Est. 1912
by langdon

Comment:
Feels kinda weird commenting on a Langdon photo. Almost like talking to God... Ok, maybe not exactly.

Anyway, I was perusing, as I am wont to do...
Actually wanted to see how active you still are in the challenges.

There's only one improvement I'd like to see on this photo... crop off the bottom part of the driveway - just above those dark patches. That way you retain the drive leading up to the house as Fotomann mentioned, but you also remove those really distracting dark patches.

I just masked that portion with my hand, and immediately that house leapt out at me much more...

Still Some Growing Up To Do
by carpents

Comment:
I definitely don't want to go into definitions of bokeh, because that seems to court controversy on this site.
However, I looked at your profile, and I think you probably would have scored much higher if you had shot your entry for the Shallow DOF challenge for this one, and this image had been used for that challenge.
That other picture seems to benefit more from the bokeh than this one does.
This picture is still a wonderful photo though. I really do like the use of the DOF, and the composition is really strong.

untitled (inspired by http://absurdada.photosight.ru/)
by agenkin

Comment:
Yeah, I've checked out his website, and in my opinion, you just didn't nail it.

Yes, he shoots a lot of stuff grainy and blurry, but all of those images have a lot of energy in them. Sometimes the energy is disturbing/depressing, sometimes it is exciting. Your shot lacks any of that vitality - it just doesn't seem to make an emotional connection with me. I'm presuming a lot of the voters felt the same way.

He also shoots some stuff in focus.
And that's an interesting point - the blurry, grainy focus is used for effect. He doesn't just choose it for stylistic reasons. The style enhances the image.
Perhaps you could have chosen a subject that would have been served better by this effect.

The final thing I noticed was that he has an incredible command of tonal range in his photos - from bright highlights to deep shadows. That is something your photo could use a bit more of. The overall tonal range is just a bit flat, perhaps because there is so much sky in the composition. More emphatic contrast would really have gotten this photo to stand out more.

blue jungle
by saintaugust

Comment:
How do you achieve this within the Basic Editing rules? Filters? Or is there a setting for it on the D1 (although I can't imagine there being one on a camera like that)?

Sundance
by raish

Comment:
It's not my favourite pic. And it has quite a few flaws that preclude it from being a very high scoring shot composition doesn't feel balanced enough, and those little insects? in the foreground are distracting). But at least it showed a good understanding of bokeh and how to use it.

I don't understand why people think there has to be something in sharp focus for this challenge. It's not a DOF challenge, it was bokeh - and the bokeh should be the emphasis. Doesn't matter if there is something in the foreground or not, provided the bokeh is interesting...

BOKEH FLAVORED COFFEE !
by DAWAR

Comment:
Great shot. Pity about the DQ. But at least your use of bokeh was effective. Look forward to seeing your next entry...

Anatomy of a Golfer
by NstiG8tr

Comment:
Oh... So that's what it is. That's actually pretty cool. Nice idea. I think maybe the single colour makes it feel a bit bland overall. I'd be interested to see what effect some experimental lighting angles and colours would do to it.
I think I'm going to go and get one of these crystal blocks to play with (never knew that had any uses before this).

2am... Still no idea what to shoot
by Tygerr

Comment:
A lot of people have asked how I did this one...

The basic idea is quite simple. Take a long exposure in a dark room, and use flash lighting to briefly expose the subject in various poses within the frame.

Executing this idea takes quite a bit of time though.
I planned the poses by taking numerous short exposures with the lights on (remotely triggered), so that in the test shots there is only one pose per image. Then when I was happy with where I had to be standing for each pose, I did the long exposure with the lights off, by moving from position to position and triggering the flash whenever I got into the correct pose.
(Moving around in the dark can be hazardous. See my comments on this thread)

There are certain factors that make the task easier:
1. A vary dark room. Any ambient light will cause the background to shine through, and will also cause 'ghosting' of the main subject.
2. Flash lighting. The only light must be brief flashes of strong light. This is what causes sharp, bright, well defined subjects (i.e. no motion blur). I used my SB-600 speedlight, handheld, pressing the "Test" button to trigger the flash. (You can see from the angle in my shoulder in the top-left pose, that I am holding the flash pointing down at me.)
3. Focus and DOF. The three poses are at different distances (the top-right being the closest, about 3ft from the camera), so DOF becomes important. I focused in on the closest pose, and selected F11 to give quite a wide DOF. The narrower the aperture though, the less strong the effect of the flash lighting is. So F11 was a good compromise to keep the rear pose in reasonable focus, as well as allow enough light in from the flash.

The remote trigger also helps, especially whilst setting up the poses (in fact, it's probably vital for most self-portraiture).

Risky Business
by angelfire

Comment:
I never got around to voting all the entries in the Bokeh challenge - my bad. So I'm afraid I never got to see yours.
What could have been improved perhaps was the lighting. If you'd had a bit more light on those background characters, the bokeh on them would have been enhanced, and a silhouette effect on the front character might have made it jump out a bit more.
And as rblanton mentioned, a lower angle also might have served to strengthen the main subject.
As for the graininess, I see that your ISO was set to auto. In low light, the camera would have chosen the highest ISO it has, and that would make the shot very grainy. Next time select the lowest ISO manually, and use a longer shutter speed.
Still, nice idea. I also used to love playing Risk...

Bokeh Butterfly
by Nelzie

Comment:
I love the contrasting lines in the background. Adds a really dynamic element to the shot...