Pick of the Crop ? - DPChallenge Forums

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

10/02/2004 05:16:55 PM · #1

Firstly may I say that this is not a "please say nice things about my photo" question.

I am fairly new to digital photography and also to this site. My first impression of DPC was (and still is) amazement at the potential for graphical quality availble to modern photographers and how impressive are the results produced when that potential is used by imaginitive and creative individuals.

I was intrigued by the "Masters dilema" thread and the introspection expressed by a "master" as to the formulaeic approach to producing "Good" images.

My appreciation of photography was formed in the days when only fairly crude equipment was available to the amateur photographer and the "taste" was for images which "commented on" or "expressed an opinion about" the world. We now seem to concentrate more on beauty and style.

So my question is this......

This is a crop of a side view of a Sunflower head emerging from the bud. It is as sharp as a S7000 can make it, it is colourful, backlit and contains detail. It is composed as pleasingly as I can make it.

Is it a "Good" photo in terms of modern (DPC) tastes?

Please critiqe if you wish and if anyone wants to "have a play" with it and post improved or alternative views of this image, I have no objections.

Thanks
Bob

Mambe

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

10/02/2004 05:52:14 PM · #2

Hello Bob ,
I just can give you my opinion. I like it ! But is it possible for you to show us the original photo ? I like the orange tones and maybe would prefer a different crop with more orange and less green (very good sharpness and focus on the greens,by the way).
Thanks for sharing !

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

10/02/2004 06:06:11 PM · #3

Certainly Mambe

I took this shot with the intention of looking for a good crop.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

10/02/2004 06:11:41 PM · #4

I ain't no master and just a hack at best but I like your picture a lot. Most people focus on the color of the flower and don't go beyond that. You have given us a different view. Something that is tactile. It looks almost as if it is a cactus with all those spines growing out of the leaves. The composition uses the brightness of the petals as a supplement to point to another area that is interesting and worth looking at also rather than using them as the center of attention. Your picture says to me that perhaps if I look I might find that beauty is not only in the obvious but lies within everything that can be seen. Thanks.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/02/2004 06:16:03 PM · #5

You ain't no hack Pat.

What a very intelligent reponse.

Thank you!

Bob

soup

Canon EOS-30D

10/02/2004 06:17:00 PM · #6

it would be difficult to produce a decent sized print with the amount you have cropped out.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

10/02/2004 06:22:16 PM · #7

The original is 6mp. but I only created this image as an "example" image in order to post this question.

Bob

dwterry

Canon EOS-1D Mark III

10/02/2004 06:29:24 PM · #8

I like both pictures.... the cropped one more than the original. The amount of detail is intriguing. I do tend to feel that pulling back, just a bit, to give a tiny bit more of the flower could be better.

The area in the bottom middle is blown out and keeps attracting my eyes. Perhaps just burning it in a bit would do the trick (I've looked at the original and would hate to crop it out).

But really, it's already a nearly perfect image so there isn't much to do. Thanks for sharing!

Mambe

Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS

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

10/02/2004 06:31:18 PM · #9

Hi again !
Your crop is surely one of the most interesting as background is a bit distracting (or would need editing) and because the petals are quite short. I like the orange tones in your editing , they are "full of life". Good job !

soup

Canon EOS-30D

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/02/2004 06:31:31 PM · #10

you still cropped 4 megapix or so away from the 6mp image, was my point.
i try to keep that in mind if and when i crop an image. i aim for a print of at least 11x14 in most cases.

EDIT: from a 6mp camera.

Originally posted by :

I took this shot with the intention of looking for a good crop.

Message edited by author 2004-10-02 18:32:02.

flip89

Nikon D700

Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR

10/02/2004 06:34:49 PM · #11

It is an excellent photograph because it is different, it is taken from an unusual point of view, colors are bright, details are crisp and certainly offers a fresh look on a tired old subject. There is a blown out area in the bottom middle that you could probably burn or crop. If you crop it out you are still left with a fairly decent composition if you leave a little bit of the top of your original. Lastly it's a good exercise counting your namesake number on your model.

