Bad Breath
by Army of nOne

Comment:

Originally posted by Painter: Great picture!! How did you manage to keep still and clear the smoker?

Thanks Painter (and all others for their comments), this is actually a self portrait. I took the picture on my front porch at night. There was a piece of black velvet tacked to the wall behind me. Black velvet should be in every photographer's arsenal of things to have laying around.

Basically, it was so dark outside that the only light source was the match. I kept still by leaning against the wall and making repeated attempts. I moved only my right arm while staring at the camera. I didn't actually light the cigarette on most attempts. I tried only to get the match close enough to the end of the cigarette to cover up the unlit end of it. The little hook at the top of the flame streak was me yanking the match away as fast as I could to extinguish the light source. Then I walked over to the camera to end the exposure. There were a lot of failed attempts. It was tricky at first bring the match to the end of the cigarette without looking at it. Eventually, I got a few good ones.

I tried it about 75 times. This was the best. Take care, and thanks again.

Root Of All Evil
by liberty

Comment:
DATE DATE DATE!!! Turn it off and make sure you take advantage of the size restrictions. You will get dinged badly for both most days. Keep at it.

Ready?
by lowkey23

Comment:
I don't really get the message here, or understand what is bad, but I like the intensity of the photo itself.

Marlboro World
by flavs

Comment:
This is pretty cool. Would have been nice if the field of focus included the cigarette pack a little bit more, but that is a minor gripe. You have created a meaningful image out of a crappy scene. Congrats

the good dragon
by steez6

Comment:
I can only imagine how low your score is. Lol.

You Look Like Gold To Me
by super-dave

Comment:
I like the comments on this shot super-dave. I think you made a valiant effort here. It's always nice to know where people are coming from.

Good luck to you in the future. Membership is worth it. The update button alone is worth the cost of membership. And finally, congrats to your wife for being bold enough to allow you to do this. Take care.

Too Many Choices
by Army of nOne

Comment:

Originally posted by agenkin: Originally posted by posthumous: I think the woman is the focal point. I don't need to see eyes to be drawn to a figure. I find the back to be very compelling. The figure is facing the same way I am, forcing a kind of empathy. Don, the size of the woman's figure and its position in the frame are to insignificant for her to be a focal point; at least it isn't working for me. I am not opposed to the idea of photographing this from the back - I offered the other perspective only as a demonstration that a photograph can have an accent *and* convey indecisiveness at the same time.

I think the fact that the woman is not a row of books is enough in this busy photo to make her a focal point. If I didn't think she was a focal point, I would have cloned her out of the photo along with a couple other people who were there a couple rows back. I guess there is no right answer. I'm happy with my 4th place finish regardless.

Message edited by author 2006-12-22 03:14:18.

Twins
by HornOUBet

Comment:
Awesome man! You broke the 6 barrier. Nice shot. I can honestly say this is the strongest challenge entry I've seen from you to date. Keep up the good work!

Too Many Choices
by Army of nOne

Comment:

Originally posted by agenkin: I don't like this image. It is too up-front, and there is no accent, nothing to rest the eye upon.

Interestingly enough, the reason you don't like the image is the same reason I do. The point of the image is not to draw the eye to one specific beautiful spot for an "ah-ha" moment. Instead, it is to highlight the fact that the customer is bombarded with choices. There cannot be a focal point for the customer walking in and looking at the immense selection, and I think this is emphasized by the lack of a focal point in the image. If anything, a focal point other than the shopper would detract from the message of the image.

Compare and contrast.
by gloda

Comment:
I like this photo quite a bit, but I'm not sure how it meets the challenge. I'd be curious to know what you think before the challenge is over.