[SI] - It was Rough and Tough, but it's posted

Rough and Tough is (finally) posted

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/rough

On Sep 5, 7:56 pm, JimKramer wrote:
Rough and Tough is (finally) posted

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/rough

It's tough to judge when every image has merit, but for "rough & tuff"
as the theme, Wilba gets my vote.

uw wayne wrote:
JimKramer wrote:

Rough and Tough is (finally) posted

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/rough

It's tough to judge when every image has merit, but for "rough & tuff"
as the theme, Wilba gets my vote.

Thank you very much. I thought it fitting. :-)

On Sep 6, 10:56 am, JimKramer wrote:
Rough and Tough is (finally) posted

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/rough

I know it's about time I contributed, but here's a quick critique
anyways.. But before I do, and note that this is NOT aimed at any of
the current entries/entrants - what happened to the flag-as-archive
requirement? Does it still apply? I know they are just rulz, but it
would add to the competition imo if folks would always declare
archived images (geez, I hope I have never missed flagging *my*
old'uns..)


Anyway, no big deal - and here's my quick response to these images:

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115136
Wilba - bravo! I'm going to give you this one, but drawn with Michael
H. Very nice evocative shot, with really interesting color
combinations, yet a main subject that is largely monochrome..
Excellent composition, exposure. Meets mandate in a very good way!
(Please forgive the blatant spam, but it reminds me of this *archive*
shot of mine http://www.marktphoto.com/marina/slides/rings.htm ..
dang - I should have entered!)

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115174
Douglas - good exposure and interesting subject, but the cropped beak
is unfortunate. This is one of those very rare shots that I think
would have been improved by a *big* slant. Try it - about a 25° tilt
works for me. Plus that might have meant you could have included the
beak.. By the way, it is very unusual to hear of two pelicans
actually fighting to the death.. (but I *have* watched a seal (sea
lion actually) catch and kill a cormorant..not fun to watch..)

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115176
Bowser - a really interesting image, but somehow it doesn't work for
me - I keep looking at it, and thinking there must be a way to make
this work better, but blowed if I can put my finger on it. Good
exposure, good use of a pola by the looks. Also interesting because
it is one of those images that even if you get the horizon dead level,
it still looks slanted..

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115178
Bowser2 - Nice, powerful work, a scene that makes one pause for a
moment to think what would it be like.. - couldn't meet the mandate in
much more of an obvious way. Just a bit uncomfortable with the
cropping, esp top and bottom right - maybe a little more front-on
might have worked better?

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115179
Michael H - Wow! Lovely b&w work. Looks like the place where some
gangsters went down in a hail of gunfire.. or maybe it's just an old
peaceful farmshed scene.. (O; Lovely control of exposure/curve, but
two things bug me a little - I want to go and stamp on the grass that
sticks up near the front of the car - I'd love to see just a touch
more of its nose. And the grey fencetop (?) at bottom right should
have been cropped out. Nevertheless, draw for first place.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115181
Frank S (is that you, Frank Ess?) - I like it because it is so off the
wall. Inscrutable, odd, and indecipherable, just like the notes
beneath it, and just like the stuff you post here (if it is Mr Ess)!
I love it. But as for meeting the mandate, how on earth does one
tell??? (O;

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115183
Mike B - I love/hate this. Love the face/figure, the moment, the odd
crop, the feeling. Hate the burnt areas - I don't know if this was
meant to add to the image, but to me it doesn't. Overall it is a very
good image, but hurts my eyes.. Meets the mandate pretty well though,
and makes you want to go over and talk to him...

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115185
Jim K - great image - I love it - this would make a fine pair with
Annika's recent shot of a similar bug. The upside downness just makes
it work perfectly. However, apart from being beaut and cute as
against rough and tough, I think the link to the subject is a little
tenuous.

