Setup and Snapshots? - DPChallenge Forums

05/04/2002 10:45:27 PM · #1

thanks david

05/04/2002 10:27:30 PM · #2

In my haste to strike out against drugs and substance abuse I have mis interpreted comments made in a teasing manner. In this regard I wish to apoligize to all and hope anyone offended will excuse me for my tasteless comments, especially 99 and ana.

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/4/2002 10:27:57 PM.

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

05/04/2002 10:06:06 PM · #3

you must take the combo ana. are you up to it?

Ricky Cleave

Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi

05/04/2002 09:48:10 PM · #4

Free drugs? Where?

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

05/04/2002 08:41:18 PM · #5

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

05/04/2002 07:35:58 PM · #6

I agree with you on the 'student' feel of this site.. Mousie is gonna be a good instructor :)

Originally posted by hokie:
Originally posted by jmsetzler:
[i]That's what we would like it to be but it doesn't really matter what you do... Someone will complain about it being setup and others will complain about it being a snapshot. There is a very diverse group of photographers and voters here. I think the balance here is a little more on the side of the casual photographer. I had rarely taken any photographs seriously until I found this site. I had done some neat stuff with the camera but here, you have quite a group to impress. If you take a look at the score mix for some of the past winning photos, you will see what I mean :)

I like the student feel to this site. Although I have used photographs in some of my work projects over the years I have never really concentated on just the photo like I have at this site.

Plus, I usually have used elements of a photo and relied on photoshop type software to piece togehter what I wanted.

Here we concentrate on getting as close to the final shot in the camera which helps me develope my skills on digital camera work and not on photoshopping.

So whether the shot is a setup or a grabbed shot its all cool to look at and find new things.
[/i]

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

05/04/2002 07:32:58 PM · #7

my goodness, david .. did we wake up on the wrong side of the sociopath this morning, or have we just been watching too many snuff films? ;-)

I will also except running out of medication as a possible explanation.

Originally posted by David Ey:
nothing at all 99, and you might chase it with a little gasoline and a match too. don't breed 99

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/4/2002 7:43:30 PM.

hokie

Nikon D2X

05/04/2002 07:30:46 PM · #8

Originally posted by jmsetzler:
That's what we would like it to be but it doesn't really matter what you do... Someone will complain about it being setup and others will complain about it being a snapshot. There is a very diverse group of photographers and voters here. I think the balance here is a little more on the side of the casual photographer. I had rarely taken any photographs seriously until I found this site. I had done some neat stuff with the camera but here, you have quite a group to impress. If you take a look at the score mix for some of the past winning photos, you will see what I mean :)

I like the student feel to this site. Although I have used photographs in some of my work projects over the years I have never really concentated on just the photo like I have at this site.

Plus, I usually have used elements of a photo and relied on photoshop type software to piece togehter what I wanted.

Here we concentrate on getting as close to the final shot in the camera which helps me develope my skills on digital camera work and not on photoshopping.

So whether the shot is a setup or a grabbed shot its all cool to look at and find new things.

05/04/2002 07:25:09 PM · #9

nothing at all 99, and you might chase it with a little gasoline and a match too. don't breed 99

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

05/04/2002 07:13:48 PM · #10

absolutely. however, i think that some people are saying they don't enjoy certain methods of getting that picture as much other methods, whereas some other people are saying that there's something worthwhile to be gained from everything .. : ))

Originally posted by stormbikes:
after all is said and done isn't it the image itself that is the important thing. how it arrives there and what you take it with are irrelevant.

jmsetzler

Sony Alpha a6000

05/04/2002 06:17:02 PM · #11

That's what we would like it to be but it doesn't really matter what you do... Someone will complain about it being setup and others will complain about it being a snapshot. There is a very diverse group of photographers and voters here. I think the balance here is a little more on the side of the casual photographer. I had rarely taken any photographs seriously until I found this site. I had done some neat stuff with the camera but here, you have quite a group to impress. If you take a look at the score mix for some of the past winning photos, you will see what I mean :)

Originally posted by stormbikes:
after all is said and done isn't it the image itself that is the important thing. how it arrives there and what you take it with are irrelevant.

stormbikes

Canon PowerShot G2

05/04/2002 05:06:06 PM · #12

after all is said and done isn't it the image itself that is the important thing. how it arrives there and what you take it with are irrelevant.

05/04/2002 10:40:00 AM · #13

When in July??

irae

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 I

05/04/2002 09:10:56 AM · #14

Better hurry. After July I won't be able to show you around, and the Red Chinese should be finished buying the joint shortly thereafter.

05/04/2002 08:55:27 AM · #15

i like those, irae. particularly the first. that's a great shot, and interesting story behind those. i assume that the fortunes aren't free. do these places get a lot of business?

i've got to get over there and check that place out ...

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/4/2002 10:41:39 AM.

irae

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 I

05/03/2002 11:51:43 AM · #16

Nice candids. Here are a couple of my favorites from a temple raid over Chinese New Year.

In the bg are fortunes which each correspond to a wooden slat kept in an urn. You draw a slat, then go take the matching slip for your fortune. These were surreptitious, shot from the waist at full zoom, but I'm pretty sure I was busted.

