Martin's Suffolk Gallery

[Admin]

The gallery is now on the website.

http://www.releasephotogroup.org.uk/suffolk.htm

[Joe Tully]

Thanks for these Martin, very enjoyable and great to see that you aren't letting the winter blues encroach on the important things of life. Some comments:

WASTE LAND...Very sharp, maybe a tad over so and possibly the product of such lovely clean, crisp light. Id the horizon sloping a wee bit?, or is it one of those horizons which NEVER appear straight, no matter what you do. As I know only too well, they do exist. Anyway this is a nice opening shot.5/10

WATERS EDGE...A bit cold and desolate. The slipway? leading the eye off into the scene is a great idea but what's there when the eye arrives at the end of its journey... mud. The really top landscapists ALWAYS seem to find something right there. How do they do it? 4/10

DEDHAM VALE... Like Ian's Winter Trees, there are lovely muted colours here and I like the fact that we have both the tops and the bottoms of the trees in frame. 7/10

THE RUNNER... Nice little action grab shot. Might be better off cropped down left hand side to remove the ma with the fishing gear or whatever it is.6/10

ENIGMA VARIATIONS... I love these little snatches of things which ordinarily go unnoticed and this one is no exception. Rather enigmatic caption too. I like this shot. 7/10

MORNING BIRD...Interesting. One normally sees these hungry beasties FOLLOWING the fleet home, but this one is leading the way, or so it seems because I think you have cleverly cropped this shot to give us this impression. Correct me if I am wrong but in any case, take a bow for a well spotted and recorded image. 6/10

NIGHTFALL...More subtle tones and hues. Not a great deal going for it compositionally I reckon, but nonetheless a shot which ably describes its title. Those foreground reeds are really nice. 7/10

RED STOPPER... Great title, vibrant colours,moody sky. obvious vanishing point. Couldn't ask for much more, could we? 8/10

Thanks again Martin for putting these up there in the firing range. I think they will come through the war more or less unscathed, as a set of nicely seen and worked images..............Joe

[Overbeyond]

In style, Wasteland reminds me of one of your Yellowstone photographs. But this one needs that something extra and maybe it is the lack of some colour, be it in a plant or something else, that fails to lift the monotony of this rather featureless wasteland.

The lead in platform/jetty is interesting in itself but when I reach the waters edge I am a bit disappointed that there is little of interest there to greet me. I am wondering if this platform had been featured in a landscape format picture maybe something, even a boat, might have included itself.

Dedham Vale has some lovely light, particularily on the nice wooden gates, and is a good reflection shot. I do feel though that it is all tilting to the right a little too much.
I think this would be a good candidate for black and white which might bring the bleak and cold atmosphere to the fore.

You caught the Runner very well and he seems a have a bit of fear on his face. I like the inclusion of the fisherman but I think he is forced too much in to the corner of the frame.
Martin, I suspect that this image has been over treated; it looks oversharp and there seems to be colour defects in the boys face.

Enigma Variations is very similar to some of the shots from Dungeness. Not a lot here but it is this simplicity that gives it it's appeal. The geometry of lines and rectangles add something to the reflection and graffiti.

You tried something very difficult with Morning Bird and I think you have achieved a very good result. Assuming that this may not be cropped, that makes it even better as the bird has brilliantly filled the area in front of the boat.
On my tin can at school here the bird looks badly blown out so I will check again when I get home.

Nightfall screams nightfall as it should; the reeds fill the corners well and I like the last bit of sunlight sitting on the reeds in the middle.

The problem for me with Red Stopper is that I have seen similar takes on the changing huts so many times before. The Red Stopper itself is just not enough to make this shot any more refreshing than the others I have seen.

Overall, I think Suffolk has provided both of you with a good collection of images.

[Martin]

Hi Tom and Joe,

Many thanks for taking the trouble to comment on my work.

I'm interested at your reactions both to the bleaker shots in the series.  I must
say I am very pleased with them as they capture some of the vast, empty and
harsh atmosphere of Suffolk at the time.  Ironically I find these far more
interesting than the sunnier riverside scene, but as they say, appreciation is
in the eye of the beholder.

Tom I have a number of monochrome shots of Dedham Vale and I'll try one or
two of these when my panel comes up in a months' time.  I think they also
capture something of the bleakness of the occasion.

I'm glad you guys both like Enigma Variations.  So do I for similar reasons!!

Glad you like Morning Bird.  For some reason I can't explain I'm very attached
to the image.

