Comment from Rons Pen Art
The expression here is freedom. The hands reaching and the pain that can come out of obtaining freedom that too many people take for granted. Makes a very convincing point and I like the black effect.

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

Thanks so much to your comments.
Brian

Comment from flash1290.(Sim)
This is how I feel today...wanting to escape all of the ties that bind.I am very impressed with this piece of work,it depicts the slavery of the barbed wire holding him in the confines of it's grasp.Slavery is an excellent title.Stunning work.

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

My hands do look exceptionally dark here, don't they? The barbed wire actually surrounds a chicken processing plant, but I kind of thought it might look like that of a stockade, or prisoner of war camp. Just my military way of thinking I guess. Thanks a lot for your comments. :)
Brian

Comment from benpicjoy
I see a very expressive journalism photo. Barbed wire and I have had runs ins before but never like what is portrayed here. I expect you used you own skin here because of a shortage of volunteers;) The intended impact is there and the image is composed distinctly for that impact. Great work. How to improve?... add bloods and wire cuts but not necessary!

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

Thanks Ben, on this one I wanted to shoot strictly in the camera's black and white mode, and unlike my other works, there are no digital special effects here. My original intention was an attempt to capture just the strands of barbed wire, but with the fading light, and the only other illumination coming from high lamp poles inside the wired area, the camera was unable to focus well on the single strands. So in an effort to create a larger mass for the auto focus, I used the camera's timer and ran around the wire to the other side, shoving my hands up to create that focus point. I thought at the time it was unfortunate that I was unable to remove my hands in time before the image was taken, I even cursed that the flash failed to fire. but since looking at the image, and seeing what others have read into it, I', now quite satisfied with the results. :)
I took the advice of a few, and entered this one everywhere, in the process winning several awards, and prizes including several hundred dollars worth of software and at one site, a $2,300 US Dollar Mitsubishi CP8000 DW Die-Sub printer as Best of show for the second quarter.
All this after first entering it on this site. I've since created several digitally altered versions, but in the online amateur photo competitive community, it would be in bad ethical taste for me to re-enter a previously proven successful image with alterations into competition again. There is a very hot debate on one of my favorite sites about double dipping with minor changes to images that have already won, and not one is in favor of the practice.
I appreciate your advice though, and had considered it, but think I'll let tis particular image stand without alteration.
Thanks for the great review.
Brian D. Watters

Comment from Orion008
Looks like the Barbed Wire is not withstanding the desire that comes with the will, to be free! Great expressional shot, the B/W here is good, but the lighting on the hands makes this appear like it was done inside, rather than outdoors- orion008.

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

Thanks, the lighting may be the result of spotlights lighting the grounds inside the fence. :)

Comment from tomted62
You nailed this one...great B&W I haven't seen one as good in a long time. Great composition and contrast. Fantastic work, keep it up.

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

Thanks Tomted62.
Appreciate it.
Brian

Comment from LowRider
This is a very impressive photograph Brian! The composition is very nice and I believe the fact you didn't use a flash really brought power to this shot! Super!!

 Comment Written 22-Jan-2005

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reply by the author on 22-Jan-2005

Thanks Lowrider, this image and a few others have done very well for me in 2004, helping me to win the award of Amateur photographer of the year in the national DND photo contest, and some other really nifty prizes including a digital camera, and die-sub printer. I'm glad it's well received here as well.
Cheers!
Brian D. Watters

Comment from ridebmx22224444
I love this picture. It has so much soul. I like how its almost a silhouette but you can see some detail in the arms. This is one of my favorite photos.

 Comment Written 21-Oct-2004

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reply by the author on 22-Oct-2004

Thank you, it's also one of my favorite photos that I've taken, though there are many more favorites that I have which were taken by others in the photo community.
Thanks again.
Brian

Comment from frogger
I love this photo. The artistic value is so impressive. This photo is proven fact that you can tell by a picture, if it was taken by someone who loves to photograph, or by someone who loves to photograph, but also possesses the gift of being a natural. Not everyone can see the potential in an image, event or moment. You are a Natural.

 Comment Written 21-Oct-2004

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reply by the author on 22-Oct-2004

Oh my god, I think that's got to be the nicest thing I've ever heard. Thank you very much for you kind words. I do love to photograph, and am always striving to improve. I wish I had more like this one, as it gave me the goose bumps when I got it up on my monitor for the first time, and that's a part of the magic that keeps me going. That and sharing what I've see through my eyes through a lens.
Thank you so much.
Brian

Comment from Shellrl
Very engaging photograph. I love how the background is blurred out and misty looking. How did you get the arm through the barbed wire in that way? Great imagery, nice job.

 Comment Written 20-Oct-2004

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reply by the author on 20-Oct-2004

Thanks, I actually didn't realize I had reached between the strands like that until I tried to take my arm out and scraped my arm. I was a rush to get them there before the timer released. :)
I believe focusing in macro mode helped with the blurred background.
Thanks again!
Cheers!
Brian

Comment from davideyoung
This one tells a poignet story, and I like that. The focus and lighting are just right. I would want to see it more centered though. Good work.

 Comment Written 20-Oct-2004

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reply by the author on 20-Oct-2004

Thanks David! Centering is something I tried with this image and was advised to put it back the way you see it now. I think it was the right call as this image won me several photo of the day contests on every site I entered it on, photo of the month on three sites, netting me several hundred dollars in software, photo paper, amazon gift certificates and awarded featured photographer of the month at http://www.shutterbugs.biz/featuredphotographer.html .
To top that off, at http://www.digitalimagecafe.com/potq_images.asp I managed to win not only there Quarterly prize for B&W, but also best of show which netted me a Mitsubishi CP-8000DW Photo Printer ($2,395 USD value), and Portfolio 7 from Extensis. ($200 value).
Just a couple hours ago, I got a call from the Lieutenant Colonel in charge of the Canadian Forces imaging trade to let me know that I won 1st; 2nd; and 3rd place for amateur photography as well as two honorable mentions and Amateur photographer of the year in their national annual photo contest.
I appreciate your feedback and score, and may try centering it at some time, but for now I think I'll go with what's been working and leave well enough alone.
Cheers!
Brian D. Watters

reply by davideyoung on 20-Oct-2004

Thanks Brian. Congrats, BTW. Many of my photos have won similar awards, but we are not allowed to place links to other sites on this board. Just an FYI for the future :)

reply by the author on 20-Oct-2004

Thanks David, I wasn't aware of the other link restriction, and actually a bit surprised as most other sites I frequent do allow displays of photographers other linked accomplishments, and one site "DIC" <--(no link), not only encourages it but had devoted a forum dedicated for that purpose as it fosters community spirit and interaction.
You'll have to excuse ,my excitement, but it's hard to contain, especially with todays news, I'm still flying on cloud nine.
That might be a good thing to bring up in the forums though, especially where this site is so different from many of the "Photo Contest" sites that are out there, I don't really think it would be like sending the members over to the competition, where most of the members here already compete, or at least should be in all the free contests they can find. :) In the end, the quality of the work displayed by photographers here improves as they strive to better themselves, and see what they're up against.
I'm not really sure if you can actually post hot links in this message board.
I'll try a common code to check though.
[URL]http://www.fanartreview.com[/URL]
Cheers!
Brian

reply by the author on 24-Oct-2004

Maybe I did it wrong? http://www.fanartreview.com