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SF2 Unofficial Feedback Thread

indiegirlindiegirl Registered Users Posts: 930 Major grins
edited August 24, 2007 in The Dgrin Challenges
Post your top ten here (everyone, not just the SFists). Beat the judges! Don't vote for your own! Give feedback! Hurrah!
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    NanaMoNanaMo Registered Users Posts: 189 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Favorites...
    ....top 10

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    Challenging round! Many wonderful entries! clap.gifclapwings.gifbarb

    (...sorry Smugmug must have the same bug as last week....could not take the watermark off...will when they fix it again.)

    Other favorites in no particular order:

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    indiegirlindiegirl Registered Users Posts: 930 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
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    Pat664422Pat664422 Registered Users Posts: 225 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Indiegirl,

    Thanks so much for including my picture in your list. The check is in the mail :D

    And your presentation of your selections is getting nicer and nicer!
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    peterst6906peterst6906 Registered Users Posts: 267 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    In no particular order:

    SF2_Top10.jpg

    Very tough to narrow it down to just 10, but if I had to narrow down further to a #1, it would be Vandana's, Wish upon a dandy.

    There is at least 1 (possibly 2) other images I would like to have included in my top 10 (but what I would have left out, who knows), but I couldn't see any embedded or linked exif, so I left them out.

    Regards,

    Peter
    It's not my camera's fault, I'm just visually illiterate
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    fashiznitsngrinsfashiznitsngrins Registered Users Posts: 220 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    In no particular order

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    NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Thanks, I.G.!
    OK, here are my top ten (in no particular order) and three runner ups
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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    NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Feedback
    I thought I'd go over the images, too

    #2 - Sherstone - When the Day Ends
    Nice quiet evening shot. Love the colors and serenity.
    Horizon is in a dead center. Sun "stars" are too obviously PS-ed in and rather large to ignore.

    #3 - Greensquared - Carribbean Amphibian
    Great colors. Nice composition. Love the tilt. Very good capture overall.
    DOF seems a bit too shallow. large blue part on top and yellow on the botton do not contribute to the subject much, thus diffusing the effect.

    #4 - Snatch - Pride of Workmanship
    Wow! bowdown.gif I felt in love with this shot the second I saw it.
    The only thing I dare to critique upon is the middle part which is a bit too dark. In anycase I can see this image in a large magazine spread.

    #5 - Urbanaries - jammin'
    Great soul. Nice use of the off-camera flash.

    #6 - Tentacion - Chiken of the sea
    Interesting idea. I though movies are made in LA, not in Ft. Lauderdale:-)
    I have a very strange feeling about this shot, like it's being partially painted in. Maybe it's the treatment, don't know.

    #7 - PaulThomasMcKee - Tethered
    Very clean, solid colors, great composition.

    #8 - kingmamaof2 - Make a Move
    Awesome shot. Great DOF. Terrific composition.

    #9 - nelsonstuff - Hope
    Good idea. I like the texture of the tunnel walls. Nice b/w treatment.
    The "blinding light" seems over-processed.

    #10 - fashiznitsgrins - Sunset Over Seattle II
    Nice evening light. Great skyline. I like the U-shape formed by the buildings and the mountain.

    #11 - peterst6906 - My reflection's better than yours
    After reading the "blog" I expected nothing less.
    Very clean idea and nice execution. Birds are nice touch. Lovely colors.
    Dead-center vertical symmetry leaves some sense of "too much by the book".

    #12 - quark - Writer's block
    Clean, simple, up to the point. Nice composition, great b/w treatment.

    #13 - indiegirl - Beautiful Dreamer
    I said it earlier, I'm biased for kids shots rolleyes1.gif . This is one of the cases.. I guess, it's the #13 ne_nau.gif

    #14 - LiquidAir - Former Glory
    Great image. Strong diagonal leading from the old boat to the acting ones. Great light. Awesome usage of the FF body and wide optics.

    #15 - HoofClix - A little bit of bit
    Nice collection of shiny metal objects.
    However, it doesn't say anything to me...ne_nau.gif

    #16 - PyroPrints - Poseidon's Crown
    I wanted to take this kind of shot for a long time. Good job, my man, great capture!
    I have a strong the conflict with the image suggesting this is an open sea and a mighty Poseidon and not having anything elase in the view to relate the scale to...ne_nau.gif

    #17 - Nikolai - Two Hearts
    Uhm, that would be me. Next!

    #18 - annnna8888 - Going Home
    Lovely shot. Great color. Love the silhouette and the "sun path".

