Anger, Fear, Acceptance, Happy, Which Do I Use?

imax · February 28, 2005

If they were able to get outside. Fortunately for the two on the fence my cats stay inside!

johno · February 28, 2005

Fear... Something about that one... I like it... I don't like it. It's a great shot. (All of them are) #2, it's... What? Someone Help. I can't put my finger on it. ANGELO! Where are you? GINGER! ANYONE?

I want like it but I can't. Sorry.

peace.
johno~

Charlie Brown · February 28, 2005

reminds me of the days will my old burmese...id use fear myself out of those.

cb

ginger_55 · February 28, 2005

I think I am showing more emotion right now than that mouse. To tell the truth I like the first one best.

OK, I wanted to like the first one best. But think about it, that mouse is not showing emotion and neither is the snake.

The people fighting are showing emotion. Granted it is more of a Damon, lol, type shot, well I would have taken it too if I had seen it. Check with more people, but I think we are the ones horrified over the snake and his dinner. He doesn't really look happy, either. We are, quite naturally, horrified. But you can't get our photos.

I do like the fight shot. It certainly gets us away from all of these kids that are entered and that is a good thing, as far as I am concerned, right there. If I could think of something else, I would enter it.

ginger

ginger

Angelo · February 28, 2005

The first one is a fantastic abstract but we all know abstracts don't do well here at dGrin!

The other shots are too much for me at the moment. I just returned from lunch!

ginger_55 · February 28, 2005

What about the last one: you could name the snake something like Satisfied and the mouse something like "Yikes".

g

ajgauthier · February 28, 2005

hi - I think the Fear one shows emotion...isn't that why (as Ginger said), some of us are horrified? The picture is conveying the emotion of that poor little mouse, who to me, seems to be in a state of "silent fear", the sort where you try to scream in your nightmare but can't b/c you are so in fear (?)

Adrienne

ginger_55 wrote:

I think I am showing more emotion right now than that mouse. To tell the truth I like the first one best.

OK, I wanted to like the first one best. But think about it, that mouse is not showing emotion and neither is the snake.

The people fighting are showing emotion. Granted it is more of a Damon, lol, type shot, well I would have taken it too if I had seen it. Check with more people, but I think we are the ones horrified over the snake and his dinner. He doesn't really look happy, either. We are, quite naturally, horrified. But you can't get our photos.

I do like the fight shot. It certainly gets us away from all of these kids that are entered and that is a good thing, as far as I am concerned, right there. If I could think of something else, I would enter it.

ginger

ginger

Nee7x7 · March 1, 2005

I vote for the first one! The others just gross me out :uhoh

BTW, can I make one small teeny weenie request?

Please...can we NOT have any more pics of mice being eaten by your snake? Your photos of that poor little mouse suffering like that really disturbed me (but please don't take this as validation that one of your mouse death-kill photos is right for the challenge...it's just a case of me projecting my own feelings about how I'd feel being squeezed to death and then eaten...yuck!).

I know you probably love your snake (well, I suppose...if it's possible to "love" something that has no ability to show emotions), but to me it's a cold blooded creepy thing, and seeing it in "action"...well, that's even more disgusting and horrible! Maybe these pics would be great on a website for snake owners...I'd just rather not see them here.

No matter which way you cut it...pictures of something being killed slowly and horribly is not my idea of photographic artistry. The first photo has definite artistry, the others are...well...just plain sickening! Sorry...hope I didn't offend. But these photos are like looking at a murder in progress...ewwww! :puke

Sorry...I wish only the best of luck to you!
~Nee

ps. I'm also a bit puzzled by your calling the second photo "acceptance"! Like the mouse is thinking..."Ok, Mr. snake...you win! I'm OK that you're gonna eat me now, so let's get on with it". Dude...nobody ever feels OK about having their life squeezed out of them like that. It's not called acceptance...it's called realizing your number is up and there's not a d*mn thing you can do about it!

imax · March 1, 2005

Thanks everyone for taking the time to look. When I read the "rules" for this challenge

"challenge 33 is about emotions. subject matter and theme is wide open, but your photograph must display obvious emotion to the viewer."

