Photo-criticism by Rozov: it is not the camera that takes pictures, it is the photographer

The column “Photocriticism” is written by Georgy Rozov, a well-known photographer and teacher, and author of popular books on the technique and art of photography. This competition includes photos submitted by readers of “Photo&Technique” magazine, the results of which were published in № 07 45 2013

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The critic, in my opinion, is not a scolder of everything around. I have long felt that very soon there will come a moment when I will no longer have to point out the obvious shortcomings of poor works to my colleagues. The general level of pictures sent to the contest of our magazine grows very quickly. It’s time to reap the benefits of enlightenment and write mostly about the merits of photos.

Eduard Musin from New York sent only four photos, but I have no complaints about any of them. I have no desire to improve them at all. This shows not only that the author is talented and skillful. He has a rare ability to look at his work from the outside and choose the really best ones. However, the other pictures in this collection are also worthy of being admired.

“The White Sea”.

Eduard Musin, New York.

The Pentax K-5

Pentax 85/2.8 soft lens

Shutter speed 1/8000 sec

Aperture f/3.5

ISO sensitivity 200

If the author hadn’t said he took pictures with a soft focus lens, I would have thought he used a soft filter. Monocles draw even softer, and color aberrations would be difficult to handle as elegantly as in this case. I really liked the composition of this shot. The picture consists of five horizontal strips of different density, parallel to the long sides of the frame window.

Good and beautiful landscape images from such parallels are very rare. The author succeeded in that, shifting the attention of the viewer to the boat. This is highlighted three times: as sharp on the unsharp, dark on the light and an object close to the intersection of the thirds. It’s funny that the boat-shaped line is also a line parallel to the long sides of the picture. Rhythmic repetition of alternating horizontals is tonally very well balanced, too.

But the main thing, of course, is not the tools used to achieve harmony of form and content. It is more important for me that I felt like I was on the deck of Norway sea ferry again and I put my cheeks under the cold wind.

Making a photograph recognizable is one of the best ways to get a positive reaction from the viewer.

“Winter Road.”.Eduard Musin. New York.

Canon G9 camera

Shutter speed 1/2000 seconds

The aperture is f/8

Sensitivity

ISO 200

Focus

29.2 mm distance

A very delicate sense of tonal balance is necessary for a photographer who sets out to shoot such winter subjects. It seems as if the man has broken the common rule: dark underneath and light above. The picture is alive and pleasing to the eye. Partly because the main thing in the frame is exactly where it should be.

The lines of the borders of the geometric shapes are not straight and not parallel to the frame boundaries. Downward diagonal of the bottom sector – textured. It makes the picture dynamic, undisturbed and therefore enjoyable to contemplate for a long time. The restrained monochrome gamma blue tones are even more chilling than the possible tonal, black-and-white solution.

Any attempt to correct anything in this picture kills it. I would especially point out that this picture was made with a digital camera. Which once again confirms a truism as old as the world: it is not the camera that takes the picture, it is the photographer who takes the picture!

“City of Tutaev”.Eduard Musin. New York.

Pentax K-7

Pentax 10-17/3,5-4,5 fish-eye lens

Exposure 1/40 sec

Aperture f/10

Sensitivity ISO 200

Focal length 10 mm

A wonderful picture! I watched it with a smile and admiration. This story of the hobbled goat that ruined everything around goes well with the barrel-shaped fish-eye pattern. It is clear that the author knows the properties of optics, so the heroine finds herself in a place in the frame where perspective distortion is minimal, and at the same time the point of intersection of the thirds is very close. Note: goat is white, background is dark. And the understated color palette is also chosen for a reason. And the sky is crushed.

Nothing is accidental in Eduard Musin’s photographic Tutayev, except for a goat. A sad smile in response to this picture of a bygone era and the visible signs of the old way of life turning into ashes is assured.

By the way, on the other bank of the Volga River there is a quite modern urban region with a cutting-edge diesel engine plant that powers river boats, diesel locomotives, dump trucks and even KAMAZ trucks which have been winning international off-road rallies for years. It is quite possible that the hut the goat is kicking contains a programmed numeric control machine tool adjuster. It wouldn’t surprise me.

“Mimicry.”. Eduard Musin. New York.

Pentax K-5 camera

Lens

Pentax 18-135/3.5-5.6

Exposure 1/500 sec

Aperture f/8

Sensitivity

ISO 400

Focus

distance 88 mm

Very accurately found name. A nose-to-nose collision of conflicting entities: the small and defenseless with the large and predatory, the living with the lifeless, but still a dog. Clash of almost decolorized with bright and colorful. Soft Light. Deliberate contrast reduction of all inanimate things.

Movement of a butterfly on an ascending diagonal. It’s not the merits of the photo, it’s the enumeration of the tools and techniques used. But the main thing was still to see, assess and not to miss the brief moment when everything came together and this magical coincidence appeared before our eyes.

“Iceland. Childrenfoss Falls. Oleg Ingligidnikov. New York Region, Podolsk.

Pentax K-5 camera

Lens

Pentax 18-135/3.5-5.6

Shutter speed 0.6 seconds tripod

Aperture f/18

ISO sensitivity 80

AE correction +3 EV

Focal length

40 mm distance

This photo got me thinking. It does not match my idea of the properties of optics. The author shot with budget zoom at 40 mm focal length. The angle of view in this case should be about 60 degrees. The separation of the two cameras is very noticeable, but the depth of field is very limited and unpredictable.

