> DSS Mega-Challenge #1 (The Elements): Feedback Thread
Greensquared
Registered Users Posts: 2,115 Major grins
Judging begins today by our panel of judges. The judges are not required to submit critiques, but if they do, it will be posted here after the announcement of the winner. In the meantime, post your own personal feedback and favorites here.
The challenge theme was: The Elements
Your judges were:
DavidTO, schmoo, Lord Vetinari, Richard & Greensquared
The challenge theme was: The Elements
Your judges were:
DavidTO, schmoo, Lord Vetinari, Richard & Greensquared
Emily
Psalm 62:5-6
0
Comments
My images | My blog | My free course
One question? Are we doing a "behind the scenes"....or...."how it was done"? Here or another thread?
....In the mean time, the competition was stiff, as expected. There were also a good many threads with folks trying to get a nod for this shot or the other...which indicates that maybe I wasn't the only one who originally drew a blank when faced with..."The Elements". That was a comfort!
In no particular order, my top five favorites. Well, other than my own of course!
Jeff
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And thanks jeffreaux! Glad you liked my effort enough for your top five.
I see a lot of night sweats and nail bitting on with this one.
Man, what a challenge! Both figuratively and literally!! So many talented photogs - I was sweating bullets waiting for all of you to submit your entries and then the panic set in once they started showing up. :eek1
Beautiful and creative images from each and every one of you - it was great that ya'll set the bar so high... it really helped me gain confidence and learn more about photography.
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
Heck, she can do it with her eyes closed nowadays
What a round this was!
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
Tungsten No, 74 (jeffreaux2) - The PTOE as the background is super, and the filament is great. Something about the bulb placement in the composition bothers me slightly.
Summer's Last Breeath (eoren1) - Georgous background! The 'wind farm' may be just a touch too busy and it just feels like they should have been oriented more to the left of the composition. Still, this is a great product and I like it quite a bit.
Broken For Humanity (JAG) - This is quite nice! Not too busy, great background and use of a mirror. I even like the glowing cross in the cup (symbolism: San Greal or Sang Real?).
Human Elements (jeffmeyers) - Neat concept! Well executed and the composition is very nice. It feels sparse though a little bit. I think if you could have gotten a few more figurines in such as a couple of kids or someting, it would have been even stronger.
The Fifth Element (davev) - After I got over my little private 'Time is the Fourth Dimension, SPIRIT is the Fifth Element!' moment :argue , I quite liked this one! It felt just a bit overprocessed and the shadows were too dark.
Rekindled (llywellyn) - Wow! The only thing I didn't love about this was the flame, such an excellent concept well carried out!
Sonoran Monsoon (dlplumer) - Beautiful! I believe we called those things 'Toad Stranglers' in Texas when I lived there
Thanks for the heads up Nick! The smaller font size was great on my work monitor, but I have the same problem with it being too small here on my home monitor
Yay! Nail-biting smiley!
— Kevin
My Site, My Book
Eenie, Meenie, Mienie...Mo!
Trial By Fire (AaronNelson) - Just lovely! The only thing missing was Pteradactls. It's not so much to ask for, I think. This IS a DSS Mega Challenge after all
Water, controls fire, formed in air, and feeds the earth (fashiznitswhosit) - What a beautiful triptych! And I generally am very ambivalent about triptychs. The only thing I think might make this cooler is if you could make it so that some of the droplets overlapped into a neighboring panel.
An Element of Surprise (Nikolai) - This is the other one I seriously wish I had taken. Such an inventive take on the theme! It perfectly portrays that blissful moment in time just before you rudely find out that nothing in life is free
Maculation (NikonsandVstroms) - Just plain cool! My only gripe is that the shadow area at the bottom is just too dark for my taste. The watter exploding out is devine though.
So Much for Homework (shatch) - Does your fount of creativity ever run dry?
ROFL!
My favorite 5 from this round:
jeffreaux2 - Tungsten No 74
Llywellyn - Rekindled
fashiznitsngrins - Water...
VelvtRide - Arsenic and Old Lace (my top pick)
The Curious Camel - Priceless
Great round everyone!!!
E
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
I've got some time tonight. Let me try my hand at this.
Tungsten No, 74 (jeffreaux2) - Technically, this is well done. Very pleasing image. Interesting, too. Great color and manipulation of the "exposure." But here's my issue with a lot of these images: they are not single photographs but composite products with a lot of Photoshop manipulation. Right up front, let me make it clear that I have NO problem with this kind of thing. It takes a lot of creative artistry to do this. Artistry that I'm probably lacking. But it is more like "graphic design" or artistic "illustration" than it is pure photography. I learned photography in the mid-70's with film and darkroom techniques. The art was revealed in the capture of the image and the technique of development. That's not to say that digital images don't need PS correction. Sometimes the need a lot of it. But when multiple images are pasted together to form something that one could never go out and "see," then I wonder if we should call it something else besides "photography."
