About Opinions

David Pogue writes a very popular tech blog in the New York Times. Last week he reviewed the new Flickr interface and according to this week's post he received feedback from many readers who were offended by his opinion.

He wrote:

To me, it seems that some people fundamentally don’t understand the function of a critic. Drama critics, movie critics, restaurant critics, music critics, tech critics — all of us, it seems to me — are hired specifically to present our opinions.

I would never describe my weekly columns as “news stories,” even if there’s sometimes a news element. They are reviews meant to guide readers toward products that, in my opinion, are good or bad.

You can certainly disagree with a critic. Sometimes, knowing that you almost always disagree with a certain critic is just as helpful in guiding your buying decisions as always agreeing.

But in the end, a reviewer is entitled to like the new Flickr just as much as longtime photographers are entitled to hate it.

The reason I am quoting this excerpt from Pogue's blog should be clear to most of my readers. 

Ana's Photostream

I was strolling through my good friend Ana's (aka anatchim) Flickr Photostream today and I found many images worth sharing. I recommend going there for yourself and taking some time to see how much attention to detail Ana showers on her dolls. She has many of them rerooted and restyled. It's delightful to go through her collection. Link to her collection is at the end of this post.

Here is a wonderful photography trick she uses to support her dolls during photoshoots.

A little trick to hold the girls...

A little trick I use to hold my girls against the backdrop while I'm photographing... I use this modified FR stand telescope stick, with a "Bostik" ball in the tip for adherence...

(it still can be a little tricky to use, but I just don't want to use wires to have to erase them afterwards in photoshop... I am too lazy for that LOL)

I may try her technique occasionally instead of using armature wire. The more tricks one has at hand, the better.

_____________________

Here is a photograph of all three versions of Vanessa side by side. It's excellent and really shows the differences. Which Vanessa is your favorite?

 ____________________

Now, if you've gone and looked at her photos and think she has a major photography studio, you will be surprised to learn that the opposite is true. She is using professional lighting but look at that little space!
Ana says:

"... our apartment is SO tiny tiny, that I had to put together a small space in the garage, for my dolly photography...
I love to see everyone's behind the scene photos, so I thought I'd share this one too!

The beautiful vintage dresser was renovated by hubby, and it holds the doll furniture, background papers, floors, etc.."

Ana's Flickr Photostream

Flickr Group "Lady GaGa Dolls"

Girls and boys...hurry on over to this Flickr group to see the best and amazing pictures of Lady Gaga dolls. You will be amazed!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/veik11/

The artist is veik11. I don't know him yet but I will!

Picture of the Week Award ~ December 13, 2009

I've seen the name La Pierle many times connected with beautiful and trendy doll fashions. What I didn't know was that this same person is an accomplished photographer and Photoshop user. Her real name is Valerie Humbert-Deshayes and she is a free-lance textile designer. Her photography and fashion design demonstrate and echo her passion for textures and fabrics.

Valerie's native language is French but her English is excellent compared to my French. She described the image and fashion to me and gave me permission to reword her description. The part in quotes are her words.

Valerie obtained the embroidered tulle with irridescent beads and mother of pearl sequins from her Indian textile supplier. She wanted something transparent and light even though the fabric is quite heavy due to the beading. Once she had the fabric the style of the dress came easily.
The idea behind the image's mood is "inspired by the magic of Christmas. Salvation is the concept that other higher power, as part of Divine Providence, saves Humanity from spiritual death or eternal damnation by providing for them an eternal life."

Post processing was done in Photoshop through the use of multiple layers and lots of skill!

You can see more of La Pierle's work at Etsy and Flickr. 

Congratulations, Valerie, on the Picture of the Week Award.

Picture of the Week Award ~ May 17, 2009

Yatabazah! It's a great name for a creative and talented photographer-collector. This photograph is called Arrive´ and it is the Picture of the Week. The doll is an Indo-European porcelain with molded hair called Soraya, edition "Ballade" # 9 of 25.
She is dressed in the Mdvanii Notre Dame sheath, shoes, handbag, gold cuffs and Edie's earrings. The artist made the necklace and wig. He also created the backdrop!
Yatabazah lives in Greece and collects Mdvanii, Blythe, Lilli, Mooqla and various random vintage dolls.
He's been collecting and photographing for 10 years. You can find his photostream on flickr at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yatabazah/.

Picture of the Week Award ~ May 10, 2009

I discovered this fabulous photograph on Flickr. The composition, lighting and excellent use of depth of field all contributed to choosing it as my Picture of the Week.
The photographer is Sassy Strawberry and the title of the image is "La Belle Dame sans Merci."

 

Here is the link to Sassy Strawberry's photostream.   http://www.flickr.com/photos/sassystrawberry/