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kit-tay
Member
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# Posted: 18 Oct 09 20:23 - Edited by: kit-tay
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IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE WORKSHOP PLEASE READ CAREFULLY THE RULES BELOW:
1. Join the workgroup in this link The of members list will be open all the time (to get in and to get out).
2. Each member of the workgroup agrees in being a critic for other members (not necessarily all them) and being criticized by the rest of members (not necessarily all them).
3. The main idea is to make a critic of a whole work from a photographer and not only of a picture. It’s aviced to browse to the whole collection of the photographer under critics (but it’s not obligatory, specially considering that there are some very large portafolios).
4. Nevertheless, a sample around 20 pictures selected by the photographer will be posted in the appropriate forum thread in order to highlight which pictures the photographer considers as the best examples of his/her photographic work. The critics will take specially these pictures into account, but all the collection can be browsed and used for the critic’s work.
5. All opinions must be accepted by all members, like it or not. The only limits for the critics is to be sincere, to be polite and to be constructive. This is supposed to be a workshop to learn... if you want flattery just have a look at the normal comments in your pictures.
6. All aspects of photography would be under critics: quality, quantity, originality, subject, composition, light, colour, white balance, edition, etc... But this doesn't mean that you must criticize all these things. Concerning the critics, you will find a very good summary in Miguel's blog here: ".Elements of Analysis
7. This workgroup doesn't intend to be an "exclusive club for experienced photographers". All members are wellcome, with all photographic levels... (If you don't know about white balance, depth of field, ISO, etc... just tell us "I like your collection or I don't like it at all and try to explain why with your own words...)
8. The strategy "you scratch my back and I scratch yours" is not accepted in such a workgroup... Let's be serious...
Now some ideas about the way to carry this out:
1st. Join the group in the forum linked before.
2nd. You will be in a queue and you will have to wait to your turn to post your own gallery in a new forum topic. There will be 4 members showing their collections at the same time for one week.
3rd. When it's your turn post a forum topic with the title: "CRITICS WORKSHOP: Member’s nickname gallery". In this topic you will cut and paste these rules and those written above and post around 20 pictures selected from your own collection. It would be nice also if you could write few words about your photographic work: what are you interested in, what do you want to transmit with your pictures, for how long you are a photographer... and whatever you think it’s important to consider for a critic.
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So, it's my turn now.
Hi, my name is Julia (-Hello, Julia! -- Photographers Anonymous, shall we?). I'm no professional photographer, just your average gal with a camera. I learn by doing, reading and looking at the work of others. And, of course, by trial and error. Photography was around me since my childhood, but I got into it about three or four years ago. When I think of how many beautiful shots I'd missed in my life... let's not, makes me sad.
I try to see the beauty of our world in everything: the drops of rain, reflections in the water, flowers, little bugs, grand landscapes and of course, the people. The work you'll find in my Woophy portfolio will predominantly be landscapes. What I value in photography over all is the ability of a photographer to catch the natural light, colors and to transmit the spirit, be it in a portrait or a landscape. That's what I try to do, too, and I'd like to hope that sometimes I succeed.
Ok, enough talk, on to more graphical content. Split into some categories, sorted older to newer, all taken within last 5 years (couple oldest shots scanned from film).
Upd: I shoot in raw, always, since I got a DSLR. Hence, processing always involves adjusting wb, color temp, sharpness. I use LR and much less often PS Elements. I don't really fancy over-edited photographs. There's enough beauty in the world, and the trick for me is to capture it.
a) Landscapes and architecture:
1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 
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b) People:
9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 
13. 
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c) All other:
14. 
15. 
16. 
17. 
18. 
19. 
20. 
PS sometimes it kills me that almost nobody would view photos large...
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TGB
Member
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# Posted: 19 Oct 09 13:45
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Hi Julia,
I don't really know what to say about your selection. Although it is representative of your portfolio, its only by looking at it as a whole (your portfolio) can I get any idea of your photographic interests. To describe your portfolio as eclectic would be to undervalue it because there is a strong sense of involvment about it which suggest to me that you put a lot of yourself into your photographs.
