~I/eye noticed the anonymity of all the subjects in the frame, and the bg "haze"...how or what resulted in teh hzy bg in this shot? Filter or Pshop application of some sort, or just the way it appeared and turned out?~

David,
I love this shot. There is something about it that i can't define. It is obviously a reflection and yet the couple are sufficiently different from their reflection to make you look twice. Possibly a little more symmetry might have improved it but in a situation where you dont have long you did really well.
Adrian

David, I should have asked this in my previous comment. I notice you rarely, if ever, shoot portrait. Is this your style or is it just for consisency on the website?

This backdrop is quite famous now :) I like the contrast between the clarity of the foreground, to the 'ghostly' mirror image. For some reason, this image reminds me of movies like sliding doors where there are 'parallel' people. Maybe the couple are observing the matted image of themselves as the walk past. I guess the only thing I felt searching for was some expression on the womans face. Im left just wanting that little bit more information. Nice shot, keep up the good work.

btezra: other than a (relatively minor) Curves adjustment, a slight increase to the saturation in the reflected portion of the shot, and a crop (somebody walked into the bottom left or the original photograph), this is a straight shot. The surface is a silvery matte covering behind a shop window that creates wonderfully smooth and diffuse reflections.

Adrian: the original was more symmetrical, but on balance I think I prefer the off-centred feel to this one. As for portrait shots: yes, I guess it's to do with consistency, but it's also to do with a) not wanting to post small(er) portrait shots, and b) knowing that most portrait shots don't lend themselves to scrolling.

CTC: I kind of think it might spoil it if her expression were any less enigmatic ;-)

yup. i remember. i think this is the best of the three so far. I think you achieved what you were trying to do with this shot rather than the others. i LOVE the reflections since its so surreal and they almost look like 4 different people rather than one and the same. nice one.

Nice. =) I'm glad to see some more of these shots. I liked the originality of them.

Very nice. At first I didn't realize this was a reflection

Really nice effect here, good use of that diffusing reflection.

~The curves adjustment adds depth to the darker tones for sure, one of the reasons I dig and use the curves in Pshop myself...the smooth diffuse appearence is xlnt, it makes the shot and your presentation...~

I LOVE this shot ... it's like two images in one -- beyond that - can't explain -- but really really love this one...

I like this one, though the dead center composition bothers me a little. I like the way the man and woman appear to be one in the main image, sort of the way the world sees them. And then the way they are separate in the reflection, the way they see themselves. It's a wonderful statement about love and the things you gain, the things you lose, and everything in between. It's almost as if they are looking into the future, re-evaluating their relationship and not quite sure what to make of it. It makes me sad.

very very very good....

Do you think a crop on the left side could enhance the image ?

A very sad, almost funereal picture. I'm glad you lost that square from the original series.

Wonderful. Absolutely perfect as it is.

This shot is an exploration. The mind follows it own map and this shot anticipates that route and leaves offerings at each turn.

The balance is perfect. The seeming focus of the shot, an anonymous couple, are placed just as they should be, near the center of attention. It even follows the rule of thirds, or more precisely the golden ratio.

The other couple is muted, secondary, foggy. Are they being studied? Recognized? Noticed because they seem to have many things in common?

Wait ... is it? It is!

Journey complete and the mind's map is perfectly synced to the photo's map.

Excellent.

Any other composition would not have emphasized the elements in the order that they needed to be, would not have focused the eyes as precisely, not revealed the story in the right order and at the right pace.

At first glance I thought there were four different persons in this shot. Great shot!

This is an intriguing shot and works in a whole variety of ways already covered by others. Like many fine images, you sort of get the feeling you've seen something similar before - only you haven't. The only thing I'm not 100% sure about is crop/composition.

Yes well, not your dictate but I feel the subject matter suits this far better than the previous two. The woman looks somewhat regal.

I love the crispness against the dulled blur. Truly enigmatic.

overall i like this --- good foreground sharpness of the couple matched with the soft blur of their reflection in the background.

the item that i feel needs a bit of improvement is the shape constrast of the couple in the foreground --- need to give a better shape to the man behind the women. your capture has him "growing" out of her head and his back "merges" with her back.

cheers!

this is great, david.

At first glance I didn't like the centered composition, but now I think it's pretty interesting, especially because of the dark framing element in the upper left part... that backdrop is great.

I love this picture. The colors are perfect for the reflective surface, and I love the way the reflection gives you two entirely different views of the couple, as if showing two different aspects of their interaction. I'd say this one was a huge success.

David,
I like all three and for what I would call the "photojouranlistic quality" of the images. What are your feelings/thoughts about putting up random shots of individuals on the web? Obviously if they were sold you would probably need a model release. This is something I've thought about recently and this is good time to ask. Appreciate your feedback... and your photos, never miss a day.
Thanks
Rick

Catching good shots like this of unwitting subjects is not the easiest of things to do. I think the cropping and framing is good. In my mind symmetry is rarely a good thing, so I am glad you choose to weight it.

don't you think the photo would look better in sepia?

a great shot - there's someting intangible about this that i really like.

Thanks everyone.

As for the crop: on balance I think I prefer it this way, that their reflections, which seem to say more about them than the straight image, is pushed away somehow.

Rick: I'm going to talk about putting up images of people on tomorrow's shot.

lu: no ;-)

justin: yes, that's how I feel about this one. What makes it work for me is definitely something I can't quite put my finger on.

Beautiful, enigmatic, feels Gothic...I love it

a classic image and comp. In b&w it could come from an old movie.