Weekly Assignment #69: Midterm Challenge

NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
edited March 10, 2008 in Assignments
Yes, you heard correctly! :wink
There is no LPS2 yet, so we are to fill the void! :deal

This week, for the first time ever, we're going to have a little challenge.
Unlike any prior assignments, this one is in fact time limited and will end next weekend (not coming one, the nxt one, around March 8). When exactly - I'm not gonna tell ya... Maybe Friday March 7 night, maybe Sunday March 9 morning... So act at your own risk. :rofl

I promise a detailed C&C on each valid entry (WP style :wink )

I'll be the judge, the jury, and the executioner, but everyone is welcome to pitch in with their own C&C. :lust

The winner gets the bragging rights and a chance to select the topic for the WA#70 (which will be our regular class again)
The theme is .......
"Wisdom"

DA RULZ:
  1. One entry per person.
  2. Unlike LPS, no second thoughts are allowed - each entry is final.
  3. Max dimensions 800x800 (EDIT: SM can use custom formatting, e.g.: .../photos/IMG12345_aBcD6-800x800.jpg, L and XL should be allowed)
  4. No frames/borders.
  5. Pictures should be fresh, taken during the challenge time.
  6. EXIF is mandatory.
  7. PP as you wish, but if you go too far - that's your problem, not mine:deal
  8. If you're late - you're late. No C&C for you.
Are you wise enough?
"May the f/stop be with you!"
«13

Comments

  • Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited February 29, 2008
    260275253_pRH6y-L.jpg

    Exif

    Did I do ok??
    Food & Culture.
    www.tednghiem.com
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited February 29, 2008
    Moogle Pepper wrote:
    Exif Did I do ok??
    Congratulations on the being the first entrant! thumb.gif

    I like the idea. Library/books translates into wisdom rather naturally.
    I also like the color palette - the warm glow of the lamps, dark wood - very calm, quite.
    However, I don't see enough books to make this impresison of a "knowledge storage" strong enough. I also don't see people using this knowledge, so the potential kinda dissipates into void...

    Technically I think the image is a bit too contrasty. Lamps are partially blown out, some part of the image are totally dark. I think this would be a good target for an HDR-type photography. Espcailly considering the fact there are no people, so multiple shots from a stationary position/tripod would do just fine.
    I also think it's too small. Remember, you have 800x800 box to fill, why save on it? XL version would be just fine...

    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited February 29, 2008
    Awww man!!

    Thanks! I really didn't do that much PP on it. I upped the vibrance and saturation. That room is dark room, that is how bright it is with all the lights and lamps on. ne_nau.gif
    Food & Culture.
    www.tednghiem.com
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited February 29, 2008
    260328408_XKe82-M.jpg
    EXIF
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited February 29, 2008
    Antonio Correia wrote:
    reading man EXIF
    Antonio, thank you for the entry! thumb.gif
    Another good implementaion of the idea of associating wisdom with books (looks like we have a trend developing:-). More books, there is an author himself reading - very nice. Pertains to the action of extracting the knowledge from all those book, which IMHO *is* closer to "wisdom" than an empty library.
    On the other hand, two white issues on the floor (on the attache case) create a major eye distraction. So do the light patches on the floor and the rug on the foreground.
    And, just like in Moogle case - why is the image so small? ne_nau.gif
    Looks like you have a great quite place to read, my friend!iloveyou.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    Antonio, thank you for the entry! thumb.gif
    Another good implementaion of the idea of associating wisdom with books (looks like we have a trend developing:-). More books, there is an author himself reading - very nice. Pertains to the action of extracting the knowledge from all those book, which IMHO *is* closer to "wisdom" than an empty library.
    On the other hand, two white issues on the floor (on the attache case) create a major eye distraction. So do the light patches on the floor and the rug on the foreground.
    And, just like in Moogle case - why is the image so small? ne_nau.gif
    Looks like you have a great quite place to read, my friend!iloveyou.gif

    Nikolai, good afternoon. How do you do ? :D

    The "white issues" on the floor are printing papers from Strobist and the 580 manual mwink.gifwink

    The patches come from the light ...ne_nau.gif

    Well, the rug... it has been there for quite some time now...:D

    Can't I post another one ? Come on Nikolai .. be a good guy ...:Drolleyes1.gifroflrolleyes1.gif
    thumb.gif
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • jeffmeyersjeffmeyers Registered Users Posts: 1,535 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Merlin's Counselor
    260508447_qc7Hr-XL.jpg

