Critique #41 *Open Theme*-5 Participants

[venchka]

Gabrielma's photo

Gabrielma's photo

I'm puzzled. That's good. It'a taking me a while to piece this together. Bits and pieces keep emerging from the darkness.

Stillwater Trolley Co. Oklahoma? I'm sure the original looks better than what I'm seeing on my computer. I'm not sure that opening up the shadows is the answer. If you made everything obvious at the beginning, there wouldn't be any puzzle. Right?

 

[venchka]

Raid's photo

Raid's photo

Raid, Raid, Raid. You know I'm a pushover for pictures of little girls. Your daughter is about the same age as my granddaughter. I wish she were close enough to photograph all the time. I envy you.

What can I say. Great picture! Totally candid or posed. Either way it works.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Gabriel: The photo looks too flat and too dark on my monitor. What should be standing out ? There is not enough definition that gets through to me.

It looks pretty good on mine. Check your settings, Raid.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

think we can go - heres mine :

There is a story, a kid in trouble with the law? Or is the kid just chatting with the policemen? We don't know. The tones of the picture make up for a lot, gives it a "memory" feel to it.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Here's mine (M4, 50/2 Summicron, Kodak BW400CN).

I really don't know what to make of this one. Cropping for so that the left top quadrant of the image is isolated would perhaps focus the viewer better. I'm not sure.

It is very interesting to have these people with such advertisement about "cancer". That makes this shot.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Here is mine ....


Camera: Yashica GSN
When: Last week.

I could say "I can't see the details of the hair". I could say "I can't see what she's looking at". I could say "the highlights coming from outside is blown out"

But that would miss the point.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Canon EF
Canon FD 50mm 1:1.4 S.S.C.
Kodak BW400CN @ 320

Thanks for looking.

I like the smoothness of all here, but I can't shake the feeling that this could just use a little bit more contrast; the shadows are a bit dull.

That aside, I like the placement of the elements in a "Z". The center of the image is void of elements, and the edges of the frame are full of elements; yet, the focus is on the woman, about to shoot, and you look at her, then the table, then her environment.

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Thank you to those of you who can actually exercise the positive, and not get too hung up on the negative (per the rules).

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I'm puzzled. That's good. It'a taking me a while to piece this together. Bits and pieces keep emerging from the darkness.

Stillwater Trolley Co. Oklahoma? I'm sure the original looks better than what I'm seeing on my computer. I'm not sure that opening up the shadows is the answer. If you made everything obvious at the beginning, there wouldn't be any puzzle. Right?

Good, you're getting it. Not the "wham bam!" I'll-have-fries-with-that effect that everybody seeks with pictures most of the time; that's what's intended with this one. Not your typical sunset picture.

It's Stillwater, Minnesota. It was a cold evening, very quiet. But less quiet than the previous months, for the snow was melting; it was the first nonofficial week of Spring, and a certain happy, yet melancholy calm was in the evening dusk.

 

[raid]

I could say "I can't see the details of the hair". I could say "I can't see what she's looking at". I could say "the highlights coming from outside is blown out"

But that would miss the point.

Gabriel ... your point is well taken

Raid

 

[foolproof]

rafael : strangly composed image, but i like the confusion of limbs - suits the type of young people in the image.

venchka : looks flat on my monitor. and d blacks are brown also(althought this may be your intentions)

gabrielma : took a shine to this immediately. dunno why really. maybe it reminds me of something. i just new when i opened it i liked it straight away. i think it reminds me of an old fairground in american hich country. dont ask me why....

raid amin : nice playful portrait. i might have liked it more if i hadnt seen the other versions of it prior to this critic, but i like it none the less. well exposed and nice colour rendition.

 

[raid]

I do not intend to make anyone upset in a critique session, and I am not looking for negative things to state. Gabriel's image looked very dark on my laptop at home. On my desktop at work, the image looks better defined.

My appologies to Grabriel if I seemed negative.

Raid

 

[Rafael]

Thanks to all of you for your comments. I am not usually in favour of taking photographs of the homeless. But in this case, as Gabriel noted, I thought that the arrangement of the individuals around that particular advertisement raised questions about the ways in which our societies often treat the homeless as "cancers." I realise that the crop is a bit unorthodox. However, I like the way in which the man's crossed arms convey a sense of defiance. And I would not want to crop out the girl on the left as her interaction with her boyfriend is, in my opinion, essential to the shot. I would probably agree that the feet on the far right should be cropped out. Again, thanks for your comments.

 

[venchka]

Thanks everyone. A pleasant and painless learning experience.

As for how to do the pool table picture over/better let me say a few things about the photograph. That was my first ever foray into a bar with a loaded camera. I had new toys to play with-the 50/1.4 and BW400CN. The young lady was a friend's date, very camera shy PLUS about two Texas Ice Teas (like Long Island Ice Tea only bigger) past hope. This was the definition of grab shot. I had to shoot before she grabbed the camera away from me. I feel extremely fortunate to have gotten anything at all. Beginner's luck for sure!

If I had PhotoShop I might be able to make something more with this negative. For now, what I shoot is what I get.

Thanks again and all the best!

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Thanks all for your comments too.

Raid: I did not get offended at all. My point was that sometimes you get hung up on details that don't have anything to do with the photograph, and you don't provide a critique, but a complaint about how something wasn't done to your liking.

I think that's why Ray had meticulously put together the rules he did, that people tend to forget to read and follow. The critical one is to do a constructive criticism, rather than say "this is wrong" or "I can't see x" or "there's a broom there". Why is that bad? How could it be improved? Is it necessarily bad? Is it not bad that you are mentioning it?

After dozens of critique participations, I had hoped a few would have adhered to the rules.

I don't expect praises. But when somebody throws the towel on little details and has nothing or little else to say, that, to me, is not a critique, and misses the point entirely.

So it was a critique on the critique. I hope you didn't get offended either. Sometimes we need to say these things. I hold you in esteem, Raid.

If I get offended about something, I'll say it (well, I hope I don't forget to).

 

[raid]

We all learn in the process. I am not offended, Gabriel.

Raid

 

[venchka]

Final crop

Final crop

Until I get PhotoShop, this is my final crop as posted in my Leica User's Gallery. If I ever get my hands on a 75mm Summilux, I will try shooting pool players with it.

Cheers Y'all!