The ABC's of Photography - Letter D (Completed) [Archive]

View Full Version : The ABC's of Photography - Letter D (Completed)

Antmeister

09-16-2007, 06:58 PM

wade moore

09-17-2007, 10:12 PM

Running out of stuff to read on FOFC when I'm up this late watching the Skins ;)...

We're slow this week, eh?

PadresFan104

09-17-2007, 10:15 PM

Yeah... I may not even have a chance to take a photo between now and tomorrow... :(

wade moore

09-17-2007, 10:17 PM

Yeah... I may not even have a chance to take a photo between now and tomorrow... :(
No worries, everyone has busy weeks. I really was just finding something to say to bump the thread to keep it on everyone's mind.

CamEdwards

09-17-2007, 10:48 PM

I'm really hoping to get something uploaded tomorrow, but it might be an older picture. :(

Lorena

09-18-2007, 12:33 PM

Some good stuff has been submitted... very good stuff.

wade moore

09-18-2007, 09:46 PM

I'll just come right out and say (so people dont' have to critique it)...

Doug Wedding will go in LS's slot this week. He's in Greece on his honeymoon, so I thought I'd fill his spot with a photo someone took of his first dance with his new bridge.

So anyway, don't critique that photo - it's not even taken by someone in this.

cartman

09-18-2007, 09:52 PM

That Doug Wedding submission has to be one of the worst pictures I've ever seen.

;)

wade moore

09-18-2007, 09:55 PM

That Doug Wedding submission has to be one of the worst pictures I've ever seen.

;)

;)

There are actually a lot nicer pictures from the same person (our mother actually) - but this was the nicest of the ones that only showed doug's face. I'm personally wary of putting up someone's picture out on the interweb without them knowing/having their permission...

Anyway, I know you were only joking - but maybe he'll want to post some of the pictures that show how nice the place was when he gets back.

cartman

09-18-2007, 10:02 PM

;)
but this was the nicest of the ones that only showed doug's face. I'm personally wary of putting up someone's picture out on the interweb without them knowing/having their permission...

Well, you can always claim that you thought it was a picture of you... :D

sterlingice

09-18-2007, 11:26 PM

(who is doug?)

SI

Antmeister

09-18-2007, 11:40 PM

(who is doug?)

SI

He happens to be lordscarlet (aka wade moore's twin brother).

lordscarlet

09-19-2007, 01:44 AM

from my laptop webcam :) :
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1425/1401877177_1711e25e73.jpg?v=0

OldGiants

09-19-2007, 08:18 AM

He's in Greece on his honeymoon [...] with his new bridge.

Brooklyn, GW or Golden Gate?

OldGiants

09-19-2007, 08:24 AM

D2 was taken in Colonial Williamsburg, so I'm betting on wade_moore for that.

daylight and dusk are good shots, but D7 dolphin is my favorite shot of this project so far.

oliegirl

09-19-2007, 12:18 PM

LS's picture from Greece is my favorite picture so far...man that is gorgeous! But why is he posting on FOFC when he's on his honeymoon????

Lorena

09-19-2007, 02:41 PM

D1 - Deer
D1 - Deer2
D1 - Deer3
D2 - Drink
D2 - Dragonfly
D3 - Dead Bug
D3 - Display
D3 - Dusk
D4 - Dolphins
D4 - Dancing
D5 - Dessert
D5 - Boy Dropping Pass
D5 - Down
D6 - Daylight
D7 - Dolphin
D7 - Drummer

As a reminder, the discussion phase continues throughout the life of the thread and I encourage everyone that uploaded an image to choose 1 of the sets (including your own) and discuss.

wade moore

09-19-2007, 03:44 PM

I hope to be able to comment tonight as I have to do some work from home but it doesn't require my undivided attention.

wade moore

09-19-2007, 06:52 PM

D1

Deer, Deer2, Deer3: I grouped these together because I really have the same comments for all 3. All of these seem to lack for a certain... Color? for me. They all just seem to be in poor lighting and are somewhat "dull" in color - in particular the two fartehr away shots. I think the light meter maybe could be adjusted? I like the composition of these though.

D2

Drink: I like the composition, but again their are light metering issues. Like I said in a previous one (Letter B?) you need to meter off of something more neutral. Your shadows are good, but the ground in the background is COMPLETELY washed out. I do like the facial expression you captured, seems like this could be used for H for "Hate my job" ;).

Dragonfly: I would have zoomed in/cropped in on the dragonfly more. Other than that I like the depth of field and like that the dragonfly is on s colored greenery of some kind instead of a flower, seems more fitting.