    Exif data
    More Photography . . . Less Photoshop [. . . except when I do it]
    Jeff Meyers
  • jeffmeyersjeffmeyers Registered Users Posts: 1,535 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Forgive me for editing my original post. But within a few minutes I realized that I had accidently posted the wrong version of my image. I hope that's okay. Obviously, my correction wasn't in response to anyone's criticism or critique. Thank you!
    More Photography . . . Less Photoshop [. . . except when I do it]
    Jeff Meyers
  • hurricanestevehurricanesteve Registered Users Posts: 36 Big grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Athena
    260291102_EXVyJ-800x640.jpg
    EXIF

    she's tailor made (or tailor named for this contest).

    exif is squirrelly on aperture and focal length. this was taken with a SuperTakumar 105mm f/2.8 lens with a af confirm adapter on my rebel xt. shot wide open, converted from raw (white balanced mostly) in zoombrowser, and cropped in ps7.
  • WilliamClark77WilliamClark77 Registered Users Posts: 164 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    You couldn't have timed this any better! :ivar

    There's already some great shots posted!

    I already had my cam out and tripoded (is that a word?) last night and was waiting on his food to thaw while I checked the forum. I saw this assignment and, IMO, knew he had the look. It took about 15 minutes and lots of test shots, but I think I got one that fits the "wisdom" theme.

    No cropping and the only ps done was unsharp mask and lowered quality for quicker uploading. He is MUCH smaller than he looks. A penny would cover his head.

    260345773_GtQ9x-M.jpg

    Basic
    Date Modified 2008-02-29 19:56:56
    Date Taken 2008-02-29 18:58:05
    Camera Canon EOS Kiss Digital X
    Exposure Time 2.5s (25/10)
    Aperture f/22.0
    ISO 200
    Focal Length 100mm (guess: 106mm in 35mm)
    Photo Dimensions 3888 x 2592
    File Name IMG_9356.JPG
    File Size 4.93 MB

    Detailed
    Flash flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
    Exposure Program aperture priority
    Exposure Bias 1/3 EV
    Exposure Mode auto
    White Balance auto
    Color Space sRGB
    http://williamclark77.smugmug.com/
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Antonio Correia wrote:
    Nikolai, good afternoon. How do you do ? :D
    meh, considering I have to work both days of the weekend...
    The "white issues" on the floor are printing papers from Strobist and the 580 manual mwink.gifwink
    It doesn't make them less distracting..
    The patches come from the light ...ne_nau.gif
    I understand that. Shaping the light in the whole frame is the ultimate challenge for any phorographer. deal.gif
    Well, the rug... it has been there for quite some time now...:D
    I understand. Maybe if the light on it was toned down it would be less distractvie...

    All this is just my personal opinions, and I am known to be wrong on many occasions mwink.gif
    Can't I post another one ? Come on Nikolai .. be a good guy ...:D
    The only reason I introduced this rule is to give me a fighting chance to fullfill my promise to come out with a sensible C&C on each image. The whole challenge was not designed for anybody to try to please yours truly. There is a theme and a promise of a hard and honest C&C. The rest is up to you.

    Cheers! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Ann McRaeAnn McRae Registered Users Posts: 4,584 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Ha!!! It just so happens that I was touring MIT campus on FEb. 29.

    Hallowed Halls:
    260564920_sTQqj-M.jpg

    My Galleries     My Photography BLOG
    Ramblings About Me
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Post for those who have posted the animals:

    Can you please explain me your meaning for "wisdom" ? ne_nau.gif

    As you can read, English is not my native language, so I would like to know the other meanings this word may have.

    Thank you. bowdown.gifDthumb.gif
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • Moogle PepperMoogle Pepper Registered Users Posts: 2,950 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    For the owl, they have a reference of being wise! In Greek Mythology, the goddess Athena's symbol was an owl ... if I recall correctly. And also a lot of children cartoons of animals, the owl is always depicted as the wise and reverent of them all. Of course in real life it can be different...

    I am not sure about the rest..
    Food & Culture.
    www.tednghiem.com
  • WilliamClark77WilliamClark77 Registered Users Posts: 164 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Antonio Correia wrote:
    Post for those who have posted the animals:

    Can you please explain me your meaning for "wisdom" ? ne_nau.gif

    As you can read, English is not my native language, so I would like to know the other meanings this word may have.

