Methaphorical Road - DNMC? Shoehorned & Obvious?

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

09/03/2008 12:53:28 AM · #3

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Blue Moon

Canon EOS-40D

09/03/2008 12:59:54 AM · #4

Originally posted by violinist123:

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a bit harsh...comparing the entry (even in the metaphoric sense) to dog crap is a bit over the top in my opinion.

It isn't a bad entry but some things that might need tweaking are the color correction and exposure. As for the religious thing, I'm an athiest and this isn't offensive to me in the least, but in general when I see a religion-based shot I tend to roll my eyes.

Dmosier21

Nikon D80

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/03/2008 01:07:10 AM · #5

Originally posted by Blue Moon:

Originally posted by violinist123:
left comment

a bit harsh...comparing the entry (even in the metaphoric sense) to dog crap is a bit over the top in my opinion.

It isn't a bad entry but some things that might need tweaking are the color correction and exposure. As for the religious thing, I'm an athiest and this isn't offensive to me in the least, but in general when I see a religion-based shot I tend to roll my eyes.

Haha. It is what it is.

I had fits with the color because the ribbon of the bible is actually almost that color. I contemplated doing b&w because of this... ah well. Thanks for a thoughful comment.

Yo_Spiff

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

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

09/03/2008 01:10:07 AM · #6

Left a comment on the pic.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

09/03/2008 08:45:08 AM · #7

Originally posted by Blue Moon:

Thanks for taking the time to critque a conversation between me and someone else, and managing to draw an errant conclusion of your own in the process.

If OP doesn't want an honest critque, he/she can ignore mine and just read the ones where people lie and say it isn't a bad entry.

Message edited by author 2008-09-03 08:47:12.

Yo_Spiff

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

09/03/2008 08:54:11 AM · #8

Originally posted by violinist123:

he/she can ignore mine and just read the ones where people lie and say it isn't a bad entry.

Though I know you were not targeting my own input, I feel I need to respond to this. I didn't lie. I don't think it's a bad entry, it's just not outstanding either. It's a good effort that could use a little more oomph. I can see this photo being used in a newsletter or website for a church, perhaps.

I was also thinking about why the religious aspect of it may have dragged it down some. What I think, is that viewers may feel they are being preached to, unless the challenge topic is religion or faith.

glad2badad

DJI Mavic Air 2

Sears 55mm f/1.4 M42

09/03/2008 09:13:40 AM · #9

Well, I gave it a 10. The image made me stop and think. That by itself is enough to say an image worked. Additionally, I considered a couple of other things in scoring this:

1) It takes fortitude to praise God publicly, and in the context of this challenge theme I think it was a great opportunity to do so.
2) I also figured the photographer was probably getting hammered on this so I tossed him a 10 to help lift him up.

On a technical point, one commenter mentioned the crop & aspect ratio of this. I have to agree that adding a movie frame type border (top & bottom) would have made the presentation stronger.

Trinch

Canon EOS-40D

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

09/03/2008 10:04:50 AM · #10

Personally, I thought the image met the challenge very well but lacked a bit in execution. I felt the color and lighting was off and misaligning the focal plane with the text was distracting to me (although that was an artistic choice, it's just not for me). But enough technical babble, content wise I think it was great. Granted I am an atheist, but I would never let that affect my take on an image. I saw the message as following the road to Christianity for God which is, to me, less travelled. In other words, I feel that far too many people follow said road for traditional, political and/or social reasons.

For what it's worth, when I first looked at the entries, my eyes rolled over at the vast amount of roads. I knew there would be a few but never expected an overwhelming majority. I saw the challenge metaphorically. Capture an image that shows someone doing something above and beyond. My original idea was to show a lady walking away from a park bench leaving her purse behind. A second person picking up the purse while calling for her. In the end, I concluded that the approach was stupid and it looked like he was stealing it anyway so I dumped the idea. I brainstormed a great deal to try to figure out how to capture the concept in a single frame. Ideas such as heroism and altruism got tossed around but I ultimately came up dry. But the point is, taking a picture of a road was the last thing in my mind.

Hipychik

Sony Alpha a6000

Sony 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 E-mount

09/03/2008 10:17:17 AM · #11

My first thought was a circus performer. Glad I didn't enter.

Dmosier21

Nikon D80

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

09/03/2008 01:27:52 PM · #12

Originally posted by violinist123:

Originally posted by Blue Moon:

Originally posted by violinist123:
left comment

a bit harsh...comparing the entry (even in the metaphoric sense) to dog crap is a bit over the top in my opinion.

It isn't a bad entry but some things that might need tweaking are the color correction and exposure. As for the religious thing, I'm an athiest and this isn't offensive to me in the least, but in general when I see a religion-based shot I tend to roll my eyes.

Thanks for taking the time to critque a conversation between me and someone else, and managing to draw an errant conclusion of your own in the process.

If OP doesn't want an honest critque, he/she can ignore mine and just read the ones where people lie and say it isn't a bad entry.

I appreciate anyone who takes the time to comment, but your comment does not add anything constructive, it's a comment a politician would make - I won't tell you why it's bad, but I will tell you it's bad.

Several others made constructive comments on why the crop was bad, i.e. unusual aspect needing atleast movie border.

Like I said, I am learning, so the comments are welcome, especially those who disagreed with the content of the image but took the time to make comments about the technical aspects. Thank you very much.

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

09/03/2008 01:35:27 PM · #13

No problem, best of luck.

Blue Moon

Canon EOS-40D

09/03/2008 01:40:39 PM · #14

Originally posted by violinist123:

You're VERY welcome [insert sarcasm] The only reason I even mentioned anything was because this was the person's first entry and I just don't want anyone to scare them off of doing challenges. Also if you were so concerned about it being a private conversation, you should have PMed them instead of putting a comment where everyone can see it. This just shows how you yourself cannot take honest criticism well.

Have a nice day.

Message edited by author 2008-09-03 13:50:01.

signal2noise

Leica M9

Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M MF - Chrome

09/03/2008 01:50:10 PM · #15

Originally posted by Dmosier21:

...but your comment does not add anything constructive, it's a comment a politician would make...

My coworkers are wondering why I just busted out laughing.

Dallas, don't get discouraged at the score. You're on the right track in trying to discern what kept your submission from a higher result/placement. Yours was a decent first submission and caught my attention enough to comment on it. Good luck.