louie

I think the problem has to do with different monitors. I've had problems with displaying my images on PCs. On my Mac 17" flat screen, it's brighter. I've been fiddling around with the settings in Photoshop, trying to get it to look the same on PCs as it does on my mac, but my pics are consistently dark.

The lighting is rather poor. Nothing really pops out. I find the leaf in the upper right distracting.

It looks like you were going for the rule of thirds, but in this case, I think it would have been better with the sun centered.

The spots are a natural feature. There had been recent flash floods through the canyons, so there were spots of sand everywhere. The texture of the walls were roughed up as well.

I use a Minolta Scan Dual II film scanner.

Nice. I like the way the color fills the sky. Is this natural? Good use of the rule of thirds.

Too dark for my taste. Also, I don't find the subject all that interesting. The road leads the eye, but to where?

I like it. The white rag/towel on the left hand side is distracting. Also, I feel like I'd like to see more of the scene to try to place them in time and space. More of their environment would tell more of the story. The homemade basketball hoop is excellent in that regard. Well, this is just my opinion.

I'm afraid that the lack of detail in the shadows is due to the scan. I've been consistently losing shadow detail in all of my Death Valley shots. I haven't become adept enough in Photoshop to bring out the detail in these areas as I would like.

 

I would have to agree that it still looks a bit crooked. I tried to fix that in Photoshop, but it still needs adjusting.

 

I purposely left much of the sky out since there wasn't much of interest in it. It was cloudless day.

The problem with the depth of field is that I was battling the pervasive footprints that are everywhere on the dunes. I probably overdid it, but the choice was between the softness of the shallow depth of field, and the appearance of footprints further along this ridge. In the area in the upper left hand corner, you can see the area of footprints I was trying to blur out. I should have checked with the DOF preview button, though, to get the most DOF while still blurring the footprints. Oh, well.

I don't like the grain very much, but the idea of the picture is wonderful - great photographic vision. I love the humor of it. I don't give out many high scores for cleverness, but you get a 9 for this one.

Well, I don't know how to respond to the last comment. This scene is at the base of the "Corkscrew" in Upper Antelope Canyon. The light showed up at around 11:00 am - the best times to photograph this slot canyon is from 10-2. I actually almost didn't take this picture because the tumbleweed was in such a perfect position, that I suspect it was placed there by another photographer. In fact, I noticed other photographers in the canyon kicking tumbleweeds into better positions sometimes. Unfortunately, this is the only frame I took of this scene. I think if I had to do it over, I would probably try some more compositions that would make it look more "real". Anybody who's been in Upper Antelope Canyon will know where this scene is, and in fact, I've seen it done much better by pros. At certain times of the year, you can get a shaft of light that makes the tumbleweed look like its on fire.

 

This photo wasn't "photoshopped" the way some people are saying. He did adjust the levels and curves, but he certainly didn't fake the reflections. I've got the same picture

here. I like his version much better.

Love the color. The foreground along the bottom right is a bit distracting, but I don't know what you could of done about that.

Interesting idea. Unfortunately, the view out of the peephole isn't that interesting.

Very nice. The dock is a bit too dark, though.

Very interesting idea. I think I can see what you're trying to do, but I'm not quite sure you're there yet. I think I'd like to be able to see more of the shadow so that I can make out what the tennis player is trying to do. The leg is kind of a distraction, so it doesn't quite work. Very original, though.

Very nice. I like the mood. The only criticism I would offer is that the balance of the elements in the photo doesn't seem quite right. I like the inclusion of the road in the lower right - at least I think that's a road, but it tends to lead my eye away from the center where the lightening is.

Nice. I found the branches on top a bit distracting, but still very nice. It'd be easier to judge with a larger size pic.

Nice shot. Good timing. Blurring the background a bit would put more focus on the rider, I think.

It's the Velvia and good light. I didn't push it, shot the film as rated.