|
| Group |
Round |
C/R |
Comment |
Date |
Image |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Brian, Henri Cartier-Bresson's philosophy was that the moment captured is the story. The reality of the moment Steve captured the sky was a bland gray. IIRC Cartier-Bresson has been reputed to say, in essence, that small things in an image may contribute to the story. I think that to change objects in an image, other than by cropping, would be altering the reality of the image. Therefore "street" should not be evaluated by the same standard as pictorialism. Although Steve's reality was altered by leaving the umbrella red, I view that as emphasizing the story. As an analogy: if I take a picture of a dog biting a mailman and digitally remove the dog's teeth, I would be telling a different story than if I emphasized the dog's teeth. |
Dec 23rd |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Brian, Henri Cartier-Bresson's philosophy was that the moment captured is the story. The reality of the moment Steve captured the sky was a bland gray. IIRC Cartier-Bresson has been reputed to say, in essence, that small things in an image may contribute to the story. I think that to change objects in an image, other than by cropping, would be altering the reality of the image. Therefore "street" should not be evaluated by the same standard as pictorialism. Although Steve's reality was altered by leaving the umbrella red, I view that as emphasizing the story. As an analogy: if I take a picture of a dog biting a mailman and digitally remove the dog's teeth, I would be telling a different story than if I emphasized the dog's teeth. |
Dec 23rd |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Janice, There is a big debate in my CC over the use of filters and texture templates. My position in that discussion applies to your statement about fur and feathers. Fur and feathers didn't make the image, anymore than a hammer and saw will build a house. It was your use of the tool that helped you to make the image. |
Dec 23rd |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Brian, I have never seen a Harry Potter movie, or read any of those books. The phrase "Harry Potter Look," is one that I derived from seeing images advertising Harry Potter items. I use the phrase to describe oversaturated, high contrast HDR images. |
Dec 21st |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Please see my reply to Janice and my comment. |
Dec 19th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
For the reasons mentioned in my comment I can't agree with the sky issue you mentioned. I think the gray sky is essential to telling the story in the image. |
Dec 19th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Steve, I really like this image. Overall I see a strong "street" image, that is telling me a story with an aura of mystery. Is the lady with the umbrella, overcautious in using her umbrella, yet the cyclist, wearing raingear, does not have his hood up. Since he seems to be avoiding the puddle, I would think that he is not a reckless person. Since there are no drops in the puddles, the rain has stopped. I find it interesting that the lady with the umbrella is going in a different direction than the cyclist. I see a subtle potential here for a pictorial representation of tension. Is is rare to see a well composed street image. I think the story telling value mentioned by Janice and Brian is irrelevant. Nor am I bothered by the umbrella lady being slightly OOF. |
Dec 19th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Janice, I love that u took a rather mundane image and turned it into a work of art. I think that the important part of art is that you are enjoying what you do. Most people amiliar with the workings of a camera, and have a basic understanding of the post processing program they are using can easily turn out what I call "formula images," that please most judges in CC competitions. In my mind it is not art, it is "paint by numbers" craft. Please don't get me wrong. We all like to have our work appreciated by others. Art can indeed be a specialized form of communication. Story telling is one form of art. Freud is reputed to have said: "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar." That principle is applicable to art. I see your image as well done art. |
Dec 11th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Phillipa, I looked at your image before I read your explanation. To my eye it is very well composed. I like the abstract look you have created. I see a look of concern on your Granddaughters face. In the context of having two daughter, I see a look of mysterious concern: Is it about her future; a decision she has to make; how, or whether to tell you about a decision she made; or something that happened. Her expression mimics my daughter's, who was: a National Merit scholar; a talented musician, decided to become an artist; and didn't know how to tell us. My other daughter had a similar expression when she was figuring out how to ask if she could spend a semester in Japan. So I am quite familiar with that look. You have expressed it wonderfully. |
Dec 11th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Charles, You have shown us a well composite, where the separate elements work well together. I do not agree with Brian n the "Harry Potter," look. Your image is one of the rare cases where it enhances your image. Without that look, it would seem just like a museum image of an old fashioned gas station and repair shop. Having said that, I agree that the sky is much too bright. |
Dec 11th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Congratulations!
