Submitter's name:	Eric Pederson
Title:	Laura at the Gymnastics Academy
Gear used:	OM-G w/ Kiron 80-200 zoom
Diaphragm:	f5.6 at approx 150mm
Shutter speed:	1/250
Film used:	Kodak P3200 at EI 6400; Xtol dev; Ilford MGIV Pearl-finish paper at grade 1.5 filter setting.
Technical information:	Handheld in fairly dim light; exposure needed to be calculated as the ASA cannot be set past 1600 on the OM-G (nor can the exposure compensation be set to -2 at this setting), so the auto exposure function I had hoped to use in this active setting was not possible.
Subject information:	My daughter age 2 at the uneven parallel bars (she's standing on a set of blocks).
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Nice expression! I would have loved to see this picture taken with a fine grain film, still a good shot.

Comment left by: Barry Bean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

Great composition, interesting use of high speed film.

Comment left by: Barry H (bhinderks@sprint.ca)

Moody, contemplative and it works really well in B&W! Nice work.

Comment left by: Joel Wilcox (jowilcox@blue.weeg.uiowa.edu)

I like the fierce and grainy BW for this great facial expression.

Comment left by: John Pendley (jpendley@mail.tds.net)

I agree with Joel, except that for "fierce" I would say "focused," or "absolutely concentrated." The grain is an essential element of the picture. If everything were smooth and clear, the whole personality of the shot would be ruined: she's in a sweaty sport, and she's taking it *seriously*. The hand on that bar!!! The expression on that two-year-old face!!! God bless her. Near, or at, the top of the submissions. I predict that you'll love this picture more and more as the years go by. (I have an available light portrait of the Dave Brubeck Quartet--ever hear of them?--when Brubeck was old and playing with his three sons.) I shot it with a Leica on Tri-X pushed to 3200. It taught me the value of grain.) I may be rambling, but I'll look at this picture often. It's really moving.

Comment left by: The photographer (see above)

Thanks for the kind comments -- especially to John Pendley's poetic eloquence! As a parent of young children, I would prefer every TOPE for the next few years to be portrait submissions! It's difficult to choose which single entry to submit. I chose this one for having both expression and composition. I am surprised that the skin tones can still be reproduced with such a high speed push. A good argument for never using flash for general illumination, but only for selective control. P3200 pushes higher with far gentler contrast than TriX. I haven't tried the Ilford competition yet. Of course I've heard of Brubeck -- don't tell me there are people among Olympus users who haven't!@! :-)

Comment left by: siddiq (siddim01@student.ucr.edu)

no doubt the grain adds to the character, but perhaps it might have been smoother with less compression, to the point where you can barely make out the compression artifacts; try about 70kb target filesize, upto 100 if needed (this is 53).

Comment left by: Rick Beckrich (Rick in VA) (rbeckric@trucking.org ribec@comic.com)

A hauntingly delightful picure of a beautiful child. Congratulations on both! Her expression reminded me of my youngest (but, about twenty-some years ago). rb

Comment left by: Jodi Jakeway (jjakeway@iserv.net)

What can I say after John Pendley's comments, except that I agree with all he had to say......a beautiful portrait of your daughter!

Comment left by: John A. Lind (jlind@netusa1.net)

In addition to most of what has already been said . . . The composition of this with the use of the B/W film you chose is timeless. If not told when this was made, it could easily be 1930, 1950 or 1990. A candid portrait plucked out of the environment extremely well.

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