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[SI] XXXV (old stuff) Alan's comments
The "old stuff" SI has yielded some interesting photos. Some of which are very strong in all senses. Some are subtle, and some will suffer my less generous treatment. Bowser - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611087 Another of Bowsers high contrast, dead simple compositions. While there is a lot of detail, the empty sky really begs the question, "what's beyond here?" Regarding the mandate, whether alive or dead, the weather aged elements of this shot, trees and rocks, certainly speak of a long time while in contrast the clean fresh appearance speak of continued renewal. Good shot ... hope you worked over the scene and got more, esp. close-ups. Martin Djernaes* - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611100 This shot is very striking for its simplicity and saturated background color. Not sure how this was lit but there appears to be a lot of yellow on the BG and a bluish source from the left... The whole thing is rather bizarre isn't it? A barbers chair, but no counter for the barbers tools. An ad hoc shoeshine chair? No, doesn't have the right foot rests... I would guess that the shot was made at some sort of museum or exhibition, possibly a stage for a play. Strong image, bit weird. Definitely says something about "old" style... Simon Lee - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611101 Yet another dig at the old film world. (See Nick James' shot in Boundaries). Composition here is a bit too simple for my taste and usually expect something more dynamic from Simon. ( http://www.pbase.com/image/27382282 comes to mind.) In the presented shot there is some selective focus and mild converging lines... the Y&B coloring is strong. A sheet of black paper camera side (with a hole to shoot through) to eliminate the fore highlights, and a flatter/softer light off the to the left/back to produce white-flat highlights would have been more effective and really pops the yellows. Very cool idea, but I don't think you maxed it here... the collection of old Kodak cans is impressive. Vic Mason - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611102 Mixed ideas here. The plane is a carpentry tool and we would expect to see fresh unstained, unpainted wood and the obligatory cliché curls of wood from the plane. The wood that is presented looks like some renovation is underway. Composition has some strength with the predominant lines broken here and there. Shot seems a wee bit underexposed. McLeod* - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611103 The old lady running the old style lunch counter. Says it all. Shot seems a little out of focus or shaky and the pose is very contrived. Would have perhaps been more interesting if she were active, belying her age. One of the finer restaurants in your area, I take it? (jab at Ontario boy). Ken Nadvornick - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611104 Another documentary shot from Ken that is little different in style from his last shot for Entrances and Exists. This one is more interesting and less cluttered than the prev. example. The reason is that this shot is nearly 2D in depth (prev. one had a lot of BG clutter). Here there is some shadow that lifts some elements off of the image in a pleasing way. Shot is contrasty and sharp. I wish that Ken would begin a more 3D and detailed look at the world ... this style shot is getting ... old. Brian Fane - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611105 While you were in WA mode you should have really closed in to remove the headstone on the lower right. I'm guessing you used slide film here or a pretty good digi as the shadow side on the left is almost dead in detail. The blasted blues and the slight vignetting indicate a polarizer. Somehow the notion of old doesn't carry here because the scene is so fresh looking, a pleasant day, fresh. Good shot but I would have gotten in even closer to the stone. Eric Quesnel-Williams- http://www.pbase.com/image/32611106 Neat macro shot, lot's of detail and the use of new stamps as oof background is visually very effective in drawing attention to the detail in the old QV stamp. The close cropping is, of course, another appealing part of this image. Very well done. I'm guessing you had the stamp held by some device some height above the other stamps or possibly, but less likely, on a sheet of glass and very careful attention to lighting. From Eric I expected something more along the lines of a spooky graveyard at midnight ... but Eric surprises again. Brian Baird - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611107 While clearly an old wreck of a barn, esp. with the growth suggesting it has been abandoned, the composition is a bit centered and dull. Muted colors do not appear natural at all. Ah, "desaturated in photoshop" it says below the image... well not only did this not help the image, it is also a violation of the sacred rulz. Please obtain a whip and flog yourself. For the composition, more foreground or skyline to "place" the barn as well as a less centered shot would have certainly helped. Or get in close and