Pages: [1] 2   Go Down

Author Topic: Rock  (Read 7426 times)

marvpelkey

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 253
Rock
« on: November 06, 2012, 08:22:20 pm »

OK, how about this one then??
Logged

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rock
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2012, 09:56:00 pm »

I would say the pastel water and the foggy background call for a gentler rock, i.e., with shadows opened much more. The black "heaviness" weighs a bit too much on the composition. With that it would turn into a nicely serene photo.

Jeremy Roussak

  • Administrator
  • Sr. Member
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 8961
    • site
Re: Rock
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2012, 03:29:22 am »

I would say the pastel water and the foggy background call for a gentler rock, i.e., with shadows opened much more. The black "heaviness" weighs a bit too much on the composition. With that it would turn into a nicely serene photo.

I agree. A horizontal horizon wouldn't hurt, either.

Jeremy
Logged

francois

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13769
Re: Rock
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2012, 05:27:52 am »

+1!

The rock is very present against the rest of the image. Sometimes it's a good thing but I wished something else (follow Slobodan's suggestion, I think he is right). I quite like how the shadow of the rock "rides" the ripples in the water.
Logged
Francois

shutterpup

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 489
Re: Rock
« Reply #4 on: November 07, 2012, 10:08:01 am »

It looks like a giant clamshell  ;)
Logged

marvpelkey

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 253
Re: Rock
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2012, 08:04:43 pm »

Thanks for the constructive critiques.

I will try the lightening suggestion for the rock to see if the image is improved. I must admit, I often lean towards high contrast and so don't notice the impact as much as I should on some images, however, as some noted, it may not be appropriate for this one. As to the horizon, I always use a tripod and a bubble level so I think the skewed looking horizon is related to the lake shoreline coming closer on one side. Perhaps the camera was elevated enough for this to be noticeable.

Marv
Logged

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rock
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2012, 08:10:02 pm »

One image that comes to my mind (as the suggested final result in terms of tonal values) is Elizabeth Carmel's one:

http://www.ElizabethCarmel.com/Silver-and-Gold-Lake-Tahoe-Photo-p/tah108.htm

marvpelkey

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 253
Re: Rock
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2012, 08:34:31 pm »

Slobodan,

Thanks for the link. Lovely image and a good example of what you were referring to.

Funny thing, I recently visited Lake Tahoe and took some pictures of the same rocks. Not so funny thing, my images don't even come close to the linked one (however I also didn't have the lighting that is in the linked image).

Marv
Logged

BernardLanguillier

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13983
    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/bernardlanguillier/sets/
Re: Rock
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2012, 07:59:25 am »

Works for me, but I would make it completely abstract and remove the horizon line.

Cheers,
Bernard

quickhiker

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 19
Re: Rock
« Reply #9 on: November 08, 2012, 11:13:47 am »

Works for me, but I would make it completely abstract and remove the horizon line.

Cheers,
Bernard

When I first looked at this image, I the firefox window was positioned so that the upper 20% of the image was obscured by accident. It worked for me, too.
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Rock
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2012, 03:30:23 pm »

By golly. . . there it IS. A rock.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rock
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2012, 06:03:37 pm »

By golly. . . there it IS. A rock.

Still sour from the loss, eh Russ?

Actually, watching a serene scene like the OP image might help.

On the other hand, the blackness and heaviness of the rock (as I mentioned above) might only make the matters worse, reminding you of the bleakness of the next four years?

 ;)

marvpelkey

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 253
Re: Rock
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2012, 09:36:37 pm »

Russ,

I must admit I am just not sure how to take some of your comments (both in this thread and in another I started). I threw this image up to hopefully get some constructive criticism, of which others generously provided, and all comments were fairly easy to understand. However, I'm not sure if you are jesting or are having a bad day and don't like my thread subject heading??

Marv
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Rock
« Reply #13 on: November 10, 2012, 09:47:39 pm »

Okay Marv, here's some constructive criticism. I don't know what you had in mind when you shot the rock, but as far as I can see, that's all there is. A rock with a partial reflection in the water. I don't see anything that distinguishes this rock from any other rock. Maybe it had some special significance for you, but that doesn't carry over to other viewers unless they understand what was in your mind when you made the shot. I know it's easy to get carried away when you concentrate on something like this. I do it all the time. But I usually, though not always, avoid posting something I shouldn't have posted by letting my photographs sit for a week or so while I come back to it a few times to see if its special significance is holding up.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rock
« Reply #14 on: November 10, 2012, 09:58:56 pm »

Russ,

Landscape photography relies on symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc. to achieve its impact.

