View Full Version : Critique #63 *Open Theme* 5 Participants
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Been awhile so I'd like to participate.
ClaremontPhoto
12-26-2006, 12:36
I'm in for this.
I'll join this one too...
I'll jump in too. It's been a while.
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I'm in, I hope I'm not jumping in too often, if so, someone let me know and I'll take a break.
ClaremontPhoto
12-26-2006, 22:39
Old House, Much Repaired
self portrait, iso 1600, reflections, pp in picasa.
I'm in, I hope I'm not jumping in too often, if so, someone let me know and I'll take a break.
Sorry Guys. The power went out in my neighborhood (it's very windy). I'll find an image and post up.
:)
Old House, Much Repaired
I love images like these. Images where one can slip back and forth from abstraction. This one is well balanced between two sides: the left side with the window, and the right side with the two vertical bands. Alone the left side would be much less of an abstraction, simply a window with some interesting markings. By including the right side Jon has really put the stamp of abstraction upon the image. The image really moves to another level. The splashes of color are great (particularly the blue) and the two vertical bands are very strong.
I do feel my eye being pulled between the two sides, and it seems to land right smack dab in the middle. So it's balanced nicely, but I'm initially left looking at a rather uninteresting blank spot, which isn't bad because this is an image that should be investigated, but it feels static. With these types of images the smallest crop can make an incredible difference. There's lots to like and want to keep here. The space above and to the left of the window seems extraneous and excessive. The brightness along the top edge also pulls the eye. I'm wondering whether a more dramatic crop, some burning and dodging, and some more tweaking of the levels might provide some dynamics to the image. By dramatic crop, I'm thinking an x-pan ratio-type crop.
It takes a good eye and a keen sensibility to find and compose a shot like this. Very impressive shot, Jon.
ClaremontPhoto
12-27-2006, 22:53
Hey! formal?
Are you posting a photo?
Hey! formal?
Are you posting a photo?
Yeah, I noticed that, so I stopped. Sorry for jumping the gun.
:)
ClaremontPhoto
12-28-2006, 03:23
ampguy:
This is a photo that I like, but I don't know why. I've returned several times over the past day or so to look again. 'Picture Books' clearly takes the eye at first and it was a while before I saw the reflection. The central blue spot is bold but I'm not sure whether it works if the intention is to draw attention to the camera.
ausDLK:
It's a photo with questions and I like it. Is it day or night? Is the person walking towards or walking away? Above all I like the light fringe around the person's arms - it looks very X-Files. Even the bar sign adds to it. There's nothing I'd change as it's such a one off photo.
RayPA:
Street photography at its best. She walks away, the cop watches, the delivery guy isn't seeing either of them. It's a very pleasing slice of life and you made the photo at the decisive moment. The shadows are just right too. In a perfect world the black car wouldn't be there, but there's nothing you can do about that.
formal:
He looks very relaxed and that's a tribute to your people-skills. You've got his eyes wide open and making contact which makes for a very memorable photo. The person in the background adds a nice dynamic quality and also balances the photo. A slightly different viewpoint would have isolated the man from the background by placing him against something less busy, although keeping the background out of focus achieves this isolation in great part.
Jon
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This is a good abstract image. I like the colours and there appears to be something red in the window; I just can't make it out, but that adds to the image.
I find the RHS a bit distracting - especially the wire.
ampguy
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It takes a while to see what is happening here. It was only after I had inspected the blue circle did I start to see your reflection. There is an interesting symmetry in the picture, but I feel that it is a bit too dark and I just don't get the blue circle :(.
ausDLK
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Great street photography. I like the framing of the man, his pose, his shadow and the row of lamps in the background.
The objects on the upper left are a tiny bit distracting.
RayPA
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Another great street shot. His stance looks awkward, but it has produced an excellent shadow.
I think it would be better without the the van and the man with the flowers, but that's street photography. I'm not sure about the shadow along the pavement towards the girl - interesting shapes but a bit distracting.