While I haven't seen the other entries, in the abstract, (pun intended,) your entry was certainly deserving of an award. |
Dec 11th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Brian, I like your horizontal reversal, and agree that it works better, visually. I have to think a bit about the color change. Meanwhile I took things a step further, added some more twirls, and added a slightly blurred jellyfish with hand painted tentacles, for a different look.
|
Dec 11th |
 |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Brian, I like the way both the swirls and colors of each component compliment each other, and that any of them could stand on its own. With my stupid sense of humor I might have titled your image: "View of a mountain while on LSD." To paraphrase what was said last month: your technique has millions of interesting permutations. Very well done. |
Dec 10th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Joan, Your composite works well for me. I like that your image keeps the characteristics and natural look of the animals. The animals are simply letting each do there thing. They somehow feel to be relating, but I cannot see how. I just wish people got along as those animals seem to be doing. Did you consider running a very mild blur brush along the edge of some animals so they don't look pasted in. Very nicely done. |
Dec 8th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Hi Janice. thanks for commenting. With this type of image the subject the subject/look can be anything you think it is, or want it to be I put the shopping cart lady in because she isn't a jellyfish. |
Dec 8th |
| 21 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Phillipa, everything is blurred. I was playing with gradual blurring and left the one area mildly sharp at the corner and then gradually blurred it as it approached the "subject'" |
Dec 8th |
6 comments - 10 replies for Group 21
|
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Nancy, I cannot resist saying, for whom the bells fall.
|
Jan 3rd |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Nancy, I cannot resist saying, for whom the bells fall.
|
Dec 31st |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
As with photography as a whole, there are numerous styles of artistic flower photography. As an illustration, contrast the work of: Charles Needle, who primarily uses in camera techniques such as, intentional camera movement, multiple exposure, and light adjustment, (google "Charles Needle" on YouTube;) with that of Denise Ippolito who uses the same in camera techniques. Good starting point to view her work,
<https://www.deniseippolito.com/blog/flower-compositions> |
Dec 31st |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Jeff, thanks for your comment. I learned the hard way that the crystal ball must be super clean. the slightest bit of dust, or fingerprint will cause a loss of clarity, due to diffusion, and/or unwanted diffraction. The haze filter helps, but can cause other issues outside the ball. NOW, I always clean the ball with lens cleaner and a micro cloth at least before I take any series and shots. I now use a homemade circular .png preset to make a selection that is easily adjustable in size and Gaussian blur. I have attached a copy for anyone to freely use if they want to. |
Dec 30th |
 |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Angela, I love the symmetry of your colors and and shapes. Your use of negative space works well for me. It adds to my feeling of tranquility when I view your image. I am bothered by the OOF bud appearing in front of your image. Otherwise, nicely done. |
Dec 30th |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Vinod, I agree with what was stated above. I especially like that the silhouette coupled with your unconventional curved framing creates a mystery and sense of foreboding. If forced to vote, I agree with Lynne that the hairs contribute to the overall feel of your image. |
Dec 30th |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Charles, What an interesting image. I like the mystery you have created. To my mind, the point of a pure abstract is that it can be anything that the viewer thinks it is. Very well done. Just out of curiosity I took the liberty of noodling with your image. I inverted the colors, did some selective darkening, changed the blending mode to multiply and increased contrast. It's the same image, just with a different mood. |
Dec 30th |
 |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Jeff, I completely agree with the above comments, with one nit. To my eye there is a little too much saturation and brightness in the green. It tends to draw my eye away from the texture of the shrooms. |
Dec 30th |
 |
| 65 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Nancy, Your original placement, before the water had nice composition. The image, was not really an accident. In my mind it was the result of a creative mind experimenting, and recognizing that the result of this experiment was a huge success. Very well done. |
Dec 30th |
5 comments - 4 replies for Group 65
|
| 79 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Valerie, I suspect and hope that you had as much fun making this image, as I am having viewing it. I like the way your quasi-pastel coloring blends with the high key effect. I suspect that if you tried to make this image into a watercolor, as LuAnn and Marie suggested, your image would be different, but I personally prefer your presentation. But then, the that's why cars have different colors, including black. I like your use of negative space, but think there is a bit too much on the bottom.
|
Dec 22nd |
| 79 |
Dec 20 |
Reply |
Marie, Thank you for your comment. The branches on the right were the result of a content aware scale. That being said, I agree that I should have rearranged the branches on the right. |
Dec 22nd |
| 79 |
Dec 20 |
Comment |
Judith, Thank you for sharing your conceived abstract. As with many pure abstracts, it can be anything the viewer thinks it is: a knight in shining armor; some portions show a reflection of a duck; others a horse; a vertical mummy; etc. Just a minor point: Since the edges are dark, I think a two pixel white border would let me easily distinguish the image from the background. |
Dec 22nd |
2 comments - 1 reply for Group 79
|
13 comments - 15 replies Total
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