Okay, now I get to say it :) - DPChallenge Forums

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 01:48:36 PM · #1

*humph* I knew this wouldn't do well, but SIXTEEN 1s? Come on...everyone tilt your head slightly to the right and look down the center line of the piece of ice...looks like nearly perfect symmetry to me :).

//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php/i/16162

I'm not really kvetching that much, just wanted to scream "Tilt Your Head" to everyone who posted the "no symmetry here" type comments and couldn't do it during the challenge.

Anyhoo...if anyone would like to comment on other reasons for the 16 ones this one received, I'd love to hear them. I'm still trying desperately to improve and thought I was really doing well since the shots I've entered into the challenges so far have had very minor adjustments made...I want to take great photos, not create them.

Thanks in advance.

Shari (who really doesn't want anyone to take this post the wrong way, I'm mostly just asking what ELSE was wrong with the shot).

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

04/07/2003 01:51:04 PM · #2

hmm. I still don't see it.

If people have to look this 'hard' for the symmetry, then maybe that's why your score suffered ?

tjuneau13

Fujifilm FinePix S602Z

04/07/2003 01:54:23 PM · #3

I didn't get a chance to vote on or comment on the challenge but I agree with the comments about the symmetry. I still don't see it. Could you have rotated the pictue to make this more obvious to the viewer?

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

04/07/2003 01:55:41 PM · #4

Agrees with Gordon... I couldn't find the symmetry and still can't...

Paige

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

04/07/2003 01:59:03 PM · #5

Originally posted by shareinnc:

Yes, shooting it straight on would have helped us "see" the symmetry.
I like the color in the shot, maybe would have been better for the color challenge :)
Taking great photos is what this site is all about, most of us only make "minor adjustments" to our shots especially since the rules don't allow for much more then that.

dacrazyrn

Nikon D300

04/07/2003 02:01:35 PM · #6

It is a cylindrical piece of ice, has to be symmetrical (linear and radial). It doesn't deserve anything less than a 4 (if not symmetrical) in my book. It is still a compositionally well done photo, and hate that people vote a 1 only if they think it did not satisfy the challenge theme.
I had the same problem. //www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=16711. There is so much symmetry there it chokes me. It is just not obvious.
I took it at an off angle, so it wasn't blatant. But I am learning if you want to score big...take the challenge to its most literal definition.

Message edited by author 2003-04-07 14:03:35.

dadas115

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM

04/07/2003 02:02:53 PM · #7

I have looked at this picture for quite a while now and I cna't find the symmetry either. I like the colors and all but an having difficulty with the symmetry. Maybe you can show us a version where you have drawn in an axis or plane of symmetry?

Greg

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:05:29 PM · #8

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:

But I am learning if you want to score big...take the challenge to its most literal definition.

I guess so. Oh well...i suppose i'm just frustrated because the obvious to me is usually without impact or imagination. I try for a different take on the common.

I guess if my Uncle (professional photographer), my friends and co-workers like what I produce and *I* like it, nothing else really matters.

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

04/07/2003 02:08:36 PM · #9

Originally posted by shareinnc:

Originally posted by dacrazyrn:
But I am learning if you want to score big...take the challenge to its most literal definition.

I guess so. Oh well...i suppose i'm just frustrated because the obvious to me is usually without impact or imagination. I try for a different take on the common.

I guess if my Uncle (professional photographer), my friends and co-workers like what I produce and *I* like it, nothing else really matters.

It's not that I don't like the photo... I think it's a great abstract piece. I love the color also...

When you are working under the constraints of a 'challenge', your photo's relationship to the theme of that challenge needs to be readily understood by a lot of people. There is nothing in the world wrong with working up an 'abstract' interpretation of the challenge theme, but the more abstract it is, the more head scratching the voters will do.

:)

Konador

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

04/07/2003 02:09:17 PM · #10

If you read the challenge it says:

Use symmetry and balance to compose your photograph.

-----

It doesn't say:

Take a photo of a symmetrical object.

drewmedia

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/07/2003 02:09:23 PM · #11

Your task in a challenge like this is to portray symmetry, not to photograph an object that has some symmetry when viewed at some angle. In neither 'Purple Flame Ice' nor 'Cacti' do I, as a viewer, get any impression of symmetry. That is enough reason for me to vote low for either on a 'meets the challenge' type scale. As for the images outside of the challenge, I like 'Cacti' a lot, but I don't personally care for 'Purple Flame Ice.' I disagree much more with a thread about sixteen ones than the sixteen ones themselves. This is my view as a user, not as an administrator.

