More scores in 4.5-5.5 range? I'll comment

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/07/2007 07:48:06 PM · #1

Cheers...

I like this contribution DrAchoo makes to the site so much that I'll add comments to the first 10 images posted here.

neophyte

Nikon D810

03/07/2007 07:50:23 PM · #2

Thanks Steve!

bassbone

Nikon Z8

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

03/07/2007 07:50:24 PM · #3

Would really appreciate some thoughts on this...

THANKS in advance

I know it wasn't great (Ice II Challenge), but I didn't think it was 5.1 material.

Probably should have entered my outtake:

03/07/2007 08:12:02 PM · #4

Originally posted by neophyte:

Positives:
Balance of image, both tonal and compositional, with the police car and biker, go together well and BW is a good choice for presentation. High contrast works given the implied tension between 'RAT' and the police. Unsure if the maltese crosses were setup for the image, but support the composition.

Technicals:
BW is generally done well. Overall, focus and composition are OK... not exceptional. Perspective from behind the biker is fine but is taken from a snapshot angle. Compositional balance would further benefit from another element, like a pedestrian eyeing the biker's intent from the curb on the left side of the frame. Images with snow are always hard because of brightness and loss of detail as is true in your case.

The challenge:
Meets the challenge well particular with the biker car interaction.

Btw... just noticed that the Maltese crosses are the rear view mirrors on the bike. LOL!

Message edited by author 2007-03-08 10:48:32.

03/07/2007 08:59:38 PM · #5

Originally posted by pccjrose:

Positives:
Interesting perspective showing the icicles but not their base attachment. Though small it is nice you capture a drop falling. Composition works well.

Technicals:
Icicle soft focus is this image's greatest defect. The entire composition is directed to them so they should be as technically perfect as possible. Overall composition is weak.

Lighting is OK but not exceptional. Early morning and late afternoon are the best times for outdoor phototography because that is when there is the most interesting lighting and shadow. The icicle composition would benefit from that type of lighting. Background softness and content is OK but not very interesting.

The blue spot in the BG just below one of the icicles competes with it for attention so therefore acts as a distraction.

Looks like the image is not 'level' and tilted several degrees off vertical, a problem I have a lot myself. :) If done intentionally then I'd recommend at least a 15 degree angle. The human eye normally wants things at lesser angles to be perfectly vertical.

The challenge:
Obviously this fits the challenge. There is a long tradition of icicles imagery at DPC. The highest scoring ones are techically perfect images most often with one of more drops of water as prominent elements of the composition. You may want to review some of those for yourself to see what makes them 'good'.

Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120 f/4 S

03/07/2007 09:05:01 PM · #6

Originally posted by pccjrose:

Probably should have entered my outtake:

Agreed... your outtake is technically better overall than the image you submitted. Sharpness is better and the drop is a prominent and very nice compositional element.

It's biggest defect is the positioning of the background tree right behind the icicle. That competes for viewer attention and is a serious distraction.

If you'd positioned the icicle offset from the BG tree it would have made an even better composition.

bassbone

Nikon Z8

03/07/2007 09:08:36 PM · #7

Steve
Thanks for your thorough and comprehensive comments. I do have another outtake that has the background tree offset from the icicle.

I never really thought about the competition of the images before - it's a really good point I will use in the future...keep it simple...

neophyte

Nikon D810

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

03/07/2007 09:10:13 PM · #8

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Originally posted by neophyte:

Positives:
Balance of image, both tonal and compositional, with the police car and biker, go together well and BW is a good choice for presentation. High contrast works given the implied tension between 'RAT' and the police. Unsure if the maltese crosses were setup for the image, but support the composition.

Technicals:
BW is generally done well. Overall, focus and composition are OK... not exceptional. Perspective from behind the biker is fine but is taken from a snapshot angle. Compositional balance would further benefit from another element, like a pedestrian eyeing the biker's intent from the curb on the left side of the frame. Images with snow are always hard because of brightness and loss of detail as is true in your case.

The challenge:
Meets the challenge well particular with the biker car interaction.

Thanks Steve. The mirrors and everthing were real. This was at a MC rally called the Pre-daytona Boogie in Poghkeepsie, NY (Midway up the state along the Hudson The week before Daytona Bike week) As sponsor of the show I get some inside info. This guy was the only guy who rode in on his scoot and would e-mail the promoter later whining about all the "wannabe bikers" that wouldn't ride in. The promoter replied that he hoped that he enjoyed the show and to have anice day......

EducatedSavage

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

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

03/07/2007 09:15:58 PM · #9

Could I have one too, pretty please?

mia67

Canon EOS-30D

Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro for Canon

03/07/2007 09:24:02 PM · #10

Would appreciate a comment. Thanks in advance.

jackal9

Canon EOS-50D

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

03/07/2007 09:34:20 PM · #11

Just wondered what your thoughts are on this...

03/07/2007 10:02:42 PM · #12

Originally posted by EducatedSavage:

Positives:
Solid composition and an interesting selection for a photo study. The fine detail directly in front of the sphere is nice. The lighting setup is reasonably good.

