This made me chuckle, I like it as an image but, clearly it's not explosive, and arguably it's the opposite of sedate, maybe sedated was what you were after.
Phew, judging is tough!
Charlie
Charlie! You got it!
It was for fun and yes, it was sedated....my original title was " _ _ _ _ _ ed" and hoping to bring a chuckle or at least a smile to viewers.
Thank you from entry #45
First of all, I want to thank Thebigsky and Jdryan3 for taking the time to comment in every single photo of the 114 entries and everyone else for viewing and judging.
This is my first time in any contest and for me constructive critizisms are as good are praises. We learn so much from others voicing their opinions.
Thebigsky: I agree with you totally about missing a more powerful storm. Pitty that came a few minutes later. Thank you very much for commenting in the sky. It was that gorgeous.
Jdryan3: I understand what you mean by the flat skies, but in my opinion only, it needed to be like that so it was not just explosive. To have both as my intention was, I would have needed that powerful storm that came right after I took the pic. The sharpness is something I have noticed in most of my photos if not all and being fairly new to digital (started in March), I am not sure what I am doing wrong. My camera and lens are of excellent quaility, optics clean, shoot either in RAW or JPEG fine, and since my eye sight is not that good, I use auto focus unless I am shooting macro. If you or anyone have any ideas, I will welcome them with all my appreciation.
Thank you also for the welcome and it has been a great and enriching experience.
Last but not least, congratulations to all the entries. They are amazingly good, aside from being closer or further from the theme.
An awesome crop of entries and a tough job for the judges.
Thanks to all who have taken a lot of time to give feedback on all entries, the effort is truly appreciated!
And CONGRATS to all entrants, its been amazing to see the growth and development, everyone is obviously pushing themselves, and that's the real prize!
#2 Big Bang Redux - PaulThomasMcKee - Love the hyperactive colors and the symetry of the piece. The DOF really gives it a 3-d feel that creates a sence of motion
#13 Sugar Rush - Pat664422 - Good example of the decisive moment
#24 End of the Trail... - SaltFork - Love the feel of solitude and peacefulness
#25 hog heaven - Elaine - Funny lazy pigs in mud what more could you ask for
#26 Silence - kingmamaof2 - I love the pose and the mesh gives her a nice elegant look
#32 Movie Night - bgaras2001 - This was the first one that caught my eye. I like the advertising feel it has. Well composed and captured, the bright colors really catch the eye. Poppcorn popping, very explosive
#44 Dog Days of Summer - Tessa HD - I love this little guy, so lazy, he just needs a sleeping cap.
#107 Float On - Sizam - Very striking image. I can feel the slow waters gently drifting along.
#108 A Pause for the Storm - stuffjunkie - of the fireworks image this is the one that I felt portrayed something more than a big bang in the sky.
#112 Anticipation - menebo - perfect expression. I think this is a good use of selective color.
And as for mine "Mwa-Ha-Ha-Ha!" I appreciate the comments that you guys have given. The idea that I was working towards in this theme was a take on the literal noun "explosive" and who uses them and why. Plus I watched the web video Steam Trek last week and I was in the mood for a good old melodrama villain who labels his bombs, twirls his mustache and has a nice maniacal laugh when tormenting the damsels in distress.
#53-Big Bang Theory (rwells): Again, fireworks seem like an obvious choice, so I tried to pick those that were technically excellent. First, no smoke. Second, non-firework elements had to add to the image - not just not take away from it. There were several that came close, but I chose this one. Some will agree, some disagree, and I have no problem with that.
Given the theme(s) and the 4th conveniently fitting into the time slot, I, like many tried the fireworks angle. When I saw this shot, the title just jumped out at me. Glad you liked it.
First of all, I want to thank Thebigsky and Jdryan3 for taking the time to comment in every single photo of the 114 entries and everyone else for viewing and judging.
