|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 1 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Fantastic shot! How big is this snake, and what animals might it feed on? |
Mar 11th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 1
|
| 2 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Sure!
This works best when shooting architecture and you can't get a full view of a symmetrical building--only half will do, using this method. |
Mar 22nd |
| 2 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I am just having a bit of fun with this. Here is the "copy and flip" version of this--I learned it from other Digital Dialogue members in the past. |
Mar 20th |
 |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 2
|
| 4 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Hi Guy, I learned it from other Digital Dialogue photographers, and am just passing it along whenever I see a suitable image. It is valuable when shooting architecture and it's not possible to get positioned to capture the whole building--half will suffice. |
Mar 3rd |
| 4 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
This has great impact. I love the angle you got on this and the clarity from near to far.
Shots like this that show one side of a street are fun to play with like this, but in this case the writing on the pavement is a slight problem: |
Mar 2nd |
 |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 4
|
| 6 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Hi Janet,
Good start on this. Yes, the right hand fingers are in position to play a C chord. Just ask your grandson to press down his right thumb, middle, and pinky. It would be nice to add a single index finger pressing down a key on the left hand.
There are two additional keyboard images this month: Geoff Shaw in Group 92 and Beverly Caine in Group 48. |
Mar 10th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 6
|
| 7 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Barbara has a good comment if you want a focal point. Personally, I am in a minority that likes empty scenes like this one--matter of taste. |
Mar 20th |
| 7 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I have never seen such an attractive back alley. Good job.
Can we see the original to compare to this one? |
Mar 11th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 7
|
| 24 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I love images on pure white or pure black backgrounds. I think that is underused. It gives formality to an image. This is just a great composite. |
Mar 11th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 24
|
| 25 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Does everyone understand that the Garden of the Gods formations were once horizontal, and were subsequently uplifted by geological forces and twisted to their present vertical alignment? |
Mar 20th |
| 25 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Hello Eric, this is a wonderful shot. I am sure your neighbor is pleased with it. What a great layout they have.
The depth of field is pretty good, but if you were shooting on a tripod, why not make it f16 or f22 and increase the depth of field, or did you want to have a little blur from the close and far parts of the image? Another thought--if the engine can make smoke, have your neighbor invoke that and shoot immediately after. |
Mar 11th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 25
|
| 29 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
This is a fun image, Judy, but I really like your original, with its variety of both angles and parallels. Here it is with some "skew" adjustment and automatic color correction in PS Elements. |
Mar 2nd |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 29
|
| 31 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Nice shot, but where is it, and did you have to hike in to a difficult area to get this shot?
I think your stroke is fine. I notice people in the DDs suggest a stroke when needed to differentiate the image from the black background of the website display, when there is a lot of black in the image. Not needed in your image. |
Mar 4th |
| 31 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Great reproduction!
Please explain the "clue" to those of us not familiar with the subject. Thanks.
Also, is the location and presumed culture of the artist a secret or unknown, or can you tell us about that? Thanks again. |
Mar 4th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 31
|
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Yes, thanks Beverly, I have never done sky substitution. This is very helpful, especially your choice to make it "a hint of sky." |
Mar 7th |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
We were there only once, nine years ago. My wife says Alexandria reminded her of her childhood in Izmir. Here is a panorama I shot of the harbor from out on the peninsula. |
Mar 5th |
 |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
I think your cropping suggestion is a good idea. You mean like this, attached?
Our visit to Alexandria was wonderful. We stayed at the Cecil, went out to the end of the peninsula and took a carriage ride back. My wife is a philosophy professor, so the visit to the new library was special for her. |
Mar 4th |
 |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Yes, this is a fun shot, with reenactors.
Question: what are those leather wrist things? What are they called? What is their function? Riding a horse? Roping animals? Do you know?
I do note the guy on the right wears his gun in front, across from his right hand. It would be accessible, but not enough for a "quick draw", like the gunfighter on the left. From my possibly unreliable reading, I learned that the original location for a gun was like the guy on the right, but later the quick draw holster developed. |
Mar 3rd |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
What a good choice for converting to monochrome--the lily comes through so bright.
