What I Like #54

Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Pablo Picasso

I love this picture from L. B., an SL artist over at KoinUp, whose gallery of work is filled with light and the interesting blend of shadow and illumination that it brings to everything. Take this picture. It’s well composed with the horizon at about a third, the leading lines going to the lighthouse and the subject looking at the lighthouse which was centered while the subject was off center. She has her back to us, but that tells us where she is going. It gives us a story. So it’s a good composition, but then you add the light and then it becomes special, that bit of light on her inner arm, flashing on her earring, her hat. It’s a fabulous photo that makes me want more.

Here’s a very different photo from L.D., as soft and dream as the other is naturalistic and sharp. AI love how this is framed with the rocks in the foreground and the back almost forming concentric quarter circles festooned with flowers. The owls are placed on a horizontal third and are turned toward or looking at each other, romantically reminding us that owls mate for life. This is a tender and romantic photo. L.B.’s portfolio is filled with wonderful work that deserves your attention, so jump on over there and take a look. Just don’t forget to come back.

I like this photo from LuaFlor Moo for her blog, Flor da Lua. I like how the striking, sharp haircut is such a good fit with her face and expression. I like how the size of the earrings balance the big sweep of her hair in front on the other side. The styling is fabulous. I also like the deep contrast, the rich black, the brilliant white. It’s a great shot.

I like this photo from Jax Aster for MAD Image blog. This angle is much more interesting than the more usual straight ahead shot. It emphasizes the shadows and lines from the window, the chair and the ceiling, all of which work to create more interest. Remember horizontal lines will activate one set of neural receptors and vertical lines another, but diagonals will activate them all – and that enhances our enjoyment and interest in photos. Although he is sitting still in the photo, his turned head and his looking into the frame give us the idea that he’s active, responding to and looking at someone or something else – adding another dynamic element to the photo.

I like this photo from Trevor Turner for Young Urban. The use of lighting casts a few interesting shadows without obscuring his outfit and styling. He’s well-positioned in the photo and looks across the frame. His expression is a bit wary – as though he perhaps heard a twig crack underfoot. The grass coming up through the walkway suggest the sort of neglected and forgotten public space that justifies that wary look. It tells a story, or gives us enough narrative to let us invent our own.

I like this picture from Zero Remex for Lovely DangerZone. The background has fabulous geometry and visual interest and place the subject in the middle of something happening. Why are the squares flying backwards? It helps the picture that his pose seems a bit startled, arrested in mid-motion. It’s a good photo and I found it engaging. I would like it better if the light source that cast his shadow was more evident since the visible light source is from the wrong direction. However, it’s cropped close enough on that side that I can imagine the light source being just outside the frame.

I like this photo from Applonia Criss for Chantkare. I like the long, lean crop she used and the bit of depth added by the corner of the wall. It emphasizes the whole “long, tall, drink of water” idea she is suggesting. She adds to that by cropping a bit off the top of the subject’s head and cropping a bit low for the usual body shot. The pose also emphasizes that leanness. However, she keeps it from going too far by using prints that break it up wit their own lines and energy.

It’s worth noting that even in this vertical crop, she keeps her subject off-center and looking across the frame just as though she were using a typical landscape or square crop. That’s because you still want your subject to have room in front of her, even if it is just a tiny bit of room.

This photo from Lila Quander for Demented Divas is so delightfully romantic and lovely, I have spent far too long looking at it. But don’t we all linger on things that make us happy? I don’t even want to think about how much fun they had adjusting and shifting and adjusting some more to get the pose and those long flowing skirts and hair and everything to fit together without a big huge mess. The result is worth it. The picture is simply beautiful.

I like this snap from Alexiaa Allen for her self-titled blog. I like how the subject fills the frame. I like how her arm and the strap on her handbag run parallel. I like that she places her face at the focal point of the photo. What I like best, though, is how the town of the background echoes the tone of her outfit. It’s a lovely shot, with good composition, but the care taken to chose a background that complements the tone and energy of her outfit is what elevates it.

I will be the first to admit that this photo by Leelu Lemondrop is unsettling. The shudder of unease it creates, though, is a testament to its power as a photo. Browsing Flickr and Second Life blogs, there plenty of similar photos that are just part of a genre and don’t stop me in my tracks with pure unadulterated creepiness. There’s real power in this photo precisely because it makes me uneasy. So what makes it so much more powerful and effective than many similarly styled headshots? I think it’s the intensity of the eyes looking straight ahead, the tension on the line of the neck jutting forward toward the viewer, and the always dramatic chiaroscuro. The inky blackness casts her face into high relief. It’s as though she is just about to move right out of the picture.

I love this photo by Thalia Heckroth that she took of a friend. The use of projectors to cast the shadow of blinds adds so much drama to the photo as does the use of a second layer with motion blur. It all makes for a stunning and excitingly dramatic photo.

Isn’t this picture from Petra Messioptra for the Vitabela blog simply delicious? The pose is stunning with that circle window. I love her closed eyes with that dramatic makeup. The styling works together beautifully with the pose and the pose prop. It’s nice to see, too, that all the lighting is working together, casting light on her face, her hands, her arm and the window all from the same direction.

I like this picture from Dita Actor for OPO: One Part Ourfish. Quite honestly, if you don’t click through to see the entire series of pictures in this blog post, you are missing out on a fabulous set of photos that tell a rather sad story. I would have preferred a happier ending, but I am still overwhelmed by the creativity and effort that went into this. I also love her post titles. I discovered the blog a couple weeks ago and every time I see a post title, it makes me laugh.

I love this photo called Mist Weaver from Ariel Brearly. Using several layers and blur she created the suggestion of ecstatic motion – almost like the charismatic state achieved in Sufi dancing – the ecstasy of spinning dreams.

I love this photo from Lucia Genesis rich in the sort of Gothic romanticism that ripped thousands of bodices over the years. I love how instead of simply framing her photo, she used a layer blend to meld it seamlessly into the picture. It creates so much more interest and elevates a good photo a fascinating photo.

p.s. I am sorry the column is a day late. I was half done yesterday when I scalded my hand while making tea and simply found it impossible to type with a bag of frozen edamame beans on my hand.