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06/03/2004 05:24:57 PM · #1 |
I got one comment on this, my lowest ranking shot (4th %). The comment was more complimentary than not. Otherwise, zero info on why this did so bad for the Unusual Viewpoint challenge.
Anyone mind commenting now?
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06/03/2004 05:41:51 PM · #2 |
| I didn't vote in this challenge so don't blame me,. but if I had to tell you why it did so badly in the challenge, I'd have to say that I didn't find it very interesting or creative compared to the rest of the challenge entries. Man I hate saying anything negative about someone's work. I do find it a decent shot though and don't feel you deserved the 1's and 2's that you recieved. |
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06/03/2004 05:51:05 PM · #3 |
There are a couple of photographic and technical reasons that might have contributed. It has some slight haloing (That is a bright edge along some of the black branches found in a few places) that should not be there. The image has no central focal point or theme the viewer can identify with. It does not employ much in the way of photo technique... like shallow DOF, use of the rule of thirds, a unique and/or unusual perpective or special framing to set it apart. This seems like an image that should be razor sharp but it is just a little on the soft side. It is a good picture, just not great.
But I suspect that one of the main reasons is that the voters thought your viewpoint was not "unusual" enough. Looking up under a tree branch is pretty common, not that unusual at all.
(Note: I was one of the 6s. I like silhouettes!)
Message edited by author 2004-06-03 17:54:33.
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06/03/2004 05:55:37 PM · #4 |
| Melissa, your picture isn't bad at all - the viewpoint just isn't that unusual. The spikey things on the tree are interesting and look nice against the sky. The picture has a very haunting, spooky kind of feeling that I like. I think that people often look up into trees as they are walking under them so didn't find the viewpoint that unusual. I think if your picture had been entered in a challenge for something like spooky, surreal or haunted it would have done very, very well. |
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06/03/2004 06:01:25 PM · #5 |
| Hopefully no offense will be taken, but you wanted opinions. I don't find any interest in the photo. I think you could have taken a much, much better one to enter in. I didn't vote in this challenge, but I would have given it a 1. Sorry! |
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06/03/2004 06:10:59 PM · #6 |
I certainly would not given it a 1, for me to score a photo 1 it pretty much needs to not meet the challenge and be poor in technical quality and not be a good composition. You photo does meet the challenge and is not bad technically, at least in my opinion so there is no way I would give it a 1.
Having said that there is not much in the photograph that I find either artistic or interesting. Clearly these are both subjective and the fact that you did get a fair number of high scores tells me that others did see something in your photo that I did not.
BTW I did not vote on this challenge so I canĂ¢€™t say for certain what I would have voted for you photo.
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06/03/2004 06:17:16 PM · #7 |
| I gave it an 8. I thought it was interesting because of the technique you used. I like how contrasty it is. I thought it added some creativity to the overall photo. I'm not sure why you would have received a one or a two, but there's no accounting for individual taste. |
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06/03/2004 06:26:55 PM · #8 |
I admit to having given this a 2, Melis, sorry! I thought that the picture was rather bland. First, maybe I spend too much time looking up at trees, but I didn't find the viewpoint very unusual. I think that the white sky is a bit harsh, and the eye is disinclined to explore the details of the little spikeys (which I didn't even see when I coted originally).
Also, the picture is weighted a little far left for me, because the lines of it don't draw the eye around the photo. I find that I look at it, and my eye just stops, and easily becomes bored. I think this is a challenge with silhouettes, in general. The composition has to be quite special in order to glean enough interest from a silhouette.
This is clearly an outlier for you though. I like a lot of your portfolio, and I would hardly let this discourage you. I'm amazed that some people manage to figure out every time what the masses are going to love. Taking a technically superb photo on this site isn't even a guarantee of making it into the top half! Damn people are too good here. :-) |
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06/03/2004 09:20:24 PM · #9 |
Thanks for all the responses! I didn't reply earlier because I posted that request right before leaving to take my daughter to ballet. I just got back and found all the great comments.
The reasonings were pretty much what I suspected. I thought people might not think it was an unusual enough viewpoint. I also thought it might be considered too stark and contrasty for some tastes. I'm a bit surprised by the 1's and 2's honestly, but thanks for being frank with your comments. I agree with the person (sorry I forgot and this method of replying doesn't let you look) that there isn't really a great focal point. I tried various cropping and was never fully satisfied.
I like this image because it is the product of advanced planning. I set my exposure to pretty much guarantee the nearly pure black and white tones. I barely had to up the contrast to achieve this look. I like the halo effect around some of the seed pods if by halo you mean the ones that have gone soft and fuzzy but I thank the person who mentioned this for your point of view.
I had a hard time voting on this challenge because I found myself really having to determine whether something was an unusual viewpoint. Sometimes I would decided one picture didn't represent the challenge but then I would come across a shot with a similar viewpoint that for some reason I thought did represent the challenge. I found myself second-guessing and going back and pretty much deciding most of the photos did a decent job of unusual viewpoint. In regard to this not being an unusual viewpoint for the subject, I had a similar reaction to certain flower shots that I considered to have used fairly commonplace viewpoints for the subject. This is when I started questioning myself on whether this was fair to judge or not. For some people, that may be the first time they've photographed a flower and maybe they made the discovery of how effective the viewpoint was because of the challenge.
This challenge was actually an assignment I had in a college photography class and I came up with some of my best shots from using unusual viewpoints. I was sure this was going to be one of my more successful challenges but I found myself sorely lacking in time and inspiration. I had to take a lot of pictures in the middle of shuttling my daughter back and forth between dance classes, rehearsals, and performances.
Even though this was my lowest ranking yet, I like this photo a lot for what it represents; I'm starting to look more carefully at my subject and think about ways to approach it.
Message edited by author 2004-06-03 21:23:07. |
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06/03/2004 09:31:29 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by wkoffel:
This is clearly an outlier for you though. I like a lot of your portfolio, and I would hardly let this discourage you. |
I confess, I had to look up the term 'outlier' having never come across it before. Thanks for the complement on my portfolio. :D
Message edited by author 2004-06-03 21:32:01. |
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