DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
He's upstairs
He's upstairs
snaffles


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: In The Style Of: Heida (Advanced Editing VII*)
Collection: 2009 Challenges
Camera: Nikon D40
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Location: near Greenbush, Ont
Date: Sep 6, 2009
Aperture: f13
ISO: 1/8
Shutter: 200
Galleries: Emotive, Architecture
Date Uploaded: Sep 8, 2009

A staircase leading to the second floor of a small, abandoned house that I stumbled upon a few months ago and revisited for the purpose of this shoot. Mood and darkness plays a large part in Heida's work, so that was what I wanted to capture. The mood in there was so sad, the remnants of the person's life largely removed and what was left strewn carelessly about. Or, as is the case here, only skewed and broken railings, the bannister having long been broken off.

pp: No way could I replicate Heida's pp so I didn't even try! Curves, clone out two white areas on ceiling, contrast, resize, usm, sharpen edges, save for web

Statistics
Place: 117 out of 129
Avg (all users): 4.5759
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 4.4717
Avg (non-participants): 4.6159
Views since voting: 756
Views during voting: 294
Votes: 191
Comments: 5
Favorites: 0


Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
09/16/2009 07:53:29 PM
Originally posted by macrothing:

Your one comment in-Challenge eludes to perhaps not a strong contender for this Challenge (or maybe they weren't concerned with that, hard to tell), however liked your originality regardless (and their score reflects that).


Wow, they even critiqued my comment! I was kind of frustrated with voting -- as I got into the entries, I found it increasingly difficult to vote one person's entry against another person's style. (Heida's own shot didn't ribbon, so there you go.) Rather than going after processing techniques, which it seems most folks did, I voted more on mood. Her shots are always some combination of magical, mysterious, dark, sublime. This shot probably fell flat on most voters as you didn't woo them with eye-candy processing, ominous contrast, heavy vignette, or lots of grays and blues and blacks. But it told a compelling enough story, hence my comment and vote.

Message edited by author 2009-09-16 19:54:06.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/16/2009 02:41:07 PM
Love the way that railing is now a crown of dangerous spikes. In a way, your photo certainly does fit macrothing's assessment of Heida's style: It's an innocent scene that has been processed (by time) to look dark and malignant. Keep this location in mind when the Halloween challenges come around!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/16/2009 07:22:44 AM


Critique Club Critique

First Impressions
Tough pick.. I didn't vote in this Challenge, nor am I very familiar with heida's work. However, I am familiar enough to give my first instant impression of this image which was: the feel/finish/processing is not dramatic enough to be distinctly in the style of heida, in my opinion. The subject/context and scene are quite 'dark', but my interpretation of most of the images of heida's that I have viewed is that, the subjects themself are rarely 'dark', but the mood and/or processing gives them a dark feel, which is usually contrasted by an innocence or other contrary and complementary aspect. Hopefully that makes sense. However, that is my interpretation of her art, this is obviously yours - and that is one of the beauties of admiring art, we all see something different.

Photograph Information, Technicals & Composition Review
With this scene as is, and using it for this Challenge, I wonder whether a variation in your technicals would have allowed more mood and drama to come into play and light up the scene differently. I like the light coming through the window, but the lack of discernible detail in the foreground, which takes up quite a bit of the frame, is detracting from the interest on the landing/up the stairs. The details discernible in the ceiling dominate too much, and again, draw the attention away from the most interesting aspects of the image (in my opinion), which are the window and possibly the door/doorway. The doorway being 'chopped' makes it a minor feature however.

The broken railings/'sticks' (which on first view I assumed was ironwork/castings), perhaps are an interesting element, however from this angle/perspective are not showcased well enough to be identifiable enough to add to the image.

Comments, Score & Placement Review
118/126 and a score of 4.57 is pretty low, but this is/was a very difficult Challenge. To try to submit an image without a human in it, made it even more difficult to emulate this lady's distinctive style.

Your one comment in-Challenge eludes to perhaps not a strong contender for this Challenge (or maybe they weren't concerned with that, hard to tell), however liked your originality regardless (and their score reflects that). Your other post Challenge comment seems to be familiar with her work and gives a good indication of why they thought the entry not so strong for this Challenge, which is good feedback to receive.

Summary
A little more context and simplicity, coupled with some 'distinctive processing elumation' would likely have given this a little more strength. However as mentioned above, a very difficult Challenge to shoot for, and almost as difficult to receive votes from others who may not be familiar enough with the work of the artist honored, [user]heida[/i].
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/16/2009 12:18:12 AM
Beautiful composition, maybe too sharp and defined for Heida?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
09/13/2009 04:00:35 PM
This is so creepy and unsettling, that I chuckled when I looked at the title. I don't know how Heida-esque this is (don't care) -- points for an original entry.
  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: 03/29/2024 11:38:10 AM EDT.