Critique Thread

[henk4]

nice, not as many tourists up there i was told.

quite a few still, I had to work though...

[NSXType-R]

FINALLY we had some decent weather on sunday, so I went for a walk in the forest. I was looking for some deer, but instead came across wild horses. I'm limited to only 200mm and this is about as close as I could get. I made some more pics of the horses and wild cattle, but they were all alot further away. There were some prancing horses a little further back, a shame I couldn't reach those..

Please tell me what you think. Does anyone has some ideas how to do this differently?

I used F5 and 1/100 with ISO 100. In photoshop I did white balance, because it was too yellow/greenish (and slided with some settings to get the temperature I was after) and I changed the curves. I've also included a cropped version.
edit: if you're not colour managed you're probably seeing different colours...

I really like the lighting, but I don't like the fact that the horse's head looking at you is out of focus. The point of the picture is the horse right? The log on the right is in sharp focus though, and I don't see the point of that.

Is that the only picture you took, or did you have more?

[NSXType-R]

And then what would you do with it?

a.) the mini van IS there
b.) it's out of focus
c.) 3/4 or the frame is empty.

I don't want to beat up on NSXType-R, but the purpose of this thread is to improve how we see photos and how to improve your skills... how to make a good photo better... saving a bad photo will ultimately prove futile. UNLESS, you're a photojournalist and capture a once in a lifetime "moment" that can't be replicated. Then content overrides a multitude of sins. If the Aston were a "SPY" shot... MAYBE it would have some merit...

Coming back to reality and the point of this discussion... NSXType-R posted:



And, just so we can keep terminology straight... "editing" is the process of selecting and (more likely) deleting of images from a shoot. The act of cropping, contrast, sharpening, etc. is referred to as post processing or adjusting your images.

JT

Sorry for getting back to you late, but I didn't really know how to answer to your comments.

I don't know if it's right for asking, but what would you have done in the condition? How would you approach photographing a stationary plane?

Basically, what would you have done differently?

Just want your opinion on that stuff.

[John Thawley]

Sorry for getting back to you late, but I didn't really know how to answer to your comments.

I don't know if it's right for asking, but what would you have done in the condition? How would you approach photographing a stationary plane?

Basically, what would you have done differently?

Just want your opinion on that stuff.

Typically, when thrown into these situations, I look for things that indicate the scope of things. See if you can find elements that when shown next to each other bring relevance to the scale. Come in on the details. Try to take the viewer where he typically can't see or go.

Honestly, there are some things I go to and might decide in advance what camera to take... just because I know what's possible and what isn't. I won't drag my pro-gear to an event that is just going to frustrate me. Maybe I'll take a point n' shoot... like my little Leica that shoots in 16x9 format and take in a lot wide shots that put the event in to perspective.

Some situations just aren't going to provide "art. "

JT

[basman007]

I really like the lighting, but I don't like the fact that the horse's head looking at you is out of focus. The point of the picture is the horse right? The log on the right is in sharp focus though, and I don't see the point of that.

Is that the only picture you took, or did you have more?

Hmm, i see it, but it isn't that bad full size. When I view the image at 100% in Photoshop the horse is in focus. There is no point for this. The reason for this could be that the horse was moving or maybe the way the light falls enhances this effect. But it could also have been a slight missfocus (not at all bad compared to the problems I was having yesterday), I'm sure the point of focus I used was the horse. Now that you bring this up I had quite some problems tesrerday with the focussing. IMY 70-200 2.8 IS was slow and it took a few times before it had something in focus. It really annoyed me. At one point i took point of a pole and a sign to test the focussing out, but that went perfectly. It were the things further away that it had problems with. I thought I could have gotten some mud on it, but I can't discover any dirt.
I had this happen to me once before, about 6 months ago with the 350D. This was the 2nd or 3rd time I used it, but after that it worked perfectly... I hope this was just a 6 monthly hickup and nothing seriious.
Damn, I had forgotten about this, now I'm kinda


About the tree in the pic. I had a picture taken a minute (or seconds later, but this was in the exif) later with the the full tree in it, so I made a panorama First time I've done this, but I think the result is pretty decent some of the edges still need some work, but that's for later

[basman007]

Last month I was in Vietnam during the period of severe flooding. I had my 40D with me but only one saturday afternoon after 16.00 there was an opportunity to go out. Not much time for long considerations on what to take, mostly tourist snapshots. This one here I like, because it also tells a story. The three boys are sitting along the Turtle Lake in the old centre of the city, that as far an anybody could remember, never flooded before. No fancy camera settings (F9,400ASA, 1/60 and 110 mm) just a jpeg and no further editing and cropping.

