January

Stone Faced Woman

How I did it  -  Happy New Year to all. This photo was originally taken to document an “art in the park” outing. I now plan to use it for an exhibition theme “Faces of Women.” I cropped it to emphasize the stone carving which was very narrow and about three feet tall. I reduced brightness and replaced the background. I am not very confident that the background is the best. How about some ideas ??

Here is the original. 

COMMENTS:
 

Marie Altenburg	Eliminating the actual background was a good choice, Louis, but since the exhibition is called “Faces of Women”, why not create a soft, sepia-toned montage of women at work and play (professions, sports, relaxation, etc.) and use that for the background ?
Brad Ashbrook	Great job of separating the sculpture from the background and making something kind of interesting. There is a little bit of an edge to your mask, but can easily be improved. I am not sure the background matches, but the color seem to enhance the stone colors. Some folks are not wild about entering a photography of someone's else artwork and entering it in competition.  Might want to investigate.
Linda Sharp	This is a very different image. I like the composition and you have managed to create a feeling of tension by positioning yourself at an angle at the taking stage. You were right to change the background although I think the edges might need a little tidying up, although this may be due to the low resolution of the file. Maybe a less colourful but more dramatic sky might work better. I can see why you chose the one you have presented as the colours work very well with the statue. I understand your uncertainty though – a difficult one.
Vicki DeVico	Louis, you did an amazing job cutting out the statue from its background. The tweaking you did brought out the colors and textures of the sculpture. I think the sunset you added sort of competes with the colors of the statue by adding more of the same colors...I think I would add a texture instead..or a textured stone wall...something that is more subtle and not the same colors. I'd love to see it done that way.
Jan van Leijenhorst
Carol McCreary	Interesting sculpture. I would do a feather contract in to remove the dark halo around your sculpture. Also, I would like a circle radial gradiant with the center behind the head. This would draw the attention to her face.

Member Bio

Louis T. Duncan - Biography     My introduction to more serious photography began with a darkroom class over 30 years ago. I sold my coin collection to purchase an SLR with 20mm and 135mm lenses, and I was hooked. I shot mostly slides and b/w film until five years ago and now have a Nikon D-200. I still have a b/w darkroom and appreciate the grey scale of fiber paper, but my photo life is now digital including Elements 7.     I joined PSA about three years ago and am actively pursuing my goal to improve my images. I belong to a DSG Study Group, a b/w darkroom self made 11x14 study group, participate in the Photo Of the Month [POM], have attended PSA Expositions at Tucson and Yellowstone, and belong to the Carolina Nature Photographic Association which is a camera club affiliated with PSA. I am just starting to enter PSA recognized exhibitions.      I am a semi-retired aerospace engineer. My professional experience has been to apply the principles of aero engineering to cars, trucks, race cars and special projects. I have worked for NASCAR race teams for the last 28 years. One of my current sideline pro bono jobs is to conduct aero studies on the bobsleds of the US Olympic Bobsled team.       I have been married for 43 years to Orvillene Duncan. We have four grand boys and take care of our daughter’s 2 year old twins four days a week. That will keep you young.