I agree with Tom that Red Stopper is the weakest of the images.  Sorry Joe.

And sorry Joe, I enjoy your involvement in our site, but really
wish you could bring your good self to stop giving marks (I'd say this
even if you gave me all 10's !!)  I know we have a lot of this stuff in
club life, but it always reminds me of being at school and I really think
comments should be sufficient.  I'm big enough to take it,
by the way, but suspect it could be off-putting to some of our less experienced
members who might otherwise be pursuaded to enter their work.

Nuff said.  I'm sure you'll come back with a quickfire response anyway.

Martin

[Joe Tully]

Hi Martin

As you say, "nuff said". As you indicate quite rightly, there is too much direct comparison via marks in club life, which is one good reason why I am no longer involved in the club scene. Not quite sure why I started the practice in the first place but shall desist for the future. No prob.

Joe

[Martin]

Hi Joe,

You're a scholar and a gentleman!!   However, we all love your comments...
do keep them coming.

Regards  Martin the Medieval

[Glenn Rossiter]

Martin.
Once again a little late (apologies)  but your Suffolk Gallery, like Ians' is well worth the time spent. Many Thanks ... my comments if I may.
WASTE LAND....Boy does that look cold !!, great shot with the foreground and midground interest and composition. I personally would lose the background and horizon area in this Image as I actually think it detracts.
WATERS EDGE... Again great leading lines and subject matter in the foreground, similar to Waste land in that I cropped out most of the sky area to the horizon line and it works better for me.
DEDHAM VALE... Love this one ... techniques and Lighting similar to one of Ians recent shots .. great stuff. Water itself needs a slight adjustment layer for B/C to deepen the intensity of the water colour.
THE RUNNER... I had to laugh at this one, not because of the Subject matter, but once again, in your cold weather, I don't know how anybody can enjoy themselves on a beach like that in weather like that. ( I hope I'm not wrong in assuming it is the beach !!)  The running kid and his clothes are just great.
ENIGMA VARIATIONS....I don't mind the simplicity of this ... its geometry is interesting.  The reflection or view in the window is the enigma, but I want it clearer !!
MORNING BIRD.... You've done well to capture the bird at this point in relation to the boat !! and added drama of the boat keel amputation. I'm thinking how good it would be if the Boat had a captain at the helm.
NIGHTFALL...The light here is great, adding mood to the shot, This time I feel the horizon is essential to the shot Well done.
RED STOPPER ... My pick for the group The Red stopper is really well placed in the frame and the leading lines across the image are well seen. Love it as well
Glenn

[Joe Tully]

Hi Glenn etc

How very interesting the visual arts really are. I refer to my comment on "Red Stopper" and the comments which followed. Tom and Martin weren't so happy with it and then along comes Glenn who nominates it as his pick of the panel, just as I had. It just goes to show... well I'm not quite sure what, but it just goes to show.

Objectivity. How many times have I heard that word in relation to art. Indeed I have even seen it used in written instructions to photographic competition judges(I jest not!). Piffle! Not one of us is truly objective, especially in relation to things visual. Seems to me we HAVE to be subjective. What am I but the net result of everything that has ever happened to me in my life, the influences of everyone I have ever met, the ditto of everything I have ever read and the ditto of everything I have ever seen. All of this stuff goes into the mix of who I am and who I am governs how I will react to the next situation or indeed to the next image I will see. Of course your life experiences are different to mine, therefore you are not me and I am not you. That's what makes us all different. You will react to a photo based on the sum of all your experiences, no matter how hard you try to filter them out and so be truly objective. It's impossible. Likewise, I will be who I am. That's what makes life and art so terribly interesting... the way different folk react to the same object or situation than do other folk. Hence what is art for me, may not be art for you at all and hence also, I don't think it is actually possible to answer the great question, i.e. "What is art?". Rant over!!

Getting back to "Red Stopper". Two for, two not quite so gung ho!. Sounds like life in general. Actually looking at it since, I wonder if it might be improved a bit by cropping tighter on the left hand edge so as to remove everything to the left of the pole to which the red stopper is attached. Then it really does become the object which stops the eye in its tracks at the edge of the scene. Yes, I think it looks better that way, having just taken another look.

Hey ho! Now, let me see what else I can find to sound off about!! Thanks lads for stirring up the old grey matter. At my age it needs agitating from time to time. Helps to stave off the dreaded Alzheimers........  Joe