photograph some detail. Graham Fountain - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611108 I'll blame a lot on the scan quality here. The shot appears overexposed, on the other hand detail inside is missing, so appears more to be just a bad scan. The composition almost works except for the great blob of tree behind the barn. Shot appears mildly fuzzy, and again this might be the scanning process (look into unsharp mask). A tighter composition, and a lower shooting vantage might have given this very work oriented barn a little more dignity and importance and possibly mask a lot of that damned tree. The tractor with the canted front wheels looks damned old, but the serviceable equipment looks to be same era ... how old is the photo? Doug Payne - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611109 Love the composition and detail. Exception being the blob on the lower left (stone or something). The top 10% could have been cropped out and perhaps more of the post (or whatever) on the right included. The color (pinkish red) looks a bit manipulated. Jim Kramer - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611109 Too simple. The same prop in a contextually supporting scene would have been much more interesting. As such the busy background does not support the simple shot. The flat on view is boring and has little dynamic. eg: The same shot with the weapon held by a yellow leather gloved hand and at a cocky angle would have been a smashing hit esp. close-up to a horse using the hair as background. Alan Browne - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611111 Louisbourg is a magical place. There is nothing modern about it (except the well disguised bathrooms, no signs, you need to ask). And they have folks dressed for the period, and working in roles of the period. Wonderful place. This shot is one of only two that I could take here. There was very limited space for a tripod and people milling about. As it is, I had to ask a couple people to unblock the natural light from the window. The perspective on this shot is a bit too low and the angle of the camera resulted in the distorted view. (Was hard to judge in the dark space working quickly near the floor with tourists stepping on my toes, fingers and bag (photo bag, that is!). A better angle: http://www.aliasimages.com/images/ol...rowne_oldb.jpg but the action too far to the right ... blacksmith moved around quite a lot. Christian Gatien - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611112 Superb composition and selection for the mandate. Only nit is the blob of red from another car in the reflection which disturbs the simplicity of the shot. This same shot should have been done on slide film for greater punch. Al Denelsbeck - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611113 Mysterious. I have no idea what this is. Fossil or ancient imprint? Overall composition is as dull as the colors. Slight relief from the contrasting light. Michelo - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611114 Strangely like Al. D's shot in tone. A lot more "stuff" here, modern fossilization of debris ... possibly near an abandoned semi demolished site? Some of the artifacts look like old fuses from pre-breaker days and bits of other scrap. Composition doesn't hold the eye for very long and like Al's shot, the colors are a bit dull, 'thought he gold/yellow colors against the white-grey grit are appealing. Bob Hickey - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611115 This is the kind of documentary shot that Bob does so well at and of course meets the mandate. Good composition and great lighting. Ruined by poor scanning. I'm sure you had more contrast in the original to work with as well as a sharper shot. Mojtaba Talaian - http://www.pbase.com/image/32613897 Er. What's the old part? Decrepit urban decay, maybe. I do like the alleyway and the way it curves just so at the end. It is a bit too centered in the composition and this is a good opportunity to get down low for the shot and get the dynamics up high (or get way above it which is not as easy to find). Mike Henley - http://www.pbase.com/image/32620513 This shot, while portraying something old, doesn't focus on any one thing. The lighting choice is odd as it doesn't provide contrast where it would have done some good ... statue of Mary on the right. The stone work on the left show some nice detail and lighting ... but not where it was really needed. I think other parts of the same site would have given you much stronger images. Chitbul - http://www.pbase.com/image/32620558 Mixed feelings over whether the clutter supports or detracts from the statement here. The dust is oddly a contributing element to the shot and most of us can remember the smell of these tube radios when they got nice and hot. Shot is too centered and dull... find angles, get closer, bring out the logo (hard to do here...), etc. Possibly the setting of the radio (pull back) would have gotten the message out too... Colm Gallagher - http://www.pbase.com/image/32663387 When I first saw this shot it reminded me very much of Chichen-Itza in Mexico. While clearly old, there is so little information