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Challenge: Suburbia (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Challenge Pics - Love 'em!
Camera: Olympus E-500 EVOLT
Lens: Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital Zoom
Date: Oct 11, 2008
Date Uploaded: Oct 11, 2008

 People won't like the processing but I do not really care. (I can't wait to see the score and comments for this one!) I enjoy looking at this photo because it makes me laugh. We fed the neighborhood boys last night and then took them out for ice cream. This place is very popular in the summer and the kids love it. Spots like this typify suburbia in America for me.

This is my first photo with my new lens, the 14-54mm.

I used Topaz Adjust, first on the background, then masked out the foreground. Then Topaz Adjust on the foreground, masked out the background. Lots of playing with HSL, Color Balance, dodge burn, a blank layer to play with lights and darks.

Dream Score: 7.2 (I need a new PB!)
Estimated Score: 4.98

[Oct. 13th, 2008 10:54:13 AM]
This is not a fast food place BUT i could not get the ice cream stand sign in the photo either. I would have been too far away from the kids and it would have lost the impact I was going for. I do love the comments I am receiving tho - they are awesome!

[Oct. 14th, 2008 09:04:27 AM]

I was looking at a comment that Jeff just made. I think he is right. This is more about the kids than the environment. That's the soccer mom in me that is taking this photo :D

[Oct. 19th, 2008 11:18:23 PM]

So I am looking over all these comments and I am humbled over the kind of reactions this has provoked. I did expect a mixed reaction to the processing and I got that. But I never expected this many comments (and some faves!) – so this is awesome.

To address those who felt that this does not say suburbia to them, I can understand it. Jeff pretty much covered it with there not being enough environment. And I can agree – it really was a photo more about the kids. BUT here is my thinking about this whole thing…

I grew up in Cincinnati and the typical suburbs are there. The ones where the homes all have the same design. The ones where the landscaping all looks the same. The ones where everyone seems to look the same lol. But I do not have access to that kind of setting any more.

I live in a very old and yet small city. There really are no suburbs here. Just east side, west side (come to think of it, no one refers to north or south, so that must not exist!) There are some very beautiful old homes here (none of which I live in boo hoo) and then there are just some… plain old homes (like mine!). Not many look alike. Some are better cared for than others. We have a mix of income levels all within the same block. Also, not everyone actually owns their home – a LOT of people rent (which was a surprise to this suburban raised girl).

And then in the fray, we have this little ice cream stand (Ice Scream Larry’s). We also have our Dairy Queens just like we had in Cincinnati (except our choice was UDF). But this particular place is near the ball diamonds and also is part of the neighborhood. It seems like EVERYONE goes here and you are always going to run into someone you know. And I chose this place to take a picture because the kids like it so much. But it represents something that I think might be found in many other suburbs – and it does not seem to be dependent upon the neighborhood income or design. In Cincinnati, the ice cream stands were not as close to the homes as this one is, but they were still part of the “suburb”.

So yeah, this is an overprocessed picture which might be more about children, but it’s still taken at a place that I feel really is a part of my own little suburbia.

Statistics
Place: 14 out of 74
Avg (all users): 6.0636
Avg (commenters): 6.8333
Avg (participants): 5.6471
Avg (non-participants): 6.1655
Views since voting: 1713
Views during voting: 473
Votes: 173
Comments: 33
Favorites: 6 (view)

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AuthorThread
 05/24/2010 10:42:29 AM
The Open sign behind really makes this work.

Those kids must be a hoot to shoot. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/24/2010 08:55:26 AM
You can't get more adorable than this!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/27/2008 07:38:21 AM
Love the expressions of all of the kids. They look like they are having a ball. Sometimes the feel we have for our own photo comes not so much in what is depicted in the photo but how we felt when we took it. For myself, this gives me the feeling of childhood which takes me back to my own past...

Great fun shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2008 03:06:01 PM
Way to go. I'd say you topped Norman Rockwell with this one. : ) The processing is perfect for the subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2008 08:32:31 AM
Great shot Michelle, I like the processing in this case, it gives it a surreal feeling, almost normal rockwell in another dimension

cheers
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 03:04:27 PM
Love all the different expressions in this shot along with the various tilting heads. Really gives the photo a lot of interest. You nearly cracked into the top ten, boo to those 4 voters.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 11:47:20 AM
brilliant shot. Was my pick for blue
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 10:37:39 AM
Awwwww, I love this! This is amazing, Michelle :) I love the processing!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 09:46:32 AM
very cool Michelle , I like the post processing !!. I see that you are using Topaz adjust. I am also using it occasionally.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 07:05:35 AM
I really like this! Great processing! Very fun!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 05:17:12 AM
Glad to see this did well!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 12:59:41 AM
Great finish. Despite the processing style, I really love the image, laughter, and pure bliss. Excellent work. Ben
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2008 12:18:30 AM
Well, I, for one, really LOVE this shot!!! I think that it has its very own artistic flare and certainly, one of my faves! Congrats on the top 15 finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/19/2008 10:01:58 PM
Great expressions. Not sure it says Suburbia, but I like it a lot. Maybe a little over-sharpened.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2008 09:45:46 PM
The best I've seen yet! Great posed shot, and a bullseye as far as meeting the challenge. A TEN for you (only my second given).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2008 01:22:03 AM
Fun picture. I'm not a fan of this processing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2008 03:29:16 PM
Very neat image....Has a real lithograph feel to it..... nice work
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2008 08:53:01 AM
I'm really not a fan of this processing: it has made plastic what might otherwise have been a fascinating shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2008 12:28:03 AM
Love the effects of the editing. Looks like a 1950's advertisement! Really great shot...kooky, fun and the coloring really makes this shot the fun shot that it is...not to mention a whole pile of crazy kids!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2008 07:31:13 PM
How does this say suburbia?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2008 03:07:06 AM
No more high pass until you learn how to do it properly.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/14/2008 10:11:31 PM
haha too cute.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/14/2008 11:37:40 AM
great photo! I think this captures the idea or concept of suburbia much more than all those architecture shots. Just the group of boys all living close enough obviously to do this.... than in the background you can see another person separate from the main subjects as well as the store sign. very well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/14/2008 03:12:19 AM
Nice image - Great PP - Would be interested how it is done! Like the composition and colours - Doesn't scream suburbia to me as much as some images - Maybe a little more of their environment could have helped this - Still a very pleasing image though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 09:26:46 PM
Nice look for this photo. Great face expressions!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 09:07:56 PM
Awesome!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 12:20:46 PM
this is a very good picture. It would have been better if not for that guy standing in the background on the right
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 10:35:56 AM
amazing post prossecing, colors and sweet faces, but i dont think it express suburbs so much, you can find happy kids with fast food in the city too :( it would be a 10 if it fitted more at the subject. 5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 08:15:32 AM
Love the expression from the kids, 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 05:00:01 AM
looks dave hill like with the process. brilliant job and winner 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 01:20:52 AM
Cheeky kids, good to see them having fun. I think the processing is 'too much'.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 01:00:47 AM
Great portrait, I don't care for the postprocessing too much, but still a 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/13/2008 12:36:05 AM
great expressions and a really good edit...not sure it conveys suburbia to me though 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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