My take on it was that it could be done either way. Showing actual emotion in the photograph such as the one I used in

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6894

or getting the person viewing it to have an emotional reaction. I wish that I could have the ability to take a shot of each of those that are horrified by the fact that all creatures great and small do need to eat. To those that are horrified by this fact, I'm curious have you ever watched the discovery channel, Wild Kingdom, or any other type of nature show and something was eaten, did you write the show and say, oh could you please not show that on TV again? Please........

Perhaps someone could recreate that horrified reaction in a photograph and then enter it into this challenge. Just a thought.

Oh and ~Nee I'm so sorry that my cold blooded creepy thing upset you. As for not showing Rocky Bal Boa eating mice anymore on this site. OK I'll abide by that. Next week I'll feed him a chicken!

Joe

cletus · March 1, 2005

Howdy Imax,

The fight shot is great. However... Because of it's semi-abstract nature it's difficult to know what is happening in the picture. I think it might work for this challenge, but you're going to need to come up with a title that not only conveys what is happening in the picture, but also ties in the emotion theme.

To me the front of the car along the left edge feels out of place. Maybe a little croping / Photoshop work could either eliminate it, or at least tone it down.

As far as the snake/mouse shots go, I'd say Fear is the best.

mel · March 1, 2005

"As for not showing Rocky Bal Boa eating mice anymore on this site. OK I'll abide by that."

Great name!

IMO, a guy's gotta eat. In this case, the menu may not be what's on my table, but there are people that could object to just about any food being consumed. Those allergic to strawberries could be grossed out by Andy's "Bliss".
Great shots, though. I prefer "Fear". :eat
Mel

Nee7x7 · March 1, 2005

mel wrote:

"As for not showing Rocky Bal Boa eating mice anymore on this site. OK I'll abide by that."

Great name!
IMO, a guy's gotta eat. In this case, the menu may not be what's on my table, but there are people that could object to just about any food being consumed. Those allergic to strawberries could be grossed out by Andy's "Bliss".
Great shots, though. I prefer "Fear". :eat
Mel

No doubt a guy's gotta eat...but do we have to watch? ICK!!! And in this case, the first two pics are of the snake killing the mouse...only the last one (and the least objectionable one) shows the snake actually eating the mouse.

So...excuse me...I'm gonna have to go puke now. Shall I take a picture? It's an emotion, right?

~Nee

mercphoto · March 1, 2005

Snakes eat rodents, and they eat them live. Its the way nature is, and I don't see a big deal about it. Visit a slaughter house some day and see where your hamburger comes from. Or, as mentioned, watch The Discovery Channel some time. I don't have a problem with the snake pictures, but I don't think they fit the theme for the challenge. They didn't depict emtion to me.

ps. since I eat chicken myself and they're a lot dumber and a lot less cute than mice...be my guest!

That's just odd when you think about it.

Nee7x7 · March 1, 2005

mercphoto wrote:

Snakes eat rodents, and they eat them live. Its the way nature is, and I don't see a big deal about it. Visit a slaughter house some day and see where your hamburger comes from. Or, as mentioned, watch The Discovery Channel some time. I don't have a problem with the snake pictures, but I don't think they fit the theme for the challenge. They didn't depict emtion to me.

That's just odd when you think about it.

I meant it to be odd...just something offbeat to throw back to Joe so he didn't think he'd gotten the better of me (so it wouldn't give him any reason to escalate the stakes). I don't want to see a chicken getting killed like that either. But I've had pet mice, so the photos were especially disturbing. Never had a pet chicken, tho...but I once had a neighbor invite us over to see him kill his chickens (he tricked us into coming...the experience scarred me for life!)

Sure, I know death is involved in eating any sort of meat, but on a forum like this where the idea is to promote photographic artistry, I just don't see where pics of a snake killing and eating a mouse has to do with photographic excellence or artistry.

