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02/08/2007 06:52:56 PM · #1 |
Take a look at this Jan Free Study photo by Ed Clarke:
95 people gave it a 5 or lower.
47 people thought it was worth a 6.
Only 22 people thought it merited a 7 or above.
I am NOT interested in your pet theories about DPC voters. I know it's a subtle image. I want to hear from the 95 of you who gave this photo a 5 or lower, particularly those of you who feel like you're truly dedicated to photography, or at all serious about it. Why did you, personally, give this photo a 5 or lower? What do you think Ed needs to do differently? Do you look at photography magazines? Which ones? Are you aware of this genre of photography and just don't like it?
If you were simply rushed and missed the subtle points of this photo, I completely understand. I felt very rushed going through the hundreds of entries and I'm positive I missed some good ones myself. I want to hear from the ones who stand by their score.
edited to add: I'm not picking a fight here. Mostly, I'm just going to sit back and listen to your point of view.
Message edited by author 2007-02-08 18:54:31.
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02/08/2007 06:57:47 PM · #2 |
| I voted it a 5 and didn't miss a thing. It appears a bit soft and it's frankly not interesting. |
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02/08/2007 07:04:01 PM · #3 |
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02/08/2007 07:06:22 PM · #4 |
Originally posted by tooohip:
I voted it a 5 and didn't miss a thing. It appears a bit soft and it's frankly not interesting. |
It's too soft???
Message edited by author 2007-02-08 19:21:04. |
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02/08/2007 07:08:52 PM · #5 |
I gave it a 1, DNMC ;-)
Seriously, it's a well-composed image, and catching the subject's face just lit by the late sun, with the rest of him in silhouette, really was good timing. I disagree that it's soft, it's really not at all, but doesn't have the high-contrast detail that cries "sharp pic!"
Bottom line, it lacks the instant impact that draws the voter in and makes them study it. In other words, it's a bit too subtle for DPC. I'll admit that I gave it a 5, and I'm surprised at myself; it really deserved a 6. |
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02/08/2007 07:10:39 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by tooohip:
I voted it a 5 and didn't miss a thing. It appears a bit soft and it's frankly not interesting. |
Thank you for playing! this is exactly what I asked for, though I would like to know something about what photography means to you, what photography magazines or websites you like, etc.
and  pawdrix, behave or I will make you take street candids of transvestites for the next ten challenges! Your avg vote recd will never recover!
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02/08/2007 07:20:54 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Thank you for playing! this is exactly what I asked for, though I would like to know something about what photography means to you, what photography magazines or websites you like, etc. |
Photography is my means of capturing a moment in time, seeing the unseen, expressing my fantasies, photographically, etc, etc, etc.
What does it mean to you?
Magazines? Why does that matter?
I rarely read any photo magazines. I do however enjoy Photolife from time to time. |
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02/08/2007 07:22:11 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
and pawdrix, behave or I will make you take street candids of transvestites for the next ten challenges! Your avg vote recd will never recover! |
DOH!
Don't threaten me with a good time....
Message edited by author 2007-02-08 19:22:57. |
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02/08/2007 07:23:24 PM · #9 |
If someone doesn't find it interesting, I wouldn't question their opinion - it's theirs. Everyone sees things from their own experience and interests.
I, too, find it fairly uninteresting. In fact, the only thing that draws my attention into the image is the biker's shadow on the wall. If it weren't for the shadow, I probably would have scored it a 5. That shadow makes me want to think more about the image though, so I would probably bump it up to a 6. (I say probably because I didn't vote in this challenge - and when you're screaming through pictures trying to vote on them all, if the image doesn't "grab your attention right away", then sometimes they don't get the kind of vote they deserve - so I might not have given a 6 if I didn't catch the shadow quickly enough)
Message edited by author 2007-02-08 19:24:04.
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02/08/2007 07:23:32 PM · #10 |
I know I'm not the person you want to hear from (I didn't vote on this but if I did I would have given it an 8) but I don't find it surprising that this didn't score well here. This is, in fact, the type of photography, that if one is doing, one cannot be concerned with score. As Ed has stated somewhere else (I don't remember where), submitting these types of candid street images consistently to dpc is part of the "challenge" for him. Every so often the worlds collide and he will hit on a shot that for some reason touches even those who are not partial to this particular realm of photography. This clearly was not one of those times but it doesn't stop me from enjoying the photograph and the fact that Ed has the guts to share it in this context.
oh, and I would have cropped in the right side ever so slightly and perhaps the left even slightlier. :)
and it isn't soft...at all |
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02/08/2007 07:42:18 PM · #11 |
Ed is a good photographer. This is not one of his best shots.
What's with the title? That would have confused me into voting a point or two lower just there. I'd be wondering what the "trick" was and get all flustered like I was missing out on some inside joke.
The shadow adds a dynamic and I think it's the best thing going in the shot.
I didn't vote on the shot. I would have likely given it a 5. The professional conversion to B&W would save it from a lower score. |
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02/08/2007 07:45:01 PM · #12 |
Originally posted by tooohip:
What does it mean to you? |
a lot of the same things it means to you, according to your list.
Originally posted by tooohip:
Magazines? Why does that matter? |
I want to know the environment, the culture if you will, in which this is not a good photograph. Again, thanks. This helps me.
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02/08/2007 07:46:41 PM · #13 |
Rojah!
