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Published: 2004-03-17 03:07:41 +0000 UTC; Views: 6002; Favourites: 76; Downloads: 1957
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draw your own conclusions..........suffice to say this is a very personal self portrait about choices made and uncertainty and a bit of anxiety and honest fear of having no control and taking a very giant leap into the unknown for me..........(please don't mistake this for me being unhappy in anyway with my current state of pregnancy
)
mary
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the lighting is hardly what i was hoping for but frankly, i got tired after an hour of experimenting - that accounts for the overexposure on the right shoulder
the eggs were natural brown and not white. i wish all of my right toes showed too. despite all of these technical issues - i'm quite happy with this. its absolutely what i wanted to express. those that know me personally - will clearly get this in a heartbeat
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Comments: 230
Nice look and shape and legs as this came out well
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thank you - it was about feeling closed off and scared
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Whenever i fav i comment, and even though you already have so many comments on this amazing piece, i still feel i should express how impressed and amazed i am with the presentation and concept of this photograph.
It really is very beautiful, not just pyhsically but the ideas and messages that are being communicated.
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thank you for taking your time to comment - truly. yes, very personal piece
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Hi there, dear devi!
Yes, I understand you about the light; there is something just wrong around that shadow of your modelβs body, although it really doesnβt make much difference for me to fav it, because I truly believe the concept to be of most importance into this deviation! 
In fact, it reminds me a lot of the very first work I saw and commented of yours (the one with the box saying liar, murderer, etc⦠
You have the right to be free, and to be free is to make choices, it is your duty to arch with the consequences of each and every choice of yours. If we were to pay attention to all peopleβs judgements we wouldnβt live thru and for ourselves but thru and to others. Life is a choice, and so it is if we want to take it or not, and period! I mean no fuss about it!!!
I think this work could also be titled doubt, because it is what the facial expression is giving me the impression off. And also because when we have to make a choice we often feel very confuse and with doubts!
Oh, and by the way, I just loved each and every detail of this workβs composition; please keep sharing your ART with us, ok?
Kisses,
EloΓsa Valdes
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thank you -its me at the beginning of my pregnancy
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i'm good.
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uh, nice to hear you're moving! a move is allways good, I mean, a change!
me? hmm.. let me see, I'm moving too, I made it to university, I'll be a, what I think they call it, a freshgirl? 
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freshman 
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great shot, and wonderful concept.
has a lot of power to it.
and another B&W shot! hehe i'm loveing these
great wor
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good shoot
your gallery is very marvelous.
i Like very much
sorry ,i speak very badly english.I'm french
kiss
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thank you so much for taking the time!
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Tones are really great, and the shot made me laugh ! Your expression illustrates well the choice that one has to make
sometimes...
And congratulation for your baby!!
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now, I'm a guy, so I can't exactly relate, but being with my wife through the whole thing and being with her for the whole natural birth... it's truly amazing!
One thing that really strikes me about this... i had an idea that Stacey was pregnant before she told me, but the funny thing is, we were peeling boiled eggs to make devilled eggs for 4th of july party when she told me (^_^)
Being a parent is EXCELLENT! check out my gallery and you'll see some of the joy in my life!
Of course, some of it is just as deer-in-the-headlights scary as your expression, but the joy definitely outweighs the uncertainty.
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I think you are far too critical. The thing I like most about this is the sheer vulnerability you have been able to express.
I love the concept of the eggs and the title. You have created a beautiful image. I love it.
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yourself.
bare and naked self.
what more personal identification could exist?
excelent work.
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mary this is pure heart talking through a photo
great, awesome...
the composition is amazing and the eggs are well placed, you are so pretty and the expression in your face is very much expressive
i feel you are happy about your "something grownin' inside me" and this shot represents the "what are we? why are we so what?" question in a inusual powerfull way
your "unknow" stands in the power-white background and your pose fits with the contest as a water drop in a glass
i like your nude idea and the courage with this kind of photo styling. i love how your nude "helps" the photo and the concept which is all around you
great, a masterpiece by you
with
-fabio
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I love the expression on your face & in your stance. Baring your soul.
I'm so excited that you're pregnant!!!
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i THINK THIS IS perfect in regard of what yo wanted to express.
An allegory, a metonymic portrait. And they're always the best.