    #19 - imax - Who's behind the door
    Well, I can honestly say: "I don't know". :-)
    It's a nice image that tries to tell something, but I can't understand what it is... ne_nau.gif

    #20 - vandana - Wish upon a dandy
    Another hit from the Queen of Sunset! Majestic composition. Nice idea. Exquisite execution. The flying-away seed makes all the difference in the world. Great use of oh-so-popular (damn you Shay:-) pano format.

    #21 - Saurora - Toe-Squishing The Marmalade Sand
    I skipped this one at first pass, but something held me to it. Then I felt in love with the carelessness of the weekend night, nice pacific sunset, girls having fun... I can't "analyze this", I just happen to like it.

    #22 - devboggy - Beautiful
    OK, it's a duck shot...ne_nau.gif

    #23 - JFreeman - Do not feed the animals
    Great idea and nice execution. My heart is crying for this sad teddy... Lovely fg and bg lighting.
    The only thing I can think of to improve this shot is to get some rust on the "bars" and make the b/g less "clean"

    #24 - Dee - Archways
    I love Fort Point! Definitely nice arches.

    #25 - drdane - Synchronous Flight
    Good BIF catch!

    #26 - seastack - Land of the Quinault I
    Lovely green. Strong diagonal connects the falls with the ground.
    Image look tilte a few degrees CCW (water trickles are usually vertical), and the "silky smooth water" effect is getting a bit old...

    #27 - Pat664422 - The Perfect Street
    SF Postcard row. :-) Classic.
    Nice, but not totally "there". They do shoot it a bit to the left on purpose deal.gif . Or you need to get a bit lower and hide the tall building from the bg - or PS it out :-)

    #28 - tsk1979 - Golden....
    Having seen (and shot) the pictures of GGB countless times, it's hard to be impressed by yet another one.

    #29 - Greaper - The Pass Less Travelled
    Nice work Brian! I love the curve of the trail. Vey nice greens and DOF. You can feel the dumpness...

    #30 - Xia Ke - Dawn Of A New Day
    Nice bw treatment.
    Too my sky in the shot, though.

    #31 - VisualXpressions - Window Pain
    Just like with Susan's girls on the beach, I passed over this image at first, but then it drew me back. Maybe because I'm a Windows guy:-) I think I like the bold colors and, in this case, the dead-center composition plays nicely. I also like the separation of the skies and the ground in the four reflections.

    #33 - f00sion - Balck Sands
    Nice colors. Good usage of the long exposure. Interesting composition with the rock on the left in juxtaposition with the rigde on the right. It almost looks as two symmetrical shots blended in the middle.

    #34 - Strikeslip - Three
    I like the idea, but the execution makes me count the ways this image can be improved. Definite yellowish cast, too much of the skies... rolleyes1.gif

    #35 - Stuffjunkie - Oh, that's gonna hurt
    Interesting idea. However, semi-transparent wheel (tire 9 o'clock and rim 1 o'clock) right in front seems to be PS-ed in and ruins the effect.

    #36 - McGyver - Caught by surprise.
    Shot of a kid. As I said, I'm biased.

    #37 - traunerk - Gotcha!
    Great capture! Love the golden-green water.

    #38 - shamguess - Warp Speed
    Good capture, nice composition. Lovely colors.
    However, motion blur is too obvious to my taste.
    ----

    Thank you everybody - and good luck! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
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    thebigskythebigsky Registered Users Posts: 1,052 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Wow, I'd just like to commend everyone on the entries, what a stunning series of shots and a joy to view, good work!

    Charlie
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    richterslrichtersl Registered Users Posts: 3,322 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Fantastic Job, Everyone!
    These made my top 10. And it was tough! :whew

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    184186984-Th.jpg184459497-Th.jpg185645585-Th.jpg

    185621475-Th.jpg185318310-Th.jpg185605227-Th-4.jpg

    (don't know how to make this one a thumbnail)

    LPS_SF2_17.jpg
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    GreensquaredGreensquared Registered Users Posts: 2,115 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    In order of entry:
    185904968-L.jpg

    There were so many amazing shots! Definitely hard to narrow it down to 10.
    Emily
    Psalm 62:5-6

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    eoren1eoren1 Registered Users Posts: 2,391 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    My votes for the top 10 (with comments):
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    Great thought process, planning and execution.

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    Love the use of lines and the bold conversion of the water to blackness

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    A great zebra capture. Perfect DOF.

    LPS_SF2_17.jpg
    Excellent storyboarding and execution.