Well done all.

mark.thomas wrote:

I know it's about time I contributed, but here's a quick critique
anyways.. But before I do, and note that this is NOT aimed at any of
the current entries/entrants - what happened to the flag-as-archive
requirement? Does it still apply? I know they are just rulz, but it
would add to the competition imo if folks would always declare
archived images (geez, I hope I have never missed flagging *my*
old'uns..)

Good question. AFAICT, the rulz only require an entrant to add "OLD" to the
filename. I wasn't aware that we had to put anything in the description
about it.

Actually, mine is an archive image, but only because when I went back to the
tug to shoot it again with a borrowed Nikon D40, and the line was in use and
I couldn't make a shot a tenth as good as the one I submitted.

I just noticed that mine has the exposure date under the image ... so that's
how we know that it's an archive image?

Anyway, no big deal - and here's my quick response to these images:

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115136
Wilba - bravo! I'm going to give you this one, but drawn with Michael
H.

Thanks very much. That's two votes for me. :-)

Very nice evocative shot, with really interesting color
combinations, yet a main subject that is largely monochrome..

Yes, it's almost like one of those monos with the colour coming through from
a layer below.

Excellent composition, exposure.

Thanks again. This is such a typical shot for me - I love to fill the frame
with something mundane that I find. But when I posted it in
alt.binaries.photos.original I didn't get one comment. Philistines! :-D

Meets mandate in a very good way!

Thanks. I thought it was a strong contender for how it so literally depicts
the idea.

(Please forgive the blatant spam, but it reminds me of this *archive*
shot of mine http://www.marktphoto.com/marina/slides/rings.htm ..
dang - I should have entered!)

I'm not sure that one wouldn't be more fitting for "Soft and Smooth". :-)

Well done all.

Good on you for doing a review. I always value these. Maybe I'll do one
tomorrow ...

wrote in message
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115176
Bowser - a really interesting image, but somehow it doesn't work for
me - I keep looking at it, and thinking there must be a way to make
this work better, but blowed if I can put my finger on it. Good
exposure, good use of a pola by the looks. Also interesting because
it is one of those images that even if you get the horizon dead level,
it still looks slanted..

-------------------------

Yes, I used a polarizer, since the sun was not at a great angle, and never
is on this dam. But it is a pretty cool dam. And my horizons are never
level, despite my use of a focusing screen with a grid. Yes, I know...

-------------------------

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115178
Bowser2 - Nice, powerful work, a scene that makes one pause for a
moment to think what would it be like.. - couldn't meet the mandate in
much more of an obvious way. Just a bit uncomfortable with the
cropping, esp top and bottom right - maybe a little more front-on
might have worked better?

---------------------------------------

I'm not wild about this shot myself, and that's why I sent the dam pic, as
well. I took this one as a snapshot of a building near the entrance to the
prison (now a national park), and wasn't really thinking about a crop, or
composition, but it is a tough place. Birds seem to like it, though. Not an
artistic success, but none of mine ever are. But I'm guessing anyone who
looks at my stuff on "shootin" already knew that. Fact is I probably had
better shots of Alcatraz but my total lack of an "eye" ruled them out.

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 04:49:40 -0700, wrote:

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115183
Mike B - I love/hate this. Love the face/figure, the moment, the odd
crop, the feeling. Hate the burnt areas - I don't know if this was
meant to add to the image, but to me it doesn't. Overall it is a very
good image, but hurts my eyes.. Meets the mandate pretty well though,
and makes you want to go over and talk to him...

Your critique is kinder than my own, which is "Great Subject,
lousy shot." As note, I submitted it against my better judgment,
but I'm doing what I can to keep the entry count up.

I took this candid at a small car show in a small town in central
Massachusetts named Wales. The burnt areas are because I wasn't
prepared for the shooting conditions. I had planned to have to
boost contrast with a red filter, but instead found myself shooting
under midday sun. This shot cried out for fill flash, but I had
left the SB-800 in the car.

