I think Bill is referring to #7 (just on the left of the center cross)

That little skull-like face near the intersection of the left and top third lines – was it really there? Or did you photoshop it in?

It strikes me as close to brilliant, maybe brilliant, either way, but since this is a documentary essay, I hope it was really there. I believe it was really there. But I am just a wee bit skeptical.

As so often on this site, I thought the project was well executed, and worth looking at.

-On the plus side, I thought the images were technically very good, and you told the story very clearly. Certain images stood out to me – the crawling ones in particular, and the opening image.
-On a more critical note, I felt you could have let yourself run away with the passion involved in the procession, and the surreal nature of the subject. I wanted some raw emotion.

On the whole though, a strong essay – I’m a bit surprised it’s getting such a tough time.

B

Eva makes the point that the photographs show “what it looks like rather than what it feels like” and I’d agree, although I don’t say this as a criticism: when I look at photographs I want to be informed first and wowed by the photography a close second – or rather, great photography on its own is not enough for me; I want the lowdown too. The intro tells us that “thousands of Orthodox Catholics moved by faith flock to the holy mountain” and I’d like to see more of the participants. I suspect (please tell us Yurian) that this is an initial contact with this religious festival. Getting close in such situations is always difficult and returning annually would probably pay dividends. If it was me I’d consider taking off my shoes to show solidarity with the participants and hopefully be viewed as such rather than just a taker of photographs. Having said all this I really do like the photography produced so far: I want to visit there myself!

Mike.