Weathered... my score - DPChallenge Forums

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07/16/2008 10:15:45 AM · #1

Can you guys help me?
I rather liked my image for the "weathered" challenge. I received 3 nice comments, but my score did not reflect that.
I ended up getting a score of 4.7, a total of 35 votes of 3 and under.

Could someone tell me why my image scored so badly? It would be much appreciated [thumb]

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Message edited by author 2008-07-16 10:36:38.

ambaker

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

07/16/2008 10:33:48 AM · #2

Things that I think held you back a bit, (though I would have scored this a little higher than 4.7), are:

Depth of field feels a bit short. The leaft the drop is on goes soft above and to the left of the drop.

I would have loved to seen this one in color. Even if the leaf was brown, color would have helped. The winner was along the same idea, and look how the colors popped. Voters here respond to color. Black and white can do well, but many here vote colorful images a bit higher.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO

07/16/2008 10:33:52 AM · #3

I gave it a 6. I think the b/w treatment took away from the "wow factor" that gets attention. I really liked the effort at doing this differently, however. The noise in the background (which I now know was intentional) probably hurt is as well, as it was certainly not perceived that way by voters. Perhaps a slight bump in contrast could have helped it, but I am always finding myself caught in between increasing the strength of the tones and maintaining detail. I often go with detail, but strong tones seem to generally do better in voting.

BTW, you need to change out the full size image in your post for a clickable thumbnail. (Keeps the forums tidy) Use the second icon from the right above the text box, and enter the image ID number in the dialog that comesup.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/16/2008 10:35:46 AM · #4

BTW-- Not a leaf, but a blade of grass :)

brownsm

Canon EOS-5D

07/16/2008 10:36:18 AM · #5

Cassie, my guess is the relevance (or rather the lack of relevance) to the challenge topic. While the photo itself is actually quite good, it doesn't say "weathered" to me. Not meeting the challenge topic is the surest way to low scores around here. I'm pretty open when it comes to interpretations of the topic, but even to me, this one does not meet the topic.

07/16/2008 10:37:39 AM · #6

weathÂ·ered
â��adjective
1. seasoned or otherwise affected by exposure to the weather.

bspurgeon

Fujifilm x100

Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM

07/16/2008 10:56:27 AM · #7

Cassie, this is not a bad image, in fact I like it. I did not vote, but I probably would have given it a 5, because it met the challenge in an abstract fashion and it is a good image. I too think that it was a bit subtle for the topic, I think a different perspective with the tip of blade included may have helped the context, but suspect you liked the curve of the blade and drop.

Overall I think a bit more contrast would have helped the BW conversion, with darker blacks, and less noise improving the impact as well. Grain can help, but me it does not fit this image, as most of us would imagine a rain drop on a blade of grass as crisp and clean with a sense of renewal. I'm guessing this played a not so obvious role in the voters mind as to why they did not connect with the image.

Other options: More DOF to include the blade for context or a sharper drop or a sharper drop with color all would have improved the score IMHO.

BW can score very well, see the Two Person Portrait. My shot was the only color version in the top 10. So keep working with the BW.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

07/16/2008 10:56:33 AM · #8

Originally posted by CassieDoodle:

weathÂ·ered
â��adjective
1. seasoned or otherwise affected by exposure to the weather.

That may well be the correct definition, but the blade of grass doesn't appear "affected by exposure" or "seasoned" in any way. JMO of course. :-)