Summer's Last Breeath (eoren1) - Wonderful color. Great idea. And it's a real PHOTOGRAPH! Cool. The only nit I have is the blurring pinwheels are a bit distracting in places. I don't know what else I would have done, but that centered white moving pinwheel detracts from the image as a whole. Just a bit. Not that much. Good photographic work!
Broken For Humanity (JAG) - I like the symbolism, as I have said before. I think this is a very creative appropriation of the theme, and not one that is too difficult to discern. I love the color and the individual images. But once again, this is more like graphic design and less like photography. But hey, I'm a crank.
Human Elements (jeffmeyers) - No comment.
The Fifth Element (davev) - Well done, high contrast image. Good composition. Fits with the theme. Good photography, too!
Rekindled (llywellyn) - Very striking design and well executed. Nice work. Again, however, there are three images manipulated and combined to form a very well-done graphic design. I really like it. And it has a few of the elements, too.
Sonoran Monsoon (dlplumer) - Ah yes! A wonderfully exposed and composed PHOTOGRAPH. Super, mood-evoking landscape. This is one of, if not my favorite image. But here's my question, and this question applies to a number of images in the Mega Challenge: does an image meet the requirements of the theme if it only has one "element" in it? So if we take a picture of water, does that fit the theme? There are some images in this challenge that have water in them, but is that enough? Having said that, however, I will say that I think this one comes close to emphasizing water/rain and not just having it present so as to comply in some cursory way with the theme. Water/rain is what gives this image it's distinctive mood.
Trial By Fire (AaronNelson) - Another genuine photograph. I like this one, too. Very much. Great color and exposure. Good composition, too. I'm not sure about the sun's position in the center of the top third of the image, but I'm probably all washed up on that. And here's that nagging question again: when an photograph has a body of water, the sun, and the earth in it, does that meet the theme of "the elements"? There are lots of landscape shots I could have captured that have a lake, the land, and the sun in them. My answer to the question in your case is: here the elements are starkly portrayed - the fiery sun, the parched earth, and the pooled water. A landscape shot in Missouri would have had too many complicating factors (like green trees) in it. So I think this fits with the theme. Very well done!
Water - controls fire, formed in air, and feeds the earth (fashiznitsngrins) - Great color and imaginative application of the theme. I did have to look closely to see the flames and the plants in the droplets. At first I thought each panel was the same albeit a different color. Then I read the title and looked closely. So perhaps the droplets, or maybe just a few of the droplets, might have been a little larger to draw the eye to the image they contained. Other than that, this was impressive.
An Element of Surprise (Nikolai) - It's a bit creepy, but there's no denying that it's technically well done. Effective composition and post-processing. The image's relation to the theme may be a bit tendentious, but what is "tendentious" to one person is creative for another! Great photographic work!
Maculation (NikonsandVstroms) - I'm not sure that I "get" this one. The subject matter is not as interesting as it could be. There's no "story" and the image does not generate an immediate impact. Technically, it's well done. the bottom may be a bit too dark (compared to the top half), but I think I understand why that was done.
So Much for Homework (Shatch) - Your images are always so much FUN. They are technically superior and the subject matter is always interesting. I normally don't like the "out of the frame" technique, but I think it works for this image because it make sense that the homework is flying out of the frame. But, of course, my soapbox speech: this is great graphic design using photographs. But is it a photograph? Perhaps that's a question for a philosophy of photography forum!
Earth, Wind & Fire (Paulthomasmckee) - Good color, composition, etc. I like the black better than the white. Very creative. I guess what I was looking for in this competition was an image that you might immediately associate in some way with "the elements" without having to read the title. I know that's not one of the explicit parameters. That's just me. So although technically flawless, the image does not immediately grab one's interest.
Four Parts of Nature (pyroPrints.com) - Each panel is nicely photographed. And this image is much more easily associated with the elements without reading the title than some similar images. Personally, I'm not sure I like images that have three of four different photographs stitched together like a collage. It doesn't do much for me. Again, it's more like something you might be commissioned to do as a graphic design for an AD copy or for an illustration in a science text book.
Arsenic and Old Lace (VelvtRide) - What a scream! I love the concept and the execution. Great composition, exposure, and post-processing. Arsenic is an element, so this sure is a creative application of the theme. Good work!
H20 - An Essential Component of Life (richtersl) - Love the photograph. Great capture. Good light. Nice color. Classic composition. I do, however, keep looking at that crooked thing the loon is standing on and wondering what it is. Again, I'm not sure that capturing a great picture of a bird on the water meets the requirements of the theme simply because there's water (an element) in the image. Enough of that. I like this one!
