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| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thank you Kieu-Hanh, for your comments and perspective. To address your curiosity, we found it was quite common at Paris street cafes for the server to bring a bottle or carafe of water to the table prior to taking one's order - exactly as one typically expects when dining at pretty much any cafe in America. Our coffee consumption in France was mostly at cafes with table service. If we took our coffee from a counter and then sat down at a table, water was not served.
As a reminder, this image falls under the genre of Street Photography. The generally accepted "rules" for this genre prohibit removal or addition of any elements that weren't actually in the scene - similar to the rules for journalistic images. Additionally it is quite common and accepted for Street images to break the "rules" that normally apply to other genres. For example, one will often see excellent Street images that are skewed (horizon nowhere near straight) and people in the scene with body parts partially cut off. |
Feb 16th |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Hi Robert and thanks for your comments. The Q3 is fairly inconspicuous and it has a silent shutter release, so I've found it is fairly easy to get candid shots without having to raise the camera to my eye. In this shot, I had the camera just sitting on the table and I pointed it in her direction and tripped the shutter release.
Regarding the sign… in Street Photography, it is generally frowned upon to remove elements of the scene, that in other genres, would be considered distractions. |
Feb 10th |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Joan. Thanks for the comments. The bottle is what they were serving water from. I don't see the scratches on her hands... I think she has aging skin and here hands are rather bony. |
Feb 9th |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks, Ruth. Yes, I did intensify the colors. I particularly liked the contrast between her red hair and green top. She definitely has "a look". And, it wouldn't have the same impact without the cigarette! |
Feb 6th |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks, Andres. I had such fun with clandestine street photography while I was in Paris |
Feb 6th |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Andres
Your image forms an intriguing abstract with nice diagonals and textures. To my eye it has the appearance of waves and had you not included the slope and background I would have assumed it was water.
I'm curious why you chose to present the scene in color, since the bulk of the frame is in blacks and whites...so perhaps a all monochrome rendition would work better? |
Feb 4th |
 |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Mary Ann,
How nice that your subject was cooperative! Not always the case with wildlife. It's a nice portrait of this buck in repose and you were on the right track with your edits...but I think you needed to go a bit farther.
In my visual feedback I brought up the exposure on the buck and then chose the background and reduced clarity, texture, sharpness and exposure. I added a diagonal linear gradient from upper left down to the animal and repeated those same adjustments. Finally, I did an inverted radial gradient over the animal and repeated those same adjustments once again. What do you think? |
Feb 4th |
 |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Ruth.
Your image has some interesting shapes and nice tones. The lone person gives scale and an appreciation of just how vast these dunes are. With respect to your composition and the monochrome conversion, I'm in agreement with Kieu-Hanh. I think a different composition that included more of the trees and a presentation in color would, indeed, have been more impactful.
If you were to leave this in monochrome, I would suggest a tighter crop to eliminate the trees at the top of the frame and allow the viewer to focus better on the dunes and the lone walker. |
Feb 4th |
 |
| 3 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Kieu-Hanh. India is a fascinating place and this must have been a real highlight of your trip to witness this fair. Certainly a place to capture some fun travel images. The thing I like most about your image is the colors. The gold hues of the sand and the camel play nicely with the colorful wagon and cool greens in the background.
I am, however, bothered by some things about your image. Firstly, the crop is so tight that the camel's head is almost cut off. I'm also bothered by the odd blurring, the three dots and streakiness along the top. There is additional blurring in the upper and lower right sides of the frame. Was this intentional? Sorry to say, but for me, this image doesn't live up to the high quality that I'm used to seeing in your work. |
Feb 4th |
5 comments - 4 replies for Group 3
|
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Don, I actually like the original crop better (except for the partially obscured lettering which could be removed). The larger frame gives me a greater sense of mystery and intrigue with the train emerging from the negative space of the swirling steam. ...but either way, you have a winning image. Artist's choice as to which story to portray. Nicely done. |
Feb 22nd |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Elsie, I believe the reason for the difference in appearance is due to the steam obscuring the texture somewhat. That and the direction of the lighting. But perhaps Don can speak to that better than I. |
Feb 7th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Elsie, thanks for your suggestion... but to my eye the square crop has three problems. Firstly, it feels too "tight" and thus lacks appropriate context. Secondly, it puts the woman in the background too close to the edge of the frame. Lastly, inclusion of the second man provides an element of needed balance, the Zombie Pigeon notwithstanding. And, along with the woman, the adults form a triad demonstrating the so-called "rule" of odds.