There are more qualified photographers in Woophy who can provide a detailed critique on each photograph, but I would urge them to look at your portfolio as a whole before doing so because I do not think that you may necessarily have selected your best pics.
I had a very pleasurable browse through your portfolio, though.
Regards,
TGB
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ortho158
Member
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# Posted: 19 Oct 09 16:07 - Edited by: ortho158
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Hi Julia,
the one that I prefer is  , and then it's the colorful ones, like  , e.g., and similar ones from your portfolio.
You say that you don't do a lot of post-processing, but I think that some of your pics really deserve some sharpening:  and  . By the way, I don't think that the last one is a good composition: I wonder what you want to show. And the horizon is not level.
This one  is another matter: you don't have enough DOF. I suppose that you should have used a smaller aperture (but, as you don't show the EXIF, I don't know what you used).
I like  , but the insect is too centered. It would probably be better if you simply cropped the bottom of the pic.
I am not very enthousiastic about your people pics. The 2 men look away, as if they were half-sleeping (they look more like statues than real persons), and what we see of the couple on the bench is too small compared to the rest of the pic (it looks more like a pic of a bench than a people pic).
It took me a long time to see the parrot on  . It's interesting that the parrot merges with the leaves, but I think he should be more recognizable.
I hope you don't mind my remarks: it's just my own opinion. And I would like to add that I like very much  , which you didn't include in your selection.
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la rafale
Member
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# Posted: 20 Oct 09 10:08
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Hello, Julia,
my "tiercé" in your port-folio would be your ,  and 
in the first one, you managed to catch fine colours, beautiful architecture and street scene (with some luck as you explained )
the second rocks for me ( it would be still finer with a crop of the dark shadow on the right) : i feel it as an atmospheric shot.
the third is ,imo, a good street scene : good facial expression, details on the man's stick and good contrast on his suit making him the obvious main subject/grey of the other parts of the pic.
about your other shots, Ortho said it well, with technical tips that i couldn't give so ... nothing else
best regards,
brigitte
ps: although it's not perfect ( you cut one ear for example), i like your  that made me smile
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Martin de Rijk
Member
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# Posted: 20 Oct 09 11:11
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Hi Julia
Looking at your portfolio I must say you left some nice pictures out, like some shots from Stockholm.
As ortho allreay mentioned, some shots, like 1, 2, and 3 could use some postprocessing.
When making pictures of people they must have something interesting , something more then just a snapshot. #9 and 10 are a bit boring to me, but I like 11 and 12, nice streetscene and concentrated fisherman.
#16 I consider a miss. The bird becomes invisible I assume this wasn't on purpose.
#19 could have been nice for me when the dark foreground was less prominent, maybe another POV more to the right.
#13 and 15 are my favorites in this series,
Maybe in the future you could try to use post-processing a bit more to correct your pictures a bit when needed. Just try a look for a result you like.
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atrae
Member
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# Posted: 20 Oct 09 12:15
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on individual pictures one can make remarks But one has to see your photographic skills as a whole and imo you do very good you've got a wide interest .And seeing this I do not much care about details of an individual photo.
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kit-tay
Member
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# Posted: 20 Oct 09 16:25
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Dear all,
First of all, thanks to everybody who already left comments. They are very much appreciated.
A short note, now that I'm reading your critiques: the first two shots were scanned from a regular 10x15 printed photo, and probably scanned badly. These pictures are over 5 years old. So, it was probably not a wise choice for representing my portfolio.
You are right, I have intentionally not chosen the best (from my and others' point of view) photos. However, the critique is still very useful for me. The oldest pictures (in this selection, 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 14, 15) went under no post-processing at all. If you look at the newer shots, that would be more representative of the editing I may do.
Thanks a lot again, and looking forward to any more comments you may have.
Regards,
Julia
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TBM
Member
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# Posted: 21 Oct 09 23:05 - Edited by: TBM
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Dear Julia,
the first thing I noticed watching your portfolio is that lately the quality of your uploads is getting better and better. It is not just a question of editing, I think, because also the choice of the subjects and the composition seem to be more accurate.
