things there's all these things which are interesting but put them together and they become uh right they just they haven't landed there's the stanchions on the left here the end of the jetty right look at the way the light is hitting those and you got the the the contrast between the the water of the lake which is obviously it's it's got ripples and what have you and then you got the water on the right hand side under this kind of it looks like it's a jetty and the lake has come up and too high or it's a road bridge or it's something right but obviously there's a gap there so the water on the inside is calm look at the color look at the difference between the things look at the colors the the the the jetty house whatever thing little cabin that's an image by itself so just take that make that the star it's there's too much right you've added all these elements would individually would be nice and and and worth exploring i put them together and they've just kind of all gone yeah just uh but having said all that this reminds this this this landscape looks like the kind of landscape that i grew up around the the jerberg and yeah it puts me in mind of that so so the release thank you but yeah next time that you see something this see something like pick out the things that are what is interesting here what what what are the subjects that are worth photographing in this beautiful wonderful light and it's not always the things that initially you may think it is okay right so we've got this guy so nice nice sort of church i like i like the the the coloring on this you know the black and white tones stuff really really nice um you know wonderful clouds in such interesting sky the the composition feels not quite right um i feel again sometimes you know anybody who's watching sometimes critique like like the person previously it can be very broad strokes because they look i think you've missed the picture entirely i think you've got the right there but you need to focus and then sometimes feedback and critique can be very fine margins very very small changes very incremental bits and i think this is a this is a photograph from a technical point of view it's it's fine right so both in terms of you know so sharpness and image quality and all sort of stuff um from a from an aesthetic point of view it's also it's it's good you're nice sort of ideas and those sort of good but it wants just a little bit of finesse just wants a little bit of so if you watch cookery shows you know as the cookery competition carries on the the things that they want become a lot more refined not as of with each little element needs to be a lot better this one the the composition feels the church itself that it's not quite it's it's not quite working for me right and that's why i think because there's very strong elements within this church the time of day is really is really picking out the church to its best quality it's wonderfully lit but because of that the elements of the of the church building are very strong and they need to be handled in a very delicate way and if i look at this that cloud is beautiful right but we've got all the aspects of the church that are sort of lining up and looking really nice but they're not quite connecting together look at look at the the the the angle of the of the the pitch of the roof on the right hand side and then you've got the other pitch and sort of like this right now that the line of that i know draws your eye up to the up to the steeper and up to the cross and all that sort of thing you know you see how these lines kind of working together but bring them so they're more leading the the the eye through without me having to make one or two visual leaps and then to really throw through again try and get the cross which is dark and it's against the darker part of the sky against the brighter part of the of the cloud and see how we're now talking about very tiny finessing little bits but i think on the whole this is this is this is really nice and it's stuff like that so you could see hopefully that it's um see russles like no it's the clouds the clouds that are wrong well you see how everybody kind of interprets images um in in their own sense and and it's hopefully where you find a balance between all the feedback that you get from various places and what feels right for you ultimately um i don't think this is infrared metropa or metro pa um um this when you when you like back in film days if you shot film or black and white film with an orange filter or red filter it gave you this kind of feel so the blues especially when you have a very blue sky but yeah i i i i could be wrong but i don't think it's infrared um okay all right okay so this this is sort of jv alert so we'll put the the watermark thing to one side for a second um yeah i again i appreciate you know you're at the finish line you're looking at the sort of things i'm what i'm not getting from this is any sense of speed whatsoever now the fact that this is named in a certain way suggests to me that this is a shot that you are hoping to sell to people either an event photographer or something of that nature in which case yep okay i get it right that's why it's sharp because people want to buy pictures of themselves that they can see themselves from an aesthetic and more for a photographer point of view yeah this is there's there's no speed in here whatsoever there's no sense of whatever that i forget what this is this is this kind of force racing is called but there's no sense of it there's no sense of speed um that is conveyed by this image because everything is frozen in a shot if you were to pan blur with this right so slightly slower shutter speed maybe like you know you know like a 30th or something and pan through then we get some of the speed and some of the feeling and the excitement of horse racing and and i know that you are capable of doing that because this is a competently sound technical image but we want to see that man i'm sure everybody's watching this is going yeah we've been saying more car bell more speed more speed you know um yeah i bill you said yeah you couldn't find it's fine that's why i didn't we didn't make the sort of thing but and yes because you mentioned it is for the client i do understand and i also understand how fussily panickety horse owners can be because the horse needs to be just in the right gate and the right stride and that sort of stuff so i get it and and so kind of that's what we sort of you know sort of think so from a from a image if you are looking to sell these for clients okay this horse i'm going to assume just one this this this race um and this that would work sort of fine you know as a sale thing i i you know and and again it's as soon as we get into ideas about cropping and and things with with clients then it becomes a little bit more panickety i would say the one thing that you probably do a bit better with and it may be tricky you'd have to sort of figure out how you can do this so it doesn't impact your ability to sell images is slightly shallow in depth of field um that that um the uh the the you know the the the board in the background is is too much and