Drew

Olympus 50mm f/1.8 MF Normal Zuiko

04/07/2003 02:09:47 PM · #12

... which leads me to another idea that I have been meaning to write about for quite some time... i'll post on it later :)

emorgan49

Olympus E-5

04/07/2003 02:11:17 PM · #13

I gave it a 2 - it's not very atractive and looks like a rotten molar to me - I don't see any symmetry and I don't see any interesting composition, just a blob in the center. It's cut off a the top and the bottom and crowded left and right. The background colors are interesting but there isn't enough background to balance the overly heavy forground. There is nothing of interest in any of the four "rule of thirds" points. The color is predominantly brown, not a color I associate with either ice or flame. The focus is a little odd, seem like the point of sharpest focus is deep inside the ice somewhere. The shallow DOF might have worked if something was clearly the central pint of interest. Where are my eyes supposed to look first? next? and then come to rest?

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:12:00 PM · #14

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

[quote=shareinnc][quote=dacrazyrn]There is nothing in the world wrong with working up an 'abstract' interpretation of the challenge theme, but the more abstract it is, the more head scratching the voters will do.

:)

I know this *sigh* :). I'll post a version of this pic with an arrow on it in a bit (have to restart the computer because it's on the verge of a graphics crash lol).

I really do appreciate the comments folks make when they take the time. This one was just so frustrating because I know the symmetry is there, it just isn't on a quadrant axis...the axis is tilted down the center of the ice (think top right to lower left corner of the shot).

I really am interested in what ELSE might be wrong with the shot so I can improve my technique for another time.

Thanks everyone :) Sorry if I sound like I'm whining...I probably am, but I don't really mean to.

Shari

mcrael

Nikon D300

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D

04/07/2003 02:13:19 PM · #15

Hmmmm - well - the only symmetry I can see is the similarity between the "flame?" in the background, and the tip of the ice. It's a bit of a stretch in terms of meeting the challenge....

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:15:20 PM · #16

Originally posted by drewmedia:

I disagree much more with a thread about sixteen ones than the sixteen ones themselves. This is my view as a user, not as an administrator.

Drew

I just wanted to know if it was only the "lack of symmetry" that earned the low scores or if it was something else. I wasn't aware we weren't allowed to post question like this or I wouldn't have done so. I thought the idea was to improve our photographic skills and I thought asking "What ELSE would have earned me these 16 ones" was a valid question to ask.

Please pardon my impertinence.

Shari

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:18:26 PM · #17

Originally posted by emorgan49:

The color is predominantly brown, not a color I associate with either ice or flame.

Brown? Maybe we have different monitor settings :).

Thank you for your honest assessment, though. I appreciate your frank appraisal and presentation of your reasons for your score (this is not at all fascetious).

Shari

04/07/2003 02:34:00 PM · #18

The number of ones you get in any given challenge will vary. You will also see that lots of the ribbon winning photos get ones also. I have lots of theories on why the ones are there:

1 - someone genuinely did not like the photograph regardless of how good/bad/ugly/pretty/technically perfect it was.

2 - some people give better photos lower scores in hopes of improving their own chances in the competition.

3 - Didn't meet the challenge

4 - Subjectively offensive

These are just some reasons... everyone has their own way of voting and not often will you find two people who use the same criteria or voting scale...

Judging the 'quality' of your photography by the scores you get on DPC is silly, in my mind. What you can judge by the scores you get on DPC is how well/poorly you fair in a single challenge.

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:54:11 PM · #19

Originally posted by jmsetzler:

Judging the 'quality' of your photography by the scores you get on DPC is silly, in my mind. What you can judge by the scores you get on DPC is how well/poorly you fair in a single challenge.

I absolutely agree with you here :). I like the shots I've been taking lately. I've been hanging them in my office and getting some very nice comments on them. By the same token, I know I'm new and learning my way around both photography and my new camera so I'll take help where I can find it :).

Shari

Tamron AF 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di LD Aspherical IF for Canon

04/07/2003 02:55:06 PM · #20

Here is the image with a line drawn through the axis.
//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=17618

I do want to genuinely thank those of you who are offering your honest opinions on this thread.

Thanks again,
Shari

joebar