DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
a game of mancala
a game of mancala
alih


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Collections (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Sony DSC-W1
Location: boyfriend's room
Date: Nov 27, 2005
Aperture: f 2.8
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/100
Date Uploaded: Nov 29, 2005

N/A

Statistics
Place: 162 out of 210
Avg (all users): 4.4755
Avg (commenters): 5.0000
Avg (participants): 4.2184
Avg (non-participants): 4.6011
Views since voting: 726
Views during voting: 356
Votes: 265
Comments: 8
Favorites: 0


Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
12/12/2005 09:24:23 PM
Greetings from the Critique Club! : )

My first impression was that the crop worked well, but the overhead lighting was obvious through the reflection on the wood.

In terms of composition, it's very straightforward: just the game. people like looking at people, and I agree with the commenter who suggested having a hand in the game. Showing people playing the game would add visual interest, even keeping it as an overhead shot but including hands picking up marbles, etc. the game by itself comes across as a bit sterile, even though those marbles hold the promise of fun. the colors in the marbles are fun and festive, and without understanding the game I still find their positioning interesting.

The lighting does detract from this image, imo. The single overhead light casts too much light on the center of the board, and not enough at the ends. The viewer sees a shiny middle, some shiny highlights in the cups of the board, with the ends almost fading into shadow (particularly on the right side...the left side appears to be getting a hair more light). For an image such as this, I would want to see even, diffused lighting that allows those glass marbles and their vivid colors to just glow, while knocking down that glare on the wood. I would suggest playing around with bouncing and reflecting light onto the board, or playing with a scrim to diffuse the light.

In terms of the challenge, I have to return to composition. This is a nice, straightforward image of the mancala board. What is lacking, in my opinion, is YOUR touch, YOUR interpretation, what YOU give to this image to make it special. Is there a particular moment in the game that you love? Can that be captured in your composition? With the theme of "Collections", would it be interesting to see the winner holding his or her collection of winning stones? Is there a spirit to the game that you can capture through a different angle for the shot? I would encourage you to look for the "you" in your topic, and find a way to express it and let that uniqueness shine.

If you have any questions or comments about this critique, please feel free to PM me.

Cheers to you, and keep shooting!
Jeannel

 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/06/2005 09:19:04 PM
nicely cropped. interesting colors. there's a bit of glare off the wood from the overhead lighting.
12/06/2005 02:58:51 PM
nice shot. i love this game
12/04/2005 01:52:35 PM
bad lighting
12/03/2005 10:53:29 PM
i never understood this game.
12/03/2005 12:00:49 AM
I love this game. Its fun and I can win at it
11/30/2005 11:17:37 PM
Nice idea for assignment and colors. How about adding a hand?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2005 10:41:43 PM
how does one play
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/28/2024 04:20:47 PM EDT.