that we can't really place it. Great detail and contrast, ordinary composition, but at least not "flat on" as too many recent contributions from SIers. Steve McCartney - http://www.pbase.com/image/32663393 Very good composition and use of natural light. (in some sense similar to my own contribution to the SI). What is very strong here of course is the social statement appropriate to our times. Here is the small locksmith of a certain age, working amongst his efficient small layout. He's content with his lot in life .... but it is unlikely that his business will survive his retirement... a way of life that is disappearing... I like the way the subject is lit... effective and worthy as a lifestyle documentary. very good shot. R. Schenck - http://www.pbase.com/image/32707419 This shot meets the mandate well in terms of subject (I assume it's fossilized bone...), but the composition is weak. Closer, tighter and without the clapboard background would have been much more effective. The soft lighting is very appealing with the selective focus used. Highlights seem a bit over. That's it. Cheers, Alan -- -- rec.photo.equipment.35mm user resource: -- http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm -- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.-- |
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Mike Henley - http://www.pbase.com/image/32620513 This shot, while portraying something old, doesn't focus on any one thing. The lighting choice is odd as it doesn't provide contrast where it would have done some good ... statue of Mary on the right. The stone work on the left show some nice detail and lighting ... but not where it was really needed. I think other parts of the same site would have given you much stronger images. Thanks Alan. Enjoyed reading your comments - read every word of them - and learnt some. I'm often curious if people had taken other images and why they left them out. In fact, Richard said that if I wanted voting on the SI then I better start another one. Well, I wouldn't want to do that, but I would more be interested in an SI Reject Photos gallery where the left out photos can be displayed, say up to 5 photos, perhaps even allowing, though not requiring, a caption by their submitter on why they were left out and a link to the one submitted to the SI and why it was chosen. I guess people who only take one image wouldn't take part, but those who take a bunch like I do may. Come to think of it. What do you guys think? I'll happily take care of the logistics such as an email to send to, simple hosting and display, and time etc. Now, this shot, well, my main reason in choosing it is that it's something old as you said, but also that there is a juxtaposition between the strong, vertical, sharp, almost incisive lines of the stone work on the left, that are well-lit (in fact, well-lit enough that the lighting intensifies this incisiveness), obvious and surprisingly clean (well, relatively), compared to on the right of the madonna that has feminine, soft, peaceful and curvacious lines, is unlit, not so obvoius, and surprisingly seemed to have suffered the elements more that even baby jesus is black! ... (or maybe they're all in the same state, but the lighting made the difference)... strangely though the halo oh her head remains clean. The madonna alone wouldn't have interested me much, the incisive lines on the right alone wouldn't have interested me much, but the two in balance made something of a commentary, especially with that lighting. Maybe a subtle commentary that I read into it attracted me. You see, I'm a little obsessive when it comes to the lines of an image and their meaning. Here's another image I took for that mandate that maybe someone else might've found just fine http://photos1.blogger.com/img/192/1...4/HPIM0524.jpg But there's something about it that neurotically unnerves me. There's a similar image with a slight difference http://photos1.blogger.com/img/192/1...0cropped.1.jpg I also considered these http://photos1.blogger.com/img/192/1...HPIM0550.1.jpg http://photos1.blogger.com/img/192/1...4/HPIM0547.jpg I'm often curious if people had taken other images and why they left them out. In fact, Richard said that if I wanted voting on the SI then I better start another one. Well, I wouldn't want to do that, but I would more be interested in an SI Reject Photos gallery where the left out photos can be displayed, say up to 5 photos, perhaps even allowing, though not requiring, a caption by their submitter on why they were left out and a link to the one submitted to the SI and why it was chosen. I guess people who only take one image wouldn't take part, but those who take a bunch like I do may. Come to think of it. What do you guys think? I'll happily take care of the logistics such as an email to send to, simple hosting and display, and time etc. |
