[SI] Shooting comentary (and more)

After the crap going on in this group about my photos and the troll
activity getting mobile again. It's no wonder there are so few entries in
this month's shootin. "I guess you reap what you sow" as far as
participation goes.

Six entries really is getting to the bottom of the barrel. The previous
regulars are sadly missed. Come on people... There's still time. At least
give me a chance to get a few lines in about your stuff...

Anyway...

My own shot... Exemplary as always! Fantastic lighting control thanks to
Photoshop. Excellent celebrations thanks to the host's perfect choice of
Australia's finest wines. The glass in the center sees it fit the mandate
perfectly.

Alan Williams: Excellent control of lighting. Like all good photos it
asks a question... What the hell is it?

Paul Furman: Moon shots. Seen one, seen 'em all.

Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?

Bowser: Classic bowser photography. Was there a message in this picture?

Jim Kramer: Hmmm. I've looked at this for at least 10 minutes and can't
discover a comment to make. Maybe holding my attention for that long IS
the message in the picture?

Douglas

D-Mac wrote:
My own shot... Exemplary as always! Fantastic lighting control thanks
to Photoshop. Excellent celebrations thanks to the host's perfect
choice of Australia's finest wines. The glass in the center sees it
fit the mandate perfectly.

Since when is correcting errors after-the-fact considered "fantastic
lighting control"? Geez, dude, you can't even pat yourself on the back
convincingly. Even politicians spin better than that.

Anyway, not a bad shot overall. The plastic cups and chairs in the
background are distracting, though.

D-Mac wrote:

My own shot... Exemplary as always!

:-)

Alan Williams: Excellent control of lighting.

Thanks very much. Histogram, bracket, histogram, bracket ....

Like all good photos it asks a question... What the hell is it?

I ask, what was the guy on when he designed this (in the 1890s)?

Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?

Took me a while to get it, but I like it since I did.

Bowser: Classic bowser photography. Was there a message in this picture?

I imagine the old door was pretty asymmetrical after the experiment.

Bret Douglas: LOL. Great answer to the challenge. :-)

Wilba wrote:

Thanks for commenting Wilba (Alan Williams?)

D-Mac wrote:
'wine & glasses'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214361
My own shot... Exemplary as always!
:-)
I like it and the mandate was met well. I'd give it second prize. I
could agree with the distracting background comment from whoever that
was though it didn't initially bother me at all at me. Jacob's Creek
Merlot sounds familiar, I love reds!

'stone entry'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214626
Alan Williams (Wilba?): Excellent control of lighting.
Thanks very much. Histogram, bracket, histogram, bracket ....
That really is asymmetrically built. I was confused that it might have
been just shot off center with an extreme lens of some sort. Nice quirky
find, something unique and well executed. Much of photography is hunting
down interesting things that catch our eye and sharing; that was done
here quite competently here.
I ask, what was the guy on when he designed this (in the 1890s)?
Ha, indeed!

'new moon'
Paul Furman (me)
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214697
Yeah I know it was lame to steal the sample idea but what the hell?
It's not a great shot but it represented some struggle on my part and I
disagree all moon shots are the same. I thought it's a good conceptual
approach to the mandate because the moon is always changing and rarely
symmetrical. I had been trying to catch the new moon as a fresh sliver
but it was so close to the sun, and that was a challenge. Anyways I
accept that it's no masterpiece. I struggled & learned though.

'Canadian flag'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214914
Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?
Took me a while to get it, but I like it since I did.
I missed this one.

'red & white garage doors'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214983
Jim Kramer
I vote this the winner. Clean and strong and and interesting find that
not everyone would notice showing what I'd bet is an interesting
person's unique solution to breaking symmetry but still very unified.
Powerful inspite of extreme simplicity. I'm not sure I would hang the
photo on my wall but if it was my building, I'd be pleased & stimulated
every day coming home to that and the photography captures it perfectly.
Smack on the mandate, a strong first place rating in my book.

'sword leaves'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76252171
Bowser: Classic bowser photography. Was there a message in this picture?
OK well the gray leaves behind & the green in front is kind of
interesting but there really isn't any symmetry here to be
asymmetrisized. Too simple to be interesting.

