Re: Odditorium (SI) Review..

mark.thomas.7@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

I owed a review, so here goes.. I didn't even see this one
advertised, and I haven't had time lately to contribute, so this is my
self-imposed punishment. No offence meant by any of my cheap shots -
take out your revenge when I post an image in a later challenge!

Thanks!

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796881
Mardon [freaky blurry something dark]

What is it? Must be a closeup to get that kind of OOF at 16mm. I would lighten & add some contrast because it's just too hard to make out anything, I just strain at it. I sort of like it though.

Can't quite keep my eye under control with this one - too many things
pulling it in a multitude of directions, and it doesn't leave me
feeling anything (no double entendre intended..) My tortured brain
also (without any logical reason) dislikes the fact that the sharpest
bit is still not sharp - it's almost like I have nothing to cling
to.. Maybe a little extra contrast, maybe a crop to remove the dark
bit at bottom left?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796885
Joseph Kewfi [blurry flames?]

Again, what is it? The composition is OK to me, I'm not satisfied without a caption though.

Nice colours and effect, but again, my eyes have a nowhere-to-rest
problem - the burnt area is just a bit dazzling... I like abstracts
and rule-breaking, but I think leading lines (or application of some
other hackneyed rule!) might have helped. It just seems a bit..
lost. Maybe as a set of similar images in a triptych, maybe an
extreme crop (ie thin and vertical), or something similar..

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796889
Solomon Peachy [girl on a cheetah statue]

The composition isn't interesting enough to get out of the snapshot category here. The park bench at right should be cropped and the one behind her chin is awkward... a little more time spent moving around to frame this properly would have helped.

You're right - it's cute-ish, but not that odd. Perhaps added motion
blur? (O: This is one where you might consider going to town with
heavy cropping/posterisation/black and white, .... or maybe not..

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796935
Nicholas Lindan [The Famous Headstanding Flamingo]

The leg is just hidden... but still I like it. Second place.

So... when you threw that stuffed bird up into the air, this is how it
landed?? OK, it meets the mandate - are you going to explain? (O: A
few technical niggles - I'd clone out the annoying little dot at top
left, and get rid of the two triangular areas at top right and bottom
left by cropping more tightly. Also puzzled by the weird vertical
lines in the 'bokeh'ed bits - is this shot through glass?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796963
Bret Douglas [ugly wild turkey face]

Good shot as usual. I'd have preferred a green background rather than black.

Cor - she's gorgeous!!! But no, I don't like the treatment much - I
presume you added noise for effect? Again, a few technical issues -
sharpening haloes and o-o-f feathers? - not like you, Bret! 100 lines
and go shoot it again. (O: PS - is that a moth on his head or
feathers?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796967
Paul Furman [broken concrete sidewalk repair]

OK I know it's not beautiful or artistic, just a curiosity. I didn't see any way to avoid the snapshot quality of the scene so I just was careful to get a decent composition and make it technically clean & perfect. Perhaps shallow DOF to isolate the subject would have worked, I think it still would have been a mess in the background either way though. I did shoot it from several angles and thought it out carefully.

BTW if it was my sidewalk, I'd have done something more like this:
<http://www.edgehill.net/1/?SC=go.php&DIR=California/Bay-Area/San-Francisco/gritty/2007-05-12-tree-planter>
I know, that's a hasty photoshop job with a bad color scheme but...

Well, yes, it's an odd way to 'artistically' fix broken pavement, but
does it make a good picture? This would have benefited from a lot
wider aperture, imo, to throw more of the background oof - why not use
a much higher shutter speed...? Maybe a polariser to decrease the
contrast problem - the background looks a bit hot.. But it's a nice
tree!

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78796971
Walter Banks [bird perched like spider man]

Is that a woodpecker or flicker of some sort?

He looks seriously pissed off that you are taking this - maybe that
accounts for the slight softness - were you shaking in fear? (O;
Nice colours, good capture, but this type of image needs to be pin-
sharp, for me anyways. PostScript - I just grabbed it and (lazily)
sharpened it and it came up rather well - maybe it lost some sharpness
in re-sizing?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78797019
Duncan Chesley [Control Rods]

I think that's a piece of heavy construction machinery like a crane, yeah? In hindsight, I would have used a bit of fill flash to flesh out more details... somehow it's so simple, there isn't enough to keep me busy for long. 'A' for effort on the mandate.