Jdryan3: I understand what you mean by the flat skies, but in my opinion only, it needed to be like that so it was not just explosive. To have both as my intention was, I would have needed that powerful storm that came right after I took the pic. The sharpness is something I have noticed in most of my photos if not all and being fairly new to digital (started in March), I am not sure what I am doing wrong.
Marisa
Marisa -
Actually it was Aaron Newman (anwmn1) who made that critique. However, I agree with him. I did stop and look at your image several times. Even wrote #45 on my prelim list. I remember it w/o even looking: orange colored storm clouds at sunset with a bird in flight and rising moon. I have seen that in real life in the southwest. But it is a little flat and out of focus, and I thought the tree line at the bottom distracted from the image rather than added to it.
The #1 thing I would think about re: the sharpness is that image was shot at f/2.8 for 1/80sec (EXIF data). Even if the eagle (?) was in focus originally that may be too slow a speed to keep it sharp. If he was far away, probably makes no difference.
More importantly, the aperature is way too big. Shooting the sky or a landscape requires you shoot at f/8, maybe f/11 or even f/16 to get the depth of field (DOF) where the eagle is in focus AND the clouds are. Shoot at infinity.
I don't know if it was exposed properly in camera, but assuming it was I would have tried that at f/8 and ISO 800. Or forget the bird, and go for f/11, 1/30 @ ISO 400. These are guesstimates only, YMMV.
"Don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to. Oh well."
-Fleetwood Mac
Marisa -
Actually it was Aaron Newman (anwmn1) who made that critique. However, I agree with him. I did stop and look at your image several times. Even wrote #45 on my prelim list. I remember it w/o even looking: orange colored storm clouds at sunset with a bird in flight and rising moon. I have seen that in real life in the southwest. But it is a little flat and out of focus, and I thought the tree line at the bottom distracted from the image rather than added to it.
The #1 thing I would think about re: the sharpness is that image was shot at f/2.8 for 1/80sec (EXIF data). Even if the eagle (?) was in focus originally that may be too slow a speed to keep it sharp. If he was far away, probably makes no difference.
More importantly, the aperature is way too big. Shooting the sky or a landscape requires you shoot at f/8, maybe f/11 or even f/16 to get the depth of field (DOF) where the eagle is in focus AND the clouds are. Shoot at infinity.
I don't know if it was exposed properly in camera, but assuming it was I would have tried that at f/8 and ISO 800. Or forget the bird, and go for f/11, 1/30 @ ISO 400. These are guesstimates only, YMMV.
Dave, thank you again for answering my post.
I am speachless now since I never thought I had a chance being so new at digital. It is an honor even if it is just that you remember it without looking, and even more so that I was in the preliminary list.
Well, and now I have to say that my sight is not only no good, it is non-existant. The ISO matter felt like a donkey right in front of me that just kicked me and never saw it. The Pentax camera I always had (film) had the ISO at my thumb. One of the problems I have now is to go to the menu and change it the settings. Now I am sure I will remember about the ISO and prepare it ahead of time when I know I will shoot in low light. Dave, a million thanks.
Thank you to Aaron also for the wonderful comments. Photography, just like life, is about learning and enjoying the process. If at the end, there is success, is a really good extra reward.
I am already in love with this place. Thank you all again. Marisa
Thank you to those who gave feedback on every photo entry. that does help us understand more on our mistakes, etc.
Nikon D300 l Nikon SB-600 l Nikon MC-30 Remote l Nikon AF-S 24-85mm 1:3.5-4.5G IF-ED l Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D lSigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSMlQuantaray Pro U-100 backpack by Naneu Pro l Quantaray QSX 9500 Tripod by Sunpak Canon AE-1 ProgramlFD 28mm 1:2.8lFD 50mm 1:1.8lSunpak Auto 821 Dedicated
Ok, feedback taken in stride, it's only one shot, one contest, no biggie. But Charlie, RE 110, these butterflies don't look SEDATE to you? Ok, I guess I see something you don't then. But they sure look fairly sedate to me. All sitting there, not moving to speak of, except for one coming in for a landing. Do you have to see their eyes catatonic to think they are sedate?, It seems that the image as a whole is sedate, because it's quite, it's peaceful, it's just butterflies, they make no noise, they just flutter. Seems sedate to me. Thesaurus.com lists some synonyms for Sedate as:
My entry was more to test what response I might get than anything, so I'm interested to know it didn't relate... There are many great entries. thank you.