That's a nice scene

An improvement could be keeping the camera lower and a tiny bit more to the right. That way you still keep the circles in the water, bet get to see more of the tree and whats across the street.

[henk4]

That's a nice scene

An improvement could be keeping the camera lower and a tiny bit more to the right. That way you still keep the circles in the water, bet get to see more of the tree and whats across the street.

possibly, yes, I was actually thinking to crop it a little and remove the upper part (which is not a street but a bridge towards a little island with a temple, that had become inaccessible due to the water levels).

[johnnynumfiv]

Nice pan shot... is this Lime Rock? Looks like the old section going uphill before the chicane.

Anyway... this is a good shot. It could be made better... and it's never going to be GREAT. Simply because it's just a nice side pan... not a lot going on.

That said, to make it stronger, I'd shoot a little looser... and set the car to one side of the frame a bit.. depending on if it's coming or going. I like that it's low in the frame... cars should typically be kept low... if it's not an uphill section, I'd say straighten the horizon... but it's hard to tell. Again, if it were looser we'd have a better feel for the car's surroundings. It's just a little tight for my taste.

This is the location I was thinking of... might not be the same, and mine is slightly going away... hence the reason I'm letting it run out of the frame. But, should give you and idea of what I mean by looser.


JT

Yep, it's Lime Rock (used to live about 15 minutes from it), at the bottom of the downhill going onto the straight. I found that it's a spot thats very close to the track. I understand about the shooting looser. I've tried it before, I just don't think I've done it successfully.

[Rockefella]

Are you just going to get pissy about this?



I don't follow the logic. You "think" with a LOT of post processing the photo could turn out quite good. -

I can think of of 10 things you CAN'T post prcess INTO this photo. Focus being one of them.

Please show me the "elements" of a GREAT pan shot.

And yet, after all this, you state: "it just lacks exectuion; most likely from a quick grab of the camera and a P&S with time being of the essence."

Gee... that sure sounds like a MISS to me.

That's what I think.

JT

With enough time in photoshop it could be made into a pretty descent shot I think, even though most and I would agree that's not really photography. [Removed by me]

EDIT: Double post.

[Rockefella]

I can think of of 10 things you CAN'T post prcess INTO this photo. Focus being one of them.

I didn't think it was a terrible photo. I felt with enough post processing it could be made a bit better.

[johnnynumfiv]

Sure the photoshop might make it look better. But the car still isn't in focus, and photoshop won't fix that.

[Rockefella]

Sure the photoshop might make it look better. But the car still isn't in focus, and photoshop won't fix that.

I know, I played around with layers and resizing to make it more focused but it's not worth it.

[Dary]

I didn't think it was a terrible photo. I felt with enough post processing it could be made a bit better.

a little more.

[John Thawley]

Yep, it's Lime Rock (used to live about 15 minutes from it), at the bottom of the downhill going onto the straight. I found that it's a spot thats very close to the track. I understand about the shooting looser. I've tried it before, I just don't think I've done it successfully.

LOL - I realized after I posted the Ferrari... it's the downhill before the last turn. It sometimes freaks me out that you get to recognize these locations... hell, Mid-Ohio I can tell you what hole you were in.

Shooting loose is a scale thing. Try to do it without the camera first. As you walk around or even drive around. Stop and look... take the whole scope of the view... then pick a lens and try to sort it out. It'll come.

Honestly, I first got the hang of it by force. We shot Utah (Miller) for the inaugural race. There was absolutely no way you could find enough glass for that track. You know, one of the downsides of owning a 500mm is you get 500mm syndrome. Fill the frame... in your face... a whole lot of cheap thrills. But at Miller... everyone was freaking out... because you couldn't get tight ANYWHERE. Finally, I gave up and started playing around and to this day, it was one of my best races with some of the most "outside the box"stuff I'd done.

Still some of my favorites:







JT

[basman007]

a little more.

Too bad it's not sharp, because I quite like the location and car..