Canon Thursday Photo 2011: #27

[mbkissel]

<p>Folks, I'm sorry I was unable to participate in last week's photos. I had an assignment which kept me busy for too long. I see several other folks stepped in with comments. That's great! Okay, so here goes...the good, the bad, and the ugly...</p>

<p>@ Jeff Spirer - caught some attitude in that shot! Good stop action. Nice.<br>

@ Brad - Got that Mona Lisa smile! Interesting character.<br>

@ Phil Richardson - Nice patriotic shot. Good subject placement in frame. A little dark?<br>

@ Robin Smith - Nice lighting. My eye shifts between the planter in front and the "Hartman" at top.<br>

@ Arie - A bit underexposed? Interesting color in sky. Sounds like a nice trip.<br>

@ Anthony Murray - Glad to hear no one was hurt. Nice long exposure.<br>

@ Randall Farhy - I like the processing. I'm shivering with the bird looking at that ice.<br>

@ James Dean - Not fond of the squarish crop, but I like the placement in this. Works.<br>

@ Mike Dixon - Super shot, Mike. You nailed the exposure.<br>

@ James Farabaugh - Nope, saturation is fine. Not bad at all for a first attempt.<br>

@ Bruce Gibson - The person and dog draw my attention. The wires and buildings are somewhat distracting. A tighter crop, eliminating some of the background, would please me more.<br>

@ Spencer Chrouser - Very contrasty. Tiger is focused on you!<br>

@ Massimo Foti - Good portrait. Good pose. Nice background. I wonder if a lower perspective would work better?<br>

@ Dave Herben - Welcome, Dave! The blurring from the water on the window gives this shot a really soggy look. Makes it look like it's coming down by the bucket full.<br>

@ Dave Collett - It sort of defeats the purpose of that nice big lift gate to back into a space. How do they load their groceries? Interesting shot.<br>

@ Peter Meade - Looks like a champion! Get closer!<br>

@ Lupo - A snack fit for a king! Perfect lighting/composition.<br>

@ Phil B - Can't get any more symmetrical than that! Good composition/post work.<br>

@ Lee Derrickson - The upper yardarm clipped off is a slight distraction. Good horizon placement.<br>

@ Robert Colameco - Nice in-flight shot! Love the way the sunlight filters through the left wing.<br>

@ Karen Wiltshire - Nice. I like the red interloper there. Blurred poppy heads in center foreground are a slight distraction.<br>

@ Bill K - Well yes you did see it; and captured it well. Nice shot!</p>

<p>I'll break these up into a few posts so they don't get too long.</p>

<p> </p>

[mbkissel]

<p>@ Jan de Bever - Creative lighting. I may have liked this one better from a slightly lower perspective. Power cords are distracting.<br>

@ Dan Ferrin - Good shot, Dan! Straight as an arrow!<br>

@ David Cavan - I agree, it is tough to get good, fast-moving motorcycle shots. Any way to get a bit closer?<br>

@ Jeff Palmucci - I like the composition, but the lighting is a bit harsh. I wonder if you are able to shoot this in the late day sun?<br>

@ Mike Stemberg - Super shot, Mike! Your rotation is perfect. I said earlier that I'm not fond of squarish crops, but this one just works. Good job!<br>

@ Jeremy Richter - Good one! Nice composition.<br>

@ John Crowe - I'll give you bonus points for checking on the cat. When I view this photo, my attention is immediately drawn to the out of focus boat, leaving the frame, which looks like it's traveling up hill. Took me a minute to find the cat.<br>

@ John Lovelace - Nicely done. You got the lighting just right.<br>

@ Marcus Ian - I know this is probably a family shot, but I find the foreground distracting. The silhouetted figure against the red-orange glow really makes this shot. Try cropping just below this figure and see what you think. Love the colors in this one!<br>

@ William Kahn - Yum! Makes me want a blackberry pie! I'll assume you meant f/4.5 in your image info.<br>

@ DL Anderson - I'm sure it's just me, but I don't care for the asymmetrical black framing you have used here. Nice capture of the flowers!<br>

@ thom polimeros - Nice panographic shot. I always have trouble getting the sky exposures to match up.<br>

@ David Stephens - Now that's a trophy buck! Great capture.<br>

@ Nimesh Patel - Nice conversion to b&w. The slightly tilted horizon at the top is distracting. How would it look to crop that out?<br>

@ Dan Park - I like the perspective. You two youngsters were having a good time? ;-)<br>

@ Eric Shelby - Good simple composition. I might have cropped this one just slightly at the top to remove some of the blank sky at the upper left.<br>

@ Mark Poseley - Love the colors in the sky. Minor nitpick - horizon in center of shot, but it doesn't distract from the shot.<br>

@ Andrew Harto - Good portrait. High noon shot?<br>

@ Dean Schreuder - I like everything about this portrait. Nice pose, excellent lighting, good composition.<br>

@ Photo Gorilla - Whimsical, fun shot! Good low perspective.<br>

@ Daniel Harris - I would like this one better if there were no buildings in the background. The high ISO didn't hurt you at all here.<br>

@ Jim Service - My personal pet peeve - horizon in center and ever so slightly tilted. Very nice shot, though, Jim. Like the sky colors.<br>