Another thing that passed through my mind watching your portfolio is that, despite the division into 3 chapters you made with your selection, you are above all a landscape photographer (which makes me happy, because, as you may have noticed, I myself am a landscape enthusiast).
No doubt you have a great eye for details and a good sensitivity to light. This is showed in some pics of yours, where little details give a strong sense of depth and the light tells us much about the place. For instance, in your olive tree from Apollonia the strong midday light gives the feeling of the Mediterranean sun, and the patterns in the wheath field suggest perspective (the sky is a bit boring, though, you should fix that). Also your cityscapes from Riga have a fantastic Artic light. And another picture where light and details create a great image is no. 835683.
On the other hand, I find that often there are too many disturbing elements. For instance, no. 875195 could be a great Alpine landscape, but that big white house on the right is very distracting (and the belltower is tilted). Or in 648416, those branches on the left literally take my eye away from the castle.
So, my advice is that you should pay more attention to composition and crop (funny, this is more or less the same thing that you wrote commenting my portfolio... but I swear you I am not looking for revenge). Try to get rid of all the things that are not really necessary for the composition. And keep on editing, it is essential in landscape photography (but attention not to overdo things, like in 872629 :wink
Two little ideas to finish with.
1) Your landscapes are a bit too desertic. Try to set some human figure in the composition.
2) I read in your profile that you live in Moscow. How is it that so few of your citiscapes are taken there? I am sure that there are so many scenes to capture there....
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geert geenen
Member
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# Posted: 23 Oct 09 20:17
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Hello Julia,
The photo’s I like most in your collection, are those made in my country, the Netherlands. The numbers 4 and 5 from your selection for instance. But also the Gouda city-hall, though I might suggest a small correction of the tilt.
The above mentioned photo’s, as well as the numbers 7 and 8 from your selection, are nice city-views with good colours and light.
Number 13 (the Moscow painter-man) is one of your best. And number 11 (the old man in Nurnberg) I especially like because of your colour-choice and -work.
To be honest: there are some (very) bad photo’s in your selection too: 1, 2, 14, 16 and 17. Number 2 for instance has too much uninteresting space and a tilt. And what’s the subject? And 14 and 17 are un-sharp.
The numbers 3 and 6 are not that bad, but they don’t interest me. And the other photo’s in your selection can excite me neither.
On the other side: I like your Fethiye-photo. Geometry in nature.
And these two are nice too.
 
In general I find that you have nice nature- and city-photo’s in your collection, especially when you make a good use of the light.
But a lot of your photo’s in my eyes are a bit dull, far from surprising.
My advice: try to find some more interesting subjects. And: sit yourself on a bench, watch and wait for ten minutes before taking a photo.
And above all: go on, shoot photo’s, everyday, watch the results, be critical on yourself, watch photo’s from others and learn form them. As you are doing allready. Your later photo's in general are better than earlier uploaded ones.
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Richt
Member
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# Posted: 31 Oct 09 16:52
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Hei Julia,
Sorry I didn`t see your portpholio before. I must say I was surprised, you take us with you in the whole Woophy world..so many countries you show us here! Wonderful photo`s from the Netherlands for example and of the Fethiye Bay! I hope that in the future you `ll also upload pict. of your home city Moscow!
1, 2 and 3 are so as you said scanned pict. and indeed not so good qua compo and sharpness
4.nice, sharp and well composed vieuw on the beautiful old houses in Amsterdam
5. very nice vieuw on the Dutch windmill with splendid reflections, the red roof is an eye catch
6. horizon a litt tilt and unsharp, need some more full colours
7. nice city vieuw .
