hansendj

This is a picture I took a couple years ago. If I remember correctly,

I had taken this picture of some crystal and glass balls sitting on a

wooden table. Then I did a little manipulating...obviously used the

simple negative effect. Nothing special, just thought I'd share.

I don't think you overdid anything. I think you did a great job bringing out the sandstone swirls. The raft is extremely bright (maybe distracting to some), but it doesn't bother me...its just something I would imagine people commenting on. The only thing I would have liked changed is the tight framing. I would have liked for the whole boat to be in the picture...but its not like they're posing for you, so you did a good job with what you had.

So you were two-timing it now? Film and digital? With the 70-200 and the 100-400? Now I'm jealous of your equipment. I'm slacking, I know... I don't shoot nearly as much as I'd like, and as for posting, well, I feel like nothing I have is worth posting lately. Hopefully I'll get some stuff soon. I also need to post comments more...just getting too busy to take the time to even do that. Anyway, I'll keep an eye out for the film shots you're expecting.

Very cool shot! I was expecting to see that you used at least 400 mm to get this much detail. Congrats. I work at an Air Force base but I'm too paranoid to try to take photos because I expect the MP's to be on my back in 2 seconds flat...so I'm jealous now.

I'm typically not too attracted to these sort of shots, but this is great! Unfortunately, I'm not even sure if I can express what I think makes it so great. I guess I just love the lines and simplicity. The building, wall, and clouds are each very intricate and detailed, but shot together as you have them here they take on more basic forms, yet retain many of those details if you look close enough. Its just beautiful...

Marc, I would just echo Jeanne's comment about the sign and the trash can in the foreground. I think it would look better if you just crop those out. The other thing I noticed was that it all appears to be tilted to the right just slightly...or maybe that's just my headache making me see silly. On the positive side, I like everything else about this photo. The color, the detail in the castle, and the people are all great! It really caught my attention...nice job!

Dimitris, thank you for stopping by to inquire about the firefly project. If you'd like you may take a look at a website which I'm trying to put together for my dad's business. It has a section with photos of the firefly, as well as other projects we've worked on. Nothing on the website is newer than at least a couple months ago, but I'm trying to catch up. You'll see that the firefly is on the landing gear and the painting is largely completed (those are the most noticeable changes). For the time they are having difficulty moving the wings around to work on them because they are so large...its been somewhat of a setback. In any case, thank you again for your message and I hope you enjoy the website. www.davescustomsheetmetal.com

 

PS Since the comments left by August I have began to love this photo for those aspects other than the Firefly as well. This truly is a beautiful photo.

This was a picture I took awhile back. I once tried to draw it, but

failed at that. Curious to hear what others might think of this. I

appreciate any comments or suggestions. Thanks!

That man is insane... and I mean that in the nicest way. But seriously, that is crazy looking!

I agree with Peter's comments. The bright lights on the right side are dominating the frame. The contrasting lines really are a great aspect though.

You've got dynamics down. Even though I'm not typically a great fan of the Mustang I have to say you've captured it exceptionally well. It looks pretty mean from this angle...and not at all like I'm used to seeing it. It's interesting that I hadn't noticed this in your portfolio before now if you say its just an edit of one already posted. Well, you certainly got my attention this time. Thanks for sharing...as always.

Wow, what a setup! Very nicely shot. I have one nit about the crop though...its a bit tight on the bottom and I would have tried to leave some room in front of the car. You've just barely cut the bottom of the tire. Other than that this is perfect. It has a super saturated, almost cartoon-like feel, if you ask me, but I like that. It makes that car pop out of the picture.

Thanks for the comments, John. First, I was so worried about underexposing that the faster shutter wasn't really an option I saw at the time. This picture was shot in RAW and then exposed to this brightness afterwards...and it seems to have turned out, so I suppose I could have gone a bit faster with the shutter speed. Second, the F2.8 is about $700 more than this lens and I didn't foresee too much indoor or low light shooting with it, but now I'm starting to regret it somewhat. I'm just trying to make excuses now...so I'll quit. In any case, thank you for stopping by to comment.

I know the background is a bit busy, but everything I tried to do to

fix it just made it look fake or over processed...IMO. Any

suggestions or thoughts? Thank you!

I'd appreciate any comments...thank you

Okay, so it sounds like not too many people are fond of the processing, as I was. The way I see it this was not meant to appear natural...obviously. Not many HDR photos do look natural. I see this for a good composition and what I still believe is an original treatment for such a photo...not meant to look like the others. Its almost abstract. I still stand by what I said, and appreciate what you've done, Peter.