    Thank you. bowdown.gifDthumb.gif

    In Greek mythology a serpent, Pythia, guarded the Oracle of Delphi. If I recall correctly the Greeks point to this as the center of the universe and all knowledge. That is what I thought of and the "look" I attempted. If I am wrong someone please correct me. It has been a long time since high school.

    No hard feelings if Nik doesn't feel this fits and removes it. I need to expand my shooting since lately it's been 90% macro anyway. beer.gif
    http://williamclark77.smugmug.com/
  • spb13spb13 Registered Users Posts: 133 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    My two cents...
    260685182_29LRy-XL.jpg
    exif
    Sean

    http://spbdesigns.com
    http://gallery.spbdesigns.com
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    Moogle Pepper wrote:
    For the owl, they have a reference of being wise! In Greek Mythology, the goddess Athena's symbol was an owl ... if I recall correctly. And also a lot of children cartoons of animals, the owl is always depicted as the wise and reverent of them all. Of course in real life it can be different...

    I am not sure about the rest..

    Yes. That's also my point. :D
    thumb.gif
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    jeffmeyers wrote:
    Merlin's Counselor
    Forgive me for editing my original post. But within a few minutes I realized that I had accidental posted the wrong version of my image. I hope that's okay. Obviously, my correction wasn't in response to anyone's criticism or critique. Thank you!

    That's OK, nobody saw it:-)

    Now, to the C&C

    Nice choice of a subject! AFAIK in Western folklore owls were always considered "wise". Cute title, too. ;-)
    Good off-camera light! Solid black bg.
    I like one-eyed compo!

    Now, due to the very close distance I cannot stop thinking that this is not a real thing. And that spoils it for me. What I think would help to keep the "wise-owl-Hogwarts-Merlin" feeling intact is a different, more mysterious lighting and/or some special PP treatment.

    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    hurricanesteve wrote:
    she's tailor made (or tailor named for this contest).

    exif is squirrelly on aperture and focal length. this was taken with a SuperTakumar 105mm f/2.8 lens with a af confirm adapter on my rebel xt. shot wide open, converted from raw (white balanced mostly) in zoombrowser, and cropped in ps7.

    Steve,
    thank you for the entry!

    Well, Athena was indeed considered "The Goddess of Wisdom" by the ancient Greeks, so that connotation is good.

    It's also technically rather nicely done. Shallow DOF, nicely blurred bg.. Obviously overcast day, so the ambient lighting is smooth.

    Now, if you remove the title any possible connection to the theme is going puff. And, in case you didn't know, I'm not a big fan of pets (or kids) pics, unless they are *exceptionally* done, which this one isn't... ne_nau.gif

    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 1, 2008
    WilliamClark77 wrote:
    yellow snake
    Thanks for the entry!

    Nice choice of the subject. Snakes (like owls) were always considered to be some sort of "wise" animals. The fact this one's live only improves the image.

    Interesting color, good DOF. Off camera light definitely helps.

    Now, why is the image *so* small? I understand you wanted to upload quicker, but come on, making it to fit 800x800 would only add a few extra Kb to the image and a few extra seconds to the upload time even over the 56K modem... ne_nau.gif
    I also can't say I like the pink background. What's wisdom have to do with pink? eek7.gif
    Finally, while the lighting is nice, I don't think it fits. Not dramatic enough. Come on, we're talking Slitherin here! A mega villain/sorcerer. Lighting from below would be my choice. Or, maybe, a candle light, since she could definitely hold still for a second or two... mwink.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    Ann McRae wrote:
    Ha!!! It just so happens that I was touring MIT campus on FEb. 29. Hallowed Halls
    Hello Ann,
    so nice of you to join us! iloveyou.gif
    Glad you had a chance to visit the MIT, definitely a place I'd like to visit one day! thumb.gif

    Nice BW! Good catch on the people entering, shows the scale of the building nicely. Also nice shadow patterns on the stairs.

    Now, without the extra info about the MIT I'd have a hard time to figure out the relation between the image and the theme.
    Temple? Yes. Grandeur? Definitely! Public place? Sure? Law? Maybe. Wisdom? What? ne_nau.gif
    Rather noticeable keystone effect on the pillars makes it look like a snapshot. Key-stoning can be and often is used to emphasize the weight, but this one looks more like a technical mistake than a conscious decision. ne_nau.gif
    And why oh why is the image so small? Whatever the pundits say, size does matter! mwink.gif

    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    spb13 wrote:
    My two cents..
    Sean, thank you for the entry!
    Nice off-camera light!, albeit a tad sharp to my taste (incandescent light bulb?)
    DOF is good, but a wee bit shallow (fingertips are OOF)
    The well know saying helps with the theme relation, although it does require a certain mental effort to associate the two (at least for me).

