Admins Choice

Words like ethereal, and dreamlike, come to mind for this beautiful nature photo. The photographer was quite modest about his work.

We questioned Bjorn about the photo.
He states, "As for the photo, I have not got much further to add to the subtext of the photo. Taken in Ringedalen, Hardanger, Norway..."

He was so modest with his explanation, we pressed for a little bit more.

BjornHB "Well, the composition did itself, a wooden door into the mountain almost blocked by ice taps, add some contrast and remove the colours, bound to be cool. But yes, somewhat surprised with the result when processing the photo, a bit of luck I guess.


Well done BjornHP

Admin's Choice

We chose this photo by 10:10 (Coroner) because, it gives us an intimate look at the strength and struggle of the subject.


The Coroner had this to say ; " As a coroner's investigator I have a few options to help me rid my thoughts after a really rough shift. I can drink away the evil of the day - or pray for a better tomorrow. I choose the latter. "

He generously gives us technical information as well ; " My brand spankin new Photogenic strobe (won it in a photo contest!) bounced from silver brolly over head at about 30 degrees. I stood on a large white reflector to try and get a tiny little detail of the facial outline on the opposite side of the face. I used a Canon 40D with 50mm fixed macro lens. Nothing too special or difficult".



We thank you for the brilliant self portrait.

Groups We Like : Better Than Good

One of our favorite big groups on Flickr is the group "Better Than Good". Even though the group is large it is moderated to perfection. Better Than Good has a village feel to it. What we mean is this ; the members always use the award code, they seem never to dump and run, and they always invite pictures from the "invitation thread. The admins of Monochrome Delight also take our hats off to the stellar work that their members post. It shows that the members really like and respect the group.
One of the admins of the group (Wildcard Poet) had this to say on running a good group;

******************************************************************************

"Better Than Good was the brainchild of Jeff Rinehart in late Aug. 2007. As one of his Contacts I was invited to join, and initially offered to make html codes for the group. The unusual (some might say quirky) and completely distinctive images used in the codes were chosen by Jeff from his own photostream.

I could see that some of his goals for the group needed to be clarified, and I could tell by his response to my questions that he was open to suggestions on how things might be set up. And then the big question: once the group was in shape, did he want me to invite all my Contacts to join?

He did, and some heady days followed. The group just took off, and hasn't stopped growing. (Right now--Dec 08--we are the 17th largest group on Flickr in terms of members). The biggest problem turned out to be how to maintain a high standard of images in the pool while encouraging members to stick around and view other people's images and give out the group award. We tried everything we could think of, and eventually the message was received.

I would say that for me personally, the fact that the group is still a place where a fine image will receive the 5 or 10 awards necessary to be posted in our honors threads is the most rewarding part of having worked hard to make the group a success. Seeing the finest artists on Flickr posting regularly to the group, having page after page loaded with "better than good" images, trying to choose among scores of brilliant artistic images in each contest, is truly gratifying.

I'd recommend the experience to anyone."

If you ever get invited to post at Better Than Good, consider it a compliment to your ability as a photographer and/or artist. http://www.flickr.com/groups/betterthangood/

Groups We Like : "This pic makes me wanna"

I n case you have never heard of it, there is fun group on Flickr called " This pic makes me wanna"
You copy the code, and tell what the photo makes you want to do. Sometimes the comments are hilarious. We like the group because of the free flowing fun, the feelings of camaraderie, and the very involved moderators.

We wanted to know what makes the group tick.

Fantasy Fan (group admin) says, "... the general group concept is very simple. It's just to space for free flow ideas and thoughts that come from the image. Instead of focus in technical points you (that you get from many groups), you'll get to see what kind of things comes in to people's mind after they see your photo. It's also less stressing to comment because when commenting you can focus on your own feelings instead of something else."

If you are up for a little fun, and are into reciprocity and expressing your feelings, you have to give this group a try. Please remember to comment on the previous 3 to your left.


http://flickr.com/groups/thispic/

Admin's Choice

The admins liked the dreamy, yet bleak look of this photo. We wanted to know Virgonc's concept.

This is what she said : This is an infrared photo. Taken with Hoya R72 infrared filter. That spooky tree was amazing and I want to show everything in one photo. That is a really beautiful place with a spooky castle and that spooky tree.
That place remind me the cartoon "Smurf" :) I think this is Gargamel's castle
http://www.virgonc.com/#/hirek/

Did we mention we like infra red?

Admin's Choice

We chose Laura Burlton's photo because we loved the creative processing. Specifically, the defocusing , the texture, and the vintage feel drew us to this.

Ms. Burlton's inspiration : "The couple and I were looking for a vintage inspired look, something timeless and classic yet dreamy. This was the third time I had worked with them ( I also did an engagement shoot and their wedding as well) and they kind of have this whole rat pack vibe, yet they are also kind of rocker...don't know where I was going with that, but basically I had a license to create freely something beautiful for them, which I love to do with my clients."


We know they had to love it.

Admin's Choice

We like Gosia Janik's Photo because it is so emotive. We felt it captures a place we have all been to at one time or another. Gosia had this to say:

I was trying to catch my melancholic mood that day, but also the strong will to not giving in. I'm trying to find some strength inside me lately and the picture is about that struggle..."

We know you will Gosia, and we know you will keep creating great art.