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06/09/2007 09:46:54 AM · #1 |
 Smartypants got a personal best in the recently finished free study:
She was above 7 for about half the week but really took a beating on the last day of voting and ended up with a 6.8. She saved a screen capture just to imagine "what if..."
She's too modest to blow her own horn so here comes dad... |
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06/09/2007 09:49:20 AM · #2 |
Congrats to Smartypants for that new PB! Ya know - I think with a verticle or uncentered crop, that one would have stayed above 7.... just my opinion of course. Hope her next 7 comes along quickly. :)
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06/09/2007 11:11:57 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by idnic:
Congrats to Smartypants for that new PB! Ya know - I think with a verticle or uncentered crop, that one would have stayed above 7.... just my opinion of course. Hope her next 7 comes along quickly. :) |
I was thinking exactly the same thing, and said something remotely related during voting. |
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06/09/2007 11:29:30 AM · #4 |
I gave it a 10. And congrats to Smartypants her new PB!
Message edited by author 2007-06-09 11:30:11. |
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06/09/2007 11:34:07 AM · #5 |
great shot. i got nailed on the last day too, 6.6 to 6.5.
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06/09/2007 11:48:27 AM · #6 |
Call me photographically impaired or naive, but the centered composition doesn't bother me in this image.
I think since the kitty is staring directly at the camera and her stance is poised in such a symmetric (and intense) way, the centered comp works (for me).
If the kitty was at an intersecting point in the rule of terds, would the impact of the image be better? Or are people/voters just really married to the 'rules'? When is it appropriate to break those 'rules'? (I struggle with this distinction...often).
To me, the background combined with the aforementioned intense (and positioned) stare create a perfect opportunity to break rules and center crop this piece.
Regardless of all the chirping, this is a great capture. |
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06/09/2007 11:51:25 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by mattmac:
Call me photographically impaired or naive, but the centered composition doesn't bother me in this image.
I think since the kitty is staring directly at the camera and her stance is poised in such a symmetric (and intense) way, the centered comp works (for me).
If the kitty was at an intersecting point in the rule of terds, would the impact of the image be better? Or are people/voters just really married to the 'rules'? When is it appropriate to break those 'rules'? (I struggle with this distinction...often).
To me, the background combined with the aforementioned intense (and positioned) stare create a perfect opportunity to break rules and center crop this piece.
Regardless of all the chirping, this is a great capture. |
I definately agree with you.
And I laughed when I read your typo..."rule of terds" |
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06/09/2007 11:57:11 AM · #8 |
| Vertical crop, definitely. Still a great shot. |
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06/09/2007 11:57:40 AM · #9 |
Originally posted by KelvinC:
And I laughed when I read your typo..."rule of terds" |
That's no typo, that's part of a routine.
Made me laugh too.
I didn't vote on this image, but it was certainly a standout. The kid's got talent - and I'll bet a pretty good teacher too. |
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06/09/2007 12:07:12 PM · #10 |
Hey, thanks everybody for all the great comments and tips. It's funny, but cropping vertically never even occurred to me. I kept it horizontal and centered from the very start- didn't think twice about it. I personally think the centered composition works here (obviously) and had it not been from a straight-on POV, I probably would have cropped it differently.
I'm curious to know how you all would have cropped it.. |
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06/09/2007 12:12:51 PM · #11 |
Absolutely a great photo, and congratualtions. but one still has to wonder who would vote it a 2, or a 3, or even a 4? A ghost account, or someone just worried about not winning?
Congratulations on the new PB.
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06/09/2007 12:13:17 PM · #12 |
Great shot, I like it. Guess it's probably good that I didn't enter this one:
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06/09/2007 12:16:39 PM · #13 |
I don't think the "problem" is as much with the centered composition as it is with the too-prominent trunk on the right: to my eyes, just using a gradient on the right to tone that down makes a marked improvement:
as submitted: gradient version: 
If I were working on it more seriously I'd be sure to maintain the separation of the lower leg area better.
R.
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06/09/2007 12:19:49 PM · #14 |
Bear-
I actually thought about doing a subtle vignette but I wasn't happy with any of my attempts. I like your edit- what did you do? |
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06/09/2007 12:23:49 PM · #15 |
Originally posted by smartypants:
Bear-
I actually thought about doing a subtle vignette but I wasn't happy with any of my attempts. I like your edit- what did you do? |
Created a selection of the entire right side right up to the tiger and around and over his head. Created a new, empty layer in multiply mode, set to neutral fill (white), and used the gradient tool set from black-to-transparent to draw a gradient from the right edge to the center of the image. Then I created a second new empty layer, set to overlay with a neutral fill (gray this time) and redrew the gradient on that. Faded the multiply gradient layer to 50% and the overlay gradient layer to 40%.
Why two layers? Because the overlay layer alone dulled down the whole log and made the details muddy, whilst the multiply layer alone introduced too much contrast int he details. Using them in tandem I was able to retain detail whilst muting the whole log.
R.
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06/09/2007 12:40:12 PM · #16 |
Originally posted by digitalknight:
The kid's got talent - and I'll bet a pretty good teacher too. |
You mean Bear Music, right?
;-) |
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06/09/2007 12:49:26 PM · #17 |
Saying "hi" to my adopted daughter :)
It's at least a 9 in my book, he, he.
I think the rather static feel you get from the centred landscape comp. works quite well with the "I'm staring at you and then I pounce expression". If anything, maybe if the look were just a bit fiercer it would work wonders (so go train that kitty to stare better). I like the context (the logs/rock), even though it might be catching a bit more attention than needed.
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06/09/2007 01:38:58 PM · #18 |
Congratulations Andrea!
It's a great image; I do think it would be better cropped a bit towards a traditional thirds image, rather than the centric composition, but it's quite lovely either way! |
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06/09/2007 02:19:26 PM · #19 |
| Congrats Andrea! You are a very talented young lady. I predict we will be seeing some ribbons from you soon. |
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