Oh, I take my "soft" comment back. I just cleaned my glasses. ;-) Still a 5 in my DPC voting scale though. |
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02/08/2007 07:56:09 PM · #14 |
| My score would have been 6 I think. I like the way it's composed, I like the deep contrast coupled with the soft shadow of the "trick", and I like the regular pattern joining the scene on the wall behind. I can't say he needs to do anything differently (challenges aren't the measure of what a person can do). I don't know what genre you're referring to, that this image represents. I subscribe to "Black&White Photography" magazine and I regularly read "B&W"... if that's the genre, well, I love it, and emulate it in my own way often. I agree with Kirbic that it doesn't have what it takes to address the critical five-or-so second window that an image has to make a viewer take longer with a photo. |
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02/08/2007 07:56:59 PM · #15 |
| I voted a 5. To me, the shadows just look too busy, most of the weight is on the left, there's no eye contact, it seems like a random candid, which would be fine if it was actually interesting. This might have done better in color, everything just kinda blends together in b/w. |
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02/08/2007 08:00:34 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by posthumous:
Thank you for playing! |
The game is called "The Emperor's New Clothes" |
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02/08/2007 08:04:29 PM · #17 |
This image speaks to me. The way he carries his bicycle as if carrying a friend to safety or rescuing a young maiden from peril. The way the shadow fall on the wall above the rail is a statement about the human condition - we are all on "the rail" after all. His posture as he negotiates the short steps feels like he is dancing or skipping down to his destination. The helmet is a symbol of our cerebral fragility. The stone wall looms large behind him as if to say "you won't be free from these walls for long!". Two of the spokes on his front wheel appear to be loose, symbolizing the fast pace of life blinds us from our necessary maintenance and dooms us to ultimate disaster. His downward gaze in the direction he is moving tells us this is a guy who knows where he is going.
No single photo have I ever looked upon that has said as much or meant as much as this one. No silly challenge or contest could do justice to that which belongs in the Louvre to inspire awe and wonder in the millions who would undoubtedly be captivated and mezmerized by it.
...but I'd give it a 5. |
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02/08/2007 08:11:19 PM · #18 |
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02/08/2007 08:11:50 PM · #19 |
I didn't vote for this one. I assume the title is related to the fact that the wheel you see in the shadow is not the wheel you see with the cyclist. This, and the light on his face, are to me very engaging. I can't say what I would have given it in voting, but if I had missed the wheels I know I could easily not be engaged and quickly given it a 5 before moving on.
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02/08/2007 08:15:03 PM · #20 |
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:
This image speaks to me. The way he carries his bicycle as if carrying a friend to safety or rescuing a young maiden from peril. The way the shadow fall on the wall above the rail is a statement about the human condition - we are all on "the rail" after all. His posture as he negotiates the short steps feels like he is dancing or skipping down to his destination. The helmet is a symbol of our cerebral fragility. The stone wall looms large behind him as if to say "you won't be free from these walls for long!". Two of the spokes on his front wheel appear to be loose, symbolizing the fast pace of life blinds us from our necessary maintenance and dooms us to ultimate disaster. His downward gaze in the direction he is moving tells us this is a guy who knows where he is going.
No single photo have I ever looked upon that has said as much or meant as much as this one. No silly challenge or contest could do justice to that which belongs in the Louvre to inspire awe and wonder in the millions who would undoubtedly be captivated and mezmerized by it.
...but I'd give it a 5. |
Wow, thou comment I giveth a 10 |
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02/08/2007 08:22:16 PM · #21 |
I didn't vote but probably would have given it a 6. I'm sure if I was an avid cyclist in the city I would identify more with this photo but absent of that it just doesn't do much for me. The technicals are good and the shadows are interesting but nowhere as interesting as Ed's other photo called "Lifelines".
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02/08/2007 08:28:28 PM · #22 |
I was another 5 voter, leaning a bit to the 6, but just wasn't enough there to keep my attention and interest.
I am so in favor of B&W (just look in my favorites) and the conversion & tones here were fine. A little soft on the wall & handrail, but not an issue really.
What I found is, as I sit here and study it more & more, is that this image isn't conveying a story as much as it could. It isn't speaking to me. Had the shadow appeared to have been backwards for instance, looking like it was going the other direction, then an "Ah-Ha!" moment occurs and would now grab my attention. I do see the wheel shadow being form a different wheel than is seen, but that is too deep for a 2-5 second look on the part of the voters in my opinion.
Broken down, it's a guy carrying a bicycle down the stairs, with the secondary focal point of the shadows showing what isn't visible in the frame. There is no more to the story for me, and keeps me from going beyond an "average" vote of 5.
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02/08/2007 08:44:26 PM · #23 |
| looked like a desaturated photo of a guy running down the stairs with a bicycle. i didnt vote, but if i had, it'd probably be a 5-6 depending on my mood at the time. the photo dont hold my attention. |
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02/08/2007 08:54:29 PM · #24 |
I find the photo interesting and engaging. It has enough storyline initially to make me look a bit deeper. I say storyline based on the combination of the cyclist and his shadow. It makes me look twice to try and see what it was that captured the photographers attention. In this case I think the "trick" is the shadow riding the handrail. I also like the play of light and shadows (with the exception of the large block - looks like a planter - in the top left).
Compositionally it has a nice flow using leading lines from the cyclist, to his shadow on the wall, then following the handrail and stairs down and out of the image. Normally the down and out of the frame is somewhat taboo but here it adds a sense of motion to the photo and there is just enough room for the cyclist to "move" into.
Would I have looked this deeply while voting? More likely yes than not, but I find images such as this, with a little mystery, intriquing and unique. I'd have posted a 7 on this. |
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02/08/2007 08:55:48 PM · #25 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
...What's with the title? That would have confused me into voting a point or two lower just there... |
I'd assume it's a simple, descriptive title naming what the subject does, what his job or 'thing' is. It's a unicycle, after all, a plausible tool for a performer of 'tricks'.
2nd thought edit: I may be wrong, and it's a bicycle. I'll stick with the unicycle idea until someone proves me wrong,
Message edited by author 2007-02-08 20:58:45. |
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