My alternative was a shot that also had serious contrast issues:
http://webwhat.home.comcast.net/RoughTough2.jpg

I had also burned a lot of shots trying to capture a virtually
unrestored Studebaker pickup truck, but didn't get _that_ right
either. Altogether, one of my most frustrating shoots in a long
time.

Hard water. 90+ degrees. How do I deconstruct _this_ one?

--
Michael Benveniste --
Spam and UCE professionally evaluated for $419. Use this email
address only to submit mail for evaluation.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115136
Wilba: Definitive, classic use of the medium to make a statement
completely on point. Just the kind of image that draws me back to
enjoy the subject, composition, and to see new details on each
viewing. There is sensual information well beyond the visual and
intellectual. Rich.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115174
Douglas: You can tell any number of stories about this coming-together
of a pair. The color shading on the bills is remarkable.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115176
Bowser: My psyche likes images that keep my eye busy with rewarding
new detail (sound familiar?). This one has it all over, in addition to
a panoply of textures and shadings. I'm not much influenced by
slightly off-kilter horizons, as the world looks like that to me much
of the time. In this one I might have tried to find a way to anchor
the right end of the dam; on the evidence I know it's there, but the
scene leaves me with a little itch in the edge of my perception.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115178
Bowser II: I have a very somber reaction to this one, and I believe
that's appropriate. More details and shadings, and another of those
that has some kind of motion in it in spite of the static nature of
the image. It may be the only thing I'd have against it is that the
motion has no resolution. Can't imagine how to eliminate or ameliorate
that.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115179
Michael H: This is the kind of thing that brings a tear to my eye on
several levels: one is the perfect capture, balance, detail. Another
is that it pulls me in to let my eye wander in company with my
imagination: Whose was that? Did he own the car and the shack? The car
looks pretty solid, what there is of it; why has no one come to rescue
it, or at least give it a decent burial? I hope you don't mind if I
post it to alt.binaries.pictures.autos. This will knock them out, I'm
sure.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115181 - Mark.T said:
"Frank S (is that you, Frank Ess?) - I like it because it is so off
the
wall. Inscrutable, odd, and indecipherable, just like the notes
beneath it, and just like the stuff you post here (if it is Mr Ess)!
I love it. But as for meeting the mandate, how on earth does one
tell??? (O; "

Yes, I am he, he is me. I made several portraits of this bench, and
I'm not sure any of them made the link to "Rough and Tough" any
clearer. It was rough when new, has a patina of saw-cuts, drill-holes
and other scars, and keeps on ticking. I guess the fooferaw of the
birds, birds, birds makes the bench itself kind of inaccessible. I
suppose it's easy to see something not apparent to others when one is
emotionally involved with the subject. Other attempts at
http://www.fototime.com/inv/C6C90DF9FF87E71


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115183
Mike B: I think I know this guy, and his tics and scent, and
prospects, and I'd rather see his face than his shoulders well-exposed
(heh). A prototype of the rough and tough guys I remember from every
era I've survived. I'm /certain/ I know this guy. I bet I could
confirm it if I could see just one hand clearly.


http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115185
Jim K: Very nicely done, caught the expression in a critical moment,
plenty of that absorbing detail to wallow in. Trouble is, I appreciate
this kind of shot for a short count, and it's over; I guess I just
don't have that much empathy with arachnoids, although I /really/ like
them and appreciate the work they do.



Thanks to all who joined in the expression of "Rough and Tough". It
seems everyone did a better job than I did, but it was fun and
rewarding, I hope. I appreciate the feedback/analysis/comments from
members of this group. My esteem for you-all is increased daily,
especially when aspects of the craft and art are verbalized and
illustrated as in these exercises.

Thank you,

--
Frank ess
Frank Sheffield

Frank ess wrote:

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115136
Wilba: Definitive, classic use of the medium to make a statement
completely on point. Just the kind of image that draws me back to enjoy
the subject, composition, and to see new details on each viewing. There is
sensual information well beyond the visual and intellectual. Rich.