OK...I'll give Joe's photos a real critique.

The first pic has artistry...movement, creativity, though the subject matter is still a bit disturbing

2nd pic...comp isn't very good. Nothing really artistic...just a snapshot basically.

3rd pic...has some artistic merit as to the composition, but again the subject matter is disturbing.

4th pic...poorly composed, just another snapshot. Doesn't do anything for me as an artistic endeavor. Besides, I don't like seeing anyone eating with their mouth open...it's just bad manners!

Finally...none of the photos actually show emotion except perhaps the first, and that one is only tenuous at best. You can't really tell it's a fight without Joe's explanation.

Yes, the snake pics do get us to respond emotionally (like...duh!), but artistically, I think they're a cop out. Sort of like the "artist" who urinated on paintings of Jesus on the cross...sure, you get an emotional response, but is it really art?!!

Cheers,
~Nee

imax · March 1, 2005

Sorry But I Have To!

Nee7x7 wrote:

Gee...

For some reason, your response didn't really surprise me. I think you probably enjoy grossing people out. Says a lot to me about who you are...and the sort of respect you have for other's feelings.

Excuse me, but who the hell do you think you are. You know nothing about me and what I enjoy and don't enjoy. As for respect, I have plenty. You asked me not to post anymore pictures of Rocky eating mice and I obliged. Obviously that's not enough for you.

Actually, I'll almost bet you've been posting these pics to see if you could get a rise from anyone, and no one was taking the bait until I came along. Well, you got your wish...aren't you proud of yourself now?

The pictures of Rocky eating were done yesterday when he was fed. I liked the way they came out and yes they brought the thought of this challenge and "emotion" into it, that's why they were posted.

Kinda sad you can't think of anything else to photograph. Oh well...

I can think of plenty to photograph. As a matter of fact didn't you say that this photograph was one of the best entered to date?

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=6894

ps. since I eat chicken myself and they're a lot dumber and a lot less cute than mice...be my guest!

Seems like you contradict yourself here ~Nee. Oh and the only bait that was set out was about the chicken. That, you fell for rather easily and I am quite surprised. Here I thought you might be a vegetarian or a member of http://www.peta.org/ I thought you actually were an animal lover, but apparently you only care for the cute ones. Kind of superficial, don't you think. Like saying you only hang out with the pretty crowd.

This will be my last comment on this. There was no ill will intended nor was there any attempt to make anyone sick with these pictures. If asked by the moderators to remove them I will gladly due so. If I have violated any policies that have been set by Dgrin, again I will remove them. But until that time they will stay. In the future for those with weak stomachs I will make sure to put a warning in the header if I am so inclined to photograph nature doing what nature does.

Joe

mercphoto · March 1, 2005

Nee7x7 wrote:

Yes, the snake pics do get us to respond emotionally (like...duh!), but artistically, they're a real cop out. Sort of like the "artist" who urinated on paintings of Jesus on the cross...sure, you get an emotional response, but is it really art?!!

Good critique! I will agree that the photos of the snake eating the mouse invoke emotion, but the photos themselves don't have emotion in them. I didn't really see any art in the images. [bold]However, I think the subject matter certainly could be done artisticly.[/bold]

Art is rather emtional and subjective. And as you point out you can get emotion out of people in ways that are cop outs. Such as the urination thing. I'm a rather conservative person by nature. The urination thing you mentioned deeply disturbed me, and its not because I'm a religious person. I'm not religious. I'm very nearly anti-religious, which makes it hard at times to remain a conservative person. But those urination images were obviously meant to offend people. That's not art. Its a cop-out, as you said. Cheap fame.

That being said, the snake eating images were not meant to offend anyone. I do not believe for one second the person who submitted those images did so to shock or offend anyone. I strongly believe he thought they conveyed emotion, and as such were to be considered for the challenge.