Jon - Intriguing window shot with decaying wall. I like it, it draws the eyes and mind to wonder what's inside there, or what was it. I am slightly confused by the re-painting and hook on the far right, and I might have cropped the far right sides off, the blue/pink and yellow layers on the R side. I think that far right just adds too many disjointed colors.
Dave - looks very dramatic, the guy looks dangerous, and the lettering for the bar or store looks very "Terminator" font like. The b&w brick floor adds to the drama, very nice. I'd be curious to know how much it was touched up, if at all.
Ray - Nice street shot. I like the straight angles of the guy's coat in the shadow, and how his whole figure has a shadow, nothing cut off. I wonder if it might be an even simpler shot if the guy with the case of water or whatever and van weren't there, just the bellman guy checking out the scenery.
Formal - nice sharp portrait of a well groomed professor or scientist looking guy. I think I would have cropped the left third off of the dude gawking at the camera in the background.
self portrait, iso 1600, reflections, pp in picasa.
Ted, this is a cool image. I love the symmetry and the depth conveyed by the signs and the lights. It's very formal. However, I'm trying to find some meaning here. I feel I have to find something because of the manipulation involved, and because it is a self-portrait. This feels like a "through-the-looking glass" type image. The stacks of books are interesting and the foreground sign an obvious choice for reflecting (pun) upon the photographer and his art.
I can't make out what's inside the blue circle, or its purpose. It's placement and emphasis are very deliberate. It's weird; I keep seeing different images inside the circle , which makes the photograph interesting—but perplexing. Because it is a self-portrait I'd love to hear what you were trying to convey. Overall, the image feels a little heavy and probably could benefit from a bump up in brightness and contrast.
Nice work.
Awaiting your comments.
Dave this is a strong piece. Technically sound. Graphically taut. Ominous and threatening. The interruption of the figure's shadow produces an arrow-like pointer that jabs right at the viewer. The calm safety beyond, behind the figure seems so non-threatening, an escape that seems impossible to get to with this figure blocking the way, advancing upon us.
In these days of Photoshoping I would be very tempted to "black-out" the lettering in the sign, but its presence adds some authenticity to the image as a valid street "catch." It feels unplanned (not saying it was planned). I'd also be tempted to "edit" out the strip of light on the left.
Great work. Well done!
Sorry for the delay ...
Formal, this is a very nice imformal portrait. It has an enviromental, or street, feel to it, because of the figure passing in the background. It was an interesting choice to leave the figure in the shot. Strangely though the background figure seems a little menacing with his black jacket and unfriendly glance. He's an interesting contrast to the subject of the photo who is the complete opposite. Perhaps this is why ou left the figure in there (?). If so, it's a clever tatic, one that opens up some ideas about shooting portraits.
It feels just a little hot/light on top of the subject's head. The brightness pulls the eye upward.
Very nice job!
:)
> I'd be curious to know how much it was touched up, if at all.
Other than cropping a bit, levels & contrast adjustments, and spotting, not at all.
well there's no profound logic behind the blue dot. I think it's an interesting tool in picasa because you can now make photos like those in the tabloids or Japanese news that highlight faces or objects.
So I first tried using it over my face, since the contrast is so low it's not an obvious self portrait, but that didn't look right since it was blurry and camera obscured, then I put the dot over just the lens, but it was tiny, so I ended up putting it over the little camera within my hands.
I don't think it worked, as it confused most of you. Maybe the photo would be better without the blue dot novelty.
ClaremontPhoto
12-29-2006, 01:44
Many thanks to all. That was helpful.
well there's no profound logic behind the blue dot. I think it's an interesting tool in picasa because you can now make photos like those in the tabloids or Japanese news that highlight faces or objects.
So I first tried using it over my face, since the contrast is so low it's not an obvious self portrait, but that didn't look right since it was blurry and camera obscured, then I put the dot over just the lens, but it was tiny, so I ended up putting it over the little camera within my hands.