    Yet while all the technical points are adding up nicely, there is something je ne sais quoi that prevents me from calling it a good solid image. ne_nau.gif Softer light? Different light angle? Better DOF? Different WB? Different PP treatment (this one doesn't show any signs of it)? Dunno...headscratch.gif

    HTH
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Antonio CorreiaAntonio Correia Registered Users Posts: 6,241 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    WilliamClark77 wrote:
    In Greek mythology a serpent, Pythia, guarded the Oracle of Delphi. ..beer.gif

    Clever association indeed.:D
    Serpent
    After all Greece is the birth of Occidental civilization ...:D
    bowdown.gifD
    All the best ! ... António Correia - Facebook
  • jeffmeyersjeffmeyers Registered Users Posts: 1,535 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    That's OK, nobody saw it:-)

    Now, to the C&C

    Nice choice of a subject! AFAIK in Western folklore owls were always considered "wise". Cute title, too. ;-)
    Good off-camera light! Solid black bg.
    I like one-eyed compo!

    Now, due to the very close distance I cannot stop thinking that this is not a real thing. And that spoils it for me. What I think would help to keep the "wise-owl-Hogwarts-Merlin" feeling intact is a different, more mysterious lighting and/or some special PP treatment.

    HTH

    Thank you for the critique. I'm fairly new to DG, so I appreciate you taking the time to analyze the image. Good idea about doing more PP to highlight the mysterious. I did some of that, but obviously not enough. And, no, the owl is definitely not real! ;-)
    More Photography . . . Less Photoshop [. . . except when I do it]
    Jeff Meyers
  • WilliamClark77WilliamClark77 Registered Users Posts: 164 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    Nikolai wrote:
    Thanks for the entry!

    Nice choice of the subject. Snakes (like owls) were always considered to be some sort of "wise" animals. The fact this one's live only improves the image.

    Interesting color, good DOF. Off camera light definitely helps.

    Now, why is the image *so* small? I understand you wanted to upload quicker, but come on, making it to fit 800x800 would only add a few extra Kb to the image and a few extra seconds to the upload time even over the 56K modem... ne_nau.gif
    I also can't say I like the pink background. What's wisdom have to do with pink? eek7.gif
    Finally, while the lighting is nice, I don't think it fits. Not dramatic enough. Come on, we're talking Slitherin here! A mega villain/sorcerer. Lighting from below would be my choice. Or, maybe, a candle light, since she could definitely hold still for a second or two... mwink.gif

    Thank you so much for your time giving an in depth critique! I didn't even think to light from below. Where were you when I had everything set up and he was actually posing? mwink.gif

    Oh, and the pic is actually uploaded to SM at 3888x2592 and 4.93mb. I just lowered the quality to 7 (from a full 10 in dpp) in the RAW conversion to drop it down from 11mb. I posted it at the medium size. Should I use L instead when posting here? ne_nau.gif
    http://williamclark77.smugmug.com/
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    WilliamClark77 wrote:
    Should I use L instead when posting here? ne_nau.gif
    L for "landscapes", XL for "portraits", or simply use custom (as in .../img12345_aBcd6-800x800.jpg) and let SM do the job for ya:-)
    EDIT: I updated the lead post with this info, maybe new entries will be larger:-)
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • Joe MJoe M Registered Users Posts: 18 Big grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    Wisdom of Faith
    Even with Wisdom and Faith you need security bars on the stained glass.


    260961827_xR3uP-XL.jpg

    EXIF
    NC Retouched SmugMug Gallery

    "Still of hand will never make up for emptiness of heart." -Rodney Smith
  • vandanavandana Registered Users Posts: 373 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    "Bookworm"

    261052525_rasnP-XL.jpg
    exif
    Vandana
    www.vandanaphotography.com
    Photo-a-day 2013
  • ElaineElaine Registered Users Posts: 3,532 Major grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    there is no try
    260993796_LEryy-XL-1.jpg

    EXIF
    Elaine

    Comments and constructive critique always welcome!

    Elaine Heasley Photography
  • StagehandStagehand Registered Users Posts: 29 Big grins
    edited March 2, 2008
    exif
    261134688_nPw7a-800x800.jpg

    :D:D:D


    Hopefully I got this to the right size-
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