Score 5.99 or lower and want a critique? 04/22/07

04/24/2007 11:59:48 PM · #1

I'll take the first 10 images posted here for critique... assuming anyone is interested.

As always, it is just my opinion and subject to error. So take what I say with a healthy grain of salt.

Message edited by author 2007-04-25 00:58:16.

Delta_6

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II

04/25/2007 12:20:13 AM · #2

Please sir, if you would be so kind.

bergiekat

Canon EOS-5D Mark IV

04/25/2007 12:21:15 AM · #3

Love to get a critique on this one. First ever attempt at this type or even of desat, lol!

Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

04/25/2007 01:34:22 AM · #4

Originally posted by Delta_6:

Positives:
Image has an almost minimalist feeling to it that well conveys the openess of the country. Technicals generally good.

Technicals:
Good use of the rule of thirds. Ground color is especially good and the sharpness and detail in the trees is excellent. There is faint haloing along the horizon edge and in the trees. The sky color looks a bit artificial blue, probably from oversaturating the blue in post processing. This is evidenced by the fact that the clouds are not pure white, but have a blue color cast. The sky is rather 'flat' appearing. The image MIGHT be tilted slightly counterclockwise to the horizon.

The Challenge:
Meets the challenge, no question. There is not a lot of interest for the viewer to look at in the sky and that likely affected it in voting. Also, since this was an 'expert' editing challenge voters were probably looking for even more pizzaz in the images than they usually expect.

Suggestions:
The sky is the biggest issue. You might want to convert if from RAW again and this time work on the blues in the RAW image processor for whiter clouds and perhaps add more contrast to the sky to bring out stronger detail. A trick you can do to add interest to it is to add a blue gradient layer masked for sky only and adjusted correct just down to the horizon.

If the horizon is not truly level it is really close, but you might want to rotate the image a degree or so clockwise to see how that looks. If nothing else you will be surprised how big a difference in the appearance of the image a slight rotation makes. Might not need it, though.

HighNooner

Canon EOS-60D

04/25/2007 01:46:44 AM · #5

I entered this in the LOVE II contest. Is it really that ambiguous?
And like always thanks very much for you time and efforts.
Tareq

hihosilver

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

04/25/2007 01:56:42 AM · #6

Steve...I love to read your critiques. I'll be sure to post my Thirds Challenge entry next week...;-)

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

04/25/2007 02:17:57 AM · #7

Originally posted by bergiekat:

Love to get a critique on this one. First ever attempt at this type or even of desat, lol!

Ok... here goes...

Positives:
Excellent composition and a good pose for your model, especially the eyes which, after all, are the most important element in a portrait. Covering the mouth is a nice touch that adds a bit of mystery to the image.

Technicals:
Overall technicals are a little weak but not badly so. The idea of desat to understate the glamour of your image is a good one, but the implementation needs a little work. The biggest issue is that the remaining color draws attention away from the model and to the scarf. Normally you would want viewer's looking at the model more than the scarf. The white background works well to keep the image clean and clutter free but the lack of a boundary between the model's cap and background is a bit of a distraction. The desat makes your models face look a little white and lifeless in stark contrast to her eyes.

The Challenge:
It meets the challenge but perhaps not strongly for many voters and that hurt it in voting. It is likely that many voters simply felt your color processing was off and the image was washed out moreso than desaturated. They may have felt the scarf overwhelmed the model.

This is not as bad an image as a score of 4.7 suggests.

Suggestions:
Rework the desat and contrast to try and bring more color and detail back into the model's face and generate a separating edge between the cap and background. The cap needs more detail. Or you could try going the opposite direction to try and generate a totally high-key image, possibly converting to black and white. That is worth consideration as well.

Message edited by author 2007-04-25 02:18:23.

jonfrommk

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

04/25/2007 03:10:04 AM · #8

Steve,

As ever, I'd be grateful for your comments

. To be honest I loved the minimal editing for this challenge (but only because I am rubbish at PP) and I love the picture that I took, then I looked at the other submissions for the challenge and ended up in awe of what other people had acheived

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/25/2007 12:39:36 PM · #9

Originally posted by TIHadi:

I entered this in the LOVE II contest. Is it really that ambiguous?
And like always thanks very much for you time and efforts.
Tareq

The short answer to your question: YES

You were going for something far to abstract for a DPC Love challenge. First, unfaithfulness is the antithesis of love and you most certainly were punished by voters for that. Next, the abstract nature of your presentation was to obscure for most voters. You further suffered from the flower backlash from voters who don't like flowers and from the DNMC contingent. In short, this image was doomed before it was entered.