In this case, there is a plenty of it, and, depending on viewer, it might denote serenity, solitude, stability, harmony, etc. It is a decent shot, and I, for one, would be pleased, had I shot it.

marvpelkey

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 253
Re: Rock
« Reply #15 on: November 10, 2012, 11:04:23 pm »

Russ,

Thanks for your critique (although I merely questioned your first post and was in no way soliciting you to make further comments, but they are appreciated). You raise some valid questions. That morning, I was the only person at the lake. It was quiet and the light was starting to develop. I tried to capture that calmness. I liked the play of the hot/cool colours and the dichotomy of the calm water against the crocodile skin like rock. Having said all that, perhaps if I have to verbally explain then I haven't captured the image well enough as I suppose it should speak for itself and not require explanation, as how many images out there come with a written explanation.

As to your "it's just a rock" comment, can you provide explanation as to why your "Roofs" image should not solicit a similar response "but it's just a couple roofs". I ask this in genuine sincerity and have no intent to insult.

Thanks

Marv
Logged

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Rock
« Reply #16 on: November 11, 2012, 07:05:05 am »

Russ,

Landscape photography relies on symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc. to achieve its impact.

In this case, there is a plenty of it, and, depending on viewer, it might denote serenity, solitude, stability, harmony, etc. It is a decent shot, and I, for one, would be pleased, had I shot it.

Slobodan, ALL photography relies on symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc. to achieve its impact. A photograph isn't the thing it symbolizes, so the only way it can convey any significance is through symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc. In this case, what's the symbolism? I'd suggest you and Marv may have some common background in which a rock has symbolized something significant. Perhaps you're searching for serenity, solitude and harmony, and you saw a rock as a destination where you could, finally, achieve those things. But a work of art, in this case a photograph, has to stand on its own. If you get lucky, your viewer will respond, through symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc., to your picture the same way you responded when you shot the picture. But that's not likely. The only works of art that really succeed are those that contain symbolism, metaphor, analogy, etc., commonly recognized by everyone. That's one reason why the hand of man is so important in a photograph. Everyone recognizes that, and everyone relates to it in some way.

Don't get too carried away by my respect for your landscape post-processing skills, Slobodan. I've been doing landscape for nearly seventy years and I'm quite capable of recognizing a picture when I see it. I haven't quite mastered the post-processing to my own satisfaction, but I'm working on it, and I appreciate your views when you give them. But landscape isn't my favorite subject. People are.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Rock
« Reply #17 on: November 11, 2012, 09:33:19 am »

Russ,

Thanks for your critique (although I merely questioned your first post and was in no way soliciting you to make further comments, but they are appreciated). You raise some valid questions. That morning, I was the only person at the lake. It was quiet and the light was starting to develop. I tried to capture that calmness. I liked the play of the hot/cool colours and the dichotomy of the calm water against the crocodile skin like rock. Having said all that, perhaps if I have to verbally explain then I haven't captured the image well enough as I suppose it should speak for itself and not require explanation, as how many images out there come with a written explanation.

As to your "it's just a rock" comment, can you provide explanation as to why your "Roofs" image should not solicit a similar response "but it's just a couple roofs". I ask this in genuine sincerity and have no intent to insult.

Thanks

Marv

Marv, Let me start by apologizing for coming off snippy in my first response, but I've been watching User Critiques go downhill for months now. We're getting back to where most of what I see is either a merely pretty scene or a standard tourist shot, and every response has to be "I like it," or "Great shot," or "+1." There are plenty of other sites out there where that's standard fare, and I've dropped off or decided not to join all of them. LuLa seems to be the only remaining game in town. It's not pleasant to know you're going to hurt somebody's feelings, but if we can't have serious critiques there's no point in being here.

I think I pretty well covered my reaction to your rock in my response to Slobodan, but I have to go on to your perfectly reasonable critique of my "Roofs." There's certainly no earth-shaking symbolism, metaphor, or analogy in that picture. It's a study in contrasting horizontals, diagonals and textures, emphasized by a blank sky. The fact that it was constructed by the hand of man helps, but in the end it simply hasn't the impact a good street shot always has. Like your rock, it is what it is. Unlike your rock, it wasn't intended to be a study in symbolism, metaphor, or analogy.
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

Slobodan Blagojevic

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Online Online
  • Posts: 18090
  • When everyone thinks the same, nobody thinks
    • My website
Re: Rock
« Reply #18 on: November 11, 2012, 11:02:47 am »

... landscape isn't my favorite subject. People are.

Case closed.

RSL

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 16046
    • http://www.russ-lewis.com
Re: Rock
« Reply #19 on: November 11, 2012, 03:01:48 pm »

Case closed.

Not at all, Slobodan. You claim that landscape is your favorite thing, but what I see from you is trains, buildings, movie theaters, etc., anything but landscape. Having a favorite thing is a long way from ruling everything else out. Furthermore, if you think my judgments are based strictly on my study of photography, you're badly mistaken. I judge on the basis of visual art in general: photography, painting, prints, etc. The same principles apply to all of them.
« Last Edit: November 11, 2012, 03:17:49 pm by RSL »
Logged
Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.
Pages: [1] 2   Go Up