But your pict.  is much better imo, I like this one very much
8. nice houses but not a good streetscene, I miss the feets of the people
9. I don`t like the composition , think that`s why the pict is not so interessant for me
10 says me not so much, miss a story in it
11 Strong pict.! Good expression and colours
12 A moment of rest, beautiful scene of his daily life, nice compo and colours
13 Looks indeed as an project, well seen and good composed
14 not a interesting photo for me
15. Good photo. I like the old details, when you cropped the shadow at the right the pict. would be stronger
16 I don`t think it was your intention that it cost us a lot of time to search the Parrot
17 unsharp
18 well balanced photo, nice atmosphere, I like it
19 the dark part at the left is so massive
The followed pict. not in your selection, I like very, very much
20 by cropping the bottom the insect and also the flower would be more interesting
Kind regards,
Richt
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Jan Hemels
Moderator
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# Posted: 31 Oct 09 22:11
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Hi Julia,
I like your vision on photography as it comes very close to mine. Your pics are showing real natural colouring and some good compositions. In general however there is room for improving the compositions as already stated by the earlier commenters.
My favourites are the pics 10, 11, 13 and 18. They show you have a good eye for the human elements and you use in a positive way!
Please go on looking at and learning from advanced photographers it is the best way to overcome the present shortcomings in your portfolio.
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kit-tay
Member
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# Posted: 31 Oct 09 23:28
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Just want to say thank you to everyone who left comments. I really appreciate all the constructive ideas as to how I could do things better. Thanks a lot ,everyone!
PS Sorry, the work has been hell lately... and my son keeps me busy in the evenings. Hardly find any time for anything else at the moment...
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zoidberg
Moderator
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# Posted: 1 Nov 09 20:46
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Hi Julia,
I'm sorry for the delay commenting your pictures.
There's some pictures from your selection that I like very much and others that I think they could be better. For example I think could look nicest with a few edition, maybe more contrast, same as  . In this picture  I don't understand the crop and the compo, the same as in this one  , a nice scene but with a too flat composition imo.
On the other way I really like  (fantastic compo, light and reflections)  (very beautiful compo again, but I think the color contrast is not nice)  (excellent city view, very well composed)
About your people pictures, I think they are beautiful scenes, but some of them could have a different crop imo, maybe not so closer except in this case  .
From "all other" section, I really like and  specially for the edition you made.
Cheers!
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Mac Leitao
Member
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# Posted: 16 Nov 09 00:47
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Hi Julia
What can I say that others didn't said?
In the first place your portfolio have beautiful photos, some of my country that you catch very well. I agree with you in the less edited photos as possible. However, some need a little extra to increase the beauty of the result as #6 .
I like the simplicity and the colours of your photos and I think you have in your portfolio better photos than some you presented here. For instance, photos #1 (not well defined in the horizon) and #3 , (with an artificial blue) I don't appreciate.
I appreciate the panoramic photos with cloudy skies #5 for instance. Also the expression of people seen in the #10 and #11.
Hope to see more of your work
Manuel Leitao
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Ruden Fretsbo
Member
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# Posted: 10 Dec 09 22:26
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Hi Julia!
Sorry that I made you wait so much... Here you are my critic on your gallery.
1st part: landscapes and architecture
1. The vertical shot was not a good choice in my opinion. For that kind of landscape is really necessary an horizontal point of view. One more thing is that the horizon line shouldn't be in the middle of the image if you want to make it more dynamic. The lower part of the image is much more interesting thatn the empty sky, so this part should be bigger, imo. My advice: to use a zoom lens to get closer to the mountain.
2. The same problem with the horizon line in the middle... it makes it boring... Another problem of the picture is that the ionteresting thing in it (the ruins) is almost not visible. I'd use a zoom here also...
3. Again the vertical composition is not a good choice (imo, of course). The result of such a choice is too much empty sky and cropping the tree and the houses...
4. This one is good in terms of composition. Only the light could be better... maybe in another hour of the day?
5. Excellent picture. Maybe this would be the exception to what I sadi before about the horizon in the middle of the scene. Here it enhances the mirroring effect of the water. The cloudy sky is also very nice, congratulations. Just a minor thing: you could adjust levels using any software. It would benefit from some brightness.