Quiet and peaceful do not adequately define sedate, and we can argue about that if you like. However if you want to ignore that criticism, fine, but your image was too busy, lacked detail and a focal point, work on your composition and try to create an image that leads in the eye to settle on a natural focal point. Maybe try getting lower to the ground and closer to the subjects next time and try using a shallow DOF to blur distracting elements if you're unable to keep them out of frame.
I think my image is going to be misinterpreted quite a bit. it wasn't meant to be just another fireworks shot. It was meant to be over blown, in the sense that to me it showed true explosiveness and the chaos that ensues.
But hey, live and learn right?
Well if there's one thing this competition has shown it's that you do live and learn that disparate people interpret things in different ways, for me your image didn't work but for others it may.
And I'll Say it in This Thread Too!
CONGRATS to the winners for such impeccable work. It was truly an enjoyable round.
THANKS to all the judges, not only for the work, but for having to sit out a round!
From the wide varitey of opinions and views, we could all hold a week-long progressive dinner party and be able to see a wide variety of things hanging on each other's walls!:burger :food
43. Xia ke- In the heat of the night- great lighting capture- crop out everthing except the lighting and you will have a better shot
I thought about cropping it but, just felt that it was missing something after dooing so. Oh well, it was my first time ever shooting lightning and I had a blast doing so. On to the next round. Thanks for the feedback Aaron
From the wide varitey of opinions and views, we could all hold a week-long progressive dinner party and be able to see a wide variety of things hanging on each other's walls!:burger :food
and imagine what a sight that wall would be! :jawdrop
But as you know this needs to be scaled down to a list of ten. So this was a challenge, more so than in other contests where my first pass through only yielded 10 photos! But scaled down the list became. It took more than few passes, and the last pass was painful for me as there were a number of photos that I found really exceptional. But this was my final list:
8 - JFreeman - Mwa-Ha-Ha-Ha!
15 - urbanaries - easy like sunday morning
22 - Greensquared - All Tuckered Out
32 - bgaras2001 - Movie Night
43 - Xia_Ke - In The Heat Of The Night
44 - Tessa HD - Dog Days of Summer
79 - photogmomma - Love
103 - saurora - Bursting With Excitement
107 - Sizam - Float On
108 - stuffjunkie - A Pause For The Storm
Wow! Thank you SO much, Shay! I'm very pleased to have been in your final list!!
ok Charlie, re 110, thanks for your explanation. In this particular case, getting down to the subjects was not very possible. Shot at 200mm, they were down in a mountain stream bed, a fairly deep one with a difficult rock ledge. I don't often scale the rocks unless I can see a clearly defined route down, and I am feeling adventurous. This time, there really wasn't a good route... It's ok though, I will take that info and learn from it. I sure know there are far better photos than mine, but since I only got to shoot 1 afternoon this week, this was what I got.
This was an interesting round, I think it broke a record for me in the most number of photos selected on my first pass through the gallery! My first pass yielded 35 photos that caught my attention for one reason or another. That list is as follows:
Post# - Photog - Title
43 - Xia_Ke - In The Heat Of The Night
But as you know this needs to be scaled down to a list of ten. It took more than few passes, and the last pass was painful for me as there were a number of photos that I found really exceptional. But this was my final list:
43 - Xia_Ke - In The Heat Of The Night
And now, the feedback on all the entries:
Post# - Photog - Title
43 - Xia_Ke - In The Heat Of The Night
Thank you very much Shay. I'm glad you liked it Like the others stated in their feedback, I just wish I could have had a stronger foreground. As always, thank you very much for taking the time to critique all the photos. It is truly appreciated and a most valuable learning tool
94 - dlscott56 - Contemplating The Day
Feels right heavy to me. If they were at counterpoint, the steeple to the left and the cloud to the right, the balance would seem better, and the steeple would have more contrast to stand against too.