Blown the head? They don't look like the control rods in *my* car..
Interesting, but not quite interesting enough - it needs a sense of
scale, or maybe a hint of what they belong to... hmm - I know!! It
needs a BIRD sitting on one of the rods... (O;

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78797043
Jim Kramer [suicide turn lane]

How 'bout like this:
http://www.edgehill.net/temp/crop.jpg

Ha! - You have the same road engineers as we have here in Queensland
Orstraylia! Nice catch, but what were you thinking with those traffic
lights? - if they were meant to add to the oddness, all they added was
distraction, I'm afraid. Tighter crop would have helped all round
(but then it is well known I am obsessed with tighter crops...)

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78797057
Bob Flint [freaky train]

Normally that's called a cow scoop but I guess it's a snow plow in this case & that thing on top lets people walk to the next train while moving? I agree the framing could have been improved but the sky isn't really blown, just hazy & the only option would be to return at sunrise sunset so...

What thu? I presume it is some sort of snow plough or sumpin? Not
something we see here in the semi tropics. Very odd, yes, but the
picture is a bit snapshot-ish. My other obsession is with polarisers
- this sort of scene would benefit from a little less blown sky..
Maybe a closer view from down low and left., to exaggerate the
'scoop'?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78820158
Ken Nadvornick [powerline straddling road]

That wins the engineering oddity award and a tie for second place for good execution & something that might even be suitable for hanging on a wall (in some odd place :-)

More engineering weirdness - why didn't they put it in the field??
Nice image, but I can't help thinking 'red-filter, white fluffy
clouds', or possibly waiting patiently for an unusual vehicle to pass
below.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78827302
Helen Silverburg [Singing Homeless Man]

These are both great! Well done. First prize... 'dark horse' indeed.

Great work, Helen. You're a bit of a dark horse, after all that time
without posting a single image, and then you flop out some little
gems! This one is maybe lacking a little oddness (lots of character
though), and technically I think you could tweak the contrast to give
darker blacks. But other than that, this is a very fine street
portrait.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78827307
Helen Silverburg [Woman in a Raincoat]
Another fine street portrait - one which, imo, manages to hold that
fine line between capturing the essence of someone, without looking
manipulative. But what happened to the highlights??? Badly burnt, so
it loses points from me, sorry!

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/78854166
Michelo [lick-a-chick restaurant]

Ha ha! Good find and well executed, I could see this in a book on American Veracular Architecture. Is that sky a little too dark from photoshop work? ... just nitpicking...

An odd (or rather 'funny'?) sign, but beyond that... I tried to think
of things that could be added to make this more odd/interesting, but
my ideas were all very politically incorrect, so I'll just pass,
thanks.


I couldn't pick a winner - they were all just too odd...



--
Paul Furman Photography
http://www.edgehill.net/1
Bay Natives Nursery
http://www.baynatives.com
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: aperture and magnification gain puzzle
    ... >> It is mentioned in Rutten Telescope Optics that as contrast ... >> get lowered in an object, one must increase the magnification ... > best contrast between the background night sky and object by going to ... > or the Andromeda Galaxy through binoculars or a telescope. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: aperture and magnification gain puzzle
    ... > It is mentioned in Rutten Telescope Optics that as contrast ... > get lowered in an object, one must increase the magnification ... It means that when you observe in the best dark sky, ... or the Andromeda Galaxy through binoculars or a telescope. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
  • Re: "Advanced" image processing
    ... Vibrance, contrast and saturation are ... Vary the blend mode and layer opacity to improve contrast and reduce ... sky color is more difficult. ...
    (rec.photo.digital)
  • Re: Color contrast at the night sky?
    ... The binoculars that had the best color contrast ... least under the 5.0 - 5.7 mag sky we came to these findings. ...
    (sci.astro.amateur)
Loading