By Amanda Bull.
Ghostly girl. By Amanda Bull
Canon 50D, 17-85mm USM lens, f/4.5, 1/8s, ISO 100
Don’s response
The goal of every photograph is to draw the viewer into the image in one way or another.
Amanda Bull’s “Ghostly girl” does so by the simple expedient of having her model move while using a slow shutter speed on her tripod-mounted camera.
I think the picture succeeds in part. It takes a moment to work out what’s going on, and that’s a good result in itself, but I think it could have been more successful if the central figure was doing something more interesting. I know that’s a vague objection, but this is a staged picture and being staged it should push the dramatic boundaries more.
Perhaps if the model was instructed to dance out a story or scene with lots of theatrical and therefore photogenic gestures, they could have created a more arresting result.
As well the air of mystery I’m presuming they wanted to achieve, the picture might also have been enhanced by a bit of under-exposure and perhaps some aggressive vignetting.