Thanks for taking the time to post the feedback comments. I really appreciate it.
19 - HoofClix - Comet David!
Very cool! Love the panned action shot, well done.
Thanks for the comment! I'm just glad it's recogngnized as a true in-camera pan and not post processing. I have to say that as the round went on, and after I had no more time to go do any sort of reshoot, I kept feeling like the shot needed to have been taken in the sun, not in the shade, to help amplify the brightness of the splashing water..... Next time! I will also try hard to stretch beyond these pan shots.....
But as you know this needs to be scaled down to a list of ten. It took more than few passes, and the last pass was painful for me as there were a number of photos that I found really exceptional. But this was my final list:
103 - saurora - Bursting With Excitement
And now, the feedback on all the entries:
Post# - Photog - Title
103 - saurora - Bursting With Excitement
MAGIC
Thank you so much Shay, I am just overwhelmed and beyond delighted that you liked the image. I so enjoy reading your feedback on all of the entries - it has truly opened my eyes in so many ways. You have helped all of us grow as photographers and that in itself is priceless.
35 - Felicia - Crash!
Nice peak action. That action could be even better represented with a 10:4 pano crop, then the foam/spray would be leaving the frame and the action looks visually more active.
Thanks for the feedback, Shay!:D
"Just because no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist."
15 - urbanaries - easy like sunday morning
Holy macaroni!
Uh....wow! i'm so glad you liked it, coming from a master of portraits, this is humbling indeed. I really thought I was completely out of the running as it didn't seem to say "sedate" to very many....but I won't lie, I am so excited to finally make a cut!
Thanks Shay for all the hard work you do in this contest! clap
Special Thanks
I wanted to thank everyone who takes time out of their life to contribute to this forum. It really takes a special group of people to devote the time and energy you do to such an endeavor. The information, encouragement, and challenges presented here help stretch us all out of our comfort zone where we are challenged to improve our work.
Comments
Charlie! You got it!
It was for fun and yes, it was sedated....my original title was " _ _ _ _ _ ed" and hoping to bring a chuckle or at least a smile to viewers.
Maureen
First of all, I want to thank Thebigsky and Jdryan3 for taking the time to comment in every single photo of the 114 entries and everyone else for viewing and judging.
This is my first time in any contest and for me constructive critizisms are as good are praises. We learn so much from others voicing their opinions.
Thebigsky: I agree with you totally about missing a more powerful storm. Pitty that came a few minutes later. Thank you very much for commenting in the sky. It was that gorgeous.
Jdryan3: I understand what you mean by the flat skies, but in my opinion only, it needed to be like that so it was not just explosive. To have both as my intention was, I would have needed that powerful storm that came right after I took the pic. The sharpness is something I have noticed in most of my photos if not all and being fairly new to digital (started in March), I am not sure what I am doing wrong. My camera and lens are of excellent quaility, optics clean, shoot either in RAW or JPEG fine, and since my eye sight is not that good, I use auto focus unless I am shooting macro. If you or anyone have any ideas, I will welcome them with all my appreciation.
Thank you also for the welcome and it has been a great and enriching experience.
Last but not least, congratulations to all the entries. They are amazingly good, aside from being closer or further from the theme.
Marisa
Thanks to all who have taken a lot of time to give feedback on all entries, the effort is truly appreciated!
And CONGRATS to all entrants, its been amazing to see the growth and development, everyone is obviously pushing themselves, and that's the real prize!
