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Beware of dog?
Beware of dog?
Yo_Spiff


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2010-07 (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Canon EOS-50D
Lens: Tamron SP AF 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II LD for Canon
Location: Cleburne, Texas
Date: Jul 1, 2010
Aperture: F6.3
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Urban, Transportation
Date Uploaded: Jul 27, 2010

 Expecting to get clobbered on this one. That's one notch above "creamed" Perhaps I should clarify where that falls on the "how my entry ended up" scale.

-Burned through my 15 minutes of fame
-Got lucky on this one
-S'okay
-Meh
-Clobbered
-Creamed
-What the hell was I thinking? -or- Unappreciated artistic genius

I shot this during the Scott Kelby WW Photowalk. After lunch and towards the end of the walk, myself and one other guy decided to walk back to my car at the starting point and continue to shoot pics rather than hop a ride with another walker, as Cowtownmom did. We walked past a small farmers market where the light was wonderful and I got some interesting and colorful shots of veggies for sale. Then we turned a corner and ran into this rather eclectic house.

We took a few shots and then the owner, Manuel, came out. At first Manuel appeared angry at us, but when we explained what we were doing, He seemed quite flattered that we found his place so interesting. Jim (the guy I was with) then noticed an equally eclectic shed in his yard and asked if he minded if we took a few shots. What a fascinating yard. This orange Camaro dominated the yard, with coops of homing pigeons behind it (Manuel was quite proud of his birds, pointing them out to us), two Chihuahuas (I call them "barking rats"), children's toys, a shadow box of crosses, and all sorts of details that I felt created a portrait of this man without him being in the shot.

Over the last week this shot as grown on me and I finally decided that It had to be my freestudy entry, even though I think many people will dislike it. As busy as the scene is, I find the composition still flows well. The small dog is going to be easy to overlook, but that subtlety is the point of the title. (The small dogs always seem to act the most aggressively.)I expect a lot of low to mediocre votes from speed voters, but I am also hoping to get some good comments from those who take more time to look at the details.

Anticipated critiques (There will be a lot of them for those wanting to identify why they don't like this):

-Blown sky visible between trees in background
-Don't like the desaturated treatment
-Too busy
-Plastic tub on the hood is distracting
-Dog is not prominent enough



[Aug. 3rd, 2010 11:44:24 AM]

Doing better than anticipated score-wise and it seems to be appealing to the exact folks that I was hoping would take to it. A great comment and fave from Melethia shows me this entry has been a success even should it tank after this.

Post-challenge notes:
Firmly mid-pack on the popular vote, coming in as "S'okay" instead of the anticipated "clobbered". I totally nailed what I was after, however. This brought in a high number of comments for a freestudy, many of them from exactly the people I was hoping this might appeal to. A very successful entry for me. This shot will likely become my poster child for why average scores are not the be all and end all to judge your DPC entries by.

Statistics
Place: 155 out of 362
Avg (all users): 5.6947
Avg (commenters): 7.0909
Avg (participants): 5.7300
Avg (non-participants): 5.5806
Views since voting: 1829
Views during voting: 244
Votes: 131
Comments: 20
Favorites: 6 (view)

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AuthorThread
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital
 07/09/2011 05:16:10 PM
ha - the little dog is awesome. Love the perspective and the processing you used. It looks almost 3-D. Nice!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 8-18mm f/2.8-4 ASPH
 09/21/2010 01:10:53 PM
Hey this a real cool photo. I love it and that dog looks exactly like my dog Bindi. They could be twins seriously.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 09/21/2010 11:42:20 AM
Fabulous microcosm. I hate FS challenges because there are so many entries, and I no longer have the mental stamina to examine them all. Missed this seriously quirky shot for that reason.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm x100
 09/17/2010 02:35:12 AM
This is a wonderful shot, so much going on in it.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R5
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 09/16/2010 08:35:18 PM
How in the world did this get a 5.69? I love this! Tells a great story and great perspective.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-30D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 08/14/2010 12:10:12 AM
Good shot - I like the plastic bin too
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1000D Rebel XS
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
 08/08/2010 03:10:50 PM
I had a feeling this was yours!! I liked the composition and the PP... I gave it a 6... had the plastic bin not been on the car.... id of given it an 7 or 8... that one bin ruined so much for me LOL.... great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 08/08/2010 12:27:13 AM
Great shot Spiff. Like others, I really like the processing on this one, the quirky subject, and the perspective. You're getting really good results using that new Tamron! Good title also!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 08/07/2010 09:55:54 PM
Love it!!!!!!! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D800
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 28-70mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 08/07/2010 04:38:21 PM
Not a pretty picture by any means, but very effective at conveying a particular sub culture. Great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Leica SL
Voigtlander Ultron 35mm f/1.7 Aspherical MF Wide Angle - Black
 08/07/2010 04:48:25 AM
I'm going through the entries, stopping at those images I feel have had the benefit of an unconventional eye and dwelling a little longer to try to see and appreciate what you saw. This is one of those images.

Positives: Perfect use of quite subtle tone-mapping; this is great quirky stuff. The dog, the toys, the car - all these elements make for a highly interesting scene. But more than that, you have the measure of it - you're processing resonates with the image to produce something that just works.

Critical stuff: Nothing at all

Overall: Excellent, well executed interesting image.

I keep coming back to this. I like its funky feel. Bumping from 9 to 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED
 08/07/2010 03:12:29 AM
good processing i like the mooted colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
 08/06/2010 12:17:30 PM
You could have removed the plastic bin from the hood and gotten greater impact.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7200
Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G
 08/05/2010 09:28:05 PM
The processing really gives this a busy look. Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7R III
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G SSM
08/05/2010 02:39:44 PM
I like this.... good dog.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/04/2010 01:05:48 PM
The editing works great with your composition. I like the quirkiness of the whole image. How great it is to see something different. NICE!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z8
Nikon NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.4
 08/04/2010 04:56:57 AM
in the top ten... i like everything here, really a good and intereesting shot... the look of this little dog is too nice! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sigma DP1x
08/03/2010 06:05:35 PM
Not crazy about the processing, but the scene itself is irresistable.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 08/03/2010 12:24:38 AM
This is way too busy, and absolutely priceless. Excellent capture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 08/01/2010 01:56:12 AM
a really interesting pic. Love to see so many details especially the funny in dog in front and the birdhouse in background. Fantastic DOF!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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