The large out of focus yellow petals are a distraction in the composition that could be easily be corrected by taking a longer timed exposure picture at a narrower aperture for greater depth of field. It would likely require mounting your camera on a tripod if it wasn't already.

This has nice floral possibilities but was the wrong choice for the challenge. :(

Valdo

Canon EOS-40D

04/25/2007 12:41:48 PM · #10

yay I take the chance ;) thank you very much.

freakin_hilarious

Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/25/2007 12:46:10 PM · #11

I love me a good Steve critique...I'll jump in here again.

Hipychik

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

04/25/2007 12:46:21 PM · #12

Hi Steve, I entered this in the landscape challenge. I know the details are a little fuzzy because I cropped too much off of the original. The dark lower level is clouds not land (I think some voters thought it was mountains or something). Anyways...just wanted a critique. Thanks!

Message edited by author 2007-04-25 12:46:46.

Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX Macro for Canon

04/25/2007 12:49:11 PM · #13

Originally posted by hihosilver:

Steve...I love to read your critiques. I'll be sure to post my Thirds Challenge entry next week...;-)

Mae... I really, truly feel your pain getting a low score, I haven't got a decent score in years and the images on my profile page are so old they are gathering dust, but I can't help being amused at your good natured approach to these things.

Sometimes you just have to laugh at adversities you can't control, especially when undeserved, and move on.

mia67

Canon EOS-30D

04/25/2007 12:57:41 PM · #14

Hope I'm not late, thanks in advance!

cutlassdude70

Canon EOS-6D

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM II

04/25/2007 01:04:25 PM · #15

Thanks for the offer, Steve! I'm actually hoping to get some feedback on my Landscape III entry. While there was definitely some tough competition, I was expecting it score a little higher than it did. So some feedback on it would be great. :D

roz

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III

OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO M.Zuiko Digital ED

04/25/2007 01:29:22 PM · #16

hi steve ... i've never had a critique so i'll be interested to get yours .. thank you for your support in those ban threads ... and i have the grain of salt ready !! .. :)

edit .. to change to another image ...

Message edited by author 2007-04-26 09:12:59.

04/25/2007 01:46:18 PM · #17

Originally posted by jonfrommk:

[url=//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=495814][/url

Positives:
Technicals are generally good, nice capture of the bee facing the camera. As an unprocesed image it is good.

This is an EXCELLENT image. It suffered more from ruleset limitations than anything else.

Technicals:
Sharpness excellent and it is focused beatifully on the bees "face". There are two important technical defects. One is the lack of detail in Bees dark "face". The other is that the background needs noise reduction. Yes, I realize that you had no control over either issue because the challenge was minimal. The centered framing was dictated by the nature of the challenge ruleset as well.

The Challenge:
Obviously meets the challenge.

I gave this image an 8. The group gave it a 5.7. Basically that means I agreed with the group assessment. That is because 5.7 is normally a slightly above average score for an image given by the group and 8 is an above average score from me. The overall DPC average score given in all challenges is just under 5.4. My average score given is 7. The group average for this challenge was 5.7 which is some .3+ points higher than normal. Apparently the group felt the quality of submissions in this challenge was above average.

Warning! Personal opinion inserted here.
Something I feel important is to evaluate an image on its own merit. It has to be able to stand on its own long after the challenge topic and rules are forgotten. Therefore, the challenge topic and the ruleset used to craft it are of lesser importance in my personal assessments of images than meeting the challenge or accounting for the ruleset used. I will, however, make accounting for those if it results in a higher score.
End of Warning

Suggestions:
This would make an excellent print. Abandon the ruleset and process this image. Consider fixing both the noise problem and the brightness issue on the bee's "face", then crop it closer offsetting the bee to the lower left side of the frame. That will leave more brightness in the background that will make the bee stand out more.

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

04/25/2007 01:48:34 PM · #18

I see I've reached the magic number of 10... no more critiques for this round. Thanks! I will, of course, do the 6 I still have not addressed. :)

Message edited by author 2007-04-25 13:49:13.