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awesome photograph. I love the exposure and the personal emotion you express here. very very eloquent
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i really thought of embryos and what not then freaked cus abortion came to mind then got calmed cus then i thought hey you have open eggs so they hatched right lol i like it cus its making me think of all the possibilities haha
love mel
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this is very beautiful. you really portray a feeling of anxiety, anxiousness and fear of the unknown. you also portray the fragility and frailty of life and bring both together by holding life in your hands. i hope you understand how amazing and beautiful you are.
-eli!
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*gasp*
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lovely capture of an idea. you are quite the visualist.
sorry, I haven't commented in awhile. spring break.
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This is quite revealing.....more so than your daily journals in a sense......It has an older 60's feel to it, thats a few years before my time but it reminds me of the show laugh in, or someone on it........thats not a jab at your work, it comes across to me as lighthearted, this is me...take me for what I am...this is what you get....the egg reference is quite funny, lets hope sextuplets are not in the cards.......unless your up for that.
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again you've shocked me with your creativity and your skill on how express it... surely a
Note: sorry fo my few comments on your journals and pic in these days, but I truly overflowed by my life...
oh...
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ooooh this is SO expressive and personal
i can't even begin to realize what it must be like going through the time that you're going through now
and you're handling everything so nicely
the best of luck to you mary
and GREAT photo
very beautiful
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this is a great photo, even with all the 'short-comings' you pointed out... although i think i would've not really noticed them
i really like the concept, you expression does seem to portray a little trepidation about going into new boundaries though, and seems to be contemplating all sorts of potential possibilities.
i like how the background is completely white too, making it impossible to distinguish where floor ends and wall begins, it gives the illusion of floating in space and perhaps, uncertainty?
wonderfully done
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can't say i know you all that well, but i think i understand and love the symbolism that you potray in this piece.
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+fav
"Die Qual der Wahl"- the torment of choice, fragility and vulnerablitily, anxiety and outside pressures, boiling points, breaking points...
well expressed!!
I'm so glad I can "see" again!!!
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So I 
My only technical comment is that I think maybe the broken shells by your feet should be a little more in the foreground, so there's some white space between you and the shells. There's an emotional closeness between you and the whole egg in your hands and a emotional and visual distance between you and the broken ones, and I think that's deemphasized a little by having the one at your feet so visually close to your body. Just IMHO.
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i agree completely and thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment
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Quite, quite beautiful. There is the little girl lost in there somewhere, and the way you have portrayed the unknown yet to come is both immediate and haunting. I wont even try to get hung up on the technical side, M. There is little point, as the form and symbolism carry this piece amazingly well, especially for us who have had brushes with the metaphorical broken eggs.
In the end, it is your expression which I will take away with me. Maybe it is the pregnancy, but you look more beautiful than ever.
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thank yoiu so much! feel free to comment on the technical - i need it! if you read all the comments you'll see i talk about my struggles with the lighting i have at my disposal (the only professional lighting i have currently is two 100 watt/second flashes w/ umbrellas which i did use) doing this white on whiate at night inside. feel free to comment!
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I was wondering what issues you faced on the lower right hand side, where there seems a definite shadow line, yet no shadow - it looks a little forced, as if the shadow was removed on a single layer rather than an overlay, which would give a smoother effect. Also, when looking at the shadows of the eggs, I could't help notice the one at two o'clock, with the shadow facing the wrong direction.
What were you trying to achieve with the lighting? To me the flatness really suits the piece so well, especially given the tonal balance with all that whiteness. I think you were right to over-expose the image a little, and the (your) right shoulder doesn't seem to me to be an issue at all.
Really, I think you did a great job, to get the right amount of shadows on the broken eggs, while also keeping your features balanced. I am guessing one light high over your right shoulder, and one on your left at a lower angle and to the front? As people have mentioned, the white on white must have been a tricky one to address the correct balance, and I bet you have an assortment in different exposures!
I guess for the overall symmetry, the lack of shadow is perfect, and it is perhaps an after-edit job that needs to be looked at rather than your actual technique in creating the image.
I will end after all that, with a little side note which I left out of my original comment about 'concept' photography on dA. Usually, I see an message picture, and regardless of how well done it is technically as a photograph, it leaves me rather cold, as there is very little room for me to form my own ideas about the piece. With this one, I think you hit the right balance, between explicitness and metaphor. It made me think, 'I wish I had thought of that'
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i didn't force any shadow on the egg but i did do the erasure work on some shadows on one layer only as opposed to an overlay layer - i'll not to do that in the future. you are right about my placement of light AND the fact the issues came from after edit.
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a beautiful and powerful work. your child will treasure it for life...
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