Published by Yvette Depaepe  in collaboration with Mike Kreiten, Head of the Senior Critics
Published the 3rd of June 2021

1x has a unique feature the founders are very proud of: the photo critique. Members can submit pictures to a team of knowledgeable senior critics. Their feedback and different suggestions are useful, interesting and enriching even for the best of us.

Critique on 'Art moving' by Giuseppe Satriani 
The pandemic has forced art to reinvent itself to continue existing. The idea of this image was to metaphorically represent this need for art to find a new place to continue its necessary work for humanity.

Technical Data: Panasonic DMC-G2 - 14mm Lens
1/4 sec. 100 ISO f/4
Blur accentuated in PHSP by using motion blur

During curation, the only weakness provided is related by "technical quality" but no comments received. Could you please explain to me which are these technical problems?
Do you think the image expresses my intention?

As always, thanks for your useful suggestions.

'Art moving' by Giuseppe Satriani

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Senior Critic  Daniel Springgay 
Hi Giuseppe and welcome back to critique. The fine title you gave to your image 'Art moving' tells a story but what about  'Art Moving through Time'?
Great idea Giuseppe and I think it works up to a point.

Looking at the composition part and framing I don't think you need all that space on the right side. Maybe a crop to take away the wheel, would help for a better composition and balance and the whole image would start to sing.

For my eyes, the lack of technical quality mentioned is due to how sharp the two guy's and the wonderful framed art, are.  Maybe a little sharpening and increasing the contrasts might help telling the story to the viewers.

My personal opinion is that the more I look at this image, the more I I like the dreamy look of it. Thank you for sharing

Daniel Springgay - Senior critic.
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Senior Critic Steve T 
Giuseppe,  It's good to see another of your photos here in Critique Classic. Thank you for posting and for writing about the theme. We appreciate that you took time to do that, and to give the exposure details as well.

I've been looking at the photo for a while, and really wasn't sure what to write about it. At first I thought 'art theft' because I saw the man with the painting and another man who seemed to be running away through a door. I did not notice that the right side of the frame shows a moving van until I read Daniel's comment about the wheel. Wheel? What wheel? Then there was a 'Doh!' moment and I finally got the story of art being moved.

If the right side of the frame were less blurred so that the truck could be more easily identified I think it would work better - at least for viewers like me who tend to look at most images too quickly.

As you say, art may well have to reinvent itself, but art is good at that. I know that times of heightened stress can make people want to express themselves, to make something that explains to others how they feel.  Art will come through, and maybe it will be even better. What's happening in our field of photography is that we're looking for subjects closer to home. Photos of everyday things, still life's, self-portraits, and creations made from images already in our files are more common, at least here on 1X.

'Art Moving' is OK for a title, but doesn't suggest that it's being moved because of the pandemic. If the art were being rescued, or preserved, or protected-from, or cleared out to make room for the new art . . . . It's my belief that titles that give viewers a clue, but stop short of spelling out the theme explicitly, are the best.

I'm sorry not to have more suggestions. Thanks again for supporting us here on the Classic side of Critique.
Steven, senior critic

Giuseppe Satriani 
Hi Daniel and Steven T.  I reply to Steven comment just because is the last I received but my answer is for both of you. Firstly, thanks for your suggestions because it is important in such a type of image to understand the people's feedback to better tune the processing...and if the suggestions come from experienced critics... it is even better!
This is the big value added of the "traditional Critique" in the traditional 1X!!!

What I will do is to make a sum of your suggestions:
- slight crop on the left but leaving the wheel
- less diffumination for the two persons and for the picture
- more contrast in persons and picture In any case I also will try to make a more deep crop of the left side as Daniel suggested, even though if I delete the wheel...the 'moving' part could get lost...
I will evaluate then if the the aesthetic benefits outweigh the conceptual loss.
Can I post again the improved image here in critique when I will have it ready?
Ciao and many thanks again!!!

Senior Critic Steve T 
Giuseppe, Thank you for your reply. Yes, you can post a revised version here in Critique. I'm lookinf forward to see it. Please don't delete the original, though, as some members might want to compare the two. Once deleted from your portfolio, a photo disappears from Critique along with any comments made there.
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Critique is also open to all members, and we learn together here. If you see an image you'd like to comment on, your words would be welcome.