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On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 13:16:49 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote: Mojtaba Talaian - http://www.pbase.com/image/32613897 Er. What's the old part? You are the second person to wonder about "the old" in this picture, Perhaps there has been several other viewers who have thought so. I must now confess that I have not been able to show what I felt when I saw the alley, namely the old way of city building. ecrepit urban decay, maybe. I do like the alleyway and the way it curves just so at the end. It is a bit too centered in the composition and this is a good opportunity to get down low for the shot and get the dynamics up high (or get way above it which is not as easy to find). I shall admit that I have been waiting and hoping that you comment on this round of SI. Thank you, your comments are as usual useful and correct. regards, Mojtaba (Wishes to find a good motiv for "Heat", while it's showering outside) |
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On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 13:16:49 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote: McLeod* - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611103 The old lady running the old style lunch counter. Says it all. Shot seems a little out of focus or shaky and the pose is very contrived. Would have perhaps been more interesting if she were active, belying her age. One of the finer restaurants in your area, I take it? (jab at Ontario boy). The image was shot with a soft/warm filter. Illumination was open shade through front window of the diner so it would have been blue without it. The soft filter was as a kindness. Unfortunately, most of the softness in the submitted image was due to a very quick scan job and a quick blast with the dust and scratches filter. As for the pose, I asked permission to take her picture and she posed herself. It is her usual pose when working. The burger and fries in the foreground are mine; the other is my wife's. The restaurant isn't in ON, it's in Winnipeg's North End. |
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On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 13:16:49 -0400, Alan Browne
wrote: McLeod* - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611103 The old lady running the old style lunch counter. Says it all. Shot seems a little out of focus or shaky and the pose is very contrived. Would have perhaps been more interesting if she were active, belying her age. One of the finer restaurants in your area, I take it? (jab at Ontario boy). The image was shot with a soft/warm filter. Illumination was open shade through front window of the diner so it would have been blue without it. The soft filter was as a kindness. Unfortunately, most of the softness in the submitted image was due to a very quick scan job and a quick blast with the dust and scratches filter. As for the pose, I asked permission to take her picture and she posed herself. It is her usual pose when working. The burger and fries in the foreground are mine; the other is my wife's. The restaurant isn't in ON, it's in Winnipeg's North End. |
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Alan Browne choreographed a chorus line of high-kicking electrons to
spell out: Simon Lee - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611101 Yet another dig at the old film world. (See Nick James' shot in Boundaries). Composition here is a bit too simple for my taste and usually expect something more dynamic from Simon. ( http://www.pbase.com/image/27382282 comes to mind.) "Do not look into laser with remaining eye." In the presented shot there is some selective focus and mild converging lines... the Y&B coloring is strong. A sheet of black paper camera side (with a hole to shoot through) to eliminate the fore highlights, and a flatter/softer light off the to the left/back to produce white-flat highlights would have been more effective and really pops the yellows. Very cool idea, but I don't think you maxed it here... the collection of old Kodak cans is impressive. Thanks for the lighting tips... (hey, it's always about lighting) this is what I get for not bringing an off-camera flash cable with me also. -- __ A L L D O N E! B Y E B Y E! (__ * _ _ _ _ __)|| | |(_)| \ "...and then, the squirrels attacked." |
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"Alan Browne" wrote in message . .. Graham Fountain - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611108 I'll blame a lot on the scan quality here. The shot appears overexposed, on the other hand detail inside is missing, so appears more to be just a bad scan. The neg is very slightly overexposed, but not too bad. It does have detail inside the shed visible, and there is more detail in the grass and in the sky than what is visible on the scan. A few other negs that I have scanned with this scanner have turned out rubbish - they seem to have areas where there is no graduation in grey-scales, they go from mid-tones to black or white with nothing in between - some almost look like they are 4 bit instead of 8 bit. I suspect it scans in 8 bit, then applies brightness/contrast/negative adjustments on the 8 bit image, thus losing even more bit-depth. It's colour performance is even worse, some scans look like when you have windows in 16 colour mode. It's a scanner that we have at work, and I only get to use it for a few minutes in the morning