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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Andres, my Photoshop skills are elementary...but I came up with this, imagining that you had caught the rower a few seconds sooner... |
Oct 21st |
 |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
…and I've lost count as to how many times that's happened to me! |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Hi Andres. I appreciate your thought process both in conception and post processing. Technically, I think you did everything correctly, but the composition doesn't quite work for me. I agree with Joan in that it would have been ideal to have captured the rower as s/he crossed in the middle of the light shaft, but unfortunately, you missed that decisive moment. My eye is drawn to and distracted by the bright light |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thank you for your comments, Kieu-Hanh. Please see my response to Ruth. Additionally,as an abstract, this should be viewed in its Gestalt, allowing the eye to wander through the scene to (hopefully) appreciate all the tonal variations - dark and bright. Agreed, however, that ICM can be tricky and it certainly warrants additional experimentation on my part. I have some of those experiments from later in my trip that I hope to share with y'all at a later date. |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thank you, Andres. Regarding the "white blocks", please see my response to Ruth. |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Robert. Glad you like it |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thanks for the comments, Ruth. Regarding the white blocks: Had this been a standard snapshot of the Tower, a viewer would have seen white buildings at the base. It's part of the scene. I decided to leave them as captured. Rationale: The eye goes first to the bright area but the white lines above lead the eye up and to the tower and skyline. Artistic choice. |
Oct 21st |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thanks Mary Ann. I do agree that it isn't a "perfect" ICM image. I'm finding that some ICM can be done by hand-holding the camera, but other subjects pose challenges. This subject would have been better had I had a tripod with a tilt/pan head so as to get all the lines vertical. Sadly, I had neither (tripods aren't allowed on the viewing platform). My intent for the image was to show the Eiffel Tower and Cityscape differently from the norm, and in that regard, I think I succeeded. I'll keep practicing with ICM. |
Oct 17th |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Joan, thank you for your comments. Much appreciated! Yes, the main element IS the Eiffel Tower as viewed from the viewing platform at the top of the Montparnasse tower on the other side of town. Valid observation about the white squares - there are two large, white buildings in front of the Eiffel Tower. Regarding straightening the image… if you notice, the Tower is perfectly perpendicular in the frame. What's throwing your eye off may be the slanted light streaks which were a result of not being able to to use a tripod for the vertical camera movement (they're not allowed). Unfortunately, the 105mm lens magnified the slight angular movement as I attempted to pan vertically by hand. I like to experiment….but my experiments don't always work out as envisioned. Such is art….. |
Oct 6th |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Hi Joan. A lovely Winter image. The fog gives a sense of mystery that I really like…but I wonder if your sharpening diminished the effect? It is a lovely, peaceful composition but it lacks color, so I wonder if you considered rendering this in monochrome? If you were to re-edit in monochrome, try not sharpening, upping the contrast and lowering the de-haze (that ADDS haze). Might be an interesting alternative rendition. |
Oct 3rd |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Mary Ann, I think you've made a lovely flower portrait. The image is well-exposed and the flower is sharp against a lovely soft background. I notice the lighting is quite flat over all and with all the new features in ACR, I think a few more tweaks could really make this image pop. You might consider trying this:
1. Create a radial gradient over the entirety of the flower
2. Next, go to Point color and select the orange and bring up the luminance. Do the same with the blue and again with the white.
3. Pull another radial gradient over the flower with a wide feather. Go to the tone curve and grab the mid point and bring it up slightly. Then R-click on the mask and choose Duplicate and Invert Mask.
4. Lastly, on the inverted mask, either go to the tone curve and pull it down, or, alternatively, go to exposure and bring it down ever so slightly.
(Sorry I couldn't give you some visual feedback. I'm traveling and my laptop decided to self-destruct). If you were to try this technique, I'd be interested to see what it look like. |
Oct 3rd |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Kieu -Hanh. Spain presents many photo opportunities and this canon makes for an interesting subject. With you phone's camera you've made a general documentary style travel image…and if that was your intention, then I'd say you succeeded.
If, however, your intention was to create more of an artistic rendition, then, IMO, a different approach might have worked better. Without being able to choose the aperture, there is virtually no separation between subject and background - but again, maybe that was your intention, as you made mention of the clouds looking better in the phone shot. Additionally, I find the inclusion of the railing to be a really distracting element. The DOF issue notwithstanding, I think you would have a much stronger composition if you had removed the railing in post production.