@ Marcel Romviel - Congrats to your parents! A great achievement. And a very nice card to commemorate the event!<br>

@ James (Jim) Johnson - Good story, Jim. Your parachutist is a wee bit close to the top edge. You should admonish him for flying up there. ;-)</p>

<p>More to come...</p>

<p> </p>

[mbkissel]

<p>@ David Huff - Good nighttime shot of Paris. Around these parts, there are still some that make the "moonshine". ;-)<br /> @ Jessadang Soutonglang - This shot might have benefitted from a slightly longer exposure time. It's pretty dark as is.<br /> @ Matti Kari - Looks very serene. Good one for the b&w conversion.<br /> @ Rick Janes - Nice capture with good focus on the eye. Tough shot...I know, I've tried many times, but never so well.j<br /> @ John Tysko - The important bits of the snail (the head/antennae) are just slightly out of focus. Colorful shot.<br /> @ Randy Cooprider - Has that dizzying, vanishing POV. Nicely done from a moving vehicle.<br /> @ mike newman - Simple composition that works. Nice framing.<br /> @ Andy Collins - Love the shot. Minor nitpick - how come the stars are black?<br /> @ Gene Spearman - Good closeup. Not too fond of the magenta color that should be red?<br /> @ Indy Nandrajog - Good sports portrait. Lighting was good, especially since you didn't use a flash.<br /> @ James G. - Glad you've rectified your computer problems. When I look at this shot, I think I might have included the full diameter for the hole on the right in the composition. What is it?<br /> @ Pete Ferling - Excellent lighting. Those Bowens are doing it for you!<br /> @ Richard S - Good focus on the leaf-licker. Minor nitpick - head too near center of frame.<br /> @ paul langereis - No apologies necessary. I think it's an interesting photo with good perspective.<br /> @ Jeff Gullion - Lots of computer problems this week. This one has that sort of impressionistic feel. The little dark blob nearer the foreground is slightly distracting. I like the shot a lot.<br /> @ Larry Clement - Send some of that rain up to NC, Larry. Whimsical shot with nice even lighting.<br /> @ JDM - Hmmm...onions growing in the redoubts. What does that say to you? ;-)<br /> @ Ken Papai - Nicely weathered sign. I was surprised to see f/3.5. The sign is angled away from your perspective, but it still seems to be acceptably sharp. Good DOF.<br /> @ Rob Bernhard - Good composition. I like the child's toys on the balcony. Lends some human reality to the stark buildings.<br /> @ Mark Stanley - Super shot! Like the cloud reflection in the wet sand. Minor nitpick - horizon near center; a very minor distraction. Good job!<br /> @ Don Hoekwater - No, composites don't count. You'll have to do this one over. Just kidding, anything goes here. Whatever you like. I like this composite; the water reflections, the fireworks colors, the sky all make a nice photo. Not crazy about your logo splashed across the center, but I understand.</p>

<p>Okay, I don't think I missed anybody. Wait...where's Nathan's shot? Just reread his opening post. Get that computer fixed! We miss your contribution this week!</p>

<p>Here's a shot that demonstrates two things - first, why I don't do street photography. Second, this is one of my better ones, if you can believe that. Anyway, a DJ and friend at the local July 4th celebration.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[daveinwilton]

<p>Thank you for your comment and critique Mark. The lower portion of my uneven banding are now filled with Title and Artist information. Otherwise I too would have gone for an even split.<br>

-Dave</p>

[User_3811325]

<p>Mark, thanks for taking the time - I know we all appreciate that someone's looking at what we've posted, and I'm sure it will encourage us and more to continue to do so!</p>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Hi Mark! Thanks for looking and commenting on all of our shots! As for the black stars, they're not actually black. On this particular flag they're opaque, not really any color, and I think that as the flag was waving and rolling in the wind, the angle of this shot happened to be such that the light wasn't caught shining through them.</p>

[massimo_foti]

<blockquote>

<p>@ Massimo Foti - Good portrait. Good pose. Nice background. I wonder if a lower perspective would work better?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Thanks for commenting Mark. You are right about the perspective, in fact that was my first shot, after that I moved near the ground, but the dog stopped posing for me :-)</p>

[Mark Keefer]

<p>Moon</p><div></div>

[phil-roberts]

<p>Late to the party, but better late than...<br>

Very nice work here! Mine is not the most dramatic shot, but my new EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM lens produces such sweet natural results. Shot at 55mm f/2.8 1/400 sec. ISO 100 Cloudy WB. The color and depth knocks me out.</p><div></div>

[Lawrence Sheperd]

<p>First post here. In my garden Thursday afternoon.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/13689112-md.jpg" alt="" width="680" height="408" /></p>

<p>Regards,<br>

Larry</p>

[rjm photo]

<p>Kern County, CA</p><div></div>

[Andy Collins]

<p>Wow, Robert M.! I used to live in Kern County (Bakersfield) back in the 1970s as a young teen. That picture sure brings back memories of what Oildale used to look like back then. Thanks for a very, very nice memory.</p>

[randallfarhy]

<p>Thanks for the commentary Mark...that sure is a vivid red in your candid!</p>

[rjm photo]

<p>Andy...Taken a few miles before Maricopa...if you know where that is. Desolate..just desolate.</p>