D3

Dead Bug: Favorite Picture of the Week! I really have no suggestions on how to improve this. I may have tried a different angle just because this seems to be straight on. Besides that, I just really don't have another idea on how to improve it - bravo!

Display: Strangely I want to NOT like this (I'm really not sure why and it sounds strange to say this). But every time I look at it it draws me in. I almost claimed this as my favoite photo of the week, so nice job D3. I think I would have liked to have seen this with a larger depth of field, this doesn't seem to have a central focus so I don't think it should have the small depth of field like this (although that may have been a necessity to keep it in focus).

Dusk: Seriously. D3 really did it for me this week. This is right on level with Display for me. I love a well photographed sunset shot - and this one did it. I'd be very curious to know if there's something specific you did to get the sun streaks but no sunspots. A fun thing to do in this spot would be to get a tripod and a longer exposure, that's how you'd get the motion of the water.

D4

Dolphins: Meh. Nothing exciting about this shot for me. It just feels like a regular tourist shot to me. The timing is good and the water looks sharp. I think if you could find a way to get rid of the crowd (cropping?) I think I'd like it a lot better.

Dancing: I think I'm realizing that right now I'm a sucker for color night shots. I don't think I like just the one couple blurred, although something tells me others might like it a lot. I think I'd like to see either them move on the floor more, more couples, or have them just completely still. I realize these may not have been models willing/able to do this, but anyway...

D5

Dessert: That's a neat dessert. But as a photo I just don't get what you were going for here. Maybe it could have been itneresting with a closeup, a small depth of field, or something - but as is I'm just not getting it.

Boy Dropping Pass: Great timing on this shot. It's unfortunate that whatever that is in the foreground is there, because I think it's very distracting. Without that I'm a huge fan of this shot.

Down: Cool! The one weird thing for me is this almost look like this is taken with a different (read: better) camera than the other two. That or maybe it was taken later on in this photographer's "career". Anyway. Totally interesting subject, great angle, good position of the key focus but the chairs just draw you up to him at the top of the photo with the great sky behind him. Just because of my tastes I'd be interested to see this shot with a small depth of field. I don't know if it was possible, but if you could have gotten almost completely below him I think the angle would be slightly more interesting.

D6

Daylight: Hrm. Unlike "Dusk" there are some MAJOR sun spots in this photo. I know some people don't mind them, but they totally ruin sun shots for me. There are some ways I know to avoid this but they are basically to change your angle or use uhh.. I can't think of what it is called, but the little visor like thing that can go on the end of the lens (don't feel like looking up the right name :) ). I hope D3 gives us some info on what they did as it could help you as well as me.

D6

Dolphin: Good shot. Aquarium's are always tough because you're shooting through glass and it is never perfectly clean. This makes the shot not quite 100% in sharp focus whcih I think makes the overall quality suffer.

Drummer: Awesome. I have no experience with color night photography so I can't give much feedback, this shot also makes me realize I'm a sucker for the color night stuff. It also makes me realize some of my preconceptions about what makes a good color night shot are just not accurate (basically that you need lots of motion).

Lorena

09-20-2007, 08:21 AM

I'll post my thoughts later in the day.

Lorena

09-20-2007, 10:53 AM

D1 – Deer – wow, you can see the deer’s tongue, nice timing. It’s a little centered but nothing a little cropping can’t fix.

D1 - Deer2 – same with this one, not a bad pic but a little centered. I’d crop some of the grass in the front and leave the tree branches/rocks.

D1 - Deer3 – looks like he’s looking right at you! I love animal pics and this one’s not bad. Like with the picture before, I’d crop some of the grass in the front and leave the rest of the trees in the image.

D2 – Drink – I like the subject but it’s a little too centered for my taste. I’d crop everything on the left leaving the guy and horse only.

D2 – Dragonfly – Not a bad pic but it was a little difficult finding the dragonfly. Nice colors but would have liked to have seen a little more depth of field.

D3 - Dead Bug – What is that? Nice depth-of-field and I’d love to see some more color.

D3 – Display – Lots going on here my eye moves everywhere. I’d like to see maybe a blue filter used to compensate for the yellowish tone. Maybe change to a “tungsten setting” setting on the camera to get rid of the slight yellowish tone.

D3 – Dusk – Hmm… very peaceful, serene setting… not sure what to add. I like the sun rays and the slight reflection in the water.

D4 – Dolphins – I really like this picture. The dolphins are in perfect composition and the blue water just pops. I like how the people are in complete focus…nicely done!