I might have slid around to the left, if possible, to shoot all the pads behind the lily.
You might consider cropping from the top, so that all the pads are equally cut off in this composition.
I don't know how any of that would actually work out. |
Mar 3rd |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Fun composition, an intimate shot of pets, sans owner, but your story is good about the owner giving influence, even though out of sight.
I am guessing that the hair of the front dog has created an irregular diffraction of the light through all the tiny spaces between the dog's hairs, as opposed to the regular diffraction patterns of coherent light that might occur from a laser beam. This is very amateur science, but the short of it is that you have confused light emitting through the dog's coat that cannot be resolved. I might be totally wrong, of course--my father was a physicist, but I studied math. |
Mar 3rd |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I know this is a monochrome group, but I like your Original 1 much better than the purely monochrome finished image. It has texture in the main wave with its touch of brown color that the finished image does not. Also, I think Original 1 is very unique in its use of that touch of brown. It also reminds me of literature I have read describing the many colors of the sea. |
Mar 3rd |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I think this is a fine shot, and it makes my imagination run wild as to what you could also do with it. Here is what I mean. Some photographers have favorite stock images that they use over and over again in different combinations. I can see this as such source material. You could completely isolate the two mannequins, and then arrange multiples of them in surrealistic montages, like an infinite regress down a long corridor with each one repeating like a sentinel down to the vanishing point. And who knows what else? |
Mar 2nd |
| 32 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Not much. Just crop, flip, and adjust overall brightness and contrast to taste. And a very slight touch of sharpening. |
Mar 2nd |
5 comments - 4 replies for Group 32
|
| 36 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Larry, you are so right to encourage everyone to be their own photographers. Good job helping us all to our individual best. |
Mar 10th |
| 36 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I agree with Arne that some convergent perspective is appropriate (because although your brain alters it, that is what your eye actually sees). The degree to which you alter it (not correct--it is already correct) depends on your artistic goal. Architectural photographers almost always alter the perspective. When shooting tall soaring buildings, it's nice to leave the vertical converging lines. By the way, we have no problem with converging lines that are horizontal, like city streets or railroad tracks--why do we have problems with vertical converging lines?
Here is another, but subtle, problem with altering perspective. Notice in the original image, the underside of the second-story portico roof is visible, because the shot was taken from below. But if the perspective is altered for parallel vertical lines, simulating a straight-on shot, that portico roof underside should not be visible. Therefore, there is a subtle contradiction in the parallel vertical lines image--it looks like it's straight on, but there is a view from under of the portico room. This is not very noticable in this image, but in more extreme cases it can be very strange, where you might have a ground-level bush blocking the second story window of a building, but the altered perspective tells you that you are looking at the building from a location opposite its midpoint, from where that bush could not possibly be blocking your view.
I would be happy to hear back from others agreeing, enlarging on this, or explaining what I don't understand. |
Mar 10th |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 36
|
| 42 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Hi Keith, this is a striking composition. I also first shot with a Minolta SR-1. I metered incident light with a Gossen Luna-Pro. Later, I got an SRT-101, which I still have, but don't use. Now I shoot with a Canon G10. |
Mar 17th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 42
|
| 45 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Yes, an appealing composition. I tried emphasizing the starkness by switching to monochrome. My Group 32 is a monochrome group. |
Mar 10th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 45
|
| 46 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Nicely done, the exposure management.
