Entry: LPS Entry #2 Stately or Humble

Povertybarn

Since I forgot how to read in LPS Challenge #1. I am submitting early so I don't miss the proverbial boat :wink .

Without further ado.. My entry for LPS Challenge #2.

I call it.... Ummmmm.. "Humble Aspirations"



Exif Info:

Date Taken: 3/21/2007
Camera: EOS 30D
F-Stop: f/3.5
Exposure time: 1/40 sec.
ISO Speed: ISO-1600
Focal Length: 22mm
Program Mode: Aperture priority

VisualXpressions

I think the shot works, and conveys the theme well... I definately got a humble feeling when I looked at it...:D good luck!

Winston

Flyinggina

Very nice. The perspective tells the story.

Virginia

urbanaries

Very creative interpretation! I really like this one. I typically don't like portraits without a face, but this enables me to put myself in her shoes, to feel the longing and intensity she feels. Great compostition, I don't think I've seen an S curve incorporated quite this way before. Nicely done.

I do think it could benefit from a black/white point setting. The wall is muddy grey and makes the conversion a little flat. The backboard gets kinda lost in it...her white sweatshirt doesn't help....

Povertybarn

Hey thanks everybody for the good input.

Just to give a little background on the image. I wanted to convey and draw the eyes to the head and above. To give it depth and a humble type of feeling. Also I shot on the ground angled up to try and convey the sense of how should you say "smallness" to the subject in the picture.


Doing so I messed around with the BW conversion and finally settled on a orange filter to go along with that. This brought out the subject while decreasing the contrast on the background. I could of gone vice versa but decided that the contrast was better suited for the subject. As for the background this was shot outside on a pretty clear day. Hope you all like it.

ericgtr

First off, I gotta say this is a great photo. The composition is well done, nice and sharp and the tones are just right but the spotlight (effect?) sort of draws my attention from the photo as a whole, just me though. However, love the concept and thanks for making it that much harder (or inspirational) for me join in on this one.

LiquidAir

Povertybarn wrote:

As for the background this was shot outside on a pretty clear day. Hope you all like it.

Your EXIF says f/3.5 1/40s ISO 1600. Was this shot near sundown or at night?

The light shaft down the middle looks to me like it was added in Photoshop. It also looks like the background of this shot was masked off and replaced by a gradient. I like the idea of this shot, but the implementation looks a little too processed for my taste. If you plan to stick with a gradient background, you might try a dark to light gradient from top to bottom. That will put the backboard against a dark background popping the contrast there while the sweatshirt will be against a lighter background reducing its promenance in the shot.

Nikolai

Liquid,

LiquidAir wrote:

Your EXIF says f/3.5 1/40s ISO 1600. Was this shot near sundown or at night?

The light shaft down the middle looks to me like it was added in Photoshop. It also looks like the background of this shot was masked off and replaced by a gradient. I like the idea of this shot, but the implementation looks a little too processed for my taste. If you plan to stick with a gradient background, you might try a dark to light gradient from top to bottom. That will put the backboard against a dark background popping the contrast there while the sweatshirt will be against a lighter background reducing its promenance in the shot.

I'm starting to think that we're twins separated at birth. My thoughts almost exactly (well, taking 40 years being apart into account :-)

Swartzy

A prime example...
of different likes, photographic tastes, etc. I think the concept is great. I think the shot lacks in several areas but my opinion does not count except for possibly some constructive consideration.

Liquid Air makes some great points. Gaining the control of contrast/what's focused as the "theme/subject" will help. The light in PS is interesting but not realistic. To me (maybe only me) the photo suggests "challenge" not humble.

Povertybarn

LiquidAir wrote:

Your EXIF says f/3.5 1/40s ISO 1600. Was this shot near sundown or at night?

The light shaft down the middle looks to me like it was added in Photoshop. It also looks like the background of this shot was masked off and replaced by a gradient. I like the idea of this shot, but the implementation looks a little too processed for my taste. If you plan to stick with a gradient background, you might try a dark to light gradient from top to bottom. That will put the backboard against a dark background popping the contrast there while the sweatshirt will be against a lighter background reducing its promenance in the shot.

Hey thanks for all the feedback.

Yes the photo was taken at close to dusk. It was outside and the skies were clear. There wasn't much done to the photo with the addition to my regular post processing and cleanup.

Bibble
=========
exposure
tone
wb
no crop on this one

CS2
=========================
B/W conversion w/orange filter (to pop contrast of subject and lighten background)
removal of the fenceline and shrubs in distant background
noise
lighting effect (to draw eyes)
and usm

So the background on this one wasn't masked. The BW conversion including the applied filter changed the contrast of the background which brought the foreground contrast up on the player. I was mainly shooting for the face to hoop and the focused lighting to symbolize the distance and how high the hoop was to the smaller subject. Which in my opinon I thought would convey humbleness and aspirations.

As for the photo coveying "Challenge". I was torn with that also. Which is why I didn't use a picture with her attempting to shoot and making a basket. When I was shooting I thought her trying to shoot a basket would convey "Challenge" rather than trying to deliver humbleness by staring at the hoop.

Thanks all for the great feedback you guys are extermemly helpful.

Vince

LiquidAir

Swartzy wrote:

To me (maybe only me) the photo suggests "challenge" not humble.

You make a good point.

For me, the shot with the title evoke a memory of trying to shoot baskets when I was a kid. It was a challenge, but a mundane one of achieveing the average not the exceptional. I was trying to fit in rather than stand out. It is that memory that lets me think of the photo as representing a humble aspiration.

There are, I think two big caveats to this shot being in theme. The first is that it requires the viewer to sypathize with an experience that many may not have had. The other is that it leans fairly heavily on the title to get its point across.

Looking at it that way, I think what was bothering me about the background becomes clearer. By masking off the background, the photo has no context. Personally I dredged up my primary school play yard as a context which nicely fit with the story I told myself about the shot. But leaving the the context blank and unstated lets each viewer choose their own. Someone who picks a professional basketball court as the context will draw a very different meaning from the shot.

LiquidAir

Povertybarn wrote:

CS2
=========================
B/W conversion w/orange filter (to pop contrast of subject and lighten background)
removal of the fenceline and shrubs in distant background
noise
lighting effect (to draw eyes)
and usm

Ah. OK. Its the part of the background under the ball that looks a tad odd to me. The perspective makes me think I ought to be seeing something there (at least a change in tone of the sky as it approaches the horizon), and the complete absence feels off. Presumably that was where the the fence and shrubs were. As off as it feels, I can see why you needed to do that. They likely were so dark that they drew too much attention. Possibly darkening that area by a stop would make it feel less empty without drawing too much attention.

As for the lighting effect, I think that dodging the backstop until it appears white would be a better way to draw the eye.

Povertybarn wrote:

As for the photo coveying "Challenge". I was torn with that also. Which is why I didn't use a picture with her attempting to shoot and making a basket. When I was shooting I thought her trying to shoot a basket would convey "Challenge" rather than trying to deliver humbleness by staring at the hoop.

You are spot on there. To me the shot conveys "I wish I could". Taking the shot is "I'm gonna try" which takes the message to an entirely different place.