[SI] Shoot-In comments (Road Less Travelled)

This was a fairly difficult mandate, in view of the "We don't want no clichés"
restriction we were asked to obey. Given that, this is a surprisingly good set
of pictures. Herewithal my usual uncensored comments, unencumbered by
politeness or other civilities.

Bob


? (road)
Whose is this? It's too good a picture to be submitted anonymously. I'm not
sure whether we're looking at the feature's "wash" or "road" implementation,
but on close inspection I think I'm seeing rocks and not bubbles, Excellent
composition; the stratified formation in top dead center is what really makes
it work.

Tony Cooper - End of the Road
Here's a dreary cemetery shot, dangerously near to the deprecated cliché -
until you blow it up to full size! That tombstone, so understated one might
have to look for it, is brilliant. You get the prize for originality this
month, Tony, hands down.

Tony Cooper - Road Closed
Not as good as Tony's other shot. I see the point, but it's a little too
obvious. At best I suppose the overkill signage makes a statement about the
pompous absurdity underlying much of our national "defense".

Alan Browne 3
I have to confess I don't altogether understand what's going on here. Are they
sewing up this poor wretch after somebody let him have it with a hand axe?
Well, it's technically correct, and the colors are nice.

Bob & Martha Coe
I'll leave it to others to comment on our work (reserving the right to try to
defend my artistic judgement, such as it is, if necessary).

Savageduck 01, 02, 03
These are intended to be viewed as a set, and all are nice enough. But clearly
the one in the middle stands above the others. Even dumbed down to the
Shoot-In size limit of 300KB, its composition, colors, lighting, and overall
technical quality are first-rate.

Alan Browne 1
I wouldn't have expected this one to work as well as it does. The composition
is goofy in the extreme. How did a map of New Mexico (or is it Alabama?)
insinuate its way into the scene? The car looks like an advertisement for a
build-it-yourself model, which I suppose it may in fact be. But the colors,
from a limited palette, work extremely well together, and the image skillfully
exploits that photographic nemesis, the black Pbase background. I don't know
how others will feel, but I see this as an interesting departure from Alan's
usual work, displaying a versatility I didn't know he had.

Alan 1
Out of gas in a mud hole somewhere north of Enumclaw, under a still overcast
sky? Been there; done that. (Well, almost.) I'm not as drawn to this as I am
to some of the others, but it's certainly an OK shot.

Alan 2
A much more artistic effort than Alan's other picture. I place this one on the
edge of the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. The scene is, of course,
stolen by that poor stick, arm outstretched, trying to somehow make it to the
next water hole. A quirky, interesting picture.

? (Crosses)
Technically and compositionally, there's nothing at all wrong with this shot.
But we've seen its equivalent many times before. If it adds anything to the
existing canon, I'm hard-pressed to say what it is.

Tim Conway
Like the student facing down the tank in Beijing, the turtle relies on the
photographer to save his skin - er, shell. The picture doesn't quite speak to
me, and I'm not entirely sure why. There's a sterility about it that seems to
call for more action. Maybe it needs a driver with his/her head out the window
looking to see what's going on.

Bowser
An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But I suppose
Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped it down. The tie to
the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well with it as most of us did.

Robert Coe wrote:
This was a fairly difficult mandate, in view of the "We don't want no clichés"
restriction we were asked to obey. Given that, this is a surprisingly good set
of pictures. Herewithal my usual uncensored comments, unencumbered by
politeness or other civilities.

Bob


? (road)
Whose is this? It's too good a picture to be submitted anonymously. I'm not
sure whether we're looking at the feature's "wash" or "road" implementation,
but on close inspection I think I'm seeing rocks and not bubbles, Excellent
composition; the stratified formation in top dead center is what really makes
it work.

It's mine, and the original "rep" shot. I just forgot to take it down.
It's a wash in southern Utah leading into an area of stacks and hoodoos.



Bowser
An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But I suppose
Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped it down. The tie to
the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well with it as most of us did.

I had asked one of the priests to post, and had plans to include a
close-up of his collar with the church in the background and it was
supposed to represent the lack of men interested in the priesthood. But
he backed out, so I used this as a stretch. And quite a stretch, too.

On Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:19:26 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Robert Coe wrote:
: Bowser
: An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But
: I suppose Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped
: it down. The tie to the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well
: with it as most of us did.
:
: I had asked one of the priests to [pose], and had plans to include a
: close-up of his collar with the church in the background and it was
: supposed to represent the lack of men interested in the priesthood. But
: he backed out, so I used this as a stretch. And quite a stretch, too.

If you really wanted to make a point, you could show a dejected woman outside
a seminary's walls while the few remaining male seminarians go about their
business, ignoring her. You might even have found a woman willing to pose. You
might even have found a *nun* willing to pose.