6. One of my favorite pictures in your collection. It needs only a level adjustment, specially to darken a little bit the middle tones. Like this you will achieve a better contrast in the wheat, the tree and the blue parts of the sky. Well composed, very dynamic!
7. Too much sky too little city...
8. Excellent tonal range and colour saturation. Nice image.
2nd part. People.
9. Nice scene, but the point of view could be better... something more original.. more risky... I don't know exactly how to explain it. I think this kind of scenes that we find in the street deserve to shot few pictures from different point of views and after this choose the best.
10. Nice image. Her sight makes it special.
11. Probably the best of this series. The black and white suiits very well. The composition is very good and the scene interesting.
12. This picture would be better than the last one if the composition was better. The man is too centered and again the vertical shot doesn't convince me. For the rest the picture would be really excellent!
13. Very very good! I like it a lot. Nice colours and scene. Very well seen!
3rd part: all other
14. Nice picture... but too classical for my taste...
15. This one I like very much! I like decadent objects! Nice textures you achieved!
16. Sorry but I don't like it at all. You should use a flash in this situations, when shooting against the light... unless you wanted to show the silhouette... in that case I think this silhouette was not so interesting and the light is rather poor...
17. Good one. It's not my kind of picture but its very well done.
18. Mmmm! Nice composition... the yelloy tone suits well. It's a relaxing picture to look at... this is good!
19. I don't like it... The mountain in foreground appears like a black mass without interest ocupying the third part of the image. The light in background looks nice but the shot was not lucky that time...  (
20. Beautiful shot. Good use of the big aperture to suggest the depth of field. Again I wouldn't choose the vertical PoV but maybe I'm too obsessive...
4rth part. Generally talking
After reading my critics I'm afraid that maybe I was too hard... I'm just pointing the things that I think that could be better done, but this doesn't mean that your work is not good at all... Rather the opposite, I think that you have a good eye and you do your best when you try to be original. I must admit that you have a different style than mine... different interests in photography, but even like this I enjoyed very much having a look at your work.
One picture that I would add to your selection is:
a great work... really commendable!
Hugs!
Ruden Fretsbo
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chevylady
Member
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# Posted: 17 Jan 10 18:02
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I hope to get time and see you folio myself because i agree with the added picture its wonderfull and maybe i will post some older ones as well lucky i got more time to think
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Dieneke Boonstra
Member
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# Posted: 7 Feb 10 20:50
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Hi Julia,
I can see through your portofolio that you really like to travel! And that you make beautiful pictures of all the places you've been.What I miss are pictures of the place you live and Moscow seems to me really interesting!
About your "complain" : I always look pictures enlarged when I comment and rate them, hope that helps!
It was pleasant to see all your pictures because I didn't know them before.I think you've a great eye for the beauty of nature and details that are word seeing.
I also think that you didn't choose the best ones here.For example I like this one a lot: 
Also the one Ruden puts on is great in composition, colours and light!
The man with the clock is splendid in every way and fun to watch!The picture with the girl stole my heart and the man on the terrace is an interesting image.The detail and colours of no.15 are attracting to me.
Overall I like the way you look at things and try to catch them, hope to see more of Moscow in the future...
Best Regards Dieneke
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chevylady
Member
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# Posted: 16 Feb 10 20:21
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Hya KitKay ,
1. This is a beautifyull view and you got it well compositioned
2. Lovely picture i would like to see it closer lovely
3. Nice and still simple you catch the beauty
4. wow very nice
5. perfect reflection great light and all
6.The beautifull lonely tree great composition
7. Nice town view
8. Lovely the colors of the houses great
9. nice catch but whay not the whole seat great shadows
10. Nice catch beautifull smile
11. Great sephia portrait perfect
12 very nice good portrait
13 great shot nice colors
14. very nice the water getting close
15. looks like a piece of abstract art work
16. Had to look and then i saw the bird nice silouet
17. Not my thing realy
18.Great shot makes me wander whats inside
19. well done that tree on the hill great
20 Very nice the colors against the white
You have great eye on seeing things well done
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