"Great Focus" Or "Out of Focus" ..?

Sony SAL-50F14 Normal 50mm f/1.4 Autofocus Lens for the Sony

01/18/2006 01:00:56 AM · #1

This was my submission for Backlit. The comments I have got have been very contradictory. Whereas some liked the DOF, others simple said - "Out of focus". Wonder what divided the opinion? And what better could have been done to draw the focus to "subject" (center of flower)? Or was is simply the victim of "abstract" submission?

ladyhawk22

Sony DSLR-A700

01/18/2006 01:10:53 AM · #2

Well, I think in order to appeal more to the voters, a wider DOF would have helped here. I like your idea about isolating the center of the flower, using DOF, but I think it's just a little too shallow to appeal to most voters.

taterbug

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

01/18/2006 01:16:16 AM · #3

5.5xx is not too bad a score. I like the colors, the image makes for a decent abstract, keep in mind some folks may not care for a good abstract. Big macro fans will probably tend to like it, it is a very extreme shallow dof. But it is crisp on the flower center parts, but I can understand how people could miss it, especially if voting quickly, and see no focus.

and hey, you got ten 10's and only four 1's :-)

Message edited by author 2006-01-18 01:18:06.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D

01/18/2006 01:17:52 AM · #4

Originally posted by taterbug:

Maybe, I should have titled it "Flower Anatomy(Look at the center)" :)

taterbug

Nikon D300

01/18/2006 01:19:18 AM · #5

Originally posted by tejinder:

...
Maybe, I should have titled it "Flower Anatomy(Look at the center)" :)

maybe :-), but that's a whole 'nother thread! hehehe

Artifacts

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS

01/18/2006 01:28:28 AM · #6

Originally posted by ladyhawk22:

Ladyhawk22 hit the nail on the head... the shallowness of the DOF in this image is what generated the differing views about focus.

jodiecoston

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

01/18/2006 03:25:03 PM · #7

I gave this shot a 9. It's a beautiful piece of fine art, but definitely a shot that would get mixed opinions here, as it takes more than a quick glance to appreciate it.

fotomann_forever

01/18/2006 03:31:30 PM · #8

Originally posted by jodiecoston:

I gave this shot a 9. It's a beautiful piece of fine art, but definitely a shot that would get mixed opinions here, as it takes more than a quick glance to appreciate it.

I second that. Ofcourse, not a lot of voters slow to observe an image if they don't gain a quick understanding of it.

ursula

Fujifilm X-T2

Fujifilm XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 R LM OIS

01/18/2006 03:36:35 PM · #9

It's a beautiful shot. Love the yellow/purple colour scheme, and the focus is right on.

Two things that might be working against you in this shot is that the area in focus is relatively small compared to the colour areas, of itself that's not bad, but it might be working against you in this particular shot. Second, and this might be personal perception, the design is slanted downwards, the colour scheme is slanted upwards - I'm not sure it entirely works that way.

pitsaman

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

01/18/2006 03:41:08 PM · #10

The part which is in focus is out of light !
Usually people go for the lightest area of the photo as a first look ,I don't see much detail here or"what was artist trying to tell me ?"

01/19/2006 12:29:43 AM · #11

Originally posted by ursula:

the design is slanted downwards, the colour scheme is slanted upwards - I'm not sure it entirely works that way.

This is really a 'critical' observation and I think it will really help me making it better next time. I dont think I ever thought on those lines :) Thanks for pointing it out.