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Government in the Gutter
Government in the Gutter
ShannonLee


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: City Life II (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II
Location: Sacramento, CA
Date: Jan 3, 2006
Aperture: 1
ISO: 1
Shutter: 1
Galleries: Abstract, Architecture
Date Uploaded: Jan 3, 2006

haha was just walkin by and it caught my eye!!

Statistics
Place: 10 out of 173
Avg (all users): 6.5426
Avg (commenters): 7.3333
Avg (participants): 6.1646
Avg (non-participants): 6.6396
Views since voting: 4192
Views during voting: 610
Votes: 387
Comments: 78
Favorites: 10 (view)


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AuthorThread
07/21/2009 01:09:39 AM
I saw this image before I began commenting here at DPC. It's a wonderful metaphor shot, and means more today than it ever did.
This was a great find, and you took time to photograph it well.
11/29/2007 01:28:35 PM
You have a MAD eye for things! I love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/01/2007 06:57:59 PM
I agree.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/27/2007 11:19:00 AM
Shannon, I have just discovered you, and I am delighted by your bio and your photography. This is a great example of what an artist's eye will see while others just step over it. I don't do this often, but I am adding you to my favorite photographer's list. Can't wait to dig deeper into your portfolio.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/20/2007 10:35:29 PM
That's just so clever. Love this. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
08/17/2007 10:58:20 PM
Originally posted by ShannonLee:

haha was just walkin by and it caught my eye!!


I know exactly what you mean when you say this. I've been driving before and almost been rear ended because I had to stop to SEE what I saw out of the corner of my eye. I read your post in this thread and you made me feel the magic again. Thank you for that. I would love to put your post from that thread in my signature. If that is OK, please PM me.
Yours
TC
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/21/2007 12:21:48 AM
haha thats awesome
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/01/2007 05:44:28 AM
That's hilarious. Nicely framed too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/10/2006 04:09:51 PM
This is excellent, what a statement!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/01/2006 10:06:48 AM
Wow! This is a really cool shot. It would have been perfect for the new 'reflection' challenge! .. really great!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/22/2006 10:51:49 PM
This is classic!
you have a sharp eye!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
05/26/2006 06:17:23 PM
Excellent
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/18/2006 04:31:09 PM
I loved this shot, I thought it might be one of the Salt Lake City crowd, maybe state capital buildings all look alike ?? ... especially when they are in the gutter. Anyway, congrats to the voters for recognizing the irony and congrats to the photographer for recognizing opportunity and making it work.

I look forward to meeting you if you make it to the Southern Utah GTG.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/17/2006 10:04:26 AM
Great depiction/description.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/15/2006 03:49:54 AM
Greetings from the Critique Club!

Isn’t serendipity a wonderful thing? You are walking along with your keen photographer’s eye checking it out, and BAM serendipity steps right out and hands you a top ten finish!

Well that’s what your comment tends to make me want to believe, but I’m not buying it. There’s a lot of talent that goes into “seeing” photography that the crowd is just walking past – and you obviously have that insight. That needs to be commended. Great work here!

Now let’s talk about the photo for a minute…

Composition:

This is such a great example of leading lines. The main focus is obviously above the vertical “third” line, but I don’t mind a bit because there are so many lines “pointing” to my eye what I’m supposed to be looking at. So kudos on terrific framing, and a very nice crop to bring it down to what works. (my eye tells me that this is cropped a little on the sides, is my eye right?)

Speaking of cropping, thank you for leaving the “no parking” in there! The red curb with the obvious government imposed “no parking’ strengthens this image and its meaning substantially in my mind. That was a good call to leave it in (besides extending those lovely leading lines)

Lighting:

Looks like an overcast day, so the colors are a little flat (although not too flat, either nice exposure or nice post processing – hard to tell from the insightful comments and excellent camera data that was entered! :-p ). I would love to see it in black and white for comparison. I’m not saying B&W would be better, just that it would be nice to compare. Converting to B&W is something I do with my overcast day photos to add interest –

If it were a perfect world:

Ok, the tribe has spoken, we all love the photo. Now when you go shoot this for stock, what to do differently?

The large leaves/trash on the sidewalk directly to the right of the reflection are a pretty big distraction – a quick kick to get those out of frame first – oh, and get that one in the cross walk, yeah the green one, while you’re at it. (of course some deft PhotoShop work will get those pesky little buggers right out of the way and you’ll be ready for market in no time).

Ok, now to really push it. Take your foot, or your friend’s shoe, and smooth out that pile of gravel in the middle of the puddle. Now wait for the water to become absolutely still again, now shoot. Told you I was really going to push my luck… :-)

Now that I’ve typed that, I look at it again and realize the gravel can be seen as corruption or crumbling inside the government, so we’ll define it as that and add that to your great insight into government. I retract my request for gravel removal.

Ok, I had to come up with something other than telling you how much I like your photo, and really those are the only two things I could come up with. This image is a real statement, tells a story, and creates strong feelings in your audience of agreement and disagreement – that is what good photography is supposed to do. You’ve done an excellent job. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your entries in the future.