Valdo

Canon EOS-40D

04/25/2007 01:52:48 PM · #19

Originally posted by stdavidson:

I see I've reached the magic number of 10... no more critiques for this round. Thanks! I will, of course, do the 6 I still have not addressed. :)

No worries take your time ;)

hihosilver

Nikon D200

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED

04/25/2007 01:56:07 PM · #20

Originally posted by stdavidson:

Mae... I really, truly feel your pain getting a low score, I haven't got a decent score in years...

Steve, I'm going to briefly hijack your thread by commenting on your "dusty" ribbons! I have never ribboned and not likely too. My best photo is of a large rock with bird droppings on it. I will live with that photo for a long time since I'm not likely to score that well again.

YOU, on the other hand, won the Ansel Adams challenge!! How can that get OLD?!!! ::shakes head:: With your ribbons and the wealth of photos in your portfolio, we all appreciate your photographic skill and generousity in sharing your knowledge.

Your 30 seconds of whining are now over.

Quite simply, you are the best.

::Swiftly flutters feather duster over Steve's ribbon shelf...while gazing forlornly at my own empty shelf::

::End of hijack::

jonfrommk

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

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

04/25/2007 03:04:50 PM · #21

Steve

I will copy this comment to you as a personal message, but also wanted to make public what an inspiration you are to me and also I would imagine to a lot of people on DPC

The fact that you take your own time to provide such balanced and inciteful critiques is one of the main reasons that I became a full member of DPC, because my feeling was that any community that you were an active part of was one I would be happy to be part of.

You are often your own worse critic but I will tell you without fear of contradiction that the advice and thoughts you have given me have undoubtedly made me a better photographer, I dont judge that simply by the scores I have received but by the way I feel about the images I produce

At 44 I guess it shows you can teach an old dog new tricks

I have one further favour to ask...(and as ever feel free to say 'No') you gave me some hints on how to turn this image into something that was worthy of being a print, but in truth working on Picasa I cant do this. I have downloaded gimp (as you suggested) and also obtained a copy of photoshop 6 but to be honest I am really struggling with getting to grips with it

Is there any chance that you (or anyone else on the site) could undertake the actions that you suggested?

Appreciate this may not be possible and if not, no worries

Once again, thank you for your time, experience and encouragement

All the best

Jon

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

04/25/2007 04:44:58 PM · #22

Originally posted by jonfrommk:

Steve

I ... wanted to make public what an inspiration you are to me and also I would imagine to a lot of people on DPC

The fact that you take your own time to provide such balanced and inciteful critiques is one of the main reasons that I became a full member of DPC, because my feeling was that any community that you were an active part of was one I would be happy to be part of.

You are often your own worse critic but I will tell you without fear of contradiction that the advice and thoughts you have given me have undoubtedly made me a better photographer, I dont judge that simply by the scores I have received but by the way I feel about the images I produce

At 44 I guess it shows you can teach an old dog new tricks

I have one further favour to ask...(and as ever feel free to say 'No') you gave me some hints on how to turn this image into something that was worthy of being a print, but in truth working on Picasa I cant do this. I have downloaded gimp (as you suggested) and also obtained a copy of photoshop 6 but to be honest I am really struggling with getting to grips with it

Is there any chance that you (or anyone else on the site) could undertake the actions that you suggested?
...

Jon

I'm stunned by your very kind remarks. I don't know what to say...

Yes, I do...
If you want a print and don't mind me doing so then send me the original image file and a return address and I'll do the best possible image processing to the file I'm able and include the image processed file and a properly upscaled output file from it for any print size you want and send it to you.

I've applied serious image processing to well over 2,500 photographs and I'm... wellll... above average at it.

jonfrommk

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

04/25/2007 05:08:22 PM · #23

Steve

I meant every word and I think it is absolutely right that those of us who benefit from your advice and comments occasionally remind you of how much we value the service you offer

I have stuck the file into 'workshop' in my portfolio and will copy this message to you as a PM along with my email details

My turn to be lost for words now at your kind offer...Its a regular Wednesday evening love in!!!!!!

All the best

Jon

04/25/2007 05:41:51 PM · #24

Originally posted by jonfrommk:

...Its a regular Wednesday evening love in!!!!!!

As an example of the international nature of this site... its still early to mid-afternoon in this part of the world. :)

I probably should attend to some of the other critiques I promised now as well. :)