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RayPA
10-30-2006, 10:07
Welcome to this critique thread. Please read the purpose statement and the guidelines/ground rules regarding participation.

Purpose
The primary purpose of this thread is to provide a forum where photographers can give and receive constructive criticism on one another's photographs. By setting up some basic guidelines we hope that this thread will provide a forum where the give and take of honest constructive criticism can help us become better photographers.

Guidelines/Ground Rules
The thread has very specific rules regarding participation. The one basic rule is that you cannot provide criticism on an image or comment in a critique thread unless you also have an image posted. To post an image to this thread you must be a participant. Participation in this thread is limited. Here are the guidelines and ground rules for participation:

• Participation in this thread is limited to 5 photographers
• Participants join the thread by posting their intention. You can simply reply with your intent to join by posting something like: "I'm joining," "I'm in," or just state your name
• Joining is on a "first come, first served" basis. The first 5 to reply become the participants.
• Please, only join this thread if you are able post an image within 24 hours of joining.
• Once the thread has 5 participants, no other photographers can join or participate in the thread
• Once the thread is full of participants all photographers will upload their image(s)
• Please abide by any thematic requirement (e.g., landscape, portrait, etc.)
•The number of photos for each participant is limited to one
• Photographers attach photos as thumbnails (no inline images or links)
• Photos should be standard screen resolution (72~90) and the longest side of the image approximately 10 inches in length.
• Photographers post their images supplying titles (if any) and other pertinent information (the amount of information should be minimal)
• Photographers can only comment on their own images and reply to comments only when everyone else in the thread has posted their comments on the image
• Every participant must comment on every photo (except their own—initially)
• Every participant must make at least two comments, one positive comment, and one constructive criticism (which is actually two positive comments)
• Once every photographer has commented then a free flowing discussion begins. It is at this point that every photographer can comment on their own work and reply to comments, ask questions, etc.
• The participants decide when the thread closes.


If you'd like to participate in a critique thread and need some ideas about how to proceed with viewing images critically, you may find this thread helpful:

How do you look at photos (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26459)

You can also provide feedback on critique threads here:

Critique Feedback Thread (http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26611)

Remember: Please do not provide criticism on an image or comment in a critique thread unless you also have an image posted.

This thread is now active, please follow the guidelines if you'd like to participate! Have Fun!



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nico
10-30-2006, 10:53
I'm in!
bye
nico

raid
10-30-2006, 11:11
I will join you, Nico!

Raid

iml
10-30-2006, 11:42
OK, I'm in. My first time :-)

Ian

shiro_kuro
10-30-2006, 13:02
I'm in too ; )

ampguy
10-30-2006, 19:07
I'm in! ..................

iml
10-31-2006, 00:05
Looks like we have five.

I'll go first. I don't remember exposure details for this one, sorry.

Ian

raid
10-31-2006, 05:06
Here is my photo.

Raid

ampguy
10-31-2006, 06:46
attached


...............

nico
10-31-2006, 06:52
... attached mine too ...

shiro_kuro
11-01-2006, 04:28
Here is mine ...
M6
TMax 400
Hexanon m 50 f/2

raid
11-01-2006, 10:38
Looks like we have five.

I'll go first. I don't remember exposure details for this one, sorry.

Ian

Ian: The photo is very good, and it could be even better if the holding hands could have been fully shown. I like it. My eyes are drawn to the arm of the man. Then I look for the hand of the woman.

Raid

nico
11-01-2006, 10:41
Here my thoughts about the photos:

Ian (Iml):
interesting double (street?)

portrait.

I like the composition, there's a

strong line from the woman's

shoulder in the lower left corner to

the man's hand in the upper right

corner. They're both concentrate to

something happening out the picture

and this adds a bit of mistery to

the shot.
Light and details are right for my

taste.
The only suggestion I may have as

constructive criticism is about dof;

in fact i'd prefer to have the

background out of focus.
:)

Raid:
a great "fall" shot, I spent my last

weekend trying to shoot something

similar. I like the warm colours and

composition. Dof and light work well

for me. I would not change anything

in this one.
:)

Ampguy:
nice "winter" shot (it's the perfect

sequel after Raid's one!). I like

these almost "monochromatic"

landscape; a strong mood, this lack

of colours tells a lot about how

much boring may winter be. The only

thing i'd change is the framing

because i find the house on the left

a bit distracting.
:)

Shiro Kuro
I like this shot; it seems a

difficult light situation (dim in

foreground and sunny in the

background) that you well managed

with the exposure and also choosing

a short dof. I like composition, the

path makes me wonder about where it

ends...it's intriguing. this shot -

imho - it's a sort of "take it or

leave it" and i'd take it "as is".
:)


Ciao,
nico



P.s. sorry for this weird format but i did copy/paste from a .txt file .... N.

raid
11-01-2006, 10:45
attached


...............

ampguy: The image is monochromatic, so I tried removing all colors with greyscale. Is this originally a color photo or was it taken with a C-41 B&W film? As for the image itself, this is a nice photo of a scene with snow. There is a house showing in the left corner fo the image. I wonder how this image would have looked like if you had slightly shifted towards the left, showing more of the house and less of the telephone/power lines on the right. I like it.