Bob

On Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:38:59 -0400, Robert Coe wrote:

On Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:19:26 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Robert Coe wrote:
: Bowser
: An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But
: I suppose Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped
: it down. The tie to the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well
: with it as most of us did.
:
: I had asked one of the priests to [pose], and had plans to include a
: close-up of his collar with the church in the background and it was
: supposed to represent the lack of men interested in the priesthood. But
: he backed out, so I used this as a stretch. And quite a stretch, too.

If you really wanted to make a point, you could show a dejected woman outside
a seminary's walls while the few remaining male seminarians go about their
business, ignoring her. You might even have found a woman willing to pose. You
might even have found a *nun* willing to pose.

That would be "The Road Not Traveled", not "The Road Less Traveled".


--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Disappointingly, the discussions about the Shoot-In didn't bring in
more than the Usual Suspects, and they didn't all show up.

Unknown Artist (Utah wash)- Not really a "road" picture, but a damn
good photograph.

Tony Cooper (graveyard) A really bright day, a shot taken at noon,
and a very washed-out image to start with. A B&W Gradient Layer Mask
at reduced opacity over the Background Layer did wonders for it.

Tony Cooper (fence) A very unimaginative shot. Closest second choice
I could think of for the mandate without submitting another dirt road.
I looked at this scene six ways from the middle and couldn't figure
any way to add any interest to it.

Alan Brown-3 (no title) - I have no idea how this ties in with the
mandate. Nice _National Geographic_ type of image, but not even a
sign of a visual pun.

Bob Coe_1_old (no title) Not so great until you read the explanatory
text. Then it makes a bit of sense for the mandate. Not a great
image, but it is a great story.

Martha Coe_1_old (no title) I understand she pulled an image from the
file, and didn't shoot to mandate, but the dam isn't necessary for the
image. More car - recognizable parts, anyway - is. Again, though, a
good story.

Road-Savageduck-01w - Good shot. Good colors. The other two are OK,
but lack punch. The hiker makes 01w.

Alan Browne 1 (no title) Again, I have no idea what's going on here.
I kinda like the image, but I don't understand it. How does the glare
get on the window and shades but not on the "car"?

Alan2 (no title) Really good shot, but those footprints bother me.
Perfectly legal to set-up the scene and arrange the components, but
sweep away the footprints after.

Road_Tim Conway_old It wants a face in the driver's side.

rlt_Bowser Crop! Crop! Crop! Down through the pole and across the
top of the shadow. You lose nothing except distractions.

RLT_Paul-Furman_0031400 Finally! An image that anyone can do. If
(names withheld in a rare moment of restraint) knew they could submit
really out-of-focus stuff, they would have entered the Shoot-In.
(It's not my screen, is it?)







--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Robert Coe wrote:


Alan Browne 3
I have to confess I don't altogether understand what's going on here. Are they
sewing up this poor wretch after somebody let him have it with a hand axe?
Well, it's technically correct, and the colors are nice.

A spiritual centre in the Laurentians was hosting a Hindu festival which
included a very colorful parade. It was a very 'random' happening in a
cluttered environment and did not suit my usual plodding pace. Some of
the celebrants are pierced with hooks as shown and restrained by a
partner. They enter some sort of trance from the pain, the dancing and
the rituals. Not a road I'd like to travel...


Alan Browne 1
I wouldn't have expected this one to work as well as it does. The composition
is goofy in the extreme. How did a map of New Mexico (or is it Alabama?)
insinuate its way into the scene? The car looks like an advertisement for a
build-it-yourself model, which I suppose it may in fact be. But the colors,
from a limited palette, work extremely well together, and the image skillfully
exploits that photographic nemesis, the black Pbase background. I don't know
how others will feel, but I see this as an interesting departure from Alan's
usual work, displaying a versatility I didn't know he had.

The SI shows 0.01% of my photography. I'm not good at shooting to
mandates as I've got other things to do. The photo shown is on a
Montreal street. It is simply a window on a garage. I positioned
myself off axis (to avoid a reflection) with a fairly long lens and
aligned a keyhole of sky (coming between a couple building behind me)
and threw that well OOF. Colours worked well. Just cropped a tad for
the SI.

Alan 1
Out of gas in a mud hole somewhere north of Enumclaw, under a still overcast
sky? Been there; done that. (Well, almost.) I'm not as drawn to this as I am
to some of the others, but it's certainly an OK shot.

