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Author Topic: Which version?  (Read 3013 times)

armand

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Which version?
« on: October 25, 2010, 12:22:32 am »

Which one do you think works better? I like more the one which includes the elbow but the elbow is not that in focus and some people (how many?) might find it fatally flawed.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #1 on: October 25, 2010, 01:42:49 am »

... the elbow is not that in focus and some people (how many?) might find it fatally flawed.

"There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." Ansel Adams

popnfresh

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #2 on: October 25, 2010, 10:28:05 am »

#1 is the more interesting to me. The forearm and elbow are interesting shapes with nice tonality and give the shot a more human and scuptural dimenson. It reminds me a little bit of Edward Weston's nudes of Charis that he did in the 30's. But I agree that the elbow should be in focus. You needed more depth of field for this one. Also it bothers me that the thumb is almost tangent with the left edge of the frame. The crop is too tight and the thumb needs more space around it.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2010, 10:35:48 am by popnfresh »
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RSL

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #3 on: October 25, 2010, 10:55:43 am »

...(how many?) might find it fatally flawed.

At least one. Sorry, Armand, I just don't see what you were trying to achieve with this one. Slobodan's quote may have been too subtle to get the point across.
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fredjeang

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #4 on: October 25, 2010, 11:02:35 am »

Armand, at least I can see a line or an intention in your pictures.
This is very close to the reptile concept.

This path is very difficult. You are there in art photography and art galleries. You need IMO to go deeper and harder on that way, shoot a lot, use a lot of photoshop too, mature the concept and you will end to acheive good results.

I had a photography teacher in Fine Arts called balthasar burkhard. A real master, (passed away this year) well he had series on that line.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5sS4j5O28Hs/SPbLJzczG9I/AAAAAAAAAvM/dzJNvCBesis/s1600-h/Balthasar-Burkhard.jpg

But they where very powerfull (and very heavy too, the chassis where iron) and he was an accomplished master. So the direction was very defined, nothing free but series that had meaning.

Keep the path and work it hard to reach good imagery with it.

Good luck.

« Last Edit: October 25, 2010, 11:09:31 am by fredjeang »
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #5 on: October 25, 2010, 02:07:07 pm »

... Slobodan's quote may have been too subtle to get the point across.

Damn! I knew it! I am either too harsh or too subtle. Never a golden middle. On the other hand, (here comes another quote, usually attributed to Margaret Thatcher) "Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.";)

RSL

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #6 on: October 25, 2010, 03:20:05 pm »

Slobodan, There's another one I remember hearing from a Texas politician: "There's nothing in the middle of the road but dead armadillos."
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Rob C

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2010, 05:45:19 pm »

Slobodan, There's another one I remember hearing from a Texas politician: "There's nothing in the middle of the road but dead armadillos."


In Mallorca, in the autumn/winter/spring, it's friggin cyclists: they come from everywhere with their fancy wheels and a million gears to noise up the car drivers and hog everything. I hate them. Worse, they sit down at outdoor cafés in those ridiculous shorts, squeezing their testicles to squeaking point. It is painful to have to observe; grotesque. But a saving grace: some of the girls actually display nice, muscular asses as they ride madly in front of one. My wife and I used to wonder about the roadworthiness of a long stick with a pin at the end.

Rob C

armand

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2010, 10:15:36 pm »

Slobodan, There's another one I remember hearing from a Texas politician: "There's nothing in the middle of the road but dead armadillos."
   ;D ;D

So far I have (mainly) either technically ok pictures but without much content, or promising content that is failed by the execution. Part of it is because I worked more on improving my technique before anything else. I think it's getting decent these days but getting the content right it's going to be much more difficult. I have plenty of books, but not that much time. However, looking back few years ago I can say I did make quite a lot of progress. And regardless if I will be able to shot really good photos, I'm enjoying the process.


As a side note, this photo is one of my initial trials with B&W. I don't know if Lightroom is that good for B&W but I have yet to reach the limits.
Another try in B&W is this one.

Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #9 on: October 26, 2010, 03:37:31 am »

 As a side note, this photo is one of my initial trials with B&W. I don't know if Lightroom is that good for B&W but I have yet to reach the limits.
Another try in B&W is this one.

Lightroom does excellent b&w conversions. Some swear by SilverEfex Pro. There are many other programs as well.

Your image looks very flat: no blacks.

Jeremy
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Rob C

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #10 on: October 26, 2010, 04:15:03 am »

Lightroom does excellent b&w conversions. Some swear by SilverEfex Pro. There are many other programs as well.
Your image looks very flat: no blacks.
Jeremy


I came late to digital printing but one thing I know for sure: what I learned using wet chemistry and WSG papers has made understanding the 'look' of a good print in digital easy. It has also revealed that though yes, there is certainly more fine control of tiny areas possible via the computer, good wet prints are in a league ahead of anything I've seen slip out of a machine. I exclude wet plastic printing, ever an abomination, and possibly the premature ending of quality prints as we knew them. So, we can't blame digital for everything.

Rob C

RSL

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #11 on: October 26, 2010, 10:38:33 am »

Rob, You may be seeing stuff from the wrong machines. I have B&W silver prints on my studio walls next to digital prints from my Epson 3880. The 3880 prints are every bit as good as the silver prints, possibly even better. Of course, it could be that I wasn't that great a printer in the silver days, but I hate to think so. I don't have much color from olden days so I can't compare color, but I can tell you that the color in the color prints from my Epson is excellent. Actually, as I'm sure you know, the ability to control color in digital is way, way ahead of what it was in film, unless you're shooting in a studio where you can match the color temperature of the lights exactly to the film. But, of course, even with digital you have to go to the trouble of controlling it.

Frankly, I think a lot of what you're seeing in digital B&W is a failure of people brought up in the digital age to understand the zone system and the necessity of getting those mid-tones right.
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armand

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Re: Which version?
« Reply #12 on: October 26, 2010, 12:02:45 pm »

Lightroom does excellent b&w conversions. Some swear by SilverEfex Pro. There are many other programs as well.

Your image looks very flat: no blacks.

Jeremy

So I have no excuse  ;) It's actually quite good to know it's not the software so it's up only to me. And the initial photo, as this one doesn't have much contrast to start with. I did increase the contrast and the blacks to get the pattern more obvious. It feels a little unnatural but I guess it makes it easier for the others to see what I saw initially.
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