Raid

raid
11-01-2006, 10:47
... attached mine too ...

Nico: This is an interesting play of shadows. I like it. Maybe you could slightly reduce the high contrast.

Raid

raid
11-01-2006, 10:49
Here is mine ...
M6
TMax 400
Hexanon m 50 f/2

shiro-kuro: I like it! Unlike the same approach used with the fishing dock in an earlier critique session, this one is better suited for your approach. The photo has perceived immense depth from the foreground and to the dreamy looking background.

Raid

iml
11-01-2006, 11:33
raid: Really nice shot, beautiful autumn colours, good composition placing the shack centrally, leads the eye across the carpet of leaves on the ground towards it. A wider lens may have been worth trying if possible, to get more of the tops of the two main trees, especially the one on the right.

Ian

iml
11-01-2006, 11:34
ampguy: Again, a nice shot, I like the muted colour palette and think it works well in colour rather than b&w, the desaturated tones give it a good chilly feel. I would crop to get rid of the house on the left.

Ian

iml
11-01-2006, 11:35
nico: Strong geometry, and I like the feeling of movement, and the crenellated pattern on the shadow from the roof (?). Good shot. I would probably crop it a little bit tighter.

Ian

iml
11-01-2006, 11:35
shiro_kuro: I like this a lot, simple but effective. Good contrast and textures, and, again, strong geometry draws the eye. I think I'd very slightly prefer focus to be on the foreground bit of the wall rather than mid-frame, or perhaps the camera raised fractionally to make the immediate foreground of the wall slightly less prominent.

Ian

ampguy
11-01-2006, 13:16
Ian - I like this a lot, it's good use of b&w using extensive latitude of exposure, and caputuring the couple realistic concerned expressions. I wonder how it would have looked if the background were more out of focus.

Raid - Vermont Fall, I like the feeling of being buried in fallen Fall leaves. The colors and feeling seems so short as I'm trying to shoot as much fall colors myself right now. Great deep depth of field and an interesting house or shed hidden by more trees. Very nice.

Nico - very mysterious but I think it's children playing with balls on a dirt street in sandals. Nice shadows in what was probably very bright light.

shiro_kuro - Looks like a walking trail very close to the edge of a river. The river below and to the left appears alive and ready to engulf you, while the trail on the right is tranquil.

raid
11-01-2006, 18:16
... attached mine too ...

I wonder if my adjusted image of Nico's is making the contrast look better or not. I hope that Nico is not upset about this suggested adjustment.

Raid

nico
11-02-2006, 11:49
hey Raid :)
i'm absolutely not upset but grateful indeed: you spent your time adjusting a photo of mine.
It's a photo I shoot in the early afternoon in Portugal with the sun still high and strong light. I choose this extreme contrast because i did want to tell the story of 2 kids playing (ampguy, you're right!:)) only with their shadows, feet and bowls with less details possible, but I can understand that it may appear as too much contrasty...
When i scanned this one i tried different cropping and a tighter crop seems to me to force the shadows in a too small place to be confartable playing bowls ... but this is just a beginner's opinion...
anyway, thanks for the comments and the adjustment guys, i really appreciate :).
I'd also like to read Shiro Kuro's opinions on all the shots, hope he will post his critiques.
Ciao
Nico

ampguy
11-02-2006, 12:41
This was actually captured in color, but might have been better taken in b&w. I like your conversion a lot, I'm not sure if I like it more than the original, but I like both a lot.

This is a scene across the street from our house, it's a lot between two streets where normally about 4 or 6 houses would be, but this land is owned by the regional power company. To the right of the scene is a small fenced off mini power grid, and as ca be seen, houses are on the left.

Until about last year, every year in the winter, and sometimes spring, we would see families (4-5) of white-tailed deer coming to nibble on the trees, I have quite a few photos of these deer from my 12x zoom camera. However, starting last year, we didn't see them, possibly because of increased building activity going on in the area, keeping the deer further away from us.


ampguy: The image is monochromatic, so I tried removing all colors with greyscale. Is this originally a color photo or was it taken with a C-41 B&W film? As for the image itself, this is a nice photo of a scene with snow. There is a house showing in the left corner fo the image. I wonder how this image would have looked like if you had slightly shifted towards the left, showing more of the house and less of the telephone/power lines on the right. I like it.

Raid

nico
11-02-2006, 12:53
Until about last year, every year in the winter, and sometimes spring, we would see families (4-5) of white-tailed deer coming to nibble on the trees, I have quite a few photos of these deer from my 12x zoom camera. However, starting last year, we didn't see them, possibly because of increased building activity going on in the area, keeping the deer further away from us.