Some folks would like to know more technical data. For my part, please at least tell the name of the site. Thanks. |
Mar 10th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 46
|
| 47 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Nice shot of a now-historic ship! |
Mar 10th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 47
|
| 48 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
See also this month keyboard shots by Geoff Shaw in Group 92 and Janet DiMattia in Group 6. |
Mar 10th |
| 48 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
A portrait of a person without the person, or only their hands, is always challenging and interesting. Good job. We can guess at the age of your friend, and her considerable skill. I also like her rings. |
Mar 2nd |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 48
|
| 51 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Bob, you are kind to visit my Group 32. Remember there are about a dozen monochrome groups in the DDs. |
Mar 17th |
| 51 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Pamela asked for this in b/w. Here it is with simple de-saturation, slight adjustments to overall brightness and a very slight touch of sharpening. I think this is fine for the winter shot, but for a body of work of all seasons, I think color would be best. |
Mar 16th |
 |
| 51 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
My Group 32 is monochrome, so I am always on the lookout for candidates for conversion to monochrome. Your fine image looks best in color to me, but here is the monochrome conversion, just for discussion--no changes except de-saturation to monochrome. |
Mar 16th |
 |
| 51 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Jerry's idea to make a seasonal body of work on this site is a great idea.
I live in the same Maryland suburban area. Many of these ruins are completely accessible to anyone, which has pluses and minuses. It can inspire an interest in history and archaeology, but it can also damage ruins. |
Mar 4th |
3 comments - 1 reply for Group 51
|
| 53 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Good job placing the owl and pussycat. They look like they are solidly touching the surfaces they are on. Great overall scene, and a good discussion with your colleagues to refine this composition. |
Mar 16th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 53
|
| 58 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
What a fun image, and great stories and discussions about how you took it. My grandchildren might be ready to help me in a few more years.
See also a street painting image this month by Carol Sheppard in Group 80. |
Mar 10th |
| 58 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Yes, it's a good shot, but as Randy says, too bad you could not get the "çaycĂ„±" ("chai-juh," tea vendor or carrier) motion stopped. Turkey is my wife's country, and tea tray delivery like this is universal all over the country in markets and business environments. (In India, he would be called a chai wallah.) If you stop in a shop, the owner will offer you water, soda, juice, or tea. If you select tea, he will step out the door of his shop and often call to a boy within his hearing to bring tea, and it will appear in a few minutes like this. Then you can sit back and discuss your shopping with the owner. It is particularly pleasant if you are a regular at the shop, even if once a year like me, and you are remembered by the owner. |
Mar 9th |
| 58 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I tend to agree with Ata about the photographer at work. I have shot the same sort of street scene, and I have also seen click/click/click, without much composition. (But maybe they do some PS magic and produce a good product--who knows?).
But YOU did very well to get the full reflection of the couple in the glass on the left! |
Mar 2nd |
3 comments - 0 replies for Group 58
|
| 63 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Oh, I love to shoot these sorts of art/craft/market shots full of colors. I much prefer your excellent original. |
Mar 9th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 63
|
| 67 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I like how the humans in this shot are very small in the immense space of this composition. It is in the spirit of Eastern art, where the human is always small compared to the natural environment--which is a definite statement about our relationship to nature. |
Mar 15th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 67
|
| 72 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Like Mary said, your choice not to do too much brightness adjustment is well done. So many photographers produce images that announce "I am post-processed." This is just lovely. |
Mar 14th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 72
|
| 73 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
You did great to get this shot. The rainy day probably reduced the number of tourists clogging up the landscape.
My Group 32 is a monochrome group, so I am always looking out for likely conversions to monochrome. In this case, I think the subject matter is preserved, and the prominence of those bright red jackets is reduced. I did nothing but desaturate the color. One could play with brightness, contrast, and sharpening. |
Mar 14th |
 |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 73
|
| 74 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Merhaba Ata, you have captured a charming shot of this child, showing his face and hands clearly. He does not have much--no toy at all--just a water bottle to play with. How innocent he is of the inequities between the classes. I am guessing that his mom does not own her flower business, but is hired at a modest salary to vend the flowers.
We hire the Roma people to do the hard work in our garden in Turkey, cutting the hedge and trees. They work very hard to eke out a living. But at least they are citizens and residents, and not in the plight of the refugees. |
Mar 3rd |
| 74 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Yes, very dramatic presentation, and a fine choice of subject.