Somewhere between Creede and Silverton CO.
Not out of gas, happily, but Microsoft Streets and Trips is to blame for
us being there. What was indicated as a "County Road" turned out to be
a narrow, rough, boulder strewn, crossing streams, steep climbs and so
on. (The photo shows the "superhighway" portion). We were defeated by
a muddy hill a little after this shot was taken and had to go back.
(Going down the hill I was not sure we would ever get out if later
forced to turn back, 4WD but ordinary SUV tires. So in an abundance of
caution backed out and turned around). Took over an hour to go about 20
miles or so - and the same to get out. If ever back there, I will
attempt it again - hopefully in dryer weather.

Alan 2
A much more artistic effort than Alan's other picture. I place this one on the
edge of the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. The scene is, of course,
stolen by that poor stick, arm outstretched, trying to somehow make it to the
next water hole. A quirky, interesting picture.

Just an ordinary landscape of the formula: "anchor object in front and
layer up the scene".

Robert Coe wrote:
This was a fairly difficult mandate, in view of the "We don't want no clichés"

Indeed, I was unable to comply with the cliche restriction g.

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

[bowser] (road)
...It's too good a picture to be submitted anonymously. I'm not
sure whether we're looking at the feature's "wash" or "road" implementation,

Some 'rivers' are considered navigable roads for legal purposes out
there. Years ago I hiked the Pariah River from Bryce to Arizona for 2
weeks and didn't see a single person except when crossing a highway in
the middle. Beautiful country and a nice capture.


but on close inspection I think I'm seeing rocks and not bubbles, Excellent
composition; the stratified formation in top dead center is what really makes
it work.

Tony Cooper - End of the Road
Here's a dreary cemetery shot, dangerously near to the deprecated cliché -
until you blow it up to full size! That tombstone, so understated one might
have to look for it, is brilliant. You get the prize for originality this
month, Tony, hands down.

Ha! :-)

Is this partly desaturated or the lighting was actually like that?


Tony Cooper - Road Closed
Not as good as Tony's other shot. I see the point, but it's a little too
obvious. At best I suppose the overkill signage makes a statement about the
pompous absurdity underlying much of our national "defense".

Sort of blatantly obvious and a bit boring but a good composition and
well executed.



Alan Browne 3
I have to confess I don't altogether understand what's going on here. Are they
sewing up this poor wretch after somebody let him have it with a hand axe?
Well, it's technically correct, and the colors are nice.

Looks like some kind of ritual flogging. Shocking content and fine for
illustrating the event but not a great photo in itself. Interesting
though for sure.


Bob & Martha Coe
I'll leave it to others to comment on our work (reserving the right to try to
defend my artistic judgement, such as it is, if necessary).

Someone else commented on the triangular composition in the first which
I agree works well. Interesting story too. The next two don't hold any
interest for me, the old stone dam is fascinating, not a bad shot...
worth re-visiting. The iron gate shot would be good for accompanying an
article about the subject.


Savageduck 01, 02, 03
These are intended to be viewed as a set, and all are nice enough. But clearly
the one in the middle stands above the others. Even dumbed down to the
Shoot-In size limit of 300KB, its composition, colors, lighting, and overall
technical quality are first-rate.

Ha, I like the third best by far, maybe just because I'm fond of that
kind of landscape. The second has an interesting layered composition but
nothing really interesting as a subject.


Alan Browne 1
I wouldn't have expected this one to work as well as it does. The composition
is goofy in the extreme. How did a map of New Mexico (or is it Alabama?)
insinuate its way into the scene? The car looks like an advertisement for a
build-it-yourself model, which I suppose it may in fact be. But the colors,
from a limited palette, work extremely well together, and the image skillfully
exploits that photographic nemesis, the black Pbase background. I don't know
how others will feel, but I see this as an interesting departure from Alan's
usual work, displaying a versatility I didn't know he had.

I enjoy details like this. The composition could have been more dynamic.


Alan 1
Out of gas in a mud hole somewhere north of Enumclaw, under a still overcast
sky? Been there; done that. (Well, almost.) I'm not as drawn to this as I am
to some of the others, but it's certainly an OK shot.

I took a similar trip soon after Alan's - over much of the same terrain,
soon after his trip - here's my comparable shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgehil...7617631415944/


Alan 2
A much more artistic effort than Alan's other picture. I place this one on the
edge of the Great Sand Dunes in southern Colorado. The scene is, of course,
stolen by that poor stick, arm outstretched, trying to somehow make it to the
next water hole. A quirky, interesting picture.

I could swear I shot the same bleached log at the San Dunes too g
that's crossing a flat wash where floods drag trees out into the open.


? (Crosses)
Technically and compositionally, there's nothing at all wrong with this shot.
But we've seen its equivalent many times before. If it adds anything to the
existing canon, I'm hard-pressed to say what it is.