50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
Here are my top 10 in order of posting
#2 Big Bang Redux - PaulThomasMcKee - Love the hyperactive colors and the symetry of the piece. The DOF really gives it a 3-d feel that creates a sence of motion
#13 Sugar Rush - Pat664422 - Good example of the decisive moment
#24 End of the Trail... - SaltFork - Love the feel of solitude and peacefulness
#25 hog heaven - Elaine - Funny lazy pigs in mud what more could you ask for
#26 Silence - kingmamaof2 - I love the pose and the mesh gives her a nice elegant look
#32 Movie Night - bgaras2001 - This was the first one that caught my eye. I like the advertising feel it has. Well composed and captured, the bright colors really catch the eye. Poppcorn popping, very explosive
#44 Dog Days of Summer - Tessa HD - I love this little guy, so lazy, he just needs a sleeping cap.
#107 Float On - Sizam - Very striking image. I can feel the slow waters gently drifting along.
#108 A Pause for the Storm - stuffjunkie - of the fireworks image this is the one that I felt portrayed something more than a big bang in the sky.
#112 Anticipation - menebo - perfect expression. I think this is a good use of selective color.
And as for mine "Mwa-Ha-Ha-Ha!" I appreciate the comments that you guys have given. The idea that I was working towards in this theme was a take on the literal noun "explosive" and who uses them and why. Plus I watched the web video Steam Trek last week and I was in the mood for a good old melodrama villain who labels his bombs, twirls his mustache and has a nice maniacal laugh when tormenting the damsels in distress.
Josh
http://joshfreeman.smugmug.com
Thank you all for that, and everyone else who's taken the time to give feedback.
Given the theme(s) and the 4th conveniently fitting into the time slot, I, like many tried the fireworks angle. When I saw this shot, the title just jumped out at me. Glad you liked it.
Marisa -
Actually it was Aaron Newman (anwmn1) who made that critique. However, I agree with him. I did stop and look at your image several times. Even wrote #45 on my prelim list. I remember it w/o even looking: orange colored storm clouds at sunset with a bird in flight and rising moon. I have seen that in real life in the southwest. But it is a little flat and out of focus, and I thought the tree line at the bottom distracted from the image rather than added to it.
The #1 thing I would think about re: the sharpness is that image was shot at f/2.8 for 1/80sec (EXIF data). Even if the eagle (?) was in focus originally that may be too slow a speed to keep it sharp. If he was far away, probably makes no difference.
More importantly, the aperature is way too big. Shooting the sky or a landscape requires you shoot at f/8, maybe f/11 or even f/16 to get the depth of field (DOF) where the eagle is in focus AND the clouds are. Shoot at infinity.
I don't know if it was exposed properly in camera, but assuming it was I would have tried that at f/8 and ISO 800. Or forget the bird, and go for f/11, 1/30 @ ISO 400. These are guesstimates only, YMMV.
-Fleetwood Mac
Dave, thank you again for answering my post.
I am speachless now since I never thought I had a chance being so new at digital. It is an honor even if it is just that you remember it without looking, and even more so that I was in the preliminary list.
Well, and now I have to say that my sight is not only no good, it is non-existant. The ISO matter felt like a donkey right in front of me that just kicked me and never saw it. The Pentax camera I always had (film) had the ISO at my thumb. One of the problems I have now is to go to the menu and change it the settings. Now I am sure I will remember about the ISO and prepare it ahead of time when I know I will shoot in low light. Dave, a million thanks.
Thank you to Aaron also for the wonderful comments. Photography, just like life, is about learning and enjoying the process. If at the end, there is success, is a really good extra reward.
I am already in love with this place. Thank you all again. Marisa
:cool
I wasn't sure where to go with the theme -but it was fun to enter
Looking for tips on macro photography? Check out my Blog: No Cropping Zone.
Macro will change the way you perceive a lot of common subjects -part of the beauty of it really. Would you know that this is a butterfly?