I don't think it worked, as it confused most of you. Maybe the photo would be better without the blue dot novelty.
Is this where everything else is darker and the face is highlighted for emphasis? I *think* you can do that in PS, too.
When I see an image titled, "Self Portrait" and it isn't an obvious "in the mirror this is what I look like" image, I have a tendency to look deeper for meaning. I like the "Picture Books" and the stacks in the image, so I feel you have a strong image...behind the blue dot. ;)
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it's not high tech face recognition, just the ability to circle an area on the photo and shade it differently, I think it's called "focal b&w"
It's often used on the news where there is a group photo or sometimes video, and a spot shows the face of the subject or maybe a documentary and it highlights a specific item that you normally wouldn't pick up on quickly.
Is this where everything else is darker and the face is highlighted for emphasis? I *think* you can do that in PS, too.
When I see an image titled, "Self Portrait" and it isn't an obvious "in the mirror this is what I look like" image, I have a tendency to look deeper for meaning. I like the "Picture Books" and the stacks in the image, so I feel you have a strong image...behind the blue dot. ;)
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Jon -- Your photograph has a painterly quality. Watercolor. From a technical standpoint it is hard to find any fault other than it could stand to be sharper especially in the area of the window bars -- but I realize that with a digital image there are all sorts of reasons why something might not appear sharp so if sharpness was lost as a result of a jpg conversion or some such then that comes with the territory. Compositionally I am less impressed. The bland gray area that surrounds the window on three plus sides is just not very interesting visually.The uninteresting aspect of this predominant area of the image outweighs and competes in an unsatisfying way with the far more interesting areas on the right and bottom and with the window and what might be behind it. A tighter crop might help but as is I find the image confusing (ie. what should I be looking at) and out of balance.
ampguy -- No sure what to make of this one. My first impression was how flat it is. If nothing else I think that amping (pun intended) up the contrast would help a lot. I opened the jpg in PS and did mess with the brightness and contrast some so I could better see the picture elements. Though the jpg is low resolution after lightening I can see a mirror image "Picture Books" -- this adds a nice sense of depth. Anyway the compositional balance of the image is perfect, the blue dot mysterious, and the depth of the image can be improved with simple brightness and contrast adjustments. But that still leaves the question of what am I looking at and why is the blue dot there? Maybe this is what you were going for but it doesn't work for the me that is often way too literal to be a good art critic.
RayPA -- The esthetics of your photograph is more my speed. It is what it is and leaves few questions unanswered. I think in this case that both helps and hurts this particular image though. First from a technical standpoint, you should think about all of the (almost) blown highlights (i.e., on the truck, street, and sidewalk). The overall contrast of the image is rather high. (Again, I realize that this is a low res jpg and cannot be perfect.) The bellman's shadow is terrific and we get the sense of what he is looking at. This brings me back to my original comment though -- we know (or at least think we know) that he is checking out the woman up the street -- so there isn't much for the viewer to figure out -- and therefore the image is less interesting then it might otherwise have been. (I know I made a contradictory remark about ampguy's image but in general I think it better to leave a view wondering then not.) Compositionally I might have chosen a slightly different aspect ratio and cropped some from the top.
formal -- This is a very nice portrait. Sharp as a tack on the man's face and his jacket. This works very nicely. Frankly I find the interested observer in the background to be more of distraction then it might help the overall image. Blurring the background some more could benefit the image. And since I am one of those who thinks that cropping is often a photographer's best friend, I think the image could also be improved by a tighter crop -- one that not necessarily centers the subject but one that removes the door on the right side, some of the redundant top features, and all or part of the man in black. If the background was retained because you were making an environmental portrait (which required background for context) then in this case I gain little to no contextual information from the image as is. I give the portrait part of the image an A+ but as a whole I think there are some issues.
Thanks for the comments. This wasn't a formal :) portrait, so I had very little control over the background, but I did wait for the guy to walk into the frame.
thanks everyone, i appreciate the feedback.
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