Regards,
Doug
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/13/2006 08:26:46 PM
Congratulation on your personal high score! I hope you enjoyed Sacramento... :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/12/2006 11:09:43 AM
What a find! Good eye. Congratulations on your top ten finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/11/2006 09:50:52 PM
Great one Shannon. Congrats. on a top 10 finish. I gave it a 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/11/2006 08:59:19 PM
I love it
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/11/2006 03:29:27 AM
Congratulations with your personal best! Glad to see people here have sense of humor even through a political statement of sorts ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/10/2006 11:30:57 PM
Great picture, wonderful duality captured here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 10:21:49 PM
Haha, love the title :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 09:07:47 PM
A good technique to use is leading lines, but your best leading line is the angled one at the top of the photo. It might have worked better compositionally if you had gone to the other side of this gutter and shot it using the curve as your leading line.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 04:42:41 PM
i think this would be ultracool in b/w.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 03:39:19 PM
well seen image
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 01:27:45 AM
perfect 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/10/2006 12:38:52 AM
An interesting shot, as well as political statement. I generally try not to let the title influence my voting, but I have to make an exception in your case. +2 points for title
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/09/2006 08:22:56 PM
nice photo...well executed!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/09/2006 04:33:13 PM
Very nice, I like the concept.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/09/2006 12:57:59 AM
Like the reflection & concept.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 11:05:24 PM
clever shot.......i really like it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 11:03:08 PM
Great work. I love to see someone pass by the obvious shot and search out something a bit different.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 10:59:31 PM
Well spotted!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 07:24:52 PM
Very clever!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 05:43:16 PM
Love the creativity of this shot. The composition with the red curb and white lines leading right into the focal point is good too. Was this planned or did you stumble upon this one? Nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 10:22:25 AM
quite a capture.... great eye
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 09:06:23 AM
That's pretty funny...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/08/2006 07:09:28 AM
Great title, but wished you had zoomed in a lot closer to the reflection of the building in the puddle.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/07/2006 10:26:08 PM
Interesting pictue, love the perspective. Good title.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/07/2006 09:36:16 PM
Wow, what a statement. I like it. I looks like the CA state capitol.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/07/2006 05:09:12 PM
Nice shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 08:05:45 PM
clever shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 06:27:08 PM
Great capture and idea!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 06:08:47 PM
Interesting commentary. Thought about rotate, but it probably works in both orientations, and the clutter has meaning even if it isn't beautiful. Like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 03:01:31 PM
My favorite. Wouldn't change a pixel. All I can say is kudos.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 01:39:22 PM
Interesting reflection and irony here, but the limited environment around the reflection doesn't reveal very much
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 01:18:37 PM
This is great! I love the reflection and how you captured the Christmas tree in with the building. Awesome title too! LOL
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 10:21:44 AM
well done! this is a very interesting picture to me because the building appears to be ascending from the ground unexpectedly. the only thing i dislike about it is the crop. i think you have too much space that pulls you away from the main subject and draws you to the OoF leaves at the bottom. great job.. you should go by there again when there is no more christmas tree and you might just have yourself a nice stock photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 05:16:16 AM
realy cool
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 04:54:43 AM
Great shot. Would be good for a Time Magazine cover shot for an editorial of the subject. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/06/2006 04:22:47 AM
A political statement doesn't go down well with most people, you took a big risk..I'm really looking forward to checking this image at the end of the challenge, the grid will be really interesting to look at. Apart from all that, nicely shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:59:43 PM
Powerful statement, nicely executed. All the clutter (leaves, etc) in the gutter adds to the feel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:51:52 PM
I find this shot extreamly entertaning! lmao, you should have done this with Canadian Parliment! lmao, then it would make perfact sense!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:24:36 PM
LMFAO....!!! oh so true! 10!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 03:31:17 PM
NIce.....love the title
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 02:55:00 PM
This is by far, one of the most unique photo and caption yet!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 01:48:21 PM
I like it--very creative. Some may complain that it isn't "city life" enough, but the shot stands on its own very nicely. 7.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 10:09:30 AM
A nice controversial title and an imaginative point of view.
My only negative comment would be to crop a large part of the bottom off the picture as the building seems to be lost in the photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:12:59 AM
haha...great detail in the reflection
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:01:51 AM
gorgeous photo, but slightly below my best score because it doesn't quite evoke "life" for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 09:01:18 AM
Great shot and captures my view of the government to a T. LOL. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 05:16:34 AM
Score!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2006 04:06:43 AM
well named and well captured 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 10:22:29 PM
good job, great composition, meets the challenge
good luck
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 08:49:02 PM
that is awesome
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 08:27:08 PM
Composition is ok. The choice of subject matter is ok. The image quality is ok. Outstanding creativity!! - 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 07:41:34 PM
Very nice...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 07:26:13 PM
Very creative, really nice job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 05:51:53 PM
Good eye! I wouldn't have ever noticed that.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 01:34:49 PM
Good title and awesome shot. The reflection seems a little too clear though, like fake almost.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 12:57:57 PM
I love it 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 12:48:33 PM
Really like the photo...ORIGINAL. Not crazy about the title. I'm just an ole fashioned "pro-America" guy.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 09:53:28 AM
HAHAHAHA....YOU GOT THAT RIGHT...AWESOME...LOVE IT
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 07:01:34 AM
i cant find live in this one .. ice
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 06:09:25 AM
hehe.. nice title :p
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 01:25:45 AM
Just where government should be :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 12:44:42 AM
This is mega clever!! WOW - what a reflection. The title is excellent!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/04/2006 12:18:25 AM
hehe great idea!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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