Ah well, I still like it. Maybe the forced composition with too little
sky & too much foreground bothers me a little. I guess that's the result
of keeping the verticals upright from the low crouching position.
Tinkering around with my new 24mm PC-E tilt/shift lens makes me think
this could be a good situation for a perspective correcting lens. One
could zoom out & crop for the same effect.


Tim Conway
Like the student facing down the tank in Beijing, the turtle relies on the
photographer to save his skin - er, shell. The picture doesn't quite speak to
me, and I'm not entirely sure why. There's a sterility about it that seems to
call for more action. Maybe it needs a driver with his/her head out the window
looking to see what's going on.

Some interesting aspects to this shot, though it does have a snapshot
feel and I agree with someone's comment about the distracting
reflections but still interesting to see under the car from such an odd
angle and while sort of plain, it is a good composition... just doesn't
have a dramatic exotic look.


Bowser
An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But I suppose
Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped it down. The tie to
the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well with it as most of us did.

I think it's a clever (third?) attempt at the concept for the mandate
and a very well done photo. The power line didn't bother me, it's aim is
to show reality.

My two submissions...

Blurry Rail Tracks
OK, OK, suppress your groans, either you like it or it's crap, I know.
You will notice in the far bottom edge at the left, a couple twigs which
are almost in focus g. The focus point is actually in the frame about
5 feet away - was supposed to be on the sharpest flowers in the lower
left. I like how the foreground flowers actually bent the light making
the train tracks warp. This is a section of city light rail line that
cuts through back yards circumventing a hill in San Francisco. I'm
violating warnings to walk along the tracks but it's a useful shortcut
for me. I rarely use the 85/1.4 lens so went out intentionally with it
in broad daylight with the ISO forced to 100 and got some neat shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgehil...7621488426682/

Forested Road
The lath house is part of the growing grounds for my online nursery
business, not open to the public. The road is one of those hidden
treasures in SF, people who have been here for decades usually have
never heard of it. It's almost like a jeep trail in this segment and
drops off to the left very steeply. Definitely a little traveled road.
This was done with a 24mm f/3.5 PC-E Nikkor with shift for perspective
correction to keep the verticals straight. In fact, it's possible I
didn't need to shift for this shot but others in the set use it:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/edgehil...7620795250639/


--
Paul Furman
www.edgehill.net
www.baynatives.com

all google groups messages filtered due to spam

tony cooper wrote:

RLT_Paul-Furman_0031400 Finally! An image that anyone can do. If
(names withheld in a rare moment of restraint) knew they could submit
really out-of-focus stuff, they would have entered the Shoot-In.
(It's not my screen, is it?)

The point wasn't sharp focus grin.
Thanks for the comments...


--
Paul Furman
www.edgehill.net
www.baynatives.com

all google groups messages filtered due to spam

"Robert Coe" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:19:26 -0400, Bowser wrote:
: Robert Coe wrote:
: Bowser
: An attractive shot that isn't helped by the ugly telephone pole. But
: I suppose Bowser would have ended up in the clink if he had chopped
: it down. The tie to the mandate is a bit strained, but he did as well
: with it as most of us did.
:
: I had asked one of the priests to [pose], and had plans to include a
: close-up of his collar with the church in the background and it was
: supposed to represent the lack of men interested in the priesthood. But
: he backed out, so I used this as a stretch. And quite a stretch, too.

If you really wanted to make a point, you could show a dejected woman
outside
a seminary's walls while the few remaining male seminarians go about their
business, ignoring her. You might even have found a woman willing to pose.
You
might even have found a *nun* willing to pose.

Yeah, sure, now you tell me.

Alan Browne wrote:
Robert Coe wrote:

Alan 1
Out of gas in a mud hole somewhere north of Enumclaw, under a still
overcast sky? Been there; done that. (Well, almost.) I'm not as
drawn to this as I am to some of the others, but it's certainly
an OK shot.

Somewhere between Creede and Silverton CO.
Not out of gas, happily, but Microsoft Streets and Trips is to blame for
us being there. What was indicated as a "County Road" turned out to be
a narrow, rough, boulder strewn, crossing streams, steep climbs and so
on. (The photo shows the "superhighway" portion). We were defeated by
a muddy hill a little after this shot was taken and had to go back.

The comparable shot I posted in reply was where I turned back... only
had a crappy little paper map and was really hoping to get through that
pass!


(Going down the hill I was not sure we would ever get out if later
forced to turn back, 4WD but ordinary SUV tires. So in an abundance of
caution backed out and turned around). Took over an hour to go about 20
miles or so - and the same to get out. If ever back there, I will
attempt it again - hopefully in dryer weather.

--
Paul Furman
www.edgehill.net
www.baynatives.com

all google groups messages filtered due to spam