Lorena

09-20-2007, 12:23 PM

D4 – Dancing – This has so much potential, but it seems to have a lot of noise (?). Not sure, but the composition is great… I like the lights and the motion of the dancers.

D5 – Dessert – This looks really, really yummy. I noticed some light, was a flash used? I’m notorious for using flash and it drives Ant nuts. I use a diffuser to minimize as much light as possible. As far as this picture, I would probably come in a little closer to avoid all the distracting stuff in the background.

D5 - Boy Dropping Pass – great timing! The only thing I’d do different is crop a little bit off the top and a little of the grass from the front.

D5 – Down – Beautiful clouds, beautiful green trees, I really like this picture! It would have been so cool if the picture was taken from the bottom looking up, but I’m pretty sure that was not possible. I wouldn’t change a thing with this pic.

D6 – Daylight – Another one of my favorite pictures. I really like the star effect from the light. Out of curiosity, was a filter used? There are filters that can give off this kind of effect, so I was curious. I wouldn’t change a thing with this one though.

D7 – Dolphin – good composition. Not too sure what else to say about this pic.

D7 – Drummer – it’s kinda hard to see the drummer, but I like the lights and the slight motion. Not a lot of noise, not bad overall.

Delightful – CONGRATS DOUG!!!!!!

Bonegavel

09-21-2007, 06:38 AM

D6 – Daylight

I shot this in August at our annual family picnic at Emmaus Community Park. I used my 50mm and almost deleted the picture because it looked so dark. It wasn't until I saw it on the computer screen that I realized the light shape which I thought looked pretty cool. I also liked that the background was so dark that it gave it contrast making you only aware of the light and the trees are merely background.

No filter except the standard cheapo protective kind.

Lorena

09-21-2007, 08:01 AM

I don't know if I should be upset that no one commented or what, but I was seriously expecting more than just 2 people commenting on 7 original photographers after reminders were sent. I especially wanted to hear from Bonegavel and at this point, I'm considering other options. Maybe just post and reveal and that's it... those that wish to comment can do so. But what can we learn if the same people comment week in and week out? Wade and I have different views on what makes a good photograph (as noted in this challenge) so any comment helps. I don't know... but Antmeister, wade and I wanted this to be a learning platform and it doesn't help when the same people comment all the time. Of course I'm saying this becauses I'm dissapointed, but oh well, we tried.

D3

Dead Bug: Favorite Picture of the Week! I really have no suggestions on how to improve this. I may have tried a different angle just because this seems to be straight on. Besides that, I just really don't have another idea on how to improve it - bravo!

Thanks wade! I used a macro lens and came in as close as I could without a tripod. This is a picture of a bug on a spider web after rain. I took many many shots from different angles, using different zooms and this was the best one.

Display: Strangely I want to NOT like this (I'm really not sure why and it sounds strange to say this). But every time I look at it it draws me in. I almost claimed this as my favoite photo of the week, so nice job D3. I think I would have liked to have seen this with a larger depth of field, this doesn't seem to have a central focus so I don't think it should have the small depth of field like this (although that may have been a necessity to keep it in focus).

This picture was taken at Gattiland which is sort of an arcade place. My intention wasn't to focus on just one item, but the whole wall. It seems a little... I dunno, yellow maybe? The colors seem kind of off and I don't know what my camera's settings were on.

Dusk: Seriously. D3 really did it for me this week. This is right on level with Display for me. I love a well photographed sunset shot - and this one did it. I'd be very curious to know if there's something specific you did to get the sun streaks but no sunspots. A fun thing to do in this spot would be to get a tripod and a longer exposure, that's how you'd get the motion of the water.

This picture was taken at Rocky River Ranch in Wimberley, TX (Hill Country area). We were given a tour and it lead down to this river, overlooking the trees and sunset. I set my camera on bracketing mode and it took 3 pictures: one overexposed, one just right, and one underexposed and this was the best one. Ant suggested I put a camera lens hood and I did. I'm pretty sure that helped. A lens hood looks like this:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_pro1-review/camera-lens-hood.jpg

I didn't have a tripod. Oh and I had some kind of filter on it... can't remember what kind though.... probably one of those generic ones. I'm interested to see how combining my 3 pictures with some HD work would look.

OldGiants

09-21-2007, 08:20 AM

I'm D5 this week. I use a Canon Powershot A95 which is about 3 years old and I'm looking to upgrade to a Canon Rebel DSL soon. All my shots are taken at the largest possible size so I can crop/zoom in using Photoshop.