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    Wonderful photo - love these old boat shots.

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    Great work! Not sure how many tries it took to get this just right - especially racing a setting sun.

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    I like the emotions captured and just the right amount of silhouette.

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    Very creative. Wish I could see just a bit more of the sign...

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    Great use of light. Think I would have liked a bit tighter crop on this though.

    185744027-Th.jpg
    Great action shot...

    Great job everyone!
    E
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    TentacionTentacion Registered Users Posts: 940 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Nikolai wrote:
    I thought I'd go over the images, too

    #6 - Tentacion - Chiken of the sea
    Interesting idea. I though movies are made in LA, not in Ft. Lauderdale:-)
    I have a very strange feeling about this shot, like it's being partially painted in. Maybe it's the treatment, don't know.

    Thank you everybody - and good luck! thumb.gif

    Oh so you saying Ft. Lauderdale doesn't rate..Laughing.gifLaughing.gifLaughing.gif ...The movie Bad Boys II was done in Ft. Lauderdale...The Scene of the Mansion being blown up....just happen'd to be the home of Pepsi Mongul that was not finished on A1A. Also the movie where Demi Moore appeared as a "Stripper" was done in Pompano Beach at a club called Flicks (now closed down)rolleyes1.gif

    Mermaids are supposed to be "mythical and magical" right? but here is a link to a few more of my "mermaid" shots (more to be posted), It was an actual photo shoot done on Deerfield Beach, Florida. So what part do you think I cloned/painted in, the fluke, the bra, the seaweed, the rocks, the starfish, the girl? The treatment or shall we call it PPW was "glow, dynamic contrast and color enhancement" to give it that "surreal" look afterall she is a mermaid, which btw is what the client wanted...Laughing.gifLaughing.gifLaughing.gif

    http://www.betterphoto.com/gallery/gallery.asp?memberID=146426

    Thanks for your thoughts...it is really appreciated, I knew, I was batting a 1000 when I entered it, I should have just done a nature shot.
    You're only as good as your next photo....
    One day, I started writing, not knowing that I had chained myself for life to a noble but merciless master. When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended solely for self-flagellation...I'm here alone in my dark madness, all by myself with my deck of cards --- and, of course, the whip God gave me." Truman Capote
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    sherstonesherstone Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,356 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Nikolai wrote:
    I thought I'd go over the images, too

    #2 - Sherstone - When the Day Ends
    Nice quiet evening shot. Love the colors and serenity.
    Horizon is in a dead center. Sun "stars" are too obviously PS-ed in and rather large to ignore.

    Interesting that you would feel they were PS-ed in or created by a PP trick

    surprisingly very little PP has been done to that image... and I assure you, you see what the lens captured that evening.

    Thanks for the feedback
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    HoofClixHoofClix Registered Users Posts: 1,156 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Another humbling round!

    I'll just go with my top 5, in post order:

    02: Sherstone
    07: PaulThomasMcKee
    14: LiquidAir
    20: Vandana
    26: Seastack

    I chose these as, this being a SemiFinal Round, I would expect to see a nearly flawless images on the basis of composition, capture, on through the finishing process. It would be difficult to even rank the ones above, as I know they each represent the style of the individual photographers..

    Onward!
    Mark
    www.HoofClix.com / Personal Facebook / Facebook Page
    and I do believe its true.. that there are roads left in both of our shoes..
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    TentacionTentacion Registered Users Posts: 940 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    When choosing the 10 images, I looked at Presentation, Technical Qualities, Details, Texture, and above all Creativity, Originality, and what the photo made me feel as this was an an Open Theme.

    My top photo would have to be Vandana.."Wish upon a Dandy", she brought me back to the days of chldhood memories and innocence, and me making a wish everytime I found a dandelion, and I HOPING that something magical would happen and that my wish would come true, further enhanced by the surreal glow around the dandy, and what is really ironic she chose an adult in the photo, making me realize that even though we are adults, we still long for the day of innocence and wishes!!

    I loved Greensquares frog, cuz I thought it was very Fashion Oriented, the red nails matched the outfit..Laughing.gif

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    You're only as good as your next photo....
    One day, I started writing, not knowing that I had chained myself for life to a noble but merciless master. When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended solely for self-flagellation...I'm here alone in my dark madness, all by myself with my deck of cards --- and, of course, the whip God gave me." Truman Capote
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    seastackseastack Registered Users Posts: 716 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Nikolai wrote:
    #26 - seastack - Land of the Quinault I
    Lovely green. Strong diagonal connects the falls with the ground.
    Image look tilte a few degrees CCW (water trickles are usually vertical), and the "silky smooth water" effect is getting a bit old...

