Little Girl on the Ferry

Posted by Craig (Vacaville, California, United States) on 10 July 2008 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

This little girl sat in the seat in front of me with her mother while crossing the San Francisco Bay via the Vallejo Ferry. I snapped her picture when she peered over the seat. Now I have to give credit where credit is do. This image is done in a style that has often impressed me. I first saw this stile used by a great AM3 blogger named Still. Although he doesn't post on AM3 anymore you can still see his work here.

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Comments (17)

Viewfinder from Bradenton, United States

Nice work. I really like this, and "Still" has set a high standard. Funny, looking at my pre-posted shot today, I didn't go to the extreme but got close. Check it out at my site and let me know what you think.

10 Jul 2008 2:57pm

Cheryl from Texas, United States

wow, Craig, nice work! I love it!

10 Jul 2008 3:16pm

MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom

very creative and arty, I love it, brilliant work Craig.
This has given me a idea, if it works I'll let you know ;)

10 Jul 2008 4:03pm

@MaryB: Just to let you know, I used a gradient map adjustment layer to do this. Most of the gradient map is white with just a few mid-tones left on the left hand side (hope that makes sense). I'm not sure how Still does his but suspect it is something similar.

Mandy Provan from Johannesburg, South Africa

Great creative Shot Craig......so nice to see something COMPLETELY different - I really like it!

10 Jul 2008 6:28pm

Michael from Wuppertal, Germany

Great shot and a truly creative and outstanding work!

10 Jul 2008 8:10pm

Still from France

An impressive glance. Bravo Craig.
I'm very touched by your message!

10 Jul 2008 8:31pm

@Still: Thank you Still! I have admired your work for almost 2 years now. You are an inspiration my friend.

standley from brou-sur-chantereine, France

Superb creative picture Craig. You did a great job here!

10 Jul 2008 8:35pm

Helen from Melbourne, Australia

Enigmatic. You have emulated Still very well, perhaps even surpassed the master? This work is much more minimalist and I prefer your tone and composition. A sign of things to come?

10 Jul 2008 9:52pm

@Helen: No, I don't think I surpassed the master. But, I sure was influenced by his imagery. I do appreciate the compliment though Helen. I'll probably do a few more in the coming days! Always good to hear from you Helen!

danthro from Suburbia, United States

cool shot! i hadn't seen Still's work but i was actually thinking about trying doing something in a similar type style, more inspired by this shot. it's a cool style though there are a lot of ways to go about the general style. anyway, well done!

10 Jul 2008 11:24pm

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

This one...I like. It looks like a pencil study from art school.

10 Jul 2008 11:33pm

Betty from New Jersey, United States

Well done, Craig! Very impressive!

11 Jul 2008 1:11am

John Maslowski from Dallas, PA, United States

Impressive image Craig. Very creative, really like this one.

11 Jul 2008 2:00am

Michael Rawluk from Prince George, Canada

I saw a similar one on another blog yesterday. Can't remember which. It is a very effective style when not over-used. I like the use of a half face in your shot.

11 Jul 2008 2:53am

Lorraine from Gatineau, Canada

ahhh it's lovely, and I checked your inspiration and wow, very impressive :)

11 Jul 2008 7:42am

Tracey from White Hall, United States

Wow Craig! Certainly got my attention! I really love this take on a portrait and will have to give it a try myself one day. Thanks for sharing the info about the gradient map. I will also check out Still's work as well. One suggestion I would have is the one line of her lip on the left side of the frame grabs my attention every time I see the portrait. Maybe if you only include the mouth to the right, it would attract more attention to her eyes. I hope this doesn't offend you, as it is an AMAZING photograph!

11 Jul 2008 11:46am

@Tracey: Tracy, I am not offended what-so-ever. In fact, I strongly agree with your assessment. After I posted the photo yesterday, I noticed the same thing and changed the original just like you suggest. I do appreciate your comment Tracy. There is a fine line between constructive criticism and nit picking. Sometimes it is so fine even the author can't tell the difference. In your case, it was taken as nothing more than constructive criticism.

amy from Nanaimo, BC, Canada

VERY interesting effect, Craig. I quite like it. The minimalism of it is perfect.

11 Jul 2008 3:10pm

Illuci from Hurdegaryp, Netherlands

Oh, yes!! This wonderful! This is photography brought back to the essence of drawing which is: leave all unnecessary away. I bothered much about how to leave away things in photography but this is a beautiful solution. Well done and I also had a look at Still's work.

11 Jul 2008 7:46pm

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