[I pressed the Send button before having finished, so here it is again, 
complete now]

For a serious lack of time I couldn't comment on the previous, TinaChep 
round, so I
want to be sure to comment on the Before and After!!

"But which came first?" by David Lewis
Of course, how obvious :-) and yet, here is a refreshing version of this
philosophical theme. It is also appropriate that this image be the first one
of the round. I certainly like the way in which the diffrent elements have
been worked out. The hen in particular has personality and looks at the
world in a totally perplexed and embarrassed way as if she were sorry to
have generated such a complex question. In terms of model, she is far
superior to those from e.g. Chicken Run.
The fence too is excellent. A reminder to everybody to study seriously Jaime
Vives Piqueres work!! The only thing I find a little bit distracting, is the
straw which imho could be a tiny bit mor irregular in shape. But that is
really nitpicking (just to have to make a criticism :-)  )

"Mild nudity" by Bill Pragnell
It is a public secret that Bill generates poetical, dreamlike scenes from
very few, simple elements. I certainly admire him for that and wish I could
do the same as I have to constantly fight against my tendency of cluttering
up my scenes. So, yes, I am very much attracted to this pair of images,
which immediately generate a number of questions about the environment (a
building, obviously, with an imprecise function, but who cares?), the girl
(obviously in perfect ease and in her own domain, in the way she carries her
nudity carelessly and yet self-consciously), the bottle of wine (something
to celebrate perhaps? Or just the simple pleasure of enjoying a drink?), the
contrast between daylight and artificial light, together with the emptying
of the bottle, subtly marking the passage of time, and the irreversibility
of the arrow of that same Time.
Technically, I admire the careful building blocks and their subtle texture.
Aiko is Aiko of course and an excellent model. The slight anime aspect of
the girl works well in this scene although in others it might become
distracting.

"The passing away" by Malcolm Findlay
Not obvious, at first, and then it hits hard. If there is a before and
after, then this is it. No need for different images, it is all there. I
particularly appreciate the reference to the IRTC here, and hope it is not a
subconscious depiction of real life.
The scene has been carefully built, with a severe, unrelenting symmetry,
only broken by the flower and the portrait. I wonder what is there, in the
round medallion?
Yes a slightly disturbing scene, and yet particularly attractive. Well done.

"A type of typewriter" by Shay
I very much wonder what the meaning is of this wonderful and intriguing
image? I imagine that the before is the typewriter itself as a metaphore for
the pre-digital creative process, and sublimated into the after as the
creative process itself. Very clever! I cannot entirely see how the image
was obtained and I am curious to hear more about it. Artistically, I would
say that this image could proudly be exposed in any modern art museum.

"yarsocp" by Tek
What can I say? Tek is a master and I am not joking. He hardly needs to
stress the point by showing a 'make-believe' image of is early attempts!
Nobody will believe him, because already then he was way ahead of everybody!
:-)
So, joking apart (after all), one can only study carefully this scene and
learn the trade.

"Aging" by William Tracy
Maybe it did not work out that well, as William says, but still it is a very
carefully built scene, and difficult to do right, despite of the deceptive
"simplicity". Both glasses and cane are well built. Personally, I do not
really see glasses as youth (perhaps because I only wear glasses since my
'old' age :-) )

"First cup" by Mike C
The difficult start in the morning. I am one of those wretched individuals
who need time ("can't you shut up, please?") to start the day properly :-)
This scene is really expressing the change that a cup of coffee ("strong,
please!") can have. Interestingly, Mike has thought about changing the
position of the cup (and only the cup), before and after, and through that
slight change, the whole, deeply felt satisfaction of the invisible drinker
becomes visible, almost more so than through the lifting up of the morning
fogs. And one should not forget the focus on that coffee cup in the before
scene, the whole hypnotic attraction for the black beverage. So, maybe, that
attraction is shifting towards the coffee machine in the after scene? Who
knows?
I like the way in which the environment has been built, effectively, from
simple, well-recognizable objects, immediately setting the stage, without
fuzz. Perhaps... no. I wanted to add some bread crumbs or other things, but
it would distract from the essential.

"Reganomics" by Brian Price
In every sense the societal changes are well-expressed in this composite
scene. It is enhanced by the rigorous symmetry of the scene, even in the
place of the cars (note the 'repairs' on the righthand one!). Everything has
become more dismal. The lots have become smaller, the colors duller, even
the light has lost its power. I think it is very well done. I would only
suggest a bit more textural detail in the road at left perhaps, and a little
lighter at right? Just because they occupy a large and essential part of the
image. Nitpicking really.

"This to that" by Steve Paget
I don't know how you do this, Steve! Still finding time to make such a 
careful and detailed scene? There is that wonderful sense of being seated in 
front of the instruments of the trade, and thinking about what one is going 
to make this time, looking alternatively at the details, choosing, 
discarding... It is just the hand that is going to start the creative 
process that is missing, but its presence is felt very strongly.
Textures are really good, like always, the wood, but especially the metals, 
tarnished or not. The only thing that distracts me a bit is the background 
that is a bit too 'noisy' for my taste. But that is nitpicking again...



Thomas

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