matthew_s._schwartz

Backgrounds... when I'm concentrating on faces, I tend to forget them. I will strive to remember. FYI, the technical info of this shot is: 1/50 sec., F/5.6, ISO 400, and I actually underexposed 2/3rds. I think I was at 55mm (times 1.6).

 

At that focal length, that's as wide open as it gets. Widest my lens has is 3.5 at 18mm, but I'd have had to get a lot closer for that, and it would have ruined his expression.

 

I'm still a little confused over bokeh. I know a longer focal length makes the background blurrier, and I know that a wider aperature makes it blurrier, but where is the effect strongest: 18 mm at f/3.5, or 55 mm at f/5.6? And how does shutter speed play into all this? I know a faster shutter speed gets a blurrier background, but I just assumed that was because the shorter the exposure the more light I need, so the wider the aperature is -- thus it's APERATURE and not shutter speed that determines bokeh.

 

I think it's time to buy that "Understanding Exposure" book. :-)

 

Well, Carl, this is what I started with... just my dad, sitting inside, in front of a curtain, having a discussion. So no, the branches are not "real," and the triangle is where the curtain folds in (if you're talking about the upper right).

 

What would you have done with this shot?

This photo is very interesting but it is calling out for color... I am imagining what the building must have looked like against the blue? black? greyish? sky, and really wishing I could know for sure.

Come on, Carl, you told everyone who viewed your latest photos to rate the image (no matter what the number) so that more people end up seeing it, and you don't rate mine? Tsk tsk tsk....

 

;-) Come on, give me a rating. BTW, I tried to make the contrast here as close as possible to what I saw. Against the bright background, his face looked somewhat darker than it usually is, and I really liked the effect.

 

By the way, a lot of people comment but don't rate, and vice versa... I think in large part this is because if one is inclined to give a comment, it is tedious to then click yet ANOTHER page to rate it, especially when one has already given his advice (and so sees little merit in assigning it a meaningles number). Don't you think commenters will be more inclined to rate if there is a rating pulldown menu ON the "add comment" page? I'll suggest this in the main forums...

A Beer, maybe you're right... maybe a bit of mystery would make the shot more intriguing... I don't think I would have had the guts to call out to someone I didn't know and then snap a picture of them. :-) A nice thought, though.

 

From now on perhaps I will keep the real story a secret unless someone asks. Thanks for your advice!

The last poster is right -- you could crop a bit off the top... but I like the composition here, because the iceberg leads my eye right to the penguin. After that, I go back and focus on the beautiful light blue color in the ice.

 

There's nothing wrong with having more than one interesting spot in a photo, you know. ;-)

love the colors!

Wow, this is unmanipulated? Excellent color!

face is too dark... play with the curves, you can fix it. Next time: fill flash or expose on the foreground guy

Ah, dear ol' dad... I followed him around in the bookstore and just

happened to find a great frame for the shot. Then the only things left

to do were 1) aim, and 2) say "Hey!" :-)

Beautiful shot..... a polarizing filter might have brought out the colors more, better than saturating them in PS. But this is great work.

Metered on the face and underexposed 1.5 stops, just like Carl Root

suggested. :-) Thoughts?

Great color, and I like how it's sharp all the way through.

I agree with the guy above, this picture would be better if it had greater depth of field. Also, I want to see the other eye!

It's just water. Maybe I'm too tired to see the symbolism? Or maybe the symbolism would come through stronger with a different background.

 

(Es la agua. Es posible que estoy demasiado cansado ver el simbolismo. O tal vez el simbolismo se mostria con mas fuerzo con un fondo diferente.)

That brought a smile to my face. Thank you.

I too would prefer a tighter crop so I can see her face a little more, but maybe that's not what you're going for. Love the muted tones.

 

BTW -- This photo was exposed on October 10, 2004? Now THAT is impressive! ;-)

Film, Jerry! Film!

 

I am impressed. This is a beautiful shot. If this is "abstract minimalism," then I'm all for it. To imagine, such beauty came from a Taco Bell. ;-)

This is somewhat similar to the featured photo last week, though the colors on that one were brighter and, in my opinion, more interesting. I tried out the concept when I took a close-up of moss growing on bark -- I may upload it today.

 

Carl, is this rust?

 

Carl -- I agree completely about the neutral background. (I suppose I could PS it just for kicks, but I strongly prefer unmanipulated photos.) Greater DOF would end up de-emphasizing her face, but I appreciate the suggestion.

 

By the way, I had only seen the photo on my iBook, and the face was NOWHERE near as dark on that screen. Now that I see it on the CRTs at work, I realize that the face needs to be lighter. I guess I need to recalibrate my LCD panel... maybe I should hook up a CRT next to it and just try to get it to match as best I can.

 

As for your help about metering the face and underexposing 1.5 stops, I tried it with someone else and it worked beautifully! Shadow detail was MUCH more visible and yet still dark, and the lighting was perfect. Thank you for your help!

 

-Matt

The area where her face is dark has more noise than I would like. Does anyone know how

to make dark areas richer and smoother, even when I use exposure compensation to make

up for hte lack of available light? Right now, the lighting in the photo is very close to what

I actually saw... but how do I reduce the noise?

Nice lines but what is this picture about?

Cute, but washed out. Higher contrast would make the sillhouettes look nicer. I also would crop the photo just to the right of (and below) the people. Still, it's nice.

At first I was tempted to dismiss this shot, but then I took a second look. The forlorn look of the man, combined with the beer bottle in front of him, definitely tells a story. I would like to see more of his face.