D5 – Dessert – This looks really, really yummy. I noticed some light, was a flash used? I’m notorious for using flash and it drives Ant nuts. I use a diffuser to minimize as much light as possible. As far as this picture, I would probably come in a little closer to avoid all the distracting stuff in the background.

Its a Chocolate Moose from Le Cellier in Canada in EPCOT. Very dark inside, the non-flash shot is murky. This is cropped out of a much larger group shot at the table.

to avoid all the distracting stuff in the background.

Yeah, I avoid my mother-in-law as much as possible.

D5 - Boy Dropping Pass – great timing! The only thing I’d do different is crop a little bit off the top and a little of the grass from the front.

When I tried to crop so the boy was larger, the image got too blurry because this was taken at the limits of my range. I was walking toward these kids at half time. When I got closer, they put down the ball and started to eat hot dogs.

Kids, pets, wild animals is all about luck, IMO.

D5 – Down – Beautiful clouds, beautiful green trees, I really like this picture! It would have been so cool if the picture was taken from the bottom looking up, but I’m pretty sure that was not possible. I wouldn’t change a thing with this pic.

Yes, crowd control wouldn't let me get any closer. Muscular chipmunks would have wrassled me to the ground.

Dessert and Down were taken in April, Drop this past Saturday.

wade moore

09-21-2007, 08:24 AM

wade moore

09-21-2007, 08:27 AM

Oh - and OG easily nailed me with my Colonial Williamsburg picture. That will happen from time to time as that is a great place to get candid shots of people. And, I don't feel any ethical issues about posting their pictures on the web because they're public actors.

Anyway, so I'm D3 - I hope to address the comments later today - work has been crazy this week.

OldGiants

09-21-2007, 08:40 AM

I liked the deer tongue, a chance detail, but very nice nevertheless.

The jewel-like quality of the deceased in dead bug looks even beter the more I look at it. Very nice shot.

Dawn and dusk continue to strike me as very good shots. I know the dolphin snout shot is part of a show, but's so funny and easily missed-in the sense the dolphin doesn't stand there for long.

Other shots didn't do much for me, either too blurry (dancing, drummer) or mundane subject matter (the other deer shots, dolphin shots, display, and my own dessert shot, now that I think about it).

I'm looking forward to E.

Lorena

09-21-2007, 08:41 AM

First thing - DC, I'm thinking you shouldn't get too discouraged from one light week. We had about half as many participants and less comments, but the last showing for C was very high and that was only a week ago. Before we start making dramatic changes, I think we should see if this week was an anomoly.

And thank you, Lens Hood is what I was looking for - the term was just escaping me.

It was a light week, yeah, you're right. I understand people get busy, stuff happens, etc., but look back and you'll see a pattern: some people upload, read comments on their pics, reveal and leave.

EDIT to add: the comments don't have to be in-depth, something small like what OldGiants posted is completely fine.

wade moore

09-21-2007, 09:41 AM

*shrug*.. I guess I see your point. I realized when we started this that some folks are not going to be in the position to want to give much feedback because their experience/knowledge level are not where others are. I don't really have a problem with only a smaller portion giving comments.

Castlerock

09-21-2007, 10:50 AM

I didn't submit anything this week. Never had time.

People should not feel like they don't have enough experience to critique. Everyone brings a different perspective.

Not saying we have to make a change now, but if the lack of critiques continues, maybe we should know who submitted the photos. Then I can critique those people to are taking the time to critique others. It's the same people every week.

Bonegavel

09-21-2007, 11:13 AM

Bonegavel

09-21-2007, 11:54 AM

I haven't read anyone's reveal yet

D1 - Deer

I think cartman already posted these elsewhere :) Good shot. I could go either way with centering or not on this one. As it is, it doesn't disturb my sensibilities.

D1 - Deer2

Good shot but stylistically it doesn't do anything for me.

D1 - Deer3

I love that the nose is dead center and the deer is facing right at the camera. I may have tried to zoom in a bit more and let the head take up more space. I like this more each time i look at it.

D2 - Drink

Again, I would have tightened up and got the horse head and the man in the frame and not the tree on the right. The tree on the right distracts me a bit and I seem to focus on that first.

D2 - Dragonfly

Not sure if the photog couldn't, but I would have zoomed in to get more of the dragonfly and less of the flowers which overpower the central focus of the DF.

D3 - Dead Bug

I love macro shots and this one is nice. Would have been perfect if the bug was just a little more in focus but if it was hand-held, I can understand. :D

D3 - Display

A little dark. I think all this pic needs is a fresh angle on the stuff and it would have been eye-popping. As it stands, its just a straight up photo of merchandise.