    Gee, thanks Nik, lol ...

    I understand where you are coming from but the bubble level on the top of the camera said it was level ... I've actually been asking about this in other forums and the consensus seems to be a combination of camera angle and lens distortion create some odd angles. Not sure myself. It's too bad you can't see the original, there are literally hundreds of small water drips and streams from the diagonal log, moss, everything (mostly vertical ;-) ... some silky smooth, some more defined ... that really make this shot a little more, along with a few other things. I can't believe I never used mirror lock-up until now, the difference in sharpness is astounding - the enlargement will be stunning. I will NEVER not use mirror lock-up from now on if the camera is on the tripod ... even though canon buried it in the custom functions on the 5d.

    As for the silky smooth, I definitely understand that as well and would often agree, although I really didn't have a choice in this instance given the light levels here and I think it works well in this peaceful, dark, quiet, moody, dirpping, draw-you-in image - not much need for tension or action.

    Just my two cents :D
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    urbanariesurbanaries Registered Users Posts: 2,690 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    my first time showing my "picks"
    It took me long enough to do this in Photoshop, i didn't put them in any particular order, except that LiquidAir's "Sea Breeze" entry was my top pick. I just love the dynamic range and the salty old stories it suggests.

    185940895-L.jpg

    Great round guys!clap.gifI feel honored to be one of the "38".
    Canon 5D MkI
    50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 24-70 2.8L, 35mm 1.4L, 135mm f2L
    ST-E2 Transmitter + (3) 580 EXII + radio poppers
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    saurorasaurora Registered Users Posts: 4,320 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Here's mine....could change at any given moment!!! Tough field, awesome entries everybody! clap.gif


    186048948-M.jpg
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    SaltForkSaltFork Registered Users Posts: 98 Big grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    Here's my criteria:

    1) Must make me say, "Wow!" (BTW this one was met by all entrants!)

    2) I really like patterns and abstracts.

    3) Scenics must make me want to go there....

    4) I have no bias against kid photos; but the ones I like best are the ones in which the expression is way over the top. I like to know exactly what's going on in their little minds when I see their photo.

    All that having been said, and in no particular order...

    186072128-L.jpg
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    Pat664422Pat664422 Registered Users Posts: 225 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    I'm feeling woefully inadequate that I don't have my picks in nice thumbnail layout, but here are my selections in order of my preference:

    #36 Gotcha! by Traunerk
    Wildlife photography is what I like to do when I am not shooting for LPS and I wish I had a shot like this in my collection. The detail on the bird's body, head and eyes looks great. The blur in the bird's wings and feet combined with the frozen water splash really gives me the sense you captured a high speed moment. The fact the bird also has a fish is the icing on the cake. Oh and I love all the color in the reflection of the water.

    #26 Land of the Quinault I by Seastack
    This looks like a heavenly piece of scenery. As Saltfork stated in his criteria, I definitely want to be there right now looking at this picture. There is a lot to appreciate... I don't know if I would share this location with any other photographers mwink.gif

    #14 Former Glory by Liquid Air
    I love the lighting and the mood of this picture. The sweeping curve of the boat is fun to follow with the eye as are all the details in the crusty old boat.

    #2 When the Day Ends by Sherstone
    I don't think I have ever seen a lake this calm in my life, or the sun look so lovely. This makes me want to walk outside and look directly at the sun despite the fact it would burn my eyes out.

    #12 Writer's Block by quark
    Very minimalist in a good way to me. I felt like I could identify with this picture during these two weeks. The emotion is communicated very well.

    #3 Carribean Amphibian by Greensquared
    I love the colors in this picture - of the frog, the flower and the contrast of both against the blue background. Also love the detail and texture of the frog and flower. Hope he wasn't poisonous.

    #28 Golden...
    This picture is so much better than any I took of the bridge while I was there. I love the lights on the bridge and the fog bank making its approach. Looks like an omnious scene out of a movie!

    #11 My reflection's better than yours by peter6906
    I really love the lineup of windmills and their reflections in this picture, great scene... another one I would like to visit.

    #9 Hope by Nelsonstuff
    I love this photo for its great concept. I wish it had maybe been captured without the shade lines on the wall, but didn't want to suggest a reshoot for fear of a fatility.

    #8 Make a move by Kingmomaof2
    I love this photo for as it is the coolest picture of a zebra I have ever seen!


