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- Lee
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Sheylara love the Spiky image, perfect DoF and exposure. Love it
Very nice reshoot Shaylara....Ivy, the ultimate tree killer.
Hi Sheylara
Topical ... It's a tricky theme because the best we can do is post something topical as in news big time. Something that's topical to all works best. Anyway the photo ... nice POV but those wretched long shadows and the shallow DOF seem like a bad combo.
Reshoot ... is perfectly good, shallow DOF works well here.
Neither shot has the magic of some of your other works.
I think that ticks the box
The story makes Topical,
Interesting take on your reshoot,, works well nice contrast in pic,
Nice take Sheylara - like the wrap-over ivy for the theme.
Definitely ticked, Sheylara... strong contrasty image from that high sun. I reckon that'd also work in B&W if you were minded?
Well Sheylara, the tree certainly pops from the image, it hits the theme of living world, but it doesn't jump out at me, sorry.
Really lovely sunlight on that one Sheylara, I think it would work well cropped from the top and the left to concentrate on the rugged bark ....some good detail on there.
Sheylara love the Spiky image, perfect DoF and exposure. Love it
It's a tall order for the rest of us tooI expect to submit many more photos that don't jump out, as I'm finding that trying to do one good photo every week is a tall order for me given my limited skills.
It's a tall order for the rest of us too
Just keep posting each week, that's the important thing as we can all help each other improve.
Sheylara, I love that shot.
The composition is excellent - exceptional even, as you enter the image from the left, get drawn over to the main subject, then go back again (bouncing off the finger pretty much.) It's a superb route for the eye, and using thirds well.
The tones just work - it might not have lots of high contrast whites and blacks, but it has enough shadow and highlight for the dynamic range to feel right. The midtones from the skin "settle" the image for me, contrasting with that transparent lens against the very light grey background (which could have been too stark had it been much whiter). Contrast that with the nearly black iris of the eye (a mirror image, tonally, for the lens) and it's neat how one basically fits into the other - as opposites.
The contact lens is sharp enough for me - could it be sharper? Perhaps, but it doesn't detract from the effect of the image to me. I don't think the eye needs to be in focus to be honest, as it's not the primary subject. In a way, it not being directs more attention to the lens anyway.
Which is a very long-winded way of saying it's a wonderful image. I don't think you could have processed it any better (for me) and whilst you could have shot it with a shallower DOF or perhaps moved the focal point to the lens exactly, it wouldn't have made it a better image - just a touch crisper. The effect and impression would have been the same, which is what makes it.
Awesome! (you get a double clap!)
All works for me too.Great subject captured perfectly. Not good with the words really but we have Paul for that That said I know what I like when I see it even if I don't really know why.
Gaz
Hi seem to have missed a few, sorry
I like spiky think the spines of the cactus really stand out with the processing
Topical, needs an explanation but it does work, interesting green stuff, really like the angle you have shot it from,
reshoot a little crop maybe, but well done for spotting a face in there.
Perfect shot for the theme for artificial, can't really add anything to what Paul said
This is a fantastic image Sheylara! Paul has said so much about what makes it great - the composition is absolutely spot on - the cropping position at the sides, the space between finger and nose. The line that runs through pupil, lens and finger tip works so well. I agree that the softness of the eye doesn't detract at all and the lens looks sharp enough to me. A very clever idea very, very well shot
As the others have said, brilliant image, great fit for the theme and so well composed and captured.
That is an excellent shot, could easily be on the wall in spec savers! well done
Spiky: great shot. Lovely contrast and detail.
Artificial: Absolutely amazing shot. Really great composition. I can see that in a magazine or as previously mentioned on the wall of Specsavers.
Excellent idea Sheylara IMO the focus point is in the right place, and the DoF is spot on, nicely processed too
Saw it, loved it, wasn't quite sure what to say other than amazing, whatever.
Read your comment on the eyebrow, and thought I'd offer this:
What about cropping 15% off the top? losing half an eyebrow, making it more letterboxy, altering the emphasis.
... just a though.
Whatever, it is amazing.
Artificial is brilliant image, great fit for the theme and different from every others idea, excellent
Seems sharp enough to me where it needs to be.
Though obviously artificially posed, otherwise there would be fingers keeping the eye open
Absolutely lovely image Sheylara. I don't think the eye needs to be in sharp focus either. As it is, it makes the skin a soft feel which may otherwise have been hard to achieve.
Brilliant image for the theme Shaylara...though the subject make me feel a bit queasy!!
Love the focus and the PP. Spot on!
Yes I definitely agree Sheylara, I loved it as soon as it appeared in the main thread, brilliant idea, something I do every day and it never even crossed my mind for the theme ....very well done to you
Oooo no I like that, Yes the eye could have been sharper, but love the idea and composition, and the main element the Lens stands out a treat - love it
artificial - I like it just the way it is the lens is a great focal point and its a great shot
Good idea for personal and nothing wrong with the lighting/background. I'm sure you'll get there with the low-key lighting, a piece of black velvet fabric might give you a darker background than the foam.
Effort - really nice photo for the theme, some real concentration going on there
Your personal looks good to me - I can't commment much on the lighting, but you sem to have controlled the highlights in your shiny objects well - I like the splash of red from the handbag.