Looking for tips on macro photography? Check out my Blog: No Cropping Zone.
Canon AE-1 Program l FD 28mm 1:2.8 l FD 50mm 1:1.8 l Sunpak Auto 821 Dedicated
Quiet and peaceful do not adequately define sedate, and we can argue about that if you like. However if you want to ignore that criticism, fine, but your image was too busy, lacked detail and a focal point, work on your composition and try to create an image that leads in the eye to settle on a natural focal point. Maybe try getting lower to the ground and closer to the subjects next time and try using a shallow DOF to blur distracting elements if you're unable to keep them out of frame.
Charlie
Well if there's one thing this competition has shown it's that you do live and learn that disparate people interpret things in different ways, for me your image didn't work but for others it may.
Charlie
CONGRATS to the winners for such impeccable work. It was truly an enjoyable round.
THANKS to all the judges, not only for the work, but for having to sit out a round!
From the wide varitey of opinions and views, we could all hold a week-long progressive dinner party and be able to see a wide variety of things hanging on each other's walls!:burger :food
www.HoofClix.com / Personal Facebook / Facebook Page
and I do believe its true.. that there are roads left in both of our shoes..
I thought about cropping it but, just felt that it was missing something after dooing so. Oh well, it was my first time ever shooting lightning and I had a blast doing so. On to the next round. Thanks for the feedback Aaron
Happy Shooting,
Aaron
My Gallery
"Challenge yourself! You will have days of discouragement and days of success, but the only way to fail, is to quit!" - Emily (Greensquared)
and imagine what a sight that wall would be! :jawdrop
My Gallery
"Challenge yourself! You will have days of discouragement and days of success, but the only way to fail, is to quit!" - Emily (Greensquared)
Wow! Thank you SO much, Shay! I'm very pleased to have been in your final list!!
www.tippiepics.com
thanks.
"Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions." - fortune cookie
Thank you very much Shay. I'm glad you liked it
My Gallery
"Challenge yourself! You will have days of discouragement and days of success, but the only way to fail, is to quit!" - Emily (Greensquared)
Thanks for taking the time to post the feedback comments. I really appreciate it.
My Photos
My Facebook
Thanks for the comment! I'm just glad it's recogngnized as a true in-camera pan and not post processing. I have to say that as the round went on, and after I had no more time to go do any sort of reshoot, I kept feeling like the shot needed to have been taken in the sun, not in the shade, to help amplify the brightness of the splashing water..... Next time! I will also try hard to stretch beyond these pan shots.....
www.HoofClix.com / Personal Facebook / Facebook Page
and I do believe its true.. that there are roads left in both of our shoes..
My Gallery
Thank you so much Shay, I am just overwhelmed and beyond delighted that you liked the image. I so enjoy reading your feedback on all of the entries - it has truly opened my eyes in so many ways. You have helped all of us grow as photographers and that in itself is priceless.
Thanks for the feedback, Shay!:D
www.feliciabphotography.com
Wow, thanks! I'm very encouraged to not only have been in the top 20 overall, but in your own top ten. Maybe there's hope for me yet!
Emily
Thanks Charlie, I really appreciate your taking the time to comment
My Photos
My Facebook
Thanks for the feedback Aaron, I appreciate it
My Photos
My Facebook
Uh....wow! i'm so glad you liked it, coming from a master of portraits, this is humbling indeed. I really thought I was completely out of the running as it didn't seem to say "sedate" to very many....but I won't lie, I am so excited to finally make a cut!
Thanks Shay for all the hard work you do in this contest!
50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
Jill
I wanted to thank everyone who takes time out of their life to contribute to this forum. It really takes a special group of people to devote the time and energy you do to such an endeavor. The information, encouragement, and challenges presented here help stretch us all out of our comfort zone where we are challenged to improve our work.
Thank you ALL for your time and inspiration!
Great Work!