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01/31/2007 07:49:01 PM |
The lighting is really terrific, as is the scene in general.
That duck in the foreground does bother me, though. It's just so big that to have it out of focus detracts.
Then there's the issue of it being a wildlife challenge. I think a sharp foreground duck and ducks on the water, and a somewhat blurred house, and you would've gotten a huge score. The usual trend is to make your subject sharp, and that's the large house and small ducks on the water.
But in a free study, as it is I think this would've done much better.
Either way, it's obvious that you chose the DOF; you didn't accidentally make the closer duck blurry. So then it becomes a question of whether I agree with your choice.
You said over in the team suck forum that you looked forward to explaining your thinking, so why not put it there in the comments? You can edit those post-challenge just like a shot in your portfolio. |
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01/30/2007 08:24:11 PM |
Okay, Jeb, here is my comment. First of all, I think you had a very acceptable score and ranking. I think it would have been even higher if the goose/duck in the foreground had been in good focus. The mood of the scene is excellent, the landscape is excellent, but the wildlife in the foreground is out of focus. This is the first place the eye goes when viewing the shot -- it is the lower right power point (intersection of the 1/3 divisions). I think even if you had put this in Free Study, the focus would have been a problem. A very long DOF with the foreground in focus would, in my opinion, make this a lovely, high-scoring shot.
One other thing that I think may detract from the overall quality of the composition is the very hard and sharp edges of the surface where the goose is standing. It is in harsh contrast to the soft, misty feel of the rest of the image.
Finally, the house in the distance seems to be off kilter. The whole image needs to be rotated slightly clockwise.
I'm no expert, but that's the way I see it. I hope this helps. |
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01/29/2007 11:26:00 PM |
I think overall the mood is great. It is a very artisticly done shot. I don't mind the depth choice used here, I think having the front duck slightly out of focus works great. There are just a few compositional elements I would change, and really this is mostly beyond your control. The ducks in the pond, I wish they were more to the left, or at least the two to the furthest to the right. They distract just a bit from the front ducks form. It would just be a small element that would make a better line and get more involement in that middle section. Lastly just a slight adjustment in the angle, maybe just a bit higher, so you could get the foreground duck's head in the water rather than covering up some elements in the background. Granted of course that you can still maintain the same general perspective
However, I'm just picking on very small details here. It's the type of thing that makes a great wildlife picture extrodinary. Sometimes a little luck has to come into play. Wildlife I think is the hardest, because in the purest sense you have the lease amount of control of your subjects. This is really a tremendous photo you have here! |
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01/29/2007 04:37:34 PM |
| I think for this I would have had to go one way or the other with the depth of field. Either drop down and attempt to bring the duck in to focus, or push the focus further away. As it is my eyes are drawn back and forward in an awkward manner. The general composition though is outstanding. |
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01/29/2007 08:24:31 AM |
this fits the challenge and beyond, nice moodiness and atmosphere for the subjects.
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01/29/2007 08:11:46 AM |
I like the highlite of the water todraw the eyes to the small ducks.
What isthe object just from the the small duck to the right. It looks like a griant duck. Definitly a 10. |
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01/29/2007 07:59:50 AM |
| Jeb, I know you are bummed because you barely missed that 6, but this is a really interesting shot, one of the most artistic of the challenge - a shot of which you should be proud! The mist is lovely and the intentional lack of focus on the foreground duck adds a lot of depth. Great job. |
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01/29/2007 07:05:04 AM |
very very pleasing shot, jeb. the compostion is great, and i agree with deb, the foreground duck out of focus works well. i'm not mad on the green border, though. my eye keeps being drawn to that, rather than to the beautiful image it contains.