'One white crane out of order'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76276208
Bret Douglas: LOL. Great answer to the challenge. :-)
Clever solution, A for concept but overall not really a satisfying
picture for me. I will grant that the form of the spit of land and the
mass of birds is sort of compelling and an intelligible compositional
feature but the odd bird is just not enough to capture my imagination.
The rest would have to be more uniform for that to work. Neat idea to
pursue for another opportunity.

new entry:
'row of stacked chairs'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76286081
Paul Campbell
A newcomer? Welcome! I have to say I'm really not satisfied, I'd have
cropped off everything to the right of the black line on the wall with
just three stacks, the short stack of 2 on the left is where my eyes go
to rest, there's too many of the other stacks (but not enough to create
rythm & repetition) and the last one cut off is just frustrating. I
guess with a b&w I'd like to see some element of the image go into pure
whites too and this is a but plain. I don't mean to discourage... my
entry was not a masterpiece.

Whew these comments take considerable effort.

Paul Furman wrote:
Wilba wrote:
D-Mac wrote:

Thanks for commenting Wilba (Alan Williams?)

Yes. Nickname circa 1969.

'stone entry'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214626
Alan Williams (Wilba?): Excellent control of lighting.
Thanks very much. Histogram, bracket, histogram, bracket ....
That really is asymmetrically built. I was confused that it might have
been just shot off center with an extreme lens of some sort. Nice
quirky find, something unique and well executed.

Thanks very much.

Much of photography is hunting down interesting things that catch
our eye and sharing; that was done here quite competently here.

Yes, that's a pretty accurate description of how I think of what motivates
me to take photos. This wasn't much of a hunt - I walk past it a couple of
times a week. :-)

'new moon'
Paul Furman (me)
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214697
Yeah I know it was lame to steal the sample idea but what the hell?
It's not a great shot but it represented some struggle on my part and I
disagree all moon shots are the same. I thought it's a good conceptual
approach to the mandate because the moon is always changing and rarely
symmetrical.

And in a real and definitive sense, the visible shape of the moon is always
symmetrical. I like that about yours - the way the asymmetry is strongly
suggestive of symmetry.

'Canadian flag'
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214914
Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?
Took me a while to get it, but I like it since I did.
I missed this one.

That's the idea - look for what's missing. :-)

On Mar 27, 6:20 pm, D-Mac wrote:

Jim Kramer: Hmmm. I've looked at this for at least 10 minutes and can't
discover a comment to make. Maybe holding my attention for that long IS
the message in the picture?

Thanks... I think? ;-)

On Mar 28, 12:21 am, Paul Furman wrote:
'new moon'
Paul Furman (me)http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76214697
Yeah I know it was lame to steal the sample idea but what the hell?
It's not a great shot but it represented some struggle on my part and I
disagree all moon shots are the same. I thought it's a good conceptual
approach to the mandate because the moon is always changing and rarely
symmetrical. I had been trying to catch the new moon as a fresh sliver
but it was so close to the sun, and that was a challenge. Anyways I
accept that it's no masterpiece. I struggled & learned though.

The sincerest form of flattery...


'sword leaves' http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/76252171
OK well the gray leaves behind & the green in front is kind of
interesting but there really isn't any symmetry here to be
asymmetrisized. Too simple to be interesting.


Ouch! I read Ken's comments too; it's interesting two people can have
such radically different perspectives on the same image. Makes all
this worthwhile though...

Thanks for commenting,
Jim

D-Mac wrote:

Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?

Thanks for your comments. Perhaps you didn't quite "get this one" because
the Australian Flag isn't supposed to be symmetrical. The Canadian flag
is.

On Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:30:16 +0000, Mardon wrote:

D-Mac wrote:

Mardon: Haven't quite got this one. Must have been a bad day, perhaps?

Thanks for your comments. Perhaps you didn't quite "get this one"
because the Australian Flag isn't supposed to be symmetrical. The
Canadian flag is.

Always nice to have the proper perspective on these things!

Douglas

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 23:43:00 +0000, TheDave? wrote:

D-Mac wrote:
My own shot... Exemplary as always! Fantastic lighting control thanks
to Photoshop. Excellent celebrations thanks to the host's perfect
choice of Australia's finest wines. The glass in the center sees it fit
the mandate perfectly.

Since when is correcting errors after-the-fact considered "fantastic
lighting control"? Geez, dude, you can't even pat yourself on the back
convincingly. Even politicians spin better than that.

Anyway, not a bad shot overall. The plastic cups and chairs in the
background are distracting, though.

Humor Dave, Humor.
I know as well as you that Photoshop can't control lighting, just
manipulate images to "seem" as if they are properly lit.

I guess as always, my sense of humor escapes a lot of people. Maybe if I
posted absurd comments in capital letters when my pet camera accidentally
takes a good picture, you'd understand it more easily? Racial differences
often result in those believing themselves to be the Superior race,
overlooking the obvious.

My quote for the day:
"Anyone who thinks they can please all the people all the time is a
greater fool than the man who thinks he can fool all the people all the
time."

Douglas St James Circa 2007