Lastly, given that your image does not have a lot of color elements, a mono conversion might also enhance the composition (and with mono, I think you could really ramp up the drama of the beautiful sky). |
Oct 3rd |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Ruth, you have made a stunning, Fine Art image worthy of printing and hanging on the wall, IMO! I think it was expertly managed in every aspect. I particularly am drawn to the full range of tones and the strong contrast. Good on you for previsualizing the final result in monochrome. Excellent result! |
Oct 3rd |
| 3 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Robert, I really like the atmosphere in your image. The five lights and their reflections play to the "rule" of odds. The seal was a serendipitous element that elevates the composition. Nicely done, IMO! |
Oct 3rd |
7 comments - 7 replies for Group 3
|
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Clark, Goal Achieved. A+ for the shot. I don't do this genre of photography, but to my eye you got everything right. Beautiful light, tone and composition. |
Oct 20th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Elsie, thank you for explaining your thought process and goal(s) for this image. I think it's important to know an artist's intent! On your main goal - creating textural contrast - I think you succeeded. Compositionally, however, I'm not sure it works like you intended. The title of your image is Texture In The Grass and this leaves me confused because to my eye, the leaves are the subject. They capture my attention first and, to me, are more interesting. I really love the tones, textures and details in the leaves whereas the grass seems to me just a backdrop. Overall, I appreciate that the image is well exposed with pleasing post-processing.
From a compositional standpoint, I might have striven to create more of an environmental still life by slightly rearranging the scene (…is that heresy?). Perhaps by moving the feathers and lone leaf closer to the bunch and zooming in tighter in the frame?
Lastly, a point to ponder: Titles can help or hinder the way a viewer interprets an image. |
Oct 20th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Adi, I have noticed on several occasions where a group member has posted a Street Photography image, that you have commented (negatively) about something or other in the background intersecting a person's head. I agree generally, that does not make for a good composition in almost all other genres. But I don't really see it as an issue in this particular example nor in Street Photography in general, where capturing the decisive moment is paramount. I don't necessarily believe that so-called "compositional rules" always apply.
A simple Google search of " photographs by famous street photographers" will support my perspective. |
Oct 20th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Hi Don. A lovely image mostly done in high key….except for the figure in darker, higher contrast which pulls my eye immediately. Without the figure, you would have a "nice architectural study"…but with the figure, you have scale and story that elevates the composition.
Wide angle lenses always distort perspective. If you were photographing this interior for a magazine, you would most likely have a tilt-shift lens and a tripod to mitigate the converging perspective. But to me, this image is more about the figure in the environment rather than the environment itself. Long way of saying that the "tilted" perspective doesn't bother me. Nicely done!
As to Adi's nit pick: I disagree. This image fits more into the Street Photography genre, so IMO, the "decisive moment" is far more important than any coincidental intersecting lines. |
Oct 20th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Yes, it always boils down to what the artist wants to convey. And many times a color image will convey something entirely different from a monochrome one. I like the color version as well and, indeed, it has a totally different feel to it. Well done on both accounts! |
Oct 14th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Michel, without your explanation I never would have guessed what I was looking at. Simply an expertly conceived and executed study of line, form and reflection. It is a beautiful composition and well suited in monochrome. I'd be intrigued to see what the color version looks like!
Question for you: When you did decide on monochrome, what did you want this image to be about? If you were to produce the color version, what would that be about - the same or something different from the mono image? |
Oct 14th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Adi, thanks for the comments. The lines behind the subjects head are 100% coincidental and not planned - a lucky accident by virtue of shooting entirely "from the hip". |
Oct 14th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thanks, Michel. Paris gave me a lot to work with while practicing my Street Photography skills. More to come. |
Oct 14th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Reply |
Thank you, Don. I appreciate the comments. As to the wider view...this image is the second one I took of her. The first one did have a wider view but she had her spoon in the ice cream. As I took a few steps closer, I saw the second opportunity and caught her in "the decisive moment". Indeed, the Leica Q3 seems to suit Street Photography particularly well. When the focusing assist light is disabled and the shutter sound turned off, it is very stealthy! |
Oct 14th |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Lance - an engaging image especially in light of the fact that I registered a similar one just yesterday at the Glenfarclas Distillery in the Speyside region of Scotland! Good compositional technique with leading lines that draw my eye and invite me to explore the extent of the warehouse (with maybe a few samplings along the way?). The use of film definitely gives the image a more traditional, soft and grainy appearance that is quite suitable for the subject at hand. Well conceived and presented! |
Oct 3rd |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Adi, thanks for the image and your comments that elucidate your thinking process. I get what you're saying, but I wish the trash bin weren't so close to the edge of the frame. Just my opinion and sense of composition. Also, thanks for telling us it was taken in Santa Monica - at first glance I was convinced it was snow!
I do like the minimalist composition with its extensive negative space. I struggle with the concept of "tension" in imagery. Curious, in your opinion how would you help me understand the differences between positive (good) tension and negative ("bad") tension in a photograph. |
Oct 3rd |
| 83 |
Oct 24 |
Comment |
Thank you, Elsie, for your kind words. I'm very glad you like it! (I was hoping this time around you wouldn't think there was too much to look at) LOL? |
Oct 3rd |
8 comments - 4 replies for Group 83
|
15 comments - 11 replies Total
|
