Ricochetrider Posted December 12, 2022 Share Posted December 12, 2022 Hi everyone. have a look at this. I'm having a run of prints made and have been invited to display my photos at one of the places I work at, Rock Lititz, which is a series of buildings and companies who cater to touring entertaniment companies. Among other things, there are 2 large rehearsal studios, which i where I mostly work. The general site managemnt are very supportive of the "creatives" in our community of workers and one of the buildings on campus is a retail "pod" with meeting rooms and a bistro- where they display community members' artwork all year long, with a larger whole-community show in summer, a Christmas show about now, etc. I've been invitied to display my photography and so my prints will be framed and hung in "Pod 2", from mid January thru March. This is the very first time I: A; ever had any number of prints made and B; ever had a chance to be showcased in such a manner. I went back & forth over what to print, and in the end decided to stick almost exclusively with my B&W shots. The solitary color shot I've included mostly because the owner of the truck is buying a print from me- so I'm doing an edition of 2 of these. He'll get one and I'll keep (or sell? 😀) the other. All other prints will be "open edition". For anyone who doesn't know me or my work, my interest is primarily in vitage cars and motorcycles. I own bvintage bikes myself, and I'm connected to a couple different communities of bike/car owners who race their vehicles- some on sand at the beach, and some at a local drag strip. Additionally, I'm connected to a community of vintage and antique British Motorcycle enthusiasts, AND also attend AMCA (Antique Motorcycle Club of America) swaps & meets and other vintage bike meets or events. Beacuase of this somewhat large spread of interest, I've chosen photos that cover a fair amount of ground- BUT I wonder if the subject matter is too disparate? Just for your information, these are all shot on film with cameras of various vintage, in a mix of medium format (6X6) & 35mm. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited about the whole thing. BUT I'd like to get a critique on the group of shots I've chosen. Please critique the group and/or any individual photos. I welcome any and all critique and ALSO any suggestions as to an order of display. Thanks in advance, Tom aka Ricochetrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 14, 2022 Author Share Posted December 14, 2022 Hi Marc Thanks for that, really appreciate you taking time to add to this post. I’m reasonably pleased with the selection but did worry that the photo of the massive blower sticking out of the muscle car is somewhat disparate in this set of mostly older vehicles. Oddly, I don’t always take pictures of whole things and also don’t shoot that many “bigger picture” or environmental photos in my “moto” photography. I feel like that drag race scene brings us out & away from the tight, detail views and adds some (possibly un-needed?) context? A good friend who’s a professional photographer has collected many old photos that are kind of similar, and I’ve been looking at them for a number of years. So it’d be fair to say that random vintage car/bike/race photos by anonymous photographers definitely influenced me here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc1305us Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 I like them all, with the exception of the 2 cars racing. Other than that, they're great. Congratulations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfnahas Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 (edited) I like this portfolio for the theme, B&W, etc. But at times it felt the image was cropped a little too tight (e.g., 55 "LARO" Speed) or cut a little short (e.g., the tire in the last shot of the truck). Give your audience a bit more image! 🙂 Flamming hood was the best for me! Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Edited December 16, 2022 by jfnahas 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 16, 2022 Author Share Posted December 16, 2022 14 hours ago, jfnahas said: I like this portfolio for the theme, B&W, etc. But at times it felt the image was cropped a little too tight (e.g., 55 "LARO" Speed) or cut a little short (e.g., the tire in the last shot of the truck). Give your audience a bit more image! 🙂 Flamming hood was the best for me! Great stuff, thanks for sharing. Ah right o, fair enough, thank you. I do tend to detail shots of things. Some of this comes from shooting at events with trying to set myself aside from many other photographers aiming at the same things but it’s also kinda become my signature look by now. In the bigger context, a lot of my photography in this realm happens at annual events. So I have more shots of most of these things, and with a grouping of shots of an event/year, one gets more the full “picture” (as it were). While these are a smattering from multiple events and places from 2019-2022, it’s a fair representation of what I do in my “moto foto” works. Thank you, I really appreciate your input! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerald Cafferty Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 Hi, Think you have a great set of photo's. The colour pic of the truck seems a little out of place, for me the standout photo is the bike with black and white tank next to the checker board. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 16, 2022 Author Share Posted December 16, 2022 Thanks so much @Gerald Cafferty ! And yeah that pic is one of my all time favorites. Really appreciate you commenting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCL Posted December 16, 2022 Share Posted December 16, 2022 Congratulations! In looking thru your photos above, I'd either stick with B&W images or include more color ones. All in all, a nice selection, I hope it is appreciated by others in your workplace! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