Memory loss from exposure (puzzledpaul) - Great idea here. I thought about doing something like this too. I looked for something that had obviously been "exposed to the elements." Well, you found it. Nice photography. Good B&W conversion, too.
Rain rain go away... (pemmet) - Excellent composition, lighting, and exposure. A very, very well-done photograph. One of my favorites. Fits with the theme? B+
Breathing Fire (KurtPreston) - Gorgeous composite image. It sure does grab one's attention. Great color and lighting. Good chose of background, too. It conjures up the mystic of Chinese mythology and it's use of "the elements." Nice work!
Water Lilies (Halite) - Wonderful capture with just the right lighting. Good composition and color too. I love this one. But I wonder about the connection to the theme. If taking a great picture that includes water fits the theme, then are there any images that include ponds, lakes, rivers, rain, or any other bodies of water that we would rule out? I'm just asking.
Primordial (SciurusNiger) - Hey, I didn't know gasoline was one of the elements!
Priceless... (The Curious Camel) - Of course, now you probably know what I'm going to say about this one. Stunning photograph. I really love it. But apart from the boat being on the water, what does it have to do with "the elements"? Okay, I'll stop beating that horse. It's dead and cold now.
Field of Electricity (Povertybarn) - This image does indeed fit the theme very nicely. There's a lot of post-processing here, or maybe just a lot of noise from the long exposure - either way, it still works for me. It seems intentional. How did you get the lightning to strike at just the right place between the trees? Amazing.
Earth, Wind, Fire and Water (photobrando) - This one's a little busy for me. Without the title, I think I'd be lost. I can't quite tell if this is a small plant or a branch from this tree. It's a bit too hard to interpret. Hey, but it's a photograph! Hurray! Hurrah!
Enough for me. In spite of my critiques, I do think that all of the images were worthy and well done. What a treat it is to participate in this forum and these contests. Feel free, of course, to rip my entry to shreds! :smooch
Jeff Meyers
YAY! Someone liked the duck!
Jeff -- that duck was standing on what looked like a partially submerged branch from where I was standing.
Regarding the theme interpretation - water is composed of two elements: hydrogen and oxygen. It's also an astrological element, as well as an ancient philosophical element.
http://lrichters.smugmug.com
In other words...give your refresh finger a break, go to bed, toss and turn all night, get up 17 times to check (just in case), curse me and the whole Challenge thing...and I'll be back in touch in the morning.
Thank you so very much for the feedback! As this was a major breakthrough for me I was really looking forward to C+C. I'm glad you didn't take it as morbid - even though I meant for the story to be deep.
Sleep well, Emily!
Why Thankee! I *almost* went without compositing the dragon in. All weekend long it just looked too cheesy and contrived to me, but the flames against the BG alone was missing a story. And none of my attempts to have the dragon in the shot without compositing it in worked very well.
I had the same photography vs. graphic arts philosphy until last year. Then I finally decided (as a result of the LPS last year) that it didn't really matter so much to me. If it was a freaking good image and a camera was even vaguely involved, then it was close enough for me
Thank gawd!! Can I bum a smoke and a path on the driveway?!
Kurt Preston comment:
Critique of DSS Mega 1 Entries on Page 1
<HR style="COLOR: #575757" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Broken For Humanity (JAG) - This is quite nice! Not too busy, great background and use of a mirror. I even like the glowing cross in the cup (symbolism: San Greal or Sang Real?).
Kurt I did not know what San Greal or Sang Real is until you mentioned it and I looked it up...but what I was aiming for was much earlier than those two...from the example of Christ himself at the last supper. Thank you for your nice comment.
Jeff Meyers comment:
Broken For Humanity (JAG) - I like the symbolism, as I have said before. I think this is a very creative appropriation of the theme, and not one that is too difficult to discern. I love the color and the individual images. But once again, this is more like graphic design and less like photography. But hey, I'm a crank.
Thank you for your comments. As for the digital art bit...you have to realize that even back in the 70's we used burning and dodging tools to lighten and darken in certain areas....that is all I used for the cross. Other than that I only cropped and sharpened some. Not anything fancy...that is how it came out of the cameras for the most part. But to each his own....I think that sometimes we oldies have to bend a little to stay limber and keep up with the younguns:D
A thousand THANK YOUs for you taking time to post feedback. I love to get it as it offers a perspective and insight that I frequently miss. Thank you much!!!!
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
thank you very much, and btw i have a real habit with centering things....i know rules and all that, i just for some reason need to do it this way... i will try to break the habit, atleast once in awhile:D