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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> my september free study
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Showing posts 1 - 13 of 13, (reverse)
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 10/08/2009 12:23:54 AM · #1
i was very disappointed. i really love my shot. i am very interested in knowing why it scored so low, though, fortunately, it did end up over 5. it started in the 4.3s. anyone here who gave me sub-5 scores, i very much would like to know why. all opinions are welcome.

10/08/2009 12:32:57 AM · #2
I commented on it.
 10/08/2009 12:42:26 AM · #3
here is that same photo with a different crop. i chose to use the one with the village to show the contrast between the beauty of the land and the poverty in which the indigenous americans live. i thought it important for people to see. i would have liked some clouds but they just weren't cooperating that day.



thanks for your comment, marcus. i really appreciate the honesty.

Message edited by author 2009-10-08 00:44:33.
 10/08/2009 01:00:39 AM · #4
Left comments.
 10/08/2009 01:14:21 AM · #5
First off, I didn't vote on the challenge, but I would have scored it fairly low. Entering an image into a free study is to show of the best work you have done in that month...in my opinion. With that in mind, that is how I, and many voters tend to score these images. You image is very, very busy, and it looks like a simple vacation snapshot. It looks like the sky was initially overexposed, then altered in post-processing leaving it with a flat, grey hue. Also, as Steve and Marcus point out, there really is no specific point of interest. Its just a picture of some buildings with a nice background. You know how to do well in a Free Study as evidenced by your top scoring image. Step back from the situation of ownership for a moment and compare these two images.



The latter is a stunning image captured with perfect timing and wonderfully port-processed. Even with that, it didn't get close to 7. Free studies are tough. Take a look at these two shots:



This was essentially the same image, at least very similar quality, that scored vastly different marks. The first one scored at 6.0xxx in the Free Study and the latter pulled a 7.6xxx in a weekly challenge. Free studies are tough and even very strong images often fail to pull a score that the owner would expect. As far as growing the score of your image, I don't really see a clear cut way to pull that off. The second crop is much more interesting to my mind's eye, but it is still a bit far off and the horizon slices it really close to the middle of the image, yielding a fairly poor composition. If I had voted in the challenge, yours would have probably have pulled a 4, or perhaps even a 3 from me. I hope this rambling makes some sense.

Message edited by author 2009-10-08 01:15:30.
 10/08/2009 07:21:10 AM · #6
Originally posted by ericwoo:
Free studies are tough. Take a look at these two shots:



This was essentially the same image, at least very similar quality, that scored vastly different marks. The first one scored at 6.0xxx in the Free Study and the latter pulled a 7.6xxx in a weekly challenge. Free studies are tough and even very strong images often fail to pull a score that the owner would expect.

For this pair there is also the issue that voters get a bit tired of seeing a very similar image two weeks in a row, so the second submission tends to get punished for that.
 10/08/2009 08:38:45 AM · #7
Originally posted by ErikV:
For this pair there is also the issue that voters get a bit tired of seeing a very similar image two weeks in a row, so the second submission tends to get punished for that.

Yep.
 10/08/2009 09:00:31 AM · #8
Originally posted by desertoddity:
i was very disappointed. i really love my shot. i am very interested in knowing why it scored so low, though, fortunately, it did end up over 5. it started in the 4.3s. anyone here who gave me sub-5 scores, i very much would like to know why. all opinions are welcome.



I gave you a 6. Which is my standard score for when I don't like or dislike a photo. 5.5 would be a preferred vote, but we don't have that.

The reasoning I used ...is that it doesn't draw me in. My eye is torn between looking at the buildings and looking at the mountains in the back. The photo was fine as a photo, but didn't compel me to look at anything particular.

The second crop also has me conflicted on where to look....the bright green trees or the mountains again. *shrug*
 10/08/2009 09:07:37 AM · #9
I gave you a 5 - the foreground is messy and detracts the image


10/08/2009 09:52:42 AM · #10
Left a comment
 10/08/2009 11:21:21 AM · #11
I gave you a 5. Part of the problem with that area of the country is that you have to have something really spectacular to have it wow the viewer. It's a reasonably pleasing image, but the scene itself is too vast without any real subject to pull you in.

If this was on the entire wall of a room, it would be captivating in its vastness, but at this size, it's really kind of unremarkable.

Colors & clarity are good, horizon's fine......it just doesn't have the wow factor.....and in a Free Study, that's the kiss of death.
 10/08/2009 12:03:00 PM · #12
You didn't convey poverty from that distance, that angle. As a result, the picture looks like a rather dull landscape. I gave it a 4, but then again I don't like landscapes. I gave you an extra point for the buildings in the foreground.
 10/08/2009 12:51:05 PM · #13
thanks for the comments. they've given me somethings to think about and are very helpful.

the shot was HDR and i almost entered it in that competition, but i liked it better than the one i did enter so i saved it for the free study. i was proud of my waterfall, too, though, because i had bought my first ND filter and that was my first try and making the smooth water and i was pleased with the result.

i took the photo of the pueblo from the road which was much higher than the village. next time i go through there, i may try to find another vantage point or a different perspective.

thanks again :)
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