httpwww.photo.netbarry Posted December 17, 2022 Share Posted December 17, 2022 (edited) Looks like a fun show to me. Congrats! Enjoy it, I think it's great project and the photos look great! Edited December 17, 2022 by httpwww.photo.netbarry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 On 12/16/2022 at 1:42 PM, SCL said: Congratulations! In looking thru your photos above, I'd either stick with B&W images or include more color ones. All in all, a nice selection, I hope it is appreciated by others in your workplace! H Barry, thanks for commenting, and for the positive feedback. 😊 I debated the color shot actually. The truck owner wants a copy- my primary motive in printing/including it. I am having it framed, but can still withhold it from the showing. I do really like the concept of simplicity and consistency, however. I agree a single color image will stick out like a sore thumb, and/or possibly cronk the general vibe of the group, I did have one other color image printed- but have held off on having it framed and was not planning on showing it. Here’s a phone pic of the print. It looks wavy b/c the paper isn’t flat and I pinned it down to snap this pic. The photo is actually a Phone pic! I shot this multiple ways with every camera I had at the time, one 35mm b&w shot was good, as was this phone pic. All the others were crap! This print looks great tho and it’s one of my all time fave shots. Cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
httpwww.photo.netbarry Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 (edited) Why not use both if there's room. That way the one color photo will have company? But use your own judgement I'm sure people, especially car and bike buffs will love them either way. I love the old Indian and was wonderingnwhat's the bike at what looks like the beach. It seems to be an old twin, maybe a Harley set up for dirt? Edited December 18, 2022 by httpwww.photo.netbarry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Parsons Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 Firstly, Lucky Dog ! Good luck. Were this my display, I would print the images with a little more contrast for visual impact - so they stand out to anyone entering the room - but that's just me. Not a fan of motor cars, so I'll pass on those, but the bikes are great. Agreeing with @jfnahas, some are cropped a little tightly for me - they are possibly more likely to appeal to an enthusiast (such as yourself) rather than an image the majority of people would display on their wall. Then again, what do I know - a photo I have sold prints of several times, a mono shot of a spider web on a rusty gate, was only put in to fill a blank page in the portfolio ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 18, 2022 Author Share Posted December 18, 2022 11 hours ago, httpwww.photo.netbarry said: Why not use both if there's room. That way the one color photo will have company? But use your own judgement I'm sure people, especially car and bike buffs will love them either way. I love the old Indian and was wonderingnwhat's the bike at what looks like the beach. It seems to be an old twin, maybe a Harley set up for dirt? Yes, if this is the bike you mean, you got it. I’m guessing a 1930s Harley, shot at a beach drag racing event called The Race Of Gentlemen where they race pre WWII cars and bikes. 1 hour ago, tony_parsons1 said: Firstly, Lucky Dog ! Good luck. Were this my display, I would print the images with a little more contrast for visual impact - so they stand out to anyone entering the room - but that's just me. Not a fan of motor cars, so I'll pass on those, but the bikes are great. Agreeing with @jfnahas, some are cropped a little tightly for me - they are possibly more likely to appeal to an enthusiast (such as yourself) rather than an image the majority of people would display on their wall. Then again, what do I know - a photo I have sold prints of several times, a mono shot of a spider web on a rusty gate, was only put in to fill a blank page in the portfolio ! thanks Tony! I really enjoy shooting film for a host of reasons, among them being that I like that sort of honest look of a film photo. Because I mainly wanted the prints to look as close as possible to the film they were shot on, I just sent the straight-up scans as I received them from whatever lab the film was processed at. I maybe auto-corrected light on some shots but I don’t do a whole lot, typically. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 (edited) Hey so in "new developments", this group of photos is now going to be shown not only at Rock Lititz, where I work. I am currently slated to exhibit this set in 2 corporate office environments- one from July thru September, in a local financial group's offices, then it will move to Highmark to be displayed from September thru January 2023! Highmark also features whatever artists they exhibit in their offices on their website- so that remote employees can follow along from outside the office environs. This all came about just this past week, after I attended an openng at our local Art Association of Harrisburg (in PA). A lady I know mainly from Facebook is an avid member of not only the Association but also of locel camera clubs and is a very active photographer. She and another person were hosting the opening for a joint exhibit of their works. I went and while there. met the president of the Assoc, who invited me to send her some examples of my work. She got very excited about it and has me booked all over the place! She loves the fact that I'm shooting film, too so I see that as a boost to my own personal methodology. She's also suggested I get a price list together. I think I'd like to have QR code developed that would link straight to instagram and also possibly my Zenfolio account, or a website? (which of course I dont HAVE a website but would happily start one). Of course the caveat is that I join the Art Association, something I have no problem doing. Then of coirse, they get a cut of any sales forthcoming. I know none of this would be happening were it just me out here, so I'm OK with it all- it gives me some serious momentum going into 2023, and ends the year on a super positive note! Meanwhile, I've used the same frame shop for years, and they've been hearing me talk about my photography for as long- so they're are all jazzed up over my bringing them a dozen or more prints to frame! SO much so that the person doing the framing has referred me to a friend of hers who works at the Antique Auto Museum at Hershey- Not certain what will come of that (if anything) but it can't hurt to further my name and cause on another layer of the vintage car/bike community, eh? Notably, also, none of this would be happening had I not gotten any prints made! Edited December 23, 2022 by Ricochetrider add text 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 Oh and in *other news* the frame shop texted me yesterday saying theyd ordered the wrong size frame for the color print of the blue truck so they are framing the color print of the car against the yellow wall for FREE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemorrellNL Posted December 23, 2022 Share Posted December 23, 2022 Hi @Ricochetrider, I've enjoyed seeing your work for years. Many congratulations on your new-found recognition! I've commented on some of your photos below. Not because they're not excellent as they are but just to suggest a few PP tips to consider prior to your exhibitions. In making these comments, I've considered (for the first photo) the background and for all photos the 'visual focal point', determined by composition, contrast and sharpness. I've gone into some detail just because I wish you the very best during your exhibitions! Photo 1: Great photo! what I missed (digitally) was a bit more 'background color/texture' in the sky - the very light grey background looks to me to be a bit unreal. On prints cropped to size, the photo might look great just because of the light grey background! Photo 2: Again a great photo and a wonderful composition! I do wonder what the 'visual focal point' is of this photo. All elements of the photo seem to me to be equally in focus. The composition suggests that the '1973 emblem' is important. You might want to consider sharpening the emblem to re-enforce its prominence (or not 😉) Photo 3: Fine as it is, no suggestions Photo 4 (bike): the focus is on the front tyre. If that's what you want, fine. Should you wish to bring other parts of the bike into focus then sharpening in PP might help Photo 5: Great photo. No suggestions Photo 6 (El Camina): the center part of the 'El Camina' logo looks to me to be sharper than than the left- en right-hand parts. You might want to consider sharpening the left and right parts of the logo so that that logo as a whole appears (reasonably) sharp Photos 7, 8 and 9: all great photos and no suggestions. Photo 10: MC tank: TBH this is the only photo in your whole series where everything looks slightly out of focus (at least to me). As a consequence, there doesn't seem to be any 'visual focal point.' The only tip I can give is to choose a part of the photo where you want viewers to focus their attention on (with other areas as 'background') and make this area 'pop' by sharpening, increasing contrast, etc. Photos 11 & 12: Racing cars &truck: Fine as they are; no suggestions I repeat that it's not my intention to 'criticize' your photos. Just to offer my personal constructive feedback. On the order of display, my highly uneducated is that viewers might prefer to see 'overview' (people) photo's first delving into car/engine details. One more thing to consider: you've presented your selection but you might well have other photos that would better help 'tell your story' to uninitiated viewers. They may not be your 'best' photos but they may help viewers understand where your coming from. Unless they already know.😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricochetrider Posted December 23, 2022 Author Share Posted December 23, 2022 (edited) Wow Mike, thanks a million for your kind words & suggestions in the in depth comment. Cheers, & Happy Holidays to you and yours. All The Best, Tom "Ricochetrider" Banks Edited December 26, 2022 by Ricochetrider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now