This is a terrific shot. Normally I would have to say its just an average shot, but your style and way of editing gives life to anything! Your style is amazing. As for this heli... I know one of the few guys who has a license and rating to fly these. However, the last time he tried to fly one of these for someone the helicopter wasn't up to the task and he had to make an emergency landing in a soccer field. I don't imagine they're easy to keep flying. Thanks for sharing!

Composite? Or real? If you were really there and this happened...is it normal for the one Sukhoi to be turning towards the other one like that? I mean, I know they aren't going to hit, they are still a fair distance apart, but it just seems odd. Am I missing something thats totally obvious to everyone else? Anyway, however you've done it, this is a very good shot. Congrats on the capture.

Looks like a land of fantasy or fairytales. Wish I lived here... Beautiful!

Very vivid color! Very original treatment for such a shot. Including the sun and all the rays are what make this truly great to me. Thanks for sharing this!

I swear I was thinking the exact same things Tim mentioned above before I even saw his comment. I totally agree with him. I'm loving this picture. The only things that hold this photo back a little are the cars...they sort of clutter the photo where they are. I know its not a big deal and nothing you can do...I just had to mention it. Ok, one more thing... I know you have the right side lined up vertically, but with the wide angle and the slightly different angles it seems a little off balance, but I'm thinking this is something I would get over. I just wonder if it would look better to have the row of buildings behind the cars going horizontal.

Well, I too felt as if my comments were too harsh. I actually felt stupid immediately after leaving that comment and checking out the rest of your portfolio. Now I see why this attempt didn't succeed...all your other shots are awesome without any sort of PS work like this!! Yeah, I think there are more subtle ways to make this better. I can see how you like the more simplistic approach (meaning, most of your shots don't have any kind of clutter), and I think in this case you could have settled for a little more clutter than you're used to, just to avoid the obvious cloning. I don't know...if you don't mind, I may experiment with your original, because I think it has plenty potential. If you're up to it, could you upload a larger file for me to start from since it would require some detail work?...if you don't mind of course. Otherwise, thanks for sharing, and I loved the rest of your portfolio!

I would have to agree with the comments above. This would be a great shot, except the photoshop work is so hasty that its totally obvious to me that you've cloned a lot of objects here. The shadows aren't natural either. You have to use care when cloning so you don't noticeably repeat the patterns. One thing that may help as well would be to use selections in order to create new layers...that would eliminate the problem areas around the bikers where the clone tool hit them as well...blurring the edges. I'm curious to see what this picture looked like before all of this PS work was done. I believe it was a nice attempt, and I wonder if you could actually be happier with the original in this case.

John,

I'm glad you took my comments as a compliment because in the end that is what they were meant as. I am well aware of the famous image of the girl, burned by napalm, running or walking down the street. I reacted in much the same way to both images. They make me feel for the subject...give me a glimpse of their story, and wish there were something being done to help them. If you really want a technical critique I'm really not the man for the job since I've never taken a class, I've never studied photography, nor have I ever been a professional. I was simply trying to share my thoughts on the impact your photo had on me...the average guy, or something like that.

 

You talk about how this is so much better than war. I have never experienced war first hand, but I know enough to agree with you. However, that doesn't make this aesthetically pleasing to me. Maybe my definition of aesthetics is different from yours, or maybe you'd agree to some degree. That doesn't make this any less of a photo though because of the power it still holds in other categories. I don't give numbers to photos anymore (maybe there have been a few exceptions). I really wouldn't give this a rating on aesthetics or originality because I don't think of either of those qualities when I look at this photo. I'm not saying it isn't original or that there aren't aspects which I could rate the aesthetics of, but I'm saying that is not what I care about when viewing this photo.

 

I hope I've been able to express my thoughts appropriately. Just because I don't want to talk about your framing, exposure, the fact that you didn't have to do any editing, or any of the other aspects that went into taking this picture I hope you get just as much fulfillment knowing that I have spent a lot of time thinking about this photo and its made an impact on me. I AM congratulating you on a terrific composition...among other less important (for me) accomplishments. My definition of composition includes the ability you have to capture and tell the story. You've done the story telling masterfully.

John, I'm not sure I can rate on the photographic merit alone. If we include the emotional aspect then I would say this has accomplished much. I think its a very sad scene...obviously...most would likely agree. He's so close to the middle class, as you point out, but completely alone. He is distanced from them, and "they" are represented as being in a higher state, just as he is in the lowest. I even feel bad applauding your efforts here, when I'm looking at a man like this and think about what his life must be like. He is so much worse off than you or I and I feel like a fool if I were to try and offer praise for something like this. That does not mean you are anything less than a terrific photographer, and I must admit that this is no exception to your talent, but I still feel bad saying so. What does this man get out of my approval for your photograph of him? How does this make his life better?