D3 - Dusk

I really like the rays emanating from the sun. In post, I would maybe try to punch up the red/orange hues to get a bit more color in that section to make up for the drab (but necessary) other parts.

D4 - Dolphins

Standard grandstand dolphin-show shot. Only thing that I would have tried to do is get a different angle (which probably wasn't possible) or tried to zoom in closer and got an interesting piece of one of the dolphins.

D4 - Dancing

I'm torn on this one. The blurry couple works for me but other than that, the lights seem to un-frame the picture for me.

D5 - Boy Dropping Pass

(I seem to be zoom king today) I would have zoomed in on his hands trying to capture the fingertips on the ball.

D5 - Dessert

I would have not made this the center of the picture and tightened up on the dessert which would have left out the lemons and the other stuff. I think the moose-head would have been nice to see up close and in detail getting the texture of the chocolate.

D5 - Down

I like the centering of the material. Well exposed and what the hell was that guy doing?!

D7 - Dolphin

I like that you didn't capture the whole dolphin. Only thing I may have tried was to keep him to a third either left or right leaving the other third the empty water. I like the angle of the dolphin.

D7 - Drummer

good raw shot. The fierce orange light inside takes over. The drummer himself is a bit blurry (hell, he's busy) and you can see the hair outline of the other 2 on stage. That must be a reflection but it looks like there is a third member in front of the drummer - I like that. Great shot.

Lorena

09-21-2007, 12:05 PM

from my laptop webcam :) :
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1425/1401877177_1711e25e73.jpg?v=0

Awesome, awesome shot. Frame it up!

Antmeister

09-21-2007, 12:06 PM

Thank you sir. Very good comments.

cartman

09-21-2007, 12:54 PM

I'll have to post my comments later. The iPhone doesn't have Flash, so I can't see the pics.

As for the reveal, yep, the deer pics are mine. In regards to Wade's comments about the color, you are correct. I took these last year in the middle of a drought, so the plants were all a bit 'dull' looking due to the lack of water.

Barkeep49

09-21-2007, 01:05 PM

I have no pictures to add and know nothing about photography so feel free to ignore my comments.

As presented I like D5-Down the best. It's a neat human interest shot. I think, being a sucker for youth sports, I'd like the D5-Boy Dropping the Pass better if it were more tightly shot.

To me the animal shots were all flawed. The d7 dolphin seems like it was taken through glass. I would have preferred if I could see both dolphins eyes, in that case, so i get the idea of a dolphin posing for the camera. The touristy dolphin shot didn't seem special to me as it doesn't seem to tell a story or capture a moment beyond "I was there".

The deer shots seem poorly lit, but the tongue shot is an incredible moment.

I felt overwhelmed by the nature in the two insect photos. I think something to draw attention to the insects, probably a tighter cropping in the dragon fly one, would do the subject more justice.

I like the wedding shot quite a bit, including the lighting and the framing. Just unfortunate that there is the other photographer in the background.

I happen to really like the movement and angle of the dancing shot.

lordscarlet

09-22-2007, 02:05 AM

I think a lack of comments could also have to do with the fact that there was 1 less day than normal. And, you know, I'm not around. ;) (Every other week I have had time to comment on ever single picture) But the change in schedule threw me for a loop, I know (I thought I might have time to squeeze a picture in on Wednesday) and just kind of threw things off in general. Hopefully this week, with a full timetable will go a little smoother.

sterlingice

09-22-2007, 07:56 PM

I was thinking something along the same lines- I don't like the 2 days for comments as I think that really squeezes things for time. I realize we can post once the reveal phase begins but it's a lot more honest and, frankly, easier to do them when we don't know who has what photos.

Just a blind proposal at a new schedule:
Upload: Sat-Mon
Comment: Tues-Fri
Reveal: Sat of the next week

I like this because it allows for both weekday and weekend uploads. We know what letters are coming up so it's not as if we're going to be surprised by what's up next. I don't know how everyone else is approaching this but, myself, I kindof plan a couple of weeks ahead- I'm looking for E's thru roughly I's this week since I know that every week I'm not going to have that shot I like for a particular letter. The down side is that this gives people pretty much weekends to figure out a picture(s) on a weekly basis.

Also, there's a lot more time for comments, tho they are unfortunately all during the week so no weekend time. Lastly, I don't think the reveal phase needs to be that long. Not only that, but it can overlap the next week if it allows more time for uploads and comments in the future week.

SI