The stick with Kaleidoscope eyes.by
jimsappComment by alanfreed: Well, here it is... my 100,000th vote on DPC!
I had given some thought about how I would mark this milestone, and I thought that the best way to do so would be to give a very detailed comment on whatever shot happened to be #100,000. Soooo... here goes!
First, let me say that I'm glad this milestone image isn't a bad one. Overall I like this shot, so I am glad that it's not one by someone who was intentionally trying to get the coveted "brown" (last place) ribbon!
I like the colors in the glass; it makes me wonder what it would look like to see through the viewfinder. I think the shot stands out well against the black background, but I can't help but wonder what it might have looked like against something a little more dramatic. As it is, the kaleidoscope appears to be floating in the air -- I wonder what it might have looked like with a simple, but visible background -- perhaps giving it some depth to show what it's sitting on.
I might have tried using a smaller aperture to bring the whole object into focus. I think I would have liked this a bit better had the eyepiece been in perfect focus, even though it helps to bring the attention to the colored glass.
I'm sure the lighting was a bit challenging for this one. It looks like the bottom of the kaleidoscope is a glossy surface, so I'm sure it was tricky to avoid getting distracting glares down there, even though the edges have a little glare on them. As far as lighting goes, also... I might have liked to have seen a little more detail in the dark areas above the stand. The support rod (I have no idea what the real term for it is!) seems to get lost against the black background a bit.
Compositionally, it feels like there's maybe just a little too much room at the top, or too little at the bottom. In either case, it feels a little unbalanced to me vertically. Overall I may have cropped it slightly tighter.
As for originality, I think this may be the first time I've seen this sort of kaleidoscope in a challenge, so I'd say it is rather unique!
Again, I'm glad that this milestone wasn't a bad shot to cast a vote on. It's a nice image, and I'm giving it a 6.