    Honorable mention:

    #6 Chicken of the Sea by Tentacion
    I saw you said on another thread that you wanted it to look enchanted and I think it definitely does in a good way. Great pose for the mermaid and I like the starfish in the background as well.
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    dlscott56dlscott56 Registered Users Posts: 1,324 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    In no particular order. Here are my top 10 picks:

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    sherstonesherstone Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 2,356 Major grins
    edited August 20, 2007
    I find it quite interesting that two of the images submitted that I liked were only 600 pixels on the longest side -- obviously a great image supersedes the size.

    Thank you to everyone who enjoyed my entry enough to put it in their top 10.
    The caliber of entries is absolutely outstanding this time around and I am honored to be part of it all.

    Here is my favs list.

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    saurorasaurora Registered Users Posts: 4,320 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    sherstone wrote:
    Here is my favs list.

    186192890-L.jpg


    I think Sherstone deserves an award for this favs list!!! thumb.gif
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    DeeDee Registered Users Posts: 2,981 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    My top ten
    I'm so disappointed I didn't make the top ten for SF2. Oh well... how does it go, you can't please all of the people...

    This unofficial feedback thread is such an encouraging thread. I was so happy to see that that many of you liked my photo, and that means so much to me.

    And, BTW, some of you are making the rest of us look bad with such fancy presentations of your favorites!!! :D But I'm not sure how to get small images of all the photos, so I'll do a quick photoshop composite myself.

    186276942-L.jpg
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    StrikeslipStrikeslip Registered Users Posts: 102 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    sherstone wrote:
    I find it quite interesting that two of the images submitted that I liked were only 600 pixels on the longest side -- obviously a great image supersedes the size.

    You bring up an interesting point. I noticed a few shots that didn't make full use of the 800 pixels allowed. My guess is that the photographers decided that the screen resolution of the majority of viewers is less than 800 pixels vertically, and they wanted their creations to be visible all at once, without any scrolling. This way none of the impact of their composition will be lost.

    Personally, the screen resolutions on both my laptop, and PC at work, are very large, well beyond 800 vertically. But I wonder about the effect of the vertical pixels on the folks here.headscratch.gif
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    TentacionTentacion Registered Users Posts: 940 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    Strikeslip wrote:
    You bring up an interesting point. I noticed a few shots that didn't make full use of the 800 pixels allowed. My guess is that the photographers decided that the screen resolution of the majority of viewers is less than 800 pixels vertically, and they wanted their creations to be visible all at once, without any scrolling. This way none of the impact of their composition will be lost.

    Personally, the screen resolutions on both my laptop, and PC at work, are very large, well beyond 800 vertically. But I wonder about the effect of the vertical pixels on the folks here.headscratch.gif

    Have you ever noticed that sometimes smaller pictures look better, but loose it when enlarged to full potential i.e. thumbnails look great but when enlarged, loose that impact??
    You're only as good as your next photo....
    One day, I started writing, not knowing that I had chained myself for life to a noble but merciless master. When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended solely for self-flagellation...I'm here alone in my dark madness, all by myself with my deck of cards --- and, of course, the whip God gave me." Truman Capote
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    saurorasaurora Registered Users Posts: 4,320 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    Tentacion wrote:
    Have you ever noticed that sometimes smaller pictures look better, but loose it when enlarged to full potential i.e. thumbnails look great but when enlarged, loose that impact??

    Yes, and sometimes the thumbs are the best view of all! rolleyes1.gif
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    StrikeslipStrikeslip Registered Users Posts: 102 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    saurora wrote:
    Yes, and sometimes the thumbs are the best view of all! rolleyes1.gif
    I've only noticed this in self portraits.:yikes
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    saurorasaurora Registered Users Posts: 4,320 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    Exactly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! rolleyes1.gif
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    TentacionTentacion Registered Users Posts: 940 Major grins
    edited August 21, 2007
    Strikeslip wrote:
    I've only noticed this in self portraits.:yikes
    :D
    wings.gif No Shame in My Game.. My SP Thumb looks great enlarged..or should I say the original......clap.gifrofl rolleyes1.gifrolleyes1.gif
    You're only as good as your next photo....
    One day, I started writing, not knowing that I had chained myself for life to a noble but merciless master. When God hands you a gift, he also hands you a whip; and the whip is intended solely for self-flagellation...I'm here alone in my dark madness, all by myself with my deck of cards --- and, of course, the whip God gave me." Truman Capote
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