Gulp. Thanks very much indeed. You just made my photo a whole lot better (if
you know what I mean ...?).

I know what you mean about a photo that keeps on bringing you back for
another look, and (no offence to Jim K), how some photos are over in a
glance.

Brilliant review, thanks.

On Sep 8, 10:58 am, "Frank ess" wrote:
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115136
Wilba: Definitive, classic use of the medium to make a statement
completely on point. Just the kind of image that draws me back to
enjoy the subject, composition, and to see new details on each
viewing. There is sensual information well beyond the visual and
intellectual. Rich.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115174
Douglas: You can tell any number of stories about this coming-together
of a pair. The color shading on the bills is remarkable.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115176
Bowser: My psyche likes images that keep my eye busy with rewarding
new detail (sound familiar?). This one has it all over, in addition to
a panoply of textures and shadings. I'm not much influenced by
slightly off-kilter horizons, as the world looks like that to me much
of the time. In this one I might have tried to find a way to anchor
the right end of the dam; on the evidence I know it's there, but the
scene leaves me with a little itch in the edge of my perception.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115178
Bowser II: I have a very somber reaction to this one, and I believe
that's appropriate. More details and shadings, and another of those
that has some kind of motion in it in spite of the static nature of
the image. It may be the only thing I'd have against it is that the
motion has no resolution. Can't imagine how to eliminate or ameliorate
that.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115179
Michael H: This is the kind of thing that brings a tear to my eye on
several levels: one is the perfect capture, balance, detail. Another
is that it pulls me in to let my eye wander in company with my
imagination: Whose was that? Did he own the car and the shack? The car
looks pretty solid, what there is of it; why has no one come to rescue
it, or at least give it a decent burial? I hope you don't mind if I
post it to alt.binaries.pictures.autos. This will knock them out, I'm
sure.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115181- Mark.T said:
"Frank S (is that you, Frank Ess?) - I like it because it is so off
the
wall. Inscrutable, odd, and indecipherable, just like the notes
beneath it, and just like the stuff you post here (if it is Mr Ess)!
I love it. But as for meeting the mandate, how on earth does one
tell??? (O; "

Yes, I am he, he is me. I made several portraits of this bench, and
I'm not sure any of them made the link to "Rough and Tough" any
clearer. It was rough when new, has a patina of saw-cuts, drill-holes
and other scars, and keeps on ticking. I guess the fooferaw of the
birds, birds, birds makes the bench itself kind of inaccessible. I
suppose it's easy to see something not apparent to others when one is
emotionally involved with the subject. Other attempts athttp://www.fototime.com/inv/C6C90DF9FF87E71

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115183
Mike B: I think I know this guy, and his tics and scent, and
prospects, and I'd rather see his face than his shoulders well-exposed
(heh). A prototype of the rough and tough guys I remember from every
era I've survived. I'm /certain/ I know this guy. I bet I could
confirm it if I could see just one hand clearly.

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/85115185
Jim K: Very nicely done, caught the expression in a critical moment,
plenty of that absorbing detail to wallow in. Trouble is, I appreciate
this kind of shot for a short count, and it's over; I guess I just
don't have that much empathy with arachnoids, although I /really/ like
them and appreciate the work they do.

Thanks to all who joined in the expression of "Rough and Tough". It
seems everyone did a better job than I did, but it was fun and
rewarding, I hope. I appreciate the feedback/analysis/comments from
members of this group. My esteem for you-all is increased daily,
especially when aspects of the craft and art are verbalized and
illustrated as in these exercises.

Thank you,

--
Frank ess
Frank Sheffield

I like the way you combined your comments in a thread started from
someone else's comments. Now if all the critics could do that, it
would save the arthritic fingers of those old cronies who read them!
Anything to save the mouse!

Doug