I'm curious... if there had been no Zombie Pigeon, would my composition have worked for you? |
Feb 7th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Elsie, I will have to give it a try. Thanks for the tip. I don't have as much experience with Color EFX as I do with Silver EFX. I did notice, however, that there is a B&W option from within Color EFX (go figure!) that does give some interesting looks.
Another way to manage tones if you use LrC is to first click on B&W to convert. The Color module changes to B&W and by using the sliders you can change the tonality of the colors independently of one another. |
Feb 6th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Reply |
Thanks, Elsie. ...in street photography sometimes you click the shutter to capture a fleeting moment and one gets what one gets. I found it amusing while trying to picture a pigeon (Zombie Pigeon?) eating a man's face!
Would you show me your suggested crop? Thanks. |
Feb 6th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Elsie. I like your image! I think it is very nicely composed and I like that your camera angle is not straight on to the window. The framing gives the real sensation that the viewer is standing there looking out. There is a mystery here. Who was it that walked down the drive? What were they doing? Did they make noise and woke you up? Did you get up to look out the window to see what was going on? These are things that keep a viewer engaged. Very nicely conceived!
Some things to ponder: Long exposures smooth out things that are in motion (the snowflakes) and with very long exposures can cause those moving things to disappear completely. This was a tough lighting situation and I assume the long exposure was required to get the general scene exposed properly. You might have upped your ISO to get a faster SS and dealt with the noise later in post.
Interesting that you used Color EFX on the original image BEFORE you converted it to B&W. I've never thought of doing that and I'm curious as to why you did?
Color vs. B&W: When I'm out with my camera I generally know if I will render my subject in color or B&W. Some questions to ask are whether rendering it in color will add anything or will it detract? Is color important in telling the story I want to tell? Does the scene lack color but have interesting textures, tones and shapes? In the case of your image, my personal opinion is that your Original, color image is more impactful than the monochrome version. I like the warm glow emanating from the house and street light - it feels cozy to me. Your Original image gives me a greater sense of reality than does your monochrome version and at the same time it doesn't have quite the sense of mystery that the monochrome version does. But remember, this is just my personal opinion and it really depends on what YOUR intention for the image and the viewer is.
Lastly, when you show an image with dark borders on this forum, it presents better if you add a lighter stroke to better delineate the frame. |
Feb 4th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Hi Don. Thank you for sharing this image. I'm always amazed at how you are able to produce images with such beautiful tonality. Your image is sharp with lots of detail. I think the square crop works particularly well. With the left third being essentially negative space, it allows the eye to focus on the engineers and locomotive. Nicely composed and edited! |
Feb 4th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Adi, this is a nicely composed and rendered casual street scene. The center sky reflection draws my eye into the frame and right to the woman in light clothing. I like how she is flanked on either side by guys in dark clothing...it creates a nice focal point and nice contrast. Overall I like the range of tones in your image.
My inclination would be to bring up the shadows on the two men to see a bit more detail...but then again, I tend to do more post processing than you do. This is merely comment on our stylistic differences and is not meant as a criticism of your very well done image. |
Feb 4th |
| 83 |
Feb 25 |
Comment |
Clark, I really like the high key, contrasty rendition. It gives me the impression of an ink block print. There is nice detail in the subjects and your panoramic crop works really well. Normally I would like to see more space on the right side of the frame to allow the wolves some "walking room".... but in this case your decision to fill the frame really keeps my eye on the subjects. Nicely done.
One very picky thing: There is a dark "blob" at the top right of the frame that you might consider removing to keep the edges clean and free of distractions. |
Feb 3rd |
4 comments - 5 replies for Group 83
|
9 comments - 9 replies Total
|