o, and now i have 'dust in the wind' stuck in my head... |
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01/29/2007 07:00:28 AM |
| Very nearly a 6 and a nice shot, too! Very peaceful - mist works well and the house adds a lovely element to show that wildlife does indeed coexist quite nicely with man. Seems the majority of the commenters wanted to see the foreground duck a bit sharper. It does work this way, though it requires the viewer to linger a bit longer to appreciate. The "scene" is the house with the ducks in the water. The "sentinel" is the single duck in the foreground, keeping an eye on things but not wishing to be the focal point. |
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01/29/2007 03:08:54 AM |
| Intriguing shot and location. Needs to be the setting of a short story or some such. I'm fine with the foreduck being fuzzy - the depth here feels like what the eye would naturally see. |
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01/29/2007 12:43:09 AM |
| nice shot Jeb. i can see why you never tire of this setting |
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Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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01/28/2007 11:50:36 PM |
| Funny how in a wildlife challenge, the building makes this one so interesting. I love fog shots. Nice depth and colors. |
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01/28/2007 08:55:08 PM |
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01/28/2007 11:00:14 AM |
| I really like your focal point here. The fog helps add to the fell of the picture as well. |
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01/27/2007 05:44:30 PM |
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01/27/2007 02:51:03 PM |
| Interesting DOF with the duck in the foreground oof and the rest of the shot in focus. Feels unnatural though with the dof being so deep. |
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01/26/2007 11:18:34 PM |
| great shot!!! love the focus! and the background adds ALOT!!!!! 10 |
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01/26/2007 07:53:23 PM |
| if your focus was on the foreground duck, this would have been awesome |
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01/26/2007 01:50:52 PM |
| I like the duck in front - it just adds something to the picture. And I love the mist or fog covering the house in the background. Like there is a story waiting to be told... |
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01/25/2007 10:58:37 AM |
| I like the composition and misty feel a lot, and I don't think it would work without the duck in the foreground (at least not for a wildlife challenge). But it's disconcerting that the duck in the foreground is so soft while the rest is nice and sharp. |
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01/25/2007 08:23:56 AM |
| more DOF and this would've been really nice. |
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01/24/2007 11:18:01 PM |
| Spooky shot! I really like it. |
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01/24/2007 11:29:43 AM |
| ummm... I would have like to see the duck in the foreground in focus. It would also look more like wildlife without the house in the background. |
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01/23/2007 10:34:34 PM |
I realy like the mood of this image, the fog is awesome.
A couple of things that may have helped it score a little higher, IMO, would be to straighten the image slightly (the house appears to tilt to the right)and to get the duck in the forground a little sharper. Good luck in the challaenge |
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01/23/2007 05:59:55 PM |
| good. litle more light and focus on the foreground duck would have made it great. - 6 |
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01/23/2007 05:26:16 PM |
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01/23/2007 03:21:59 PM |
| I would have preferred the focus to be on the duck standing in the foreground, with it gradually tapering off towards the house. |
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01/23/2007 02:38:08 PM |
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01/22/2007 08:43:39 PM |
| Lovely moody shot - I predict though you will get many comments on the duck in the foreground being out of focus. He should I think be the sharp element of this picture. |
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01/22/2007 07:34:05 PM |
| Interesting perspective, although the house draws my attention more than anything else. |
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01/22/2007 04:42:10 PM |
| Lovely shot. I wonder how it would look with the foreground duck in focus? My eye is definitely drawn to the ducks in the water (midground) due to good DOF, but I keep coming back to our little friend nearest us and wanting him to be the sharper subject. nice scene. |
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01/22/2007 02:51:30 PM |
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01/22/2007 12:01:13 PM |
| If I could block out the duck in the foreground, I would rate this photo a 10. He detracts from the photo instead of adding to it. The mist over the lake with the lovely home in the background is beautiful. With the ducks in the lake, it makes for a wonderful shot. |
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01/22/2007 11:38:52 AM |
| This is hysterical! I'd have called it "Sentinel in the Mist", myself :-) After all, that's obviously a duck. It's too bad (IMO at least, maybe this is what you intended) that the foreground duck isn't sharp and the house a little blurred. Still, fine shot! |
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01/22/2007 10:38:47 AM |
| very beautiful capture.. so serene, great colors and dof.. |
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01/22/2007 10:04:57 AM |
| What a hauntingly beautiful perspective! |
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01/22/2007 09:24:03 AM |
| Very nice way to make ducks interesting |
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01/22/2007 09:01:44 AM |
| great atmosphere to the shot although the duck in the fg should have better focus. |
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01/22/2007 08:43:35 AM |
| the composition is GREAT but the duck in the foreground should be in focus and let the background fall out of focus to pull this image off for me. |
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01/22/2007 02:46:11 AM |
| very original POV! I very nice |
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01/22/2007 12:29:12 AM |
| my suggestion would have been to focus on the front most duck and let the others be a bit blurred. As is, the forefront duck is distracting |
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