Yeah, let's play some DS

baldmountain

One more for kicks. This one actually came out of a phone camera. I actually find I take a lot of camera phone pictures and some of them are my best shots. I just wish the quality was better.

Mr. Quiet

Haha, I will not be abusive, but I will be critical:D

I think you need to start carrying your camera around more

Because if you had had your camera, you might have been able to focus in on his hands and DS.....IMHO that is

rutt

Cell phone cameras have lots of limitations and I don't get many good shots with mine. But this particular image has bigger problems than the limitations of the camera. I converted to B&W, used a curve to get better pop, and applied wide radiance USM to get this:



Now it's more obvious that the reflection in the background is so distracting that we lose the point of the shot. Maybe there was a more interesting angle? Maybe you had to wait for a better moment?

Richard

rutt wrote:

Maybe there was a more interesting angle? Maybe you had to wait for a better moment?

The main thing that bothers me about this shot is not being able to see a face at all. She (if it is a she, ) might as well be wearing a burka.

dlplumer

I like your original as is. Really cool for a phone shot. Cute knees got ruined in Rutt's b&w

bdcolen

dlplumer wrote:

I like your original as is. Really cool for a phone shot. Cute knees got ruined in Rutt's b&w

I like both versions, but based on their comments, I think both Richard and Mr. Quite are losing various parts of their minds - Mr. Quite? If the hands and game were any sharper they'd cut your eyeballs. And Richard? No, we can't see a face, but we don't need to - we know something is happening here, and we do know what it is.

Nice shot - Let's hear it for cell phone cameras - the Brownies of our present decade. :ivar

P.S. It's a dank, rainy day in Boston and I'm just trying to amuse myself - no harm intended.

Richard

bdcolen wrote:

I And Richard? No, we can't see a face, but we don't need to - we know something is happening here, and we do know what it is.

Nice shot - Let's hear it for cell phone cameras - the Brownies of our present decade. :ivar

I second the point about cell phone cameras. If HCB were alive today he might well be using one. But somehow I doubt that he would have had a dark, undifferentiated mass in the middle of the frame. Yes, we do know what's happening and from the game, the torn knees and shoes we have a pretty good idea of who we're seeing, but I still would like to see a hint of facial features to attach to my mental stereotype. Color me cranky today.

Awais Yaqub

I like the BW version most, may be by revealing some details on hairs in PP to avoid black spot will help.

Mr. Quiet

No no no no NO! I do not mean SHARPER! Sorry, I should have used the word ZOOM in, instead of focus in.....

Do I still have part of my mind lost B.D? If so I would like it very much if someone would find it foe me In a few minutes I have to eat lunch with people that I do not even know.... So what does that make my mood?

baldmountain

You guys are getting too caught up in the technical aspects of the pictures.

This summer I went to the San Francisco MOMA where they were having exhibits of both Robert Frank and Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams images are frighteningly good from a technical standpoint. Looking at them you feel like you can reach in and feel the texture of the landscape. Everything is scary sharp.

Robert Frank's images are not. In fact a good number of them are not well focused and the grain is noticeably bad.

To be honest, I liked Robert Frank's images better. They evoked more emotion in me and got me thinking about the time and place they were taken. They had me considering what was life like then?

baldmountain

Oh, a comment on the black and white conversion. I am an Aperture user. At one point I downloaded a trial of the Silver Effects Pro plugin for Aperture. I LOVED it. But $199 is WAY more than I can justify for the plugin. I've tried other ways of doing B&W conversion and not been as pleased as I was with Silver Effects Pro so I just don't do it any more.

Mr. Quiet

baldmountain wrote:

You guys are getting too caught up in the technical aspects of the pictures.

This summer I went to the San Francisco MOMA where they were having exhibits of both Robert Frank and Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams images are frighteningly good from a technical standpoint. Looking at them you feel like you can reach in and feel the texture of the landscape. Everything is scary sharp.

Robert Frank's images are not. In fact a good number of them are not well focused and the grain is noticeably bad.

To be honest, I liked Robert Frank's images better. They evoked more emotion in me and got me thinking about the time and place they were taken. They had me considering what was life like then?

We already said the rest of the picture was good:D

I think as photographers and pros( I am not one of them), we ALL try to get a technically and emotionally great picture, is that not true?

bdcolen

baldmountain wrote:

You guys are getting too caught up in the technical aspects of the pictures.

This summer I went to the San Francisco MOMA where they were having exhibits of both Robert Frank and Ansel Adams. Ansel Adams images are frighteningly good from a technical standpoint. Looking at them you feel like you can reach in and feel the texture of the landscape. Everything is scary sharp.

Robert Frank's images are not. In fact a good number of them are not well focused and the grain is noticeably bad.

To be honest, I liked Robert Frank's images better. They evoked more emotion in me and got me thinking about the time and place they were taken. They had me considering what was life like then?

Frank's work is far, far more challenging, both visually and emotionally, than Adams's. Adams produced posters; Frank produced art.

:hide