before we start, so I didn't get enough time to really experiment with it's best settings. I get an Epson RX510 soon, so here's hoping that it'll be able to do a significantly better job of negs. Unfortunately my budget doesn't extend to a specialty film scanner, or for that matter a darkroom and optical enlarger. The composition almost works except for the great blob of tree behind the barn. Point taken. Shot appears mildly fuzzy, and again this might be the scanning process (look into unsharp mask). A tighter composition, and a lower shooting vantage might have given this very work oriented barn a little more dignity and importance and possibly mask a lot of that damned tree. The tractor with the canted front wheels looks damned old, but the serviceable equipment looks to be same era ... how old is the photo? uhm... either the 7th or the 8th of August. we went to visit my in-laws who live on a farm a couple hours drive away. Saw this old shed with the old tractors inside so took a couple of shots. Took a few other possible shots on that weekend - an old tractor, an old car body, but the shed seemed to me the best. |
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"Alan Browne" wrote:
Ken Nadvornick - http://www.pbase.com/image/32611104 Another documentary shot from Ken that is little different in style from his last shot for Entrances and Exists. This one is more interesting and less cluttered than the prev. example. The reason is that this shot is nearly 2D in depth (prev. one had a lot of BG clutter). Here there is some shadow that lifts some elements off of the image in a pleasing way. Shot is contrasty and sharp. I wish that Ken would begin a more 3D and detailed look at the world ... this style shot is getting ... old. Hi Alan, Old? After only two images? Hmm. Interesting implications, that... But thank you for the comment (seriously) as I hadn't noticed that aspect. I honestly don't let my previous subjects enter into my choices for subsequent subjects. If I see something I find interesting that I think fits the current theme, I simply concentrate on that subject. That a pair of more-or-less single-plane compositions snuck their way in back-to-back implies no conspiracy, I can assure you... Regarding "2D" versus "3D," I assume you are likely grappling with the lack of an immediately obvious vanishing point in the picture. This was intentional, although the converging lines between the sections of sidewalk do subtly hint at its location. The objects that originally attracted my interest were the wonderful old signs. Especially that sheet steel "Coca Cola" sign with all of those cool bullet holes in it, presumably courtesy of its original rural roadside location somewhere. The signs are, by their very nature, visually 2D objects and were most effectively presented, I felt, in a 2D-style composition. The presence of a few additional 3D objects, the wood-burning cooking stove, hand-crank clothes washer and rust-frozen tractor/plow, was simply a fortuitous coincidence. I felt the inclusion of the tractor's circular wheels served to provide a nice counterpoint to the otherwise heavily right-angled layout of the various signs, door and windows. In fact, one of the aspects I like best about this photograph is that - other than possibly the Delco Batteries sign on the far right-hand edge - every single point in the picture meets the mandate of depicting Old Stuff of some sort. Even the sidewalk itself. And as far as "begin a more... detailed look at the world" is concerned, I wish you could see this as the original print. (The *only* way to validly experience a true photograph. They are not virtual things, but rather something real which must be holdable in one's hands, IMHO.) Kodak Plus-X film is capable of rendering almost magical prints, if properly handled. I can't imagine packing much more detail - both the literal "detail" and figurative "looking" - into this photo without risking it becoming, well... cluttered. Something we both appear to agree on. ;-) As always, Alan, thank you for your usably detailed review. Yours are the comments I most look forward to reading, as I can almost always find within the kernel of your observations something which I can apply to a future effort. No TD here... Ken |
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Thanks for your comments Alan,
The shot is very ordinary I'll admit. I hadn't really got anything done for the SI, but felt I wanted to enter something to keep Mr Young happy :-) The subject of the shot is the entrance to Grianan Ailigh, which is a fort in Donegal, Ireland, dating back 2,000 years. It commands a strategic view of the surrounding countryside. http://www.colmgallagher.com/photo/grianan/index.htm -- Colm "Alan Browne" wrote in message . .. : Colm Gallagher - http://www.pbase.com/image/32663387 : : When I first saw this shot it reminded me very much of : Chichen-Itza in Mexico. While clearly old, there is so little : information that we can't really place it. Great detail and : contrast, ordinary composition, but at least not "flat on" as too : many recent contributions from SIers. |
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