At the f/18 aperture, because of diffraction, the resolution was bound to drop drastically. In other words, the foreground was supposed to look bigger and the background smaller. Sharpness is focused on the foreground stones, hence there should be a noticeable reduction in sharpness in the depth of the frame, but everything is quite carefully drawn there. How the author did it, is a mystery to me, but this is what caught my attention and made me admire the dramatic beauty of the elements.

“Evening at the raid”. Sergey Poliak. New York.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 camera

Shutter speed 1/100 sec

Aperture f/3.2

ISO sensitivity 200

Exposure correction +3 EV

This photo with the moon really upset me: the moon is very ineptly inserted. Technically, in terms of knowing how to use the different translucencies of Photoshop layers, everything is fine. The mosquito won’t budge. The trouble is that the moon is too big for this shot.

With this lens, it should have looked something like the cropped version I edited. I tried to amp out everything unnecessary. But the boat is in a very uncomfortable spot in the picture. Already skipped the middle and turned stern to the moon. Despises, probably? There’s nowhere for him to swim: his nose is about to hit the frame. That is why I left the sun in the left side of the picture.

I can not say that such a picture, if printed and hung on the wall, will warm my soul in a winter depression, but this way it became more natural and harmonious.

“Fantasy and Reality”. Sergey Romashev. New York.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III

Lens

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

Shutter speed 1/400 sec

Aperture f/4

ISO 800

Focal length 169 mm

Undoubtedly, Sergei Romashev’s successful genre photography stops my attention. Another picture about love. Funny conflict, which any man in his late years knows about. We are always young and beautiful on the inside, but no one can see it on the outside.

Sergey managed to watch and show everybody the inner youth of the heroine. Flint! Even the life on the street, which is scary for any human, did not break it. The author consciously composed the photo so that we wouldn’t be able to overlook this sad fact. The signs of the hobo bags are completely framed in the frame. And here’s where I can’t agree.

In my opinion, a little framing would make the shot more dynamic, and the main thing is that the main idea of the story is already perfectly highlighted. I wouldn’t focus on the fact that it was the homeless woman who was dreaming of love. That’s not the story.

“Catching the Sun”. Arsen Alaberdov. Cherkessk.

Pentax K20D

Pentax DA 200/2 lens.8 with 2x teleconverter

Shutter speed 1/350 sec

Aperture of f/2.8

ISO sensitivity 400

– Noticed the nets in the daytime and decided it would be nice to catch the setting sun in them. All that was left was to come back in the evening and take the picture! – writes Arsen.

The author executed his intention technically and compositionally correctly. And though there’s no more novelty in this subject than in the sunrises and sunsets themselves, I too can’t refrain from taking pictures of the setting sun if I happen to witness the action. And I am almost always overwhelmed with admiration and desire to stop the moment, conserve this beauty, and then admire it within the walls of my concrete hut.

“Marathon”. Sergey Martishenya. Murmansk.

Above – before retouching, below – after retouching.

Pentax MZ-5N camera

Pentax FA 28-80

Fujifilm Superia film

Two versions of a very beautiful photo by Sergei Martisheny from Murmansk. Perfect use of the long exposure time. In the foreground, the skiers have dissolved into almost abstract characters. And in the depths of the frame where angular velocity of the subjects is noticeably lower, the skiers look quite naturalistic.

The combination of these two types of images in one shot seems to me quite justified and pleasing to the eye. Somehow the author avoided by some magic way the mottled colors that usually make such reportage photos a mere fixation of the moment. This shot is so organic in its coloring, too, that I, for example, have fun looking at it long and hard.

I did not like and therefore prompted to rationalize only one little thing: a dark spot of woods and slogans at the start of the marathon. It’s tearing up the white background above the athletes’ heads in a very ugly way. I painted over that area with pixels of similar color and brightness. The picture now looks perfect. You can’t take your eyes off the skiers.

“Forgotten Friend. Sergey Sukhov. New York.

Canon EOS 50D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

Exposure 1/125 sec

Aperture of f/4.5

ISO 1250

Focal length: 17 mm

“Repair. A story emerged: light from a distant memory, bare walls, loneliness, sadness, a toy, hope,” – that’s how Sergey Sukhov wrote about how he came up with the story. It has long been known “from what rubbish” the forgotten teddy bears come. This one came out of scraps of old wallpaper and fragments of children’s dreams. Pretty nice, luscious dreams from Sergey.

The bear cub is in good condition and sits comfortably. Just a king on the throne! I’m not going to argue with the author about the interpretation of the subject, but my “forgotten” one would have been lying on the floor, partially covered with a scrap of wallpaper. And one of its paws would be twisted. I would try to bring the girls to tears. But the truth of life and the truth of art are not the same thing.

If we discuss the author’s ready-made solution, I would like to suggest a modest truncation of the empty space. And only for the sake of trying to highlight and emphasize another cartoon hero, who completely undeservedly remained unnoticed. On the wall, near the left leg of the chair, I accidentally made an outline of a rabbit or a hare. If highlighted a little, it can become a photographic refrain of the main subject. Otherwise, the picture is pretty. Sentimental fans of photography will probably like it.