Can't Be Fenced In
by Socom

Comment by Socom:
Thank you for your comments.. thought I would show you what I did do..

This is the shot before Grey or Darken (So bohemka the clouds wernt dark :)


This is grey'd without adjustments


So I did darken it up some. I was to afraid of going overboard.

Ja-9, I do not have the DeNoise, so I will have to try to get that. I do not use High Pass Filter (I think I tried it once and messed it up) and not sure what you mean about step process when you resize. So I will have to read on that.

I will leave comments for both of you.

Check Mate
by Socom

Comment by rhoadesurf:
I'm sorry I don't get it and I think someone is cheating!
how do you take the king with out getting one space from him?
shouldn't the king take the queen? he's in no immediate danger.
maybe I'm wrong. 10

Can't Be Fenced In
by Socom

Comment by Ja-9:
ahhh, I missed the sensor spots...

Chipmunk on a leisurely stroll...
by Socom

Comment by Ja-9:
me again...just looking around here...I did not vote on this challenge...but I would have given you a 5 probably...

1) focus is very, very soft...this is something that I learned early on...if your focus isn't razor sharp with this group of voters...DON'T ENTER IT. You have a leaf and a little stem in the front of the flower (main subject) that is in super sharp focus...problem is that's not your main subject, your BG is fine no problems there...but that one stock of flower HAS TO BE RAZOR SHARP...

nice composition...your sensor looks fine here

I must be blind...I don't see the chipmunk!!! It has to be the brown thing under the flower...I thought that was a leaf...and NO I didn't read the title...goes to show

one other thing...it appears that this is slap dab in the middle of the sun...I have found that if I really try to target the flowers in the shade my lighting is sooooo much better....

you should know the drill by now...get one give one...

Can't Be Fenced In
by Socom

Comment by Ja-9:
I happened to have given you an 8 on this...I really liked the clouds and the fencing...this is what I feel it was lacking...

1) Noise in the sky...a simple noise filter like Topaz DeNoise/Neat Image (both reasonable) kicks the pants off of any PS program (IMO) Once I got those programs it's been a true "DUH" moment - mind you in this picture your noise isn't terrible...but boy is it a pet peeve of mine!!!

2) To me it appears that you need to learn about sharpening...are you using a "step" process to resize your pictures typically "sharpening" with each step? Do you know about High Pass Filter (another type of sharpening, that I've "just" found out about...it's amazing).

3) you have very "straight" lines going across this...a little step photography could go along ways here...how the fence leads you in the picture makes quite a difference...i.e. a fence that takes you "along the path" is more pleasing to the eye IMO.

So there you have it...again...go find one of my shots and leave a comment...tell me your score and what you think I could have done to improve it...

Alone in the mist..
by Socom

Comment by Ja-9:
since you are asking for more comments, I'll comment on this one...

I see a few things in this that I have voted you down for...I happened to have given you a 6...mind you that is my 2nd lowest score that I give out...you got that because you entered and overall you have a decent picture...but this could be soooo much better IMO with a bit more work.

1) your sensor spots on the top of this needed to be ALL cleaned up. typically I enlarge to 100-200% and go over ever pixel of an image and "clean up"... especially since this was an Advanced Challenge...it's in the rules (mind you.....you can't change a "major element") 1A) CLEAN YOUR LENSES AND SENSOR!!

2) I personally would have cropped out the bottom part of the picture...it does not add to the subject

3) the cropping would have left these little black stubbies in the way (very distracting IMO)...use the healing brush/cloning tool to get rid of those (they are not major elements...IMO)

4) this is very flat in tone...it is missing the rich, rich tones (look up one of the Ansel Adams Challenges) that can made this really pop (it's what I give higher scores to EVERY TIME). to get those rich tones you have to have a special program like Silver Efex OR you have to do some other "tricks" to achieve that. I'll be happy to share that with you if you'd like.

Question...what editing software are you using?

Well, that is what I see that could be improved upon in this photo...now comment on one of mine...

Chipmunk on a leisurely stroll...
by Socom

Comment by Eaglerapids:
Socom, your recent thread caught my attention and since I scored this photo a 4 I want to leave a comment as to why. BTW, I'm new here, I'm sure I'm newer than you, and I've looked through your photos and definitely think you should NOT quit! I have had thoughts like you myself, in fact I have a couple more lower scoring photos than you. But I won't quit, I joined here because I wanted honest opinions and I guess I'm getting them:-). I haven't left as many comments as I probably should because I am not a photo judging expert in any sense, but I do have opinions and it seems often enough they are different than others.
I would rather praise than criticize but I will give you my honest opinion on this photo which I think is the weakest of all your photos I've seen. That said it definitely does not deserve any score less than a 4 imho. The perspective is good and you caught the chipmunk, for goodness sake! The composition is good, many would have centered the flower and chipmunk. BUT, it's hard to tell it's a chipmunk, he's so underexposed. The grasses in the photo are big distractions making everything way to busy, the grass low, right in front draws attention from the chipmunk, you have to really search to find the chipmunk. There is to much space upper left that is to bright and adds nothing to the composition. That bright white area draws the eye out of the composition right off the bat.
When I take a picture of a flower and I want it to pop and I want to make it the center of attention, I try to turn everything else into a creamy blur, especially if everything else is to busy and doesn't add to the composition. If the picture is about a field of flowers, of course you don't want to blur them totally but this photo is about a chipmunk and his flower.
I can see exactly what you were trying to accomplish and it would not have been easy to pull off, the stars didn't line up for this photo just like they don't line up for 99.9% of my photos but if it were easy we would already have moved off to something else:-).
I hope this helps.

Can't Be Fenced In
by Socom

Comment by bohemka:
Reading your comment on playing with it... just boost the black in levels. It is missing the local contrast. You've got a sensational shot here but just process it differently.

You say you don't want it to look fake. Well this looks fake. Really, really fake. In real life there's way more contrast and I'd wager in real life those clouds were dark. So make them dark.

Chipmunk on a leisurely stroll...
by Socom

Comment by bassbone:
i really like the depth of field and the lovely blur in the background but to me, the photo really didn't provide a very unique or compelling point of view, garnering you a 5 during voting.

Can't Be Fenced In
by Socom

Comment by Socom:
A few people have said they had wished this image had a bit more contrast, you should have seen it before hand! I was afraid to add anymore didnt want it to look fake, i will have to play with that more the next time around.