Here are some thoughts on why some of the photographs from Critique 2 are really interesting. Some of these are different from those the class picked as the best prints of the critique.
There are always some groups of subject material that show up on different people's photographs. One of the first ideas that is part of shooting in color is to use light to create an ambience, and environment in which the viewer can linger.
Perhaps this all starts out with those shots that just focus on color and texture as an abstraction, generating mystery through closeness
Some of these are just about the light, with a hint of environment
while others use the light to define the feel of a space
and others use light to indicate the time of day and render a feeling of some past time past
Some shots present a more structured view of space,
in this case using stairs that lead us in a particular direction
while others deal with the geometry of spaces
(notice what happens at the edges of these next few shots)
and others show us more of the street setting
and on into the evening with more great lighting
some fragmenting faces
and others a bit more direct
and sometimes they tell us more by showing us less
There are numerous things happening here. If you can make someone want to spend time with your photographs, then there is some kind of connection between you and them. If you can make them wonder what position you were in when you shot the photo, then you are beginning a conversation with them. The bottom line of art photography is communication. Make them see things in a new way, make them feel something like what you felt, or think about something in a new way (or your way). It doesn't have to be some new subject, just a subject that is approached in a new way. John Lennon said, "There are no new ideas in the world. Only new arrangements of things."
