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10/11/2004 10:02:02 AM · #1 |
I am confused by the DPC voters again. I am not unhappy with my score, though I do feel it should have done better when I compare it to some of the shots above it. But what surprised me the most was a heavily halo'd shot of a bird against a sky that finished 14th (sorry, jonr, no offense intended).
I originally was going to submit a shot of a flying bird against the sky, which I had to adjust to dodge the bird against the sky a lot. After doing it, while the picture had a certain appeal to me, it looked to "edited". The DPC masses would vote against that! So I went with my best natural shot, cropped, reduced, but unedited:
So I am wondering if I picked the wrong shot. Here's my bird against the sky shots. First, the one with adjustment:
And then a playful adjustment (which I thought was a bit cool, but figured it would get killed in voting):
And one that didn't take adjustment but I didn't think was 'exciting' enough:
So was my logic flawed yet again? Do you think any of those would have scored over a 6 average? (My entry finished with a 5.893.)
Now one more question. At one point, I had this tighter crop submitted. Then at the last minute, I changed it for the whole bird, figuring that people would have liked the whole bird. Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to change my mind again--and I think I like the closeup better, since I ran up against the clock. Let me know if you like this one better:
Forever trying to learn. Thanks in advance.
Neil |
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10/11/2004 10:15:12 AM · #2 |
The "Playful Adjustment"..........how'd you do that?
I like it.!! |
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10/11/2004 10:23:19 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by bongo:
The "Playful Adjustment"..........how'd you do that?
I like it.!! |
I inverted it, copied that as a layer above the original, and then erased a bit of the inverted layer around the head so the eyes weren't white.
Then contrast and levels adjustments to make sure the background was black as possible. |
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10/11/2004 10:24:51 AM · #4 |
I thought I was the only one that played that game. I usually submit and unsubmit 10 times during the week and then unsubmit for good and sit the challenge out.
I think that all your shots are good captures, but the voters want to see spectacular,like an amazinging clear subject with phenomenal backgrounds! They don't seem to give credit to great photos with great timing.
I, too, like the crop of the close up of the original. The quality isn't there, though.
Btw, you have a great portfolio!
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10/11/2004 11:32:50 AM · #5 |
The shot you entered was fairly static with not much 'wow' that DPC'ers love. The open mouth certainly was headed in that direction. The shot is also fairly soft and often having a very sharp image where the details in feathers are amazing generate the most 'wow'. I like both your second and third options with the bird against the sky flying. The first seems more dramatic and the playful one a little flatter in regards to tones. Your third choice was fairly static too, as you stated. The last option has good composition but it looks like it was neatimaged or something. The details look almost smudged and/or an artistic filter used on it. It looks great as a thumbnail but quite soft when larger and with the other above mentioned issues. I would have submitted your second shot.
I just went and rechecked out the 14th place. The 'obvious halo' to me looks like dramatic lighting in an artistic rendition. It's unusual and stands out, and the mix of sharpness and motion blur really helps too. It's all personal opinion, but something doesnt need to be technically 'perfect' in order to be found appealing.
Message edited by author 2004-10-11 11:37:10. |
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10/11/2004 12:04:55 PM · #6 |
I agree with moodville about the 14th place shot. It is interesting and dramatic and tack sharp.
As far as your images go, to add to your confusion, I prefer the one that you considered "not exciting enough". You have a bird captured beautifully in flight with a very interesting and symmetrical angle on the wings.
I think you do yourself a disservice by trying to guess what people will like. That's not to say you won't hem and haw over deciding on a shot, but I think the best judge of what works will be you. If you think it is your best image, then, hopefully it will reflect that in the voting.
Dave
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10/11/2004 12:57:52 PM · #7 |
Every time that I have attempted to figure out the crowd here, I'm horribly dissapointed with my showing. My best scores have come primarily from the shots that I just plain did for myself...
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