AG|WPJA The Artistic Guild of the WPJA

Judges Comment: This is a very cool image. The little girl is almost a little ghostly looking but I still love the composition. Technically, there are some chromatic issues on the edges of the folks in the background and in the sky. The problems are probably attributed to too much saturation in the blue but I still like the image. I like the cinema-like style seen in this image. I also like scary children. There’s Photoshop work, but used as an effect. The image and effect work for me because this is dirty looking.

Judges Comment: I picked this because it’s dramatic and theatrical. There are some alignment problems with the image that Photoshop could fix. The light in the upper right could go. Even some slight cropping might fix it all. I suspect a trim off the top might make this stronger. The light, composition and emptiness of the scene combined with the juxtaposition of the sign above with a similar look and feel is a good example of a simple juxtaposition. It’s not a complex image and it doesn’t need to be. It’s enough to simply record the scene, which creates its own “moment.”

Judges Comment: This is also a very strong image. Good color and a great moment really help this. The only things that bother me are the phone lines, which I would have retouched out and the tow pads of paper on the left side. The paper I would eliminate with a simple crop. Great feeling throughout the frame. Moments matter.

Judges Comment: It’s fun, it’s got great tone and movement and characters. I could almost believe it was shot on a movie set. It reminds me of Fellini. A slight crop on the right side of the frame or Photoshop away that arm in the middle of the edge and come up from the bottom. The story isn’t about the car (or all that pavement in the lower left of the frame). Wow. Layer upon layer upon layer. Bride and groom oblivious to the surroundings, while others go about their business. And who is the person in the foreground? What does she represent? This paean to Cartier-Bresson creates an air of mysteriousness and longing.

Judges Comment: Great gesture and humor. I am not thrilled with the tree growing out of her head and the highlights could be toned down a bit on the right side, but still a very nice image indeed.

Judges Comment: I picked this because it’s a good, clean image that fits the category. But one could consider using simple tools in Photoshop to align the verticals here. The question to the photographer would be, IF you could have shot this with swings and tilts, would you have aligned the image? If yes, it’s just as doable in Photoshop. Just a simple, beautiful, tender loving moment. Good eye for detail. Nice composition.

Judges Comment: Nice moment and all around clean image.

Judges Comment: This image falls into the same basic category and feeling I had about the other images in this category. It’s fun, has energy, says “Ceremony” to me. Should I say something about aligning the image? Photoshop tells me its 2.24 degrees CCW.

Judges Comment: A quiet image made memorable by the bubbly framing around dad (assumed).

Judges Comment: This quiet moment has grown on me. I love the perspective and rich black and white tones. It’s ethereal mood lifts it above the rest in this category for me.

Judges Comment: Dark and stormy atmosphere provides a foreboding tableau in stark contrast to the frilly white wedding dress. A surreal and ethereal image. Somber and quiet is not usually the words that come to mind when you think wedding, but this picture captures a moody service on the beach under a leaden sky.

Judges Comment: There are many moments within the photograph. Your eye travels around the frame, finding surprises. Bride and groom appear lost in their own world as life goes on around them. Expression and attire of the woman in foreground adds a peculiar juxtaposition to the formality of the wedding party. Perfect in black & white - would have been an entirely different photo in color.

Judges Comment: Here’s a photographer who knows how to react quickly and compose with feeling, drama and technical prowess at the same time.

Judges Comment: The body language says it all. Glad the photographer recognized the tension and framed the hands tight. The color is very appealing, too. Fascinating moment.

Judges Comment: I love the unique color and the intensity of the light. It reminds of the early color photographs of the 40’s and 50’s. The moment and the framing are interesting. I enjoy a photograph that makes my eyes linger and wonder.

Judges Comment: Perfectly composed and technically extremely well toned.

Judges Comment: You don’t feel the photographer’s presence at all. The dark brown tones and the clarity of the light are beautiful.

Judges Comment: “Missing the forest because of the trees,” is often reversed when trying to capture as many elements as possible at a big event in a relatively short time frame and can desensitize us to the quiet and subtle moments found within the “bigger picture”. This photo and it’s unadorned simplicity speak a beautiful moment in the context of the woman’s tears. A beautiful and emotional image that feels like a watercolor painting. Toning down the white area on the left of frame would bring your eye more quickly to the single eloquent tear.