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[SI] Brian's Comments

Ok, I'm caught up in comment fever. Prepare for... CRITICISM!

Bret Douglas:
Judging by your other work, I know you can make a great composition.
This picture meets the mandate, but has a little bit of a 'amateur
snapshot' feel to it. If it had MORE of a amateur snapshot feel I would
like it more. I guess it would depend how friendly the cat is, but I
think a wide-angle lens used too close would add some interesting
distortion to the image.

Jim Kramer:
Can't really add on more to what you and others have said about this
shot. It is a bit harsh in the lighting department and it is indeed dog
doo. Nice framing but something about it leaves me stale. Probably my
own dislike of dog poop - stupid dogs! Always eating, always pooping!

Brian Fane:
You share my first name and my love of shooting stop signs. Nice
composition, the sky is interesting without being overwhelming - bonus
points for not doing the schlocky 'ramp the contrast' to the sky in
Photoshop. The sign looks like it's falling back a bit, but it's not
that big of a problem. The two thin lines in the sky running diagonally
have me confused - what the hell are they?

Al Denelsbeck:
It took me a while to spot that damned lizard. And when I did, I
instantly liked the shot more. It might not grab you at first, but it
does reward the viewer once they find the critter.

Bowser:
Nice composition, good foreground elements and perspective. The sky is
a little weak - but the weather isn't always cooperative with the
mandates. This would make an interesting pano shot, I'm sure.

Ken Nadvornick:
Great photo all around. Interesting foreground and background elements,
great tonality and a bit of social commentary - there should not be
garbage on the ground with a trashcan that close! ;) Kudos, this is my
favorite of the bunch.

Matt Clara:
Love the color and composition of the image, and the moss makes some
great textures. Good choice of a narrow depth of field, too bad it's a
little behind the front of the mushroom cap. I understand your handheld
frustrations!

Eric Quesnel-Williams:
Good use of the foreground grass to help 'hide' the ruins in the
background. Sky is lacking of detail - but I honestly don't know if
that would help or hurt the image. Nice shot.

Steve McCartney:
Nice framing - no punch line on the sign, which I think could have
helped this a bit. It's a good shot, but I find it harder and harder to
like shots of telephone poles and street signs because they're so
common. Image looks a little ragged - your resizing method must have
introduced some aliasing along the way.

R. Schenck:
It's a modern sculpture... and that's about it. My criticism of the
shot isn't so much about the subject - but rather what you could have
done with it. The lighting is rather plain and even - it doesn't do
much to show the interesting patterns I'm sure are "hidden" at dawn and
dust... or mid-afternoon in the city, depending on what buildings are
blocking things!

Mike Henley:
I don't know how "apprehensive" that hipster is, it looks more as if
he's trying to play cool for the camera with the "contemplative" look.
I must admit I spent about five minutes looking for Waldo in this image.
Overall this image doesn't do much for me, but I can't say exactly why.

Vic Mason:
Good job taking a picture that, at first glance, looks like a simple
snapshot, but upon further inspection reveals a lot of interesting
elements. The hidden cell phone tower is the icing on the cake. Good
job.

Brian Baird:
You digital hack! You take an image with a DIGITAL CAMERA (last year,
no less) and manipulate it DIGITALLY to look brown. I'm sure those
water drops are fake too, aren't they? For shame, sir!

As always my comments are... my comments and should not be construed as
expertise, no matter how I phrase things. Even if I slam your picture,
I may still think you're a swell person in real life. Or maybe not.
Don't get on my bad side!

[SI] Brian's Comments

"Brian C. Baird" wrote in message
.. .
Ok, I'm caught up in comment fever. Prepare for... CRITICISM!

Jim Kramer:
Can't really add on more to what you and others have said about this
shot. It is a bit harsh in the lighting department and it is indeed dog
doo. Nice framing but something about it leaves me stale. Probably my
own dislike of dog poop - stupid dogs! Always eating, always pooping!

Hi Brian,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on the submissions. Reading the
comments and thoughts of others on the images are the best part about the
SI; especially the disparity of some comments.

Stupid dogs? My problem is smart dogs. Right now I've got four really
smart ones and one senile old bitch. The senile old bitch is no problem the
smart ones need to be entertained lest they destroy whatever is handy.

I suppose though you never eat? ;-)

Please tell me that you didn't fake the water drops in your shot I'll have
to revisit your grade and perhaps have you expelled. Shooting digital is OK
with me, I'm currently using an F828 for most things.

Jim Kramer

[SI] Brian's Comments

Brian C. Baird wrote in
:

Ok, I'm caught up in comment fever. Prepare for... CRITICISM!

snip
Al Denelsbeck:
It took me a while to spot that damned lizard. And when I did, I
instantly liked the shot more. It might not grab you at first, but it
does reward the viewer once they find the critter.

I always wonder whether the effect will be how I imagined it, which
is why I like the commentaries. I was a little disappointed that the lizard
can even be seen in the thumbnail, but then, I knew it was there. So I'm
glad it had the intended effect with at least one person ;-)

Thanks for the efforts! Always feel welcome to offer more as we go
along.

- Al.

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[SI] Brian's Comments