LPS #15 possible entries

jziegler

I have four images that I am considering entering in LPS#15, and would like opinions on them In no particular order:

#1: The bridge my grandfater built:



#2: Feeding freenzy 1:



#3: Feeding freenzy #2:



#4: The 40MPH couch potatoes:



Thanks for looking and for your input.

Regards,
James

richtersl

I love the animal shots and I like your ideas. #4 is my favorite, but you may want to reshoot that because one dog's foot is chopped off.

The cat idea is also great!!! Have you considered shooting from a lower angle and so that we can see their faces? I don't think they'd mind you kneeling in front of them with your camera, especially if you lay out a few goodies for them.

Both of these look like relatively easy reshoots.

jziegler

Thanks Linda!

Having monochromatic pets did give me extra ideas for this one. They really don't mind having their pictures taken. Of course, since they aren't moving objects, the gears would be the easiest reshoot (and I pass them every day). I'll see what I can come up with tonight for the animals.

Getting a lower angle on the cats could proove difficult, the area that I've been shooting them is in a hallway in my house, and I'd run out of floor for the background really fast, and am not good enough editing to do much with it. I had a lot of trouble with the background on the dogs (and wasted far too much time, getting to bed late last night) trying different things on the background. But, it's not too hard seting it up again.

Once again, thanks.

James

HoofClix

By photo:

1. Going for the "Colorful" side on this would have more impact if you used a longer horizontal crop, 10:4 pano in Shay's words, but don't limit yourself to that exact ratio. Crop out as much of the wall above and below the actual gears, even cropping off the top of the large yellow gears, keeping only barely the tops of the smaller blue gears in the photo. The wall is meaningless in the composition for this contest (even if perhaps personally meaningful to you.)

2&3. These are just not clear enough for me, and I agree with Linda, get their faces, as that's the action taking place, OR, shoot straight down on them from the top, cat's like the spokes of a wheel.

4. I like this one. I agree with Linda, reshoot to get the whole dog, OR, crop it on a wide horizontal to cut out the couch above the pooch, and cut off the feet entirely, but not the nose, of the bottom pooch!

jziegler

Thanks Mark!

I'll definately try a different crpp tonight on #1 and repost it. I think that the original may be wider than what I posted. I'll also search for Shay's 10:4 pano and see what that's all about. Never heard of that before, but I'm new here.

I'll try some more with the cats. Afterall, they need food every day.

I'll try to crop the dog shot a bit and see what I get. I'll also see what other shots I can get. While it's not hard to get them both together on their beds, it is impossible to get them to do exactly what I want them to.

Are there any good suggestions for how I could improve the background for the dogs easily? I used a combination of the curtains on the windows they're in front of, sheets, and blankets and I really am not crazy about the wrinkles and folds. I ended up selecting the whole area and doing a flood fill with about a 75% opacity to partially cover it up. With the soft beds they are on, I can't do a full background isloation that I can see.

Thanks,
James

Tentacion

Totally agree with a Pano Crop on #1...I like that one....and try a little skew perspective rotation/rescale.

Number 4, like that one too, unless you can crop that to an angle that is eye catchy, I might also suggest reshooting (if that is possible with pets) and get the foot in...

Good luck!!

jziegler

Alright, here's a recrop/ perspective change on #1:



And a crop on #4:




Are they better?

Thanks,
James

HoofClix

Yes, the crop in the first one is what we're talking about, honing in on what is colorful, and nothing else...

The 10x4 crop is basically anything that has one side 2.5 times the size of the other, such as 2.5x1, 5x2, and 10x4. What you have in number 1 is about a 2x1 ratio. It's that simple.. Shay suggests the 10x4 because you can buy stock frames for that size in the store, not needing to have a custom frame done, and it is so effective most of the time....

The dogs, that's just not working for me...

pemmett

colourful cogs is definitely my choice

jziegler

Thanks Mark and pemmett.

I was really leaning towards the gears all along, but I did want to get other perspectives on this, especially since this is my first time entering any photography contest. I took a few more of the dogs and cats last night, but nothing that really will work better. I'll probably give it one more try tonight, and maybe do some more tweaking on the gears.

Regards,
James

Travis

The new crop on the cogs really makes them standout.

Greensquared

Travis wrote:

The new crop on the cogs really makes them standout.

Justiceiro

jziegler wrote:

Thanks Mark and pemmett.

I was really leaning towards the gears all along, but I did want to get other perspectives on this, especially since this is my first time entering any photography contest. I took a few more of the dogs and cats last night, but nothing that really will work better. I'll probably give it one more try tonight, and maybe do some more tweaking on the gears.

Regards,
James

I think there is too much light on those gears, and that the light is a bit harsh. I like the idea, however. I would suggest going back and shooting the gears either early in the morning, or towards sunset (depending on how the sun hits this area), so that the lgith is softer and the shadows aren't so distinct. With the sun lower on the horizon you can get much better light, often, for this sort of thing.

There seems to be a lot of color noise in the dog shot. Was this high ISO? If so, then I would dial it back and use a tripod.

jziegler

Thanks for more input everyone. Looks like the gears will be the one.

Justiceiro wrote:

I think there is too much light on those gears, and that the light is a bit harsh. I like the idea, however. I would suggest going back and shooting the gears either early in the morning, or towards sunset (depending on how the sun hits this area), so that the lgith is softer and the shadows aren't so distinct. With the sun lower on the horizon you can get much better light, often, for this sort of thing.

There seems to be a lot of color noise in the dog shot. Was this high ISO? If so, then I would dial it back and use a tripod.

Justiceiro, I was looking at those shadows myself and wasn't too sure about them. I like the shot the way it is, but would agree that getting less harsh lighting would be good. I'll throw my camera in the car tomorrow, I often am passing the gears on my way home from work pretty close to sunset.

As for the dogs, yes, that was high ISO. 1600 to be exact, and on a small sensor camera too. I'd be a little afraid of the dogs moving and causing motion blur. I was also using a mode on my camera that takes two shots, on with and on without flash that doesn't allow for setting the ISO. If I try again, I'll see if I can get a tripod in the room.

Regards,
James