especially seeing as we can see all the all the the panicking and stuff in the in the back um yeah yeah so trials um so yeah with with people who have horses and just like a venting and show jumping and stuff like that the horses they really they are very hot and having the horses in very specific poses pose pose the horse in very specific parts of their gate and their stride um when they when they buy them it's it's like uh it's too much you know it's like people literally i know i'm not going to buy here a picture because mr snuffle pants his ear is cocked to the left or something it's just like yeah anyway uh oh so this was on its side for a second wow very long very up and down very interesting image um Trotsky it's a working photograph Trotsky down there um anything um i i like this it's it's unusual it's it's different um i i feel there's there's two there are there's an element in here that i i i'm not sure about that's those lighter reflections the um the very light steel grain reflections one at the top and one about three quarters down they they feel you know i've mentioned this murkiness they feel like they are in a position where they need to be one or the other they need to be really pronounced and i think they could work as being pronounced and it's given the the graphic nature of the image um or they need to be gone in which case we're relying on that very straight up and down solid idea in the in the middle um yeah it's all yes like um but there's a lot going on here that that's again i've got these sorts of things feels like there's a figure leaning over and stuff like that i think great way of seeing interesting images in in a in a setting that i think a lot of people would kind of not see this um at all so i think yeah really really nice it's just yeah there's there's there's two right panel you know the panels and i know because they're reflections that they they may not be the easiest things to get rid of but if you can't get rid of them think about how you can use them right rather than because at the moment they don't feel like they're adding to the image um you know they don't feel like they have their part it feels like they're intruding rather than you have invited them in um uh yeah i think Russell's talked about maybe you know cutting off the top portion um over the image or cropping it and i think um you know it it's kind of it's there again lovely i would i think you know i would like to spend time with you and hear your thought process about seeing these images because that's that's really nice okay peacock hello peacock okay so immediately what what sort of springs mine is that i think well good good on you for not doing the the big fan you know which is what everybody you know would would leap to because the colors are lovely and and you know the details and then the shimmeriness and that iridescence they are really you know the wonderful thing i think because you have gone in close like this and because peacocks do have such a strong ever strong built in composition to them that you need to be spot on with your your composition now there's so there's a couple of things here that's really moving around just a little bit so we're putting the peacocks head um contained within that kind of the shimmer bit right because that's that's what nature is intended nature is wanting the peahen to see the face to see the strut of the of the peacock so let's try and keep the head inside that inner cowl if you call it that um and i think that would tighten up the composition a great deal more not if he just kind of shuffle his head down but you moved around just a little bit just to put the head in that composition i appreciate also that you can't move peacocks around there's a peacock can you stand over there but what you what i do think you would like to be mindful of we talked earlier about the lighting about how things become um about how colors become strong when they contrast against darker things the opposite is true when they construct it against lighter elements then they lose some of their boom right try and find a peacock that is against the darker background because at the moment it feels like it's photographed against something that's quite light so we're losing a lot of the a lot of what's making this image which is that color and stuff like that so i think you know i think you want to see i think you've got the right idea you're nice and you're close but it's just yeah again there's little finessing sort of parts and it'll also help if you kind of moved a little bit that it would probably give the peacock a little bit more space to to sort of look into and there we go all right okay so uh i've seen a lot of this kind of image recently which is shots of of street scenes that don't really have much to them doesn't they don't really have a they don't have story they don't have some something that grabs hold of our attention immediately they're just kind of slightly interesting things that somebody has photographed right and and i think you know i was i was talking to um uh with shawntaka uh the very famous the very famous shawntaka who's here finally we we got to chat on um a channel i have linked to it in the the the comment section or the community post section if you want to go see and and we talked a lot about this is that people who are starting street photography will just photograph basically anything and anything that is remotely interesting um and and they kind of feel that uh you know old people they still gravitate towards old people um or people who look unusual you know street performers someone like that and think that that's kind of enough and we'll sort of find reasons why the photograph is is is is kind of obviously good but that they enjoy it and this is a learning process this is important to go through this process because as you do this you realize that not everything is a photograph not everything is worth photographing and i think we're in this kind of stage here with with you that you are there's this interesting doorway with the with the metalwork and all that sort of stuff and the lighting's kind of there and and also stuff like that and then there's this old person's walking part of the mask but it there's nothing going on here all right there's nothing that that has happened that is different um so if you do like the the background right the door and stuff wait there sit and wait until something happens there's a bit more than just somebody walking past in thought um and and unfortunately i can't um oh it is infrared okay well there we go um i stand i stand corrected but but there we go so thank you for for clearing that up so if you didn't see it everybody there um uh alex was wrong it wasn't uh black white it was indeed an infrared picture of a church um so thank you kevin uh king king kevin um for letting us know um yeah so this this kind of um um this sort of image i think you know is it important as i said you you work through these things um and you learn to figure out what is that you want to photograph um at the moment i think you're just finding your way i think you're finding your feet um i would i would also hazardly