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/3/2002 11:54:07 AM.

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/3/2002 11:57:53 AM.

05/03/2002 11:11:37 AM · #17

oh definitely. esp the parent's thing.

i actually do a lot of street photography. i work near a big train station/mall. it's pretty amusing what one comes up with. and it's a skin-thickening process too, in that the more i do it the more cavalier i get. just look at how unfriendly the hostile bored tourists are in the face of my shooting. i had a great 'caught lovers' pic but i can't find it. but here are some candidswalking around in DC near where i work.

note that the picture of the rear end is just a store mannequin!! :)

* This message has been edited by the author on 5/3/2002 11:12:39 AM.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

05/03/2002 10:23:14 AM · #18

Originally posted by magnetic9999:
that pic would again fall into the category of deriving relevance more from context than from photographic 'perfection.' i think that strong context can really give strength to a pic - hence the entire field of photojournalism.

I'd agree, it certainly isn't a very good photograph, bad reflections, the big pole, poor lighting etc, but I just really liked the different
styles in the two people and found it interesting to think about the relationship when she takes her boyfriend home to meet her parents...

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

05/03/2002 10:12:35 AM · #19

that pic would again fall into the category of deriving relevance more from context than from photographic 'perfection.' i think that strong context can really give strength to a pic - hence the entire field of photojournalism.

hokie

Nikon D2X

05/03/2002 09:56:09 AM · #20

Exactly Gordon...Being new to digital myself (a few weeks) you mention a very good point about the auto focus time making the capture more difficult.

And I agree 100% about getting comfortable with the equipment before going to live subjects. Live subjects have a much shorter attention span and the magic is lost if you can't get the shot together quickly.

The focus thing was buggin me. My wife looked at the shots I was getting in the first week of owning the camera and said "they sure do suck" but I just came back from a business trip this week and had some shots and she said "hmmm..you must be getting used to the camera..these are much better".

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

05/03/2002 09:30:19 AM · #21

Originally posted by hokie:

Taken shots mean that you have to be faster on your feet, see something that may not have been on your mind at the time, compose and get the shot all before the moment is gone.

Gordon mentions something about taking people shots and how he doesn't get as many as he would like.

You are right about some of the human interaction issues (people posing, worrying how people will react to you taking their picture) but my main blocks are not being assured enough with my camera. If I felt
I could approach someone, ask them if I could quickly take their picture and then not fumble around for a while, wasting their time while getting camera ready, then I'd be happy. Also noticed that the
long autofocus period on digital cameras is not very suited to taking 'semi-posed' people shots - people smile, then start looking bored about the time the AF is read and I can actually shot. I need to work better on my letting people know when I'm taking the picture technique! That or get a decent SLR...

As an aside, here's one of my few candid pics I'm moderately happy with.

hokie

Nikon D2X

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

05/03/2002 09:12:12 AM · #22

Well, it's all about the "mindset" to use a Neil Turner idea.

I think that made shots are easier for most because it allows people to stop and think about an idea and visualize in their mind what the shot should look like.

Taken shots mean that you have to be faster on your feet, see something that may not have been on your mind at the time, compose and get the shot all before the moment is gone.

Gordon mentions something about taking people shots and how he doesn't get as many as he would like.

I think there are two factors there. Fear that people taking the picture have of approaching someone to get a picture and having the subject not become too self conscious that his photo is being taken.

Something about a camera makes people flip a switch and go into posing mode that just pisses me off. Even if it means a simple little thing like the person just acting DIFFERENT than what caught my eye in the first place. Cameras are so powerful.

I was out and about taking a few shots for an idea I had for the latest challenge and I actually drew a crowd! These folks acted as if they had never seen someone taking photos. Granted the fact I was taking an object and putting it in unusual positions had something to do with it ;-) but people really are so infatuated with a lens.

Thats what I love about cameras (like my G2) that have a flip out lcd which allows me to get sneaky IF I can get close enough for a good shot.

Anyway, I don't care if an image is made or taken as long as its neat to look at. :-)

05/03/2002 08:27:12 AM · #23

Originally posted by GordonMcGregor:
Mostly it needs practice I think

practice for sure, but also overwhelming luck that all of the stars and factors have aligned coincidentally and perfectly right at that moment.

another thing about found shots that's important is 'context.' Many images that are interesting in a certain context derive a lot of that strength from knowing what the context is. take away the context, and a lot of the power of the photo can be lost.

Gordon

RIM BlackBerry Curve

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

05/03/2002 07:47:23 AM · #24

I think the reason I'm currently trying a lot of 'setup' shots for the challenges is about control. I have a brief, I conceptualise an idea for it, it is very difficult then wander around until what you thought of happens.

Most of my other photography has been a case of finding things and then working out the best way to present what I've found. But these challenges encourage more previsualisation or preconception and that then leads to more set up shots.

Also, I think taking good found shots is harder - as the zen comments allude to, you have to be damn good and almost instinctive to get everything right, quickly, for a found shot. I think that's also why I haven't yet had much success taking pictures of people (I wrote shooting people, then changed my mind - living in Texas and all...) I don't yet have the skill to get things right quickly enough. Mostly it needs practice I think