You don't think they conveyed emotion. Don't confuse what (is in your mind, and likely others) a poor photograph for evil intention.

Nee7x7 · March 1, 2005

imax wrote:

Sorry But I Have To!

This will be my last comment on this. There was no ill will intended nor was there any attempt to make anyone sick with these pictures. If asked by the moderators to remove them I will gladly due so. If I have violated any policies that have been set by Dgrin, again I will remove them. But until that time they will stay. In the future for those with weak stomachs I will make sure to put a warning in the header if I am so inclined to photograph nature doing what nature does.

Joe

I would like to bury the hatchet, (pardon the cliché), so we can put this debate and name calling to an end...

I appreciate your promise that if you post any more potentially offensive photos, you'll at least post a warning in the header.

I'm not sure I entirely buy your explanation that the photos were not meant as bait, but I'll accept your word and leave it at that. Perhaps you're used to seeing something being killed by your snake...most of us are not.

I am sorry for inferring anything about you personally...but the subject matter was so disturbing (to me) that it did make me question your motives and mind set. However, I don't think you have violated any "rules" on dgrin, except perhaps an unspoken one of what's in good taste.

You're right that I don't know you...you don't know me either. Let's just leave it at that and work on presenting and critiqueing our photos and not our personalities. I know I hit a nerve with you. But you did come back swinging with the baited chicken remark so it didn't seem that you were honestly making a sincere offer to be more considerate of other's sensibilities. So again, my response was probably pretty predictable, though I tried to make it silly so you would get a clue that I didn't want to go any further with it. Guess my attempt at that backfired.

Anyhow, that's all I wanted to say about this. I'm willing to accept your explanation. How about we get back to the real purpose of this forum and let this name calling and purposeful baiting be put to rest. What do you say? I'll even delete my previous remarks if you'll keep your word about not posting any more death scenes. If you really meant it, then I will take you at your word. But the warning in the header would be enough for me.

Anyhow, I'm happy you have other subjects you can photograph and that I gave a positive comment on one of them. Shows you have something to offer here. Hope you'll continue to work toward that goal~

Cheers!
~Nee

imax · March 4, 2005

Warning, Something May get eaten
If They Could Get Outside

Angelo · March 4, 2005

johno wrote:

Fear... Something about that one... I like it... I don't like it. It's a great shot. (All of them are) #2, it's... What? Someone Help. I can't put my finger on it. ANGELO! Where are you? GINGER! ANYONE?

I want like it but I can't. Sorry.

peace.
johno~

TREPIDATION!

Bird 1: Ethel, you think they see us?

Bird 2: Of course they see us but they're too stupid to understand pane glass.

Nee7x7 · March 4, 2005

imax wrote:

If They Could Get Outside

Now THAT's funny!!! Gave me a good chuckle to see this photo, it's title and the "warning" header,

!

I really like this one a lot as far as the content and humor. What you might consider doing is to try and fix the color balance in editing...or maybe make it black & white so the purplish color cast won't matter. Some noise reduction would help out as well.

We have cats, too...and unfortunately, all too often they actually catch a few of the little outdoor critters and leave bits of body parts around the house as little *presents* for us...yuck!!! And I've had to rescue and release to a safe location more than a few live ones that they hadn't finished "playing" with, including a baby jackrabbit one time!!!

I really got upset with them when they killed the two little hummingbirds that used to frequent our hanging feeder in the back yard! :toni
(how they managed this was beyond me...the feeder is 9 feet off the ground and nowhere near any place they could leap from!!!)

Sigh...But then again, we don't have a gopher problem in our yard, either...

Cheers,
~Nee

mercphoto · March 4, 2005

I agree with Nee's comments about color balancing. Can probably get the colors to pop a bit more as well.

I used to have an outdoor cat. Got the occasional "gift" as well. That was nearly a decade ago. My current cat is indoors only (but still has all claws). I still struggle with letting her roam, or keeping her in.

Anger, Fear, Acceptance, Happy, Which Do I Use?

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