I love your effort - a great moment captured with that frown and perfect focus on the eyes. Teaching young children this is an expression I know well!
Hi Sheylara
- Personal - Come on now, that's far too little junk to have fallen from a woman's handbag - Aren't they generally like Hermione's magic sack?
Good use of the reds vs the greys.- Effort - As Chris says, you can really see the effort in her eyes. It's great that you've got her eyes in sharp focus, it makes you really look at the image.
Hi Sheylara... two very different shots which is always good to see
Personal - it works. It conveys the theme and you've captured it well with a decent composition for me. I think, given the lighting you had at your disposal you've done exceptionally well! Don't get me wrong, it could have been possible to set up a far more complicated arrangement controlling the highlights more (softer, larger lights closer to subject) but given the tools available, you've delivered in spades
Effort is superb. This is the type of shot that makes people like me realise how big a gap there is between "simple" technically competent shots and proper artistic flair. The way you've captured the eyes, the legs, what she's doing and done it so naturally... well done. I think it's fair to say you have a real skill at translating an image from your mind onto the sensor - awesome
Thank you, Carl! Glad you like Effort particularly. I quite like it myself, although I think it's largely because I'm very partial to that little girl (my niece-in-law) who is just the cutest and funniest thing.Hi Sheylara. Very good images for their respective themes. I particularly like Effort - the expression of concentration on the little girls face says it all ... the focus on her face is helped by that marvellous use of DoF. Great stuff.
Hey Paul, thank you for your kind and encouraging words! I do believe you give me too much credit sometimes, but it's always great to receive positive feedback! I hope to have more of a clue in a couple of months' time. Just bought that book "Light Science & Magic" people have been raving about, so all I need to do is find some time to read it and hope that it isn't beyond me.
Well, that's very kind of you to say so and I thank you for it!. I get what you're saying about good lighting vs capturing a moment but here's another point of view: Capturing a moment relies heavily on luck and tenacity - you just have to keep snapping away and wait for hours/days for a good moment to happen, and if you keep at it, you'll get it eventually. So who knows if someone who takes a good photo is truly talented or just has a lot of time on their hands?To be honest, light is really really important but we can over-obsess about it. It's always there - just not always quite where we want it to be. So yes, LS&M will help explain a bit more about lighting. But to be honest, had you lit that photo differently it wouldn't (to my eyes) make it better. The reason being is you've captured a moment and a sense of being there - which is far more important than how a shot is lit, for me. I'll be honest and say it's that side of photography that I struggle the most with, so I do appreciate it when I see someone who's nailed it.
And that shot nails it for me
Well, that's very kind of you to say so and I thank you for it!. I get what you're saying about good lighting vs capturing a moment but here's another point of view: Capturing a moment relies heavily on luck and tenacity - you just have to keep snapping away and wait for hours/days for a good moment to happen, and if you keep at it, you'll get it eventually. So who knows if someone who takes a good photo is truly talented or just has a lot of time on their hands?
Whereas if you're proficient technically, you can always take a great photo whenever you like, so that would be a more impressive skill!
(Dunno if that's a valid point of view, but it sounds logical to me. )
Since this is your thread please tell me to shut up and get back on track, but you've picked up on a part of photography (the philosophy, if you will) which really fascinates me - is photography and art or a science?
I'll 'fess up and say I'm a geek with a geek background. So the physics of image capture, lighting and the like feel much more comfortable to me - whether that's diffraction limiting or how sensors actually work to convert photons into electricity. And very definitely the arrangement of lighting and choices of modifiers to control highlight and shadow. And the great thing about all of that - as you've identified - is there is no luck when you finally "get it" (I'm still working on it btw!) The scientific elements of photography are inherently repeatable and reproduceable by others - it's why LS&M is such a great book because they walk you through reproducing their lighting effects and giving you those skills which will work time and again.
But none of that, for me, makes a great photograph. It's perhaps why I wimp out and do a fair bit of product/setup shots - because they're about the science rather than necessarily the art of photography (at least they're more biased towards the former). Capturing people, street photography and an element of landscape is more about designing an image and telling a story. For me, I find these aspects a fair bit harder but ultimately more rewarding because they result in (for me) a far stronger, more connected photograph. It can be about luck but you tend to make your own luck through experience... taking more photos will increase the number of "lucky shots" you have but will also give you the experience to know when a lucky moment is likely to arrive - and have your camera ready and set up appropriately. Knowing a child is about to jump in a puddle and the composition and light is just right to capture that moment - that's about having been there countless times before and missed it and remembering and having the eye to "see" that it would make a superb photo.
Sorry for the long-winded diatribe... but I guess I'm agreeing with you that technical proficiency is a key component, but then disagreeing that having that leads to better photos! I actually think having that innate artistic vision and ability to connect the viewer with the scene is ultimately harder to learn and if you have it, you're starting from a far stronger place than someone who simply has more technical ability (but lacks the "feel"). And I think it's fair to say you've shown you definitely have that artistic vision in your shots - keep it up and the technical side will come (and it's already nearly there btw)!