Oh - I hadn’t seen the collage aspect of it, but I totally see that now. Cool. And yes - you’ve put what I’ve liked about the photo into words. Thank you!

Thanks so much for the feedback! I’m glad to see others appreciate the unusual crop and to hear what you are seeing.

Congrats on adopting a greyhound. Indi is also a rescue sighthound. She’s a Saluki. Very very entertaining creature who is also extremely photogenic (but really hates it when I pull out the camera on her - which is kinda all the time).

Your usage is more traditionally correct. Typographers and writers agree that the use of exclamation marks (also referred to as ‘bang’ or ‘screamer’) should be done sparingly.

But with so much informal (digital) communication, it’s taken on a new life as an indicator of friendliness.

Unlike the Germans, who have international government agreements that change the rules of their written language, English simply evolves with the next crop of teenage whims.

Which may be another way of saying that while you are correct, your wife is more hip.

I kinda like that it’s dark. It gives the image intrigue.

I really like the gnome. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was at first, but I actually enjoyed feeling like I was peeking through the flowers to see it.

I’m on the fence with the cat. Too much out of focus. But I like the detail of the flower. I just wish the center flower was in focus instead of the one off to the left.

Altogether though - it’s clear you have an eye. Equipment is just a small part of being a good photographer. Nice job!

This is a pretty photo. The light streaming through the trees, and the mix of flora and architecture is lovely. I wonder how it would feel if you cropped the bottom up so the forced of the wall met the corner of the photo?

The thing I’m most drawn to in this photo are the two tiles in the front that are highlighted - really like how they are catching the light at a different angle then the rest of the floor.

With that being the first focal point, cropping could help as mentioned by some others. I actually wish though that the camera closer to the ground for a more dramatic angle and a different perspective.

I didn’t notice the person on the left until I had my lights off, so yeah maybe a tad too dark.

…and what do you think the internet will look like 11 years from now?

Before I got to the “tri-x” comment in you explanation - the only thing I felt was lacking was some beautiful grain of a good ‘ol film photo. (Something to rough it up). The darkness of the photo reminds me of shooting with Poloroid Polapan (a film I loved so much in art school). It had the richest blacks and was moody like nothing else.

I also agree that you shouldn’t pump up the contrast any more. I like the cropping you did. The eye runs down the platform to the sign and back up the rail. I also don’t think having more people in the photo would have improved it. I think it would have made it too noisy. It feels implied that the man sleeping on the bench was forgotten because no one is there.

These are great! And the back story of when you took them and the longing is really reflected in the mood they emit.

I have very little to critique in the way of technique, cropping, etc. which is fantastic, because instead of thinking about the photo itself, I’m more concerned with the story and the subject matter.

The ramen photo is my favorite. I spent some very happy rainy nights in Japan eating ramen. For me the photo provides the intimacy and comfort of the ramen shops.

I feel like the third Oktoberfest photo doesn’t quiet hit the mark for the reason the other two are strong: Oktoberfest is anything but an intimate experience. It’s loud, busy, expansive and invasive. It crowds out the kind of intimacy being portrayed in this photo. Except for the fall leaves, it reminds me more of my trips to the Hintersee and eating germknödel with my German ex.

Thank you for all your thoughts! I’m really appreciating hearing how you are perceiving this photo and where your eye is drawn to.

Oops! Forgot to add my version:

There are so many great elements in the photo. From the color to the movement in the water and also the stillness of the dragonflies.

I agree with yenahmik on the cropping. I’ve done a different cropping solution that keeps the movement in the water and also guides the eye around the photo (compositional/visual flow). I think moving the dragonflies off to the side and utilizing their verticality as a reference to the edge of the frame gives the photo more drama or tension. I also added a little more black and contrast to improve the depth of field.