It looks to my amateur-architecture-student eye to be a design derivative of the work of the great architect Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona. |
Mar 3rd |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 74
|
| 78 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
No matter what anyone else thinks, I LOVE the moon in your shot. |
Mar 5th |
| 78 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
This is charming subject matter. On a tour to Turkey's Cappadocia region a few years ago (my wife is Turkish), we did not take the balloon ride ($400), but everyone who did said it was worth every lira.
I don't think I am going to get you up in this again, BUT shooting a little earlier would have made the interior light of the balloon flames (especially in the nearest) more noticable. Also, it would have been nice if one other balloon were closer to you (not under your control of course).
Is that the full setting moon? Brilliant! |
Mar 2nd |
1 comment - 1 reply for Group 78
|
| 79 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Yes, if this were in competition, it might not be acceptable, because it is a shot of someone else's art. But our photography has many purposes, and travel and telling the stories about our travels is another category. |
Mar 13th |
| 79 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I think it's great that you shot this wonderful wall art and brought it back to share with us.
Do you have any idea of the subject? Is this about a legendary or indigenous religious character? Are there political overtones? Is it a popular fictional character? Or a likeness of a particular living person dressed up in symbolism? |
Mar 8th |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 79
|
| 80 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Great shot. See Group 58 this month where Isaac Vaisman also shot street painting. |
Mar 8th |
| 80 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
If it's a laurel wreath, then it signifies victory, so they might be taking an advertising shot for the store. Alternatively, it might be a wreath of elm leaves and they are making a visual/word play. |
Mar 8th |
| 80 |
Mar 20 |
Reply |
Beverly, to me your new version is an improved composition, and very good, based on what you have to work with in the original shot.
I also like the approach that Victor takes, below, giving more attention to the trees, a perfectly good alternative composition. He also solves the problem of getting the people into closer view. |
Mar 8th |
| 80 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Hi Beverly,
I like this shot very much, with the receding lines, and standing to one side is definitely the place to be. Given that you preferred to shoot with people in the scene (I very much like shots empty of people--a personal interest), I would have liked to see the walking woman on the left a little closer (maybe).
I leveled the image according to my taste by rotating right 2.2 degrees. How does that look to you? |
Mar 2nd |
 |
3 comments - 1 reply for Group 80
|
| 82 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Wonderful shot of the mists.
Where did you shoot from? What was your travel story? |
Mar 8th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 82
|
| 83 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
This is a really fun sequence, and very clear.
Please tell us more about your technique. It looks like this was a single sequence of the same event--yes? What were your camera settings and lighting? Thanks. |
Mar 4th |
| 83 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Nice choice of location, and great textures.
It's a tiny bit tilted, so I straightened it with Photoshop Elements, "Skew." But in straightening the buildings, I leaned over the telephone pole. Haha. Can't fix both. |
Mar 1st |
 |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 83
|
| 88 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
I agree with everyone!
The scene is pleasant to look at, and you have conveyed the lazy heat of the day.
I also think it is a touch too processed, because it announces "I am post-processed." I would suggest backing off a bit with the color intensity.
This also reminds me of Kipling's line from the Just So Stories: "the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River". |
Mar 3rd |
| 88 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Lovely shot and processing.
This is one of the famous "Cinque Terre" ("Five Lands") towns. My wife's Italian cousin has suggested we go there with her when we next visit. We would certainly like to, and this great image adds encouragement. Thanks.
I would wryly observe that nearly everyone has been there when they have visited their doctors' offices and seen prints on the walls of scenes from Cinque Terre or Santorini. |
Mar 1st |
2 comments - 0 replies for Group 88
|
| 92 |
Mar 20 |
Comment |
Nice composition, as your colleagues have already discussed.
This month, there are two other keyboard photographs in the DDs. See Janet DiMattia in Group 6 and Beverly Caine in Group 48. |
Mar 8th |
1 comment - 0 replies for Group 92
|
48 comments - 11 replies Total
|
