personalphotos Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 So a little something different for me. I was in the spare room that has a high vaulted ceiling and this light upnear a skylight. For 5 minutes the sund was hitting it directly and somehow it just looked interesting. Theceiling is actually white but the light was so bright, the background was lost. Converted to B&W. So along the lines of Paul's thoughts about Photo critiques. Go for it. Hopefully I'll learn something and maybeall of us will. Tell me your thoughts no matter what. Then maybe in a few days someone else can start a threadwith another shot. "Photo Critique Number 2" <a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><imgsrc='http://img79.imageshack.us/img79/6452/imgp6700lightqx3.jpg' border='0'/></a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgredline Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I have spent nearly a year on a critique forum in PR which I think is one of the finest on the web, so I will use what I have learned there... First the Good....The composition which I think is the most critical is spot on. You have made perfect use of the the theory of thirds....Secondly, the colors are spot on...The grey scale is working for you and is great!!!! The only thing I could find to pick on is what appears to be two fingers underneath the shadow on the right...I would clone those out and I believe you have a winner.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgredline Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 eerrr, I mean ''finger prints'' I wish we had an edit button..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shots worth sharing Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 I think it's great. Although I'm an advocate of CF, something in me wishes that it were an old standard bulb. I can see what Javier means about the rot. I wouldn't have thought of it in those terms but the composition certainly works! Can one really clone out the finger prints as Javier suggests without futzing up the subtle gradation in tone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Ok I'm glad to hear honest thoughts. A couple of comments (not in defense but to fill in details) I see what you think is "finger prints" and it's actually a refection off the glass shade of another window that has a louvered set of blinds. I couldn't see that detail in the VF but it's clear in the shot. Cloning might not be possible as the shadow fades quiet a bit in that area. The idea of an old bulb vs a modern CFL is good and I see that now. This was an impulse sort of shot and I should have taken a moment to see how "it worked". Any other thoughts would be great. On Friday, how about I pick someone from the responders to host the next critique shot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musings Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 The ROT was a good call to get the eye to train properly and add intrigue to the composition. I understand that this was an impulse photo, but the fluoro bulb is a big detractor. The whole images imparts a feeling of nostalgia -- like a movie still from "The Man Who Wasn't There" -- but the bulb kills that. Not much you could have done about it, Peter, but the B&W conversion + fluoro bulb is a mismatch. The composure is simple and effective. The sun's lighting keeps the shadows balanced with good graduation from left to right ("finger smudges" excepted ;-> ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewg_ny Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 First, it's a pretty good attempt, I'm glad you were inspired to give it a go. I think what bugs me about it more than the use of CFL (maybe if done right, the fact that's a CFL rather than traditional bulb might 'say' something) is that the bulb seems to be a subject--it's the most interesting object in the image so the eye is drawn to it--but the lighting on that bulb is too dark so it's a little lifeless. I wonder how it would look if a little more brightness and contrast was added to the bulb in post-processing. Also from a technical standpoint, I'm guessing sort of a soft (probably undesirable on this image) feel from the edge of the shade, not sure if this is depth-of-field or just a JPEG downsize issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Again all of this has been great. What began with an impulse and an idea to have a small critique thread once in awhile to raise the level of everyone's game has turned into a bit of a project for me. I came home at the right time to do the shot over. This time I changed the bulb and took several exposures with the bulb on and off. The new image is combined from 2 frames in PS. Everything but the bulb was then converted to a B&W. <a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><img src='http://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7516/lampborderhg3.jpg' border='0'/></a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musings Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Peter -- This is MUCH, MUCH better. I am usually not a fan of spot color in B&W images, but this photo is the exception. The mood is less nostalgic for sure but the bulb adds a more dramatic element. Fantastic and well done...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgredline Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 HOME RUN!!!!!!, next..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 I think it works Jeff. Just for reference this is the main new image. The B&W actually does not make much difference other than to create better shadow detail. I like the version below for it's moodier look but it jut seemed to be missing something. <a target='_blank' title='ImageShack - Image And Video Hosting' href='http://imageshack.us/'><img src='http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6545/imgp6747bordernw7.jpg' border='0'/></a> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 OK who's got an image to start a new thread? How about I appoint Javier to come up with something in the next day or 2 New or something already on the hard drive doesn't matter. Then javier can appoint the next person. Lets get lots of responses. This was very instructional for me. Namely stop and think a second longer look at the scene/subject for things that either don't work or don't fit. Probably my biggest weakness is acting too quickly when composing a shot. Any further comments on this would still be great as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musings Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Yep, I am with you on that, Peter. The pure B&W does have more mood but is missing something; the colored bulb completes the effect. Again, nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pj_vesterback Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Well I guess I'll be the odd ball here. I like the colour of the bulb against all the black and white but... it just doesn't look right to me. I keep looking at it and thinking that if the bulb is lit then the shadow wouldn't be there. I actually like the last one best. B&W only with the "old-fashioned" bulb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_jackson4 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Peter, for the first one, I think I would have made a feature of the point that Andrew brought up... He says that "the lighting on that bulb is too dark so it's a little lifeless". And yeah, I agree, but instead of brightening the bulb I'd accentuate the "wrongness/ugliness" of its dark, twisted little form there and push it deeper into shadow... I'd also boost the contrast to, erm, contrast the dark bulb with the bright lampshade. This would also make for a more interesting contrast between the left and right edges of the shade. <P> Well, it's quicker to tweak than type, so here's a five-second attempt at showing you what I mean... <br> <img src="http://koti.welho.com/pwilkins/dark.jpg"> <br> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_jackson4 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 BTW, hope you don't mind me playing with your pic there, Peter... I'll take it down if it's a problem...! Oh , and I'm not keen the second one, TBH... The more lower position of the lamp in the frame doesn't work well for me, and I don't like the coloured bulb. There are also some weird dots in the bottom of the pic that made me wonder if there was some dirt on my screen... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
personalphotos Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 Interesting take on it Paul and I like it. I'm not finished fooling around with the idea. You are right, there is a small highlight in that image near the bottom (from the top of a bookcase) that I missed. Patrick you are indeed correct. If the bulb was bright enough to light a room as it normally would, there would be no shadow inside the shade. The combined image is what created this. But It was meant to be somewhat surreal. The first shot was that way as well, somewhat surreal from the harsh shadows. I shoot a lot of landscapes and that sort of thing. but what really grabs me is the abstract type of stuff that many others produce. So I wanted to try new shooting styles and learn from it. This has certainly done that for me. So as Javier said..NEXT... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgredline Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Hmmm. At the end of the day, my favorite is the second Image... ''BRAVO''.... I will see what I can up with..I am still screwing around with the Tamron 28-75 so let me see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe_jackson4 Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 All credit goes to Peter here, of course, for starting this thread, and thus subjecting his pic(s) to our varied views... Cheers. I also like the idea of the oh-so-fortunate recipient of our bizarre opinions being able to choose the next "victim"... :) Hopefully it encourages participation, because - if nothing else - at least it encourages us look at a specific photo for more than a few seconds, and consider our reactions to it. PN primarily being an educational/equipment site, my only concern is that people may think of the word "critique" as meaning some kind of half-arsed, arty-farty thing here... Well, personal interpretations and reactions can be very interesting, naturally, but I hope people will also feel free to request/offer suggestions regarding more practical issues too... Equipment, technique, and PP are all part of the picture-taking/making process, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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