I'd like to see some of those shots (i love wild animals) would you mind to post some pics in this thread? thanks.

ampguy
11-02-2006, 13:07
I would be pleased to, but it might take me time to find them, I'm motivated now though, as they might be good stock photographs.

I'd like to see some of those shots (i love wild animals) would you mind to post some pics in this thread? thanks.

raid
11-02-2006, 15:28
Nico: I don't know if you consider birds as "wildlife", but here are a a few photos of birds:

http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=647873


Raid

nico
11-02-2006, 16:02
Thanks for the link Raid,
a lot of beatiful photos there (the nature serie is great).
ciao
Nico

raid
11-02-2006, 16:19
Thanks, Niko. It used to be my favorite photography topic in the past. I even bought books on birds to better identify the birds photographed.

Raid

iml
11-02-2006, 23:35
Come on shiro_kuro, where are you :-)

Thanks for the comments. Agree re. DOF, my excuse is it was shot very quickly with no chance of a retake (a street shot within a few feet of the couple). I like it because of the expression on the woman's face, I have no idea what was going through her mind but I thought she looked really interesting.

Nice bird shots raid.

Ian

shiro_kuro
11-03-2006, 03:02
Ian -I agree I think the cut hand takes away from this shot..... I also think if you stepped to the right and back just a bit . I would like to see more of the mans face at a slightly different angle and have more space in the direction he is looking ... as it is there is not enough room ....my eye goes in the direction he is looking and just stops at the edge of the frame ...... I really like her intense gaze - you captured this moment well and the tones look great
Charley

shiro_kuro
11-03-2006, 03:11
Raid - I miss New England in the fall ... Great colors and I really like the depth ...It seems you are pretty low to the ground ??? I like this perspective .The ground is so full of leaves drawing your eye straight back to the large barren tree in the background ....Hopefully I get a chance to take some shots like this next week ..Japan has a really beautiful fall also ...
Charley

shiro_kuro
11-03-2006, 03:21
ampguy .... Your photograph really makes me feel cold ...I also agree on the point about the telephone pole ---- I would rather see the house or neither and just a shot of the trees .... are you actually outside taking this photograph or inside ? I am not sure if there is a reflection I see or if that is snow whipping through the air ... Thanks for sharing I get a glimpse of what I am soon in for .......summer is over ....
Charley

shiro_kuro
11-03-2006, 03:49
Nico- Great shot -- I like this composition very much --- maybe a little more detail in the shadows ... the interaction between the shadow and light was well seen --- the white foot and the players hand not touching --- what do you think ? My feeling is the composition is so balanced with balls and feet and hands that a separation there would of been nice...... Here is my version of your Photo .... Just a little dodge and burn and some tonal changes ...hope you don't mind..might not even be noticeable :)
Charley

raid
11-03-2006, 05:29
My photo was taken ten days after the peak of fall colors, and I had to drive around to find any remaining leaves left on trees. I saw this one place suddenly as I was on the Interstate, and I pulled over to capture some fall colors photos.

Here, I used a 24mm lens vertically and I placed the tripod at minimum height and close to ground level. Film used was the old Fujichrome 50 (not Velvia) with a polarizing filter. I recall checking depth of filed setting to make sure that the foreground was sharp and that the background also was OK.

Charley: Where in Japan do you live? I stayed in Nagoya for six weeks two years ago.


Thanks for all comments. I enjoyed the discussions.

Raid

nico
11-03-2006, 07:31
Charlie,
thanks for the comment, I agree with about separation, it would have been better to have the foot and the hand separated, I also like your adjustments, thanks :).
Where did you shoot yours?
Bye
Nico

iml
11-03-2006, 09:20
Autumn/Fall has arrived very late in the south of England this year. It's really only just starting. I'm hoping to get some nice autumn colours photographed this weekend.

Ian

shiro_kuro
11-05-2006, 02:07
Nico I shot that photograph in a place called SanDanKyo -- a three level water fall ... very beautiful spot and very old ..the trees look ancient ....in fact I just went there today to try and catch some leaves changing color only trouble was I had a half a roll of color film left in my camera and three boxes of Black and white in my bag : )
Raid I live in Hiroshima near a place called Miyajima ...been here for about a year ... next week I will give it another try catching the leaves change ....
Charley

iml
11-05-2006, 06:04
Hey Charley

I know Miyajima, beautiful place. I spent a month travelling around Japan last March and spent a day walking around Miyajima, it was great.

Some of my Hiroshima and Miyajima pictures (http://www.adweb.co.uk/ian/photography/japan/indexp5.html)

Ian

raid
11-05-2006, 14:08
Is Miyajima the island with lots of deer running around?

Raid

iml
11-05-2006, 23:34
Yep, that's the place.

Ian

shiro_kuro
11-06-2006, 00:58
Is Miyajima the island with lots of deer running around?

Raid
lol yes that is the place :)
Ian nice japan pics .... I like your Osaka set ..thanx for sharing

raid
11-06-2006, 16:56
I also have visited Miyajima. Of course, I visited Hiroshima while visiting Japan.


Raid