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10/07/2015 08:33:19 AM · #1 |
I had not planned on entering a shot in the Bokeh challenge, but as I sat outside in a gazebo during a downpour I happened to capture this shot of an owl wind chime as a big drop of water dripped into and out of one of the owl's eyes...
I did not think it was top 10 material by any means, but neither was I expecting it to live on the southern end of 5 for most of the week, nor come in as the lowest scoring of my 82 images thus far by over a third of a point. I was expecting, perhaps mid-5 range give or take, given that it's a mildly interesting capture of the water and it contains all the elements for the challenge (foreground and background bokeh).
So, my question to you, particularly if you were one of those who gave it a 4 or less, is what is it that repulsed you so? Did you miss the water as you simply tossed a number at it, ignoring the title? Did I not emphasize that aspect enough in the processing? Or is it simply, as seems to be the case, that 4 has become the new 5?
Again, I'm not saying that I think it should have scored a LOT higher, but pulling an even 5 wasn't anywhere in my mind when I entered it. |
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10/07/2015 08:42:32 AM · #2 |
I gave you a 6. I wanted to see a little more of the main subject. was it hanging somewhere?, where does the water come from? , etc...
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10/07/2015 08:50:06 AM · #3 |
I assumed you made the owl cry in some cruel way in captivity. I didn't realize he was really crying on his own in a natural setting. Still, I gave you a 5.
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10/07/2015 09:06:08 AM · #4 |
| Owl was hanging off the metal edge of a gazebo. Rain water was collecting on the hook and falling onto the eye ring. From this angle anything above the frame was not visually pleasant as flaps obscured the metal rails. Moving further away would have reduced the out of focus areas. |
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10/07/2015 10:07:28 AM · #5 |
| IMHO the main subject is filling too much the frame. the bokeh effect is there but hidden behind the subject |
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10/07/2015 10:12:02 AM · #6 |
Responded on the image...........but agree with  Tiberius |
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10/07/2015 10:28:08 AM · #7 |
As a conversation piece, this image has some charm. As a photograph, not so much. For what you're trying to accomplish here, not enough of it's in focus, for one thing, at least for my tastes. I keep trying to focus on the right eye and being annoyed because I can't. There's that pool of water in it which could be an asset but is not. The entire body of the owl is OOF but it's trying to suck us away from the weeping eye also. All in all, a bit of a drudge compositionally, it feels just plopped on the page. So that's a problem for me.
My other issue with this image is topicality: I just can't accept this as a particularly good example of "bokeh". For me, just because something's OOF doesn't make it an example of bokeh, or all of these challenges might just as well be "Shallow DOF" challenges. For me, "bokeh" is more about using OOF light to enhance an image, those specular shapes. I recognize that others feel differently, but that's what makes us all wonderful, eh?
So for me, I see a sort of "meh" image on its own terms that also doesn't really nail the topic especially well, and the result is a 4 from me....
Message edited by author 2015-10-07 11:55:28. |
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10/07/2015 10:46:28 AM · #8 |
I would have given you 4 ish.
I don't really enjoy looking at it and for me it does not fit the challenge well. |
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10/07/2015 11:27:10 AM · #9 |
| FWIW, I gave you a 6 because it is a generally well-executed image, however I agree with Bear's sentiments entirely. |
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10/07/2015 11:51:36 AM · #10 |
What Bear said......
For me, the image needed more of the background to carry a bokeh effect and the subject, IMNSHO, preferably in focus. The light washes out what little effect was available on the upper right.
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10/07/2015 11:57:22 AM · #11 |
This is what I see--
The light is flat, which is normal for a rainy day but not good for photography. Not enough of the eye & tears is in good focus. The composition is static, my eye has nowhere to go, it's easy to look at this only once. |
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10/07/2015 11:58:52 AM · #12 |
| Interesting object, and as such the image is about IT. Would never have guessed this for a bokeh entry. |
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10/07/2015 12:53:40 PM · #13 |
| I have to agree with what Bear said. Only adding (and I think I am guilty as well as most photographers of this) we take photos of objects that are interesting in person but don't translate well to a photograph (examples: statues, parts of a building, objects or trinkets around the house). I think this is the case with this photo. Not that they can't be good subjects but it really takes a good eye and a very interesting pattern or texture to make something like that work. I also agree with Johanna and I think the bokeh takes a very secondary role in this photograph. |
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10/07/2015 02:16:37 PM · #14 |
| Thanks, all. It once again goes to show that I should never enter one of these last minute. I suspect that a little more time with the edit might have allowed me to better translate what I see/saw in this, but you can only polish something so much, and it's obvious that my definition of bokeh is definitely less narrow than others here. I appreciate you taking the time. |
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10/07/2015 09:34:29 PM · #15 |
Norhing wrong to entry it! Look how much feed-back you got ;)
I mostly enter last minute but i really do not care about scores (more or less hihi) |
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