Message edited by author 2004-10-02 18:35:43.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

10/02/2004 06:38:27 PM · #12

So you'd score it a 1.618 the would you?
Bob

Message edited by author 2004-10-02 18:38:59.

pcody

Canon PowerShot G6

10/02/2004 06:45:45 PM · #13

Soup is right about having to crop away so much but not because of the printability of the final product. It's better not to have to crop too much because if you find you have to crop a lot, maybe you are not exercising your framing skills enough. But then, this is a good exercise by itself because by getting a general picture and then going into post processing and framing the shot one would be able to learn how to frame, so eventually they would be able to find the compositions while taking the picture.

10/02/2004 07:06:46 PM · #14

You say this is not a "be nice to me" thread. So:

I can't say that I like either very much. But you asked about the cropped version. To me, it's a bit of an aggressive picture, cut right down the middle into green and yellow, it looks a bit oversharpened, and the colours are rather shrill (at least on my screen). It is different, a bit, but not unique. But, you got quite a number of people to comment, so I guess it's having an impact :)

BTW, I don't think there is such a thing as a "formula" for producing pictures that will consistently win here at DPChallenge. Otherwise some of the people who profess to know these formulas would be winning all the time, as the main purpose for entering pictures to a challenge is winning.

I really like your "Katrina" picture. It has a soft, old-fashined beauty about it that's very attractive.

Finally, please remember you said to be frank.

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

10/02/2004 07:11:49 PM · #15

I am extremely pleased that you commented Ursula.

As a photographer I have absolutely no ego.

Thanks

Bob

soup

Canon EOS-30D

10/02/2004 07:54:20 PM · #16

ahh - sorry.

this cold is making me fussy

Message edited by author 2004-10-02 20:20:35.

10/02/2004 08:06:50 PM · #17

I was responding to flip 89's final reference.

1.618 is the Fibonacci or "golden section" ratio.

bob

10/02/2004 09:08:12 PM · #18

Originally posted by Fibonacci:

I was responding to flip 89's final reference.

1.618 is the Fibonacci or "golden section" ratio.

bob

Good username :)

10/02/2004 09:17:09 PM · #19

Thanks ursula

Did you get my PM?

10/02/2004 09:31:42 PM · #20

I got it after posting the message here. I also found the username I asked about.

Thanks,

Ursula

10/02/2004 09:47:14 PM · #21

Ursla

This is a real photo

The artist is "riotspyne"

Best regards

Bob

Message edited by author 2004-10-02 21:53:09.

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

10/02/2004 10:04:41 PM · #22

Thank you. I wrote her a note.

dsa157

Canon EOS-50D

10/03/2004 12:02:50 AM · #23

I have to agree with the posters who find your image to be very appealing. The original was a run of the mill flower shot that had nothing in particular that made it stand out, but your crop was excellent, bring out interesting detail and good contrast between the long smooth petlas and the spikey, cactus like leaves.

Whether or not you have cropped it to the extent that it is unprintable at a larger size is not the issue - you have shown that you have an eye for composition and you can use this skill next time to frame the shot better in camera so that you don't lose as much image data when post processing.

10/03/2004 07:02:17 AM · #24

Thanks David

The original shot was never meant to be seen as an image. It was taken only as a source image with the intention of looking for the "killer crop"

I sometimes take fairly random shots of busy markets, street scenes or industrial environments (anything where there is plenty of human interaction) with the intention of "looking for the interesting crop" I find that this trains the eye wonderfully as it forces you to really look at what you've captured.

Isn't digital wonderful!

A couple of days ago on this site a "novice" photographer posted her "first pics". One of them was a photo of her daughter which to me captured a lovely pose and expression. The image was what you would expect from someone new to photography and after perhaps a little too much honesty, the lady withdrew her attempts feeling rather embarrassed. With her approval, I posted a crop of her original to illustrate to her that there was indeed a fine image buried within and with the techniques that she could pick up here, she could express herself eloquently through her camera.

There is always meaning and beauty in the world. Sometimes you just have to look a little deeper.

Bob

Message edited by author 2004-10-03 13:05:52.