Technicals:
This image has a commonly found flaw in DPC submissions - over exposure - which is ironic for a low-key challenge. The bright lighting in the sphere itself is completely washed out which is particularly disappointing given that it is in the main subject. You want your composition to have a full range of brightness up to pure white which you do, but you do not want to let it go overboard and lose detail. Unfortunately, you did.

Looking at the luminosity display and sampling points around the image it looks like you may have made some serious color manipulations as indicated that even in the 'black' areas there is a lot more red and green than blue. Normally you want the black areas to go all the way to 0,0,0.

There are a lot of tiny bright specks and distracting detail that draws attention away from the sphere. Sharpness is a little soft, but sharpening it more makes the bright specs even more distracting. It would be best to clean and smooth the sphere and re-compose and reshot it without the specs.

The challenge:
Technically speaking, a low-key image is one where there are more pixels on the left (dark) side of the luminosity display (histogram) than on the right. Except for the overexposed area in the sphere this meets that definition.

Low-key normally is a technique best suited for studies of lighting and tonality. Your selection has great promise for doing that but is a little weak in the technicals for bringing it out.

PhotoDave

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

03/07/2007 10:08:43 PM · #13

please

EducatedSavage

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

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

03/07/2007 10:09:58 PM · #14

Thank you so much for the comment! You've given me a lot to think about - I just hope I can put it all to good use!

gg3rd

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM

03/07/2007 10:17:26 PM · #15

Thanks in advance, Steve...

03/07/2007 10:26:21 PM · #16

Originally posted by mia67:

Positives:
Overall I really like this composition. You captured an interesting expression. The sharpness is exceptionally good and the technicals are generally very good. Your use of the rule of thirds works well and placement of the left eye on the intersection point is a nice touch. Sepia works very well with this image.

Technicals:
There are not lots of things wrong with this image. It is very well done. The only major flaw is that the left shoulder, arm and the child's back are overexposed. I checked with eyedropper to be sure it wasn't just my imagination.

The 'object' in the BG behind the left side of the child's head acts as a distraction.

The background has graininess but that really does not hurt the composition.

The challenge:
Submissions to free studies like "best of 2006" generally have exceptionally high quality images and yours got lost in that. Perhaps the overexposured areas were viewed as a major flaw by voters and disliked the BG distraction and that is why it was voted so low.

03/07/2007 10:41:25 PM · #17

Originally posted by jackal9:

It is not from a challenge but I like this type of photography. This image really captures the eye. Nice how you include the stark wintery environment the fits the house perfectly. I could go either way with keeping the grain or getting rid of it. The composition works with or without it.

This would make a great fine art print. For that I would recommend an exaggerated dark gradient surrounding the frame but still showing the environment, then brightening the center with some dodging using a 'vivid light' brush and lastly add some exaggerated dodging and burning to the house and center for added viewer interest and add more visual texture.

Message edited by author 2007-03-07 22:42:37.

boysetsfire

Canon EOS-5D

03/07/2007 10:53:12 PM · #18

got any juice left Steve?

cheers if you do, cheers if you dont

nick

Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro for Canon

03/07/2007 10:59:45 PM · #19

Originally posted by dknourek:

Positives:
This is a nice image. It has an unusual and refreshing placement within the frame for the main sharp icicle. The soft focused icicles in the BG add interst to the composition. Choice of blue tones always work well for ice images.

Technicals:
It has above average technicals and tones. Sharpness is good but it can handle a lot more sharpening and would look even better. It is hard to describe but the other BG icicles almost look as though they have unrealistic haloing around them. It does not affect the rest of the image. That is probably due to your post processing.

Viewers may get distracted wondering what the elongated out-of-focus objects on the right side of the frame are and that draws attention away from the main icicle.

The challenge:
Meets the challenge well and is a classic icicle view. I suspect an overabundance of icicle images cause this one to be overlooked for a hihgher score.

mia67

Canon EOS-30D

03/07/2007 11:29:12 PM · #20

Thanks a lot for comment, it was really helpful!

Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM

03/07/2007 11:34:29 PM · #21

Originally posted by gg3rd:

Positives:
There is a lot to like about this image. The care you've taken with the symmentry in this composition is exceptional, as is its sharpness. The technicals are well above average and color is good. It is one of those images that are interesting but the viewer has trouble saying why. Only a true photographer would take a picture like this.

Technicals:
As I said, overall the technicals on this image are exceptional and well above average. You have to get nit picky to find faults. Some faults you have control of, others you do not. You've done so well that the slight tilt of the building somewhere between .1 and .4 degrees actually becomes noticeable.

The lighting on the roof, though a nice golden color detracts from the overall symmetry of the rest of the image. The blue specks along the edges of the roof are distractions I'd recommend cloning out. The tubular vent on the right is to close to the edge of the frame. Cloning it out might have been a good idea but I'd ask about that first.

The challenge:
Free study images tend to be above average submissions at DPC. The unbalanced lighting on the roof is the killer here. You were probably hurt by that and the fact that static 'photographer eye' images like this tend to score lower than others. Yours is very much an above average image but got a below average score.

gg3rd

Canon EOS-500D Rebel T1i

03/07/2007 11:46:00 PM · #22

I really appreciated your time and comments. Thanks a lot, Steve!

violinist123

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

03/08/2007 12:18:23 AM · #23