allamande Posted July 25, 2010 Share #1 Posted July 25, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) Here is an image of some low life aloe flowers. Image was created using M8, CV Nokton 50/1.1 @1.1, and PP in CS4 (sorry, I don't have the latest and the greatest). I hope each and every member of the self-appointed "honest criticism committee" better known as "The Select Committee of Image Worthiness" (my appreciation and apologies to kdigital a.k.a. Kurt), will give me their invaluably learned and educated input and put me in my place for posting such a crappy image and thereby lowering the forum standards and increasing their collective blood pressure (for further enlightenment, should you need it dear reader, please see Barnack's Bar "revised guidelines" thread). Ece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted July 25, 2010 Posted July 25, 2010 Hi allamande, Take a look here aloe or crappity crap?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
aesop Posted July 25, 2010 Share #2 Posted July 25, 2010 ...personally I think this is a "wow" shot, Ece. One quick question, though - is there any particular reason why the top of the plant was chopped off? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allamande Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share #3 Posted July 25, 2010 Aesop, Thank you! I am glad to hear you liked this. To answer your question, there was no particular reason. I thought, at the time, that this framing worked given that the bottom of the plant was also being chopped off. But it is a very personal decision and I have no other way to defend it. I appreciate your feedback. Ece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aesop Posted July 25, 2010 Share #4 Posted July 25, 2010 Aesop, Thank you! I am glad to hear you liked this. To answer your question, there was no particular reason. I thought, at the time, that this framing worked given that the bottom of the plant was also being chopped off. But it is a very personal decision and I have no other way to defend it. I appreciate your feedback. Ece ...no need to defend anything, Ece - I assumed the cropping was done in PP and just wondered if the "complete" version would deliver a different experience. Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
euston Posted July 25, 2010 Share #5 Posted July 25, 2010 What I say doesn’t carry the weighty authority of the SCIW, Ece, but you’re welcome to my two pennyworth. I’m always troubled when, as here, I like the look of the lovely colours and shapes of the out-of-focus background more than the ostensible subject. And I’m going to give you some honest critique (i.e. my subjective preference) on the black frame. If this picture needs a frame, I would prefer it to be the same width all round and wider. Although this is far from the best photo you’ve ever shared, Ece, it does achieve one of the most important purposes of photography, that is, the ability to show me what you can see and I can’t. Unless I’m much mistaken, this is Aloe vera which doesn’t grow outdoors where I live and can’t be relied upon to flower even indoors. I can’t remember ever having seen this plant in flower. Not only have you provided a picture of the full flower but you’ve also shown me the various stages of the flowerhead. This is photography in the service of botany and I appreciate it on that level. So, although you’ve probably failed SCIW’s crapology test, you’ve passed euston’s photographic utility test with flying colours. It’s a broad church, this photography lark. The broader the better, say I. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pop Posted July 25, 2010 Share #6 Posted July 25, 2010 Ece, I like the distribution of sharpness very much. It somehow suggests that there might many more of the same plant in that spot. I am not very happy with the crop. It has three places which I'd find awkward if the shot was mine: the tip of the "main" stem where just a tiny bit seems to be missing, the place at the bottom where three stems branch off (too close to the forking) and the single flower which is cut at the bottom at the right hand side. Strangely enough, I immediately like the crop much better when I crop more from the top, such that the greenish unripe flowers are cut off. Hence, it seems that you might have been too timid cropping it. YMMV and tastes differ. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
osscat Posted July 25, 2010 Share #7 Posted July 25, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I hope each and every member of the self-appointed "honest criticism committee" better known as "The Select Committee of Image Worthiness" (my appreciation and apologies to kdigital a.k.a. Kurt), will give me their invaluably learned and educated input and put me in my place for posting such a crappy image and thereby lowering the forum standards and increasing their collective blood pressure (for further enlightenment, should you need it dear reader, please see Barnack's Bar "revised guidelines" thread). Classic But - couldn't you get the background in focus?? Osscat:D Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
geaibleu Posted July 25, 2010 Share #8 Posted July 25, 2010 Can you go one step further and put that beautiful stem slightly out of focus, or less crisp if you prefer (thanks to the Nokton) to get closer to what Renoir or Sisley might have done? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 25, 2010 Share #9 Posted July 25, 2010 Sorry to not be a member of SCIW; but if my word had any value; I like the shot! I like the colors and the blurry background that make the main bubject standing out beautifully!... I am not very sure about the frame, though!... But what do I know?... My version of PS is even older than yours!... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
clinchico Posted July 25, 2010 Share #10 Posted July 25, 2010 Ece I am a colour and vision junky I love looking at peoples images,especially when they are colourful and have a story to tell. I am not a master photographer neither do I claim to be one. I do however am capable to make a fare judgement. The only wrong with your photo IMO is the tight cropping on the top of the image and that is it. After all ones expression of an image is in the eye of the beholder. Even in photography we each have our own gifts of seeing and interpreting an image differently then others. Is that wrong heck no? I think I babbled enough eh lol. Herb Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted July 25, 2010 Share #11 Posted July 25, 2010 Ece - I'm with Louis on this -- It's beautiful. Your mentioning "crappity crap" immediately brought to mind an episode of Breaking Bad in which this disgusting couple is fighting and the husband refers to the wife as skankity skank skank. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveleo Posted July 25, 2010 Share #12 Posted July 25, 2010 Ece put your stuff on the table and stop fretting over what the geniouses (sp?) and the idiots care to spew into the atmosphere over your work . . . . and most certainly never ever ever let public opinion direct your heart and soul. (that's my professorial persona squeeking out there . . . i hope that you take it kindly) that aside . . . i don't like this photo so much but at the moment i can't say why. it looks too technical for a soft subject i think. dave Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmldds Posted July 26, 2010 Share #13 Posted July 26, 2010 It is a very nice shot in my book. Tri:) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allamande Posted July 26, 2010 Author Share #14 Posted July 26, 2010 Aesop, Robert, Philipp, Osscat, geaibleu, Louis, Herb, Stuart, Dave, and Tri, Thank you and hugs to each of you (I hope this is OK) for making this perhaps the most satisfying and instructive thread for me. This has always been a supportive community toward whatever I post here, and instructive too, but this is the first time that I can recall where each of you gave me a fresh set of eyes to look again, reconsider, re-evaluate, re-think an image with finer tuned synapses. I appreciate your generous consideration and constructive feedback. You all make fine teachers. For me, this is what the photo forum is (and should be) all about. Robert, you are right that this is aloe vera and it thrives in the desert climate we have here (even though I live 5 miles from the ocean, it is still desert). This is from my garden. I have large bunches of Mexican Sage behind the aloe; they provide the purple splashes in the background of this image. couldn't you get the background in focus?? Osscat:D Aaah, I haven't reached that chapter yet. From framing to cropping to focusing, I see how each of your suggestions can fix flaws and improve this image, and I will keep all of these points in mind next time I go near these flowers, and no doubt carry the lessons into similar other situations. Regards, Ece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Louis Posted July 27, 2010 Share #15 Posted July 27, 2010 Ece, I am sure Osscat was joking!... BTW; I love the hug!... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauledell Posted July 28, 2010 Share #16 Posted July 28, 2010 Ece, Despite the crop, which does not bother me in the least, I find this shot to be quite beautiful. Lovely colors, nice sharpness of the main flower and the bokeh. Any way I can share in the hug? Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
allamande Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share #17 Posted July 28, 2010 Louis, Yes, absolutely. He made me laugh out loud Paul, Thank you. For all your tireless support, input, and feedback (and not just for my stuff either) you get the biggest hug! Ece Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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