California Poppy Reserve

On 26/04/2010 21:53, Twibil wrote:

I'd seen the California Poppy Reserve in bloom before, but this year
the flowers absolutely outdid themselves.

So I continued due south until I ended up on a tiny winding dirt road
surrounded by several thousand acres of blooming Poppies, and parked
the bike long enough to take a couple of snaps:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3388572...83353/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3388572...99196/sizes/l/

These aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike.

--
Bertrand

On Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:12:44 +0200, Ofnuts
wrote:

On 26/04/2010 21:53, Twibil wrote:

I'd seen the California Poppy Reserve in bloom before, but this year
the flowers absolutely outdid themselves.

So I continued due south until I ended up on a tiny winding dirt road
surrounded by several thousand acres of blooming Poppies, and parked
the bike long enough to take a couple of snaps:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3388572...83353/sizes/o/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3388572...99196/sizes/l/

These aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike.

He's confused. My guess is he took the pics after a
spot of poppy seed tea.

On 27/04/2010 00:16, Twibil wrote:
On Apr 26, 1:12 pm, wrote:


These aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike.

Hmmm, I detect two problems he

1. You don't count very well, and therefore lack a sense of
proportion. There are several million flowers but only one bike in the
field of view. A singular motorcycle is hardly impressive, but a poppy
bloom extending to the horizon *is*; motorcycle or no.

It's a picture of your bike because it's smack in the middle and in
focus in the first, and in focus, even bigger, and, by sheer luck, on
one of the rule of thirds points, in the second. The flowers are just a
decor around it (not even focused...) and a lesser part of the image
than the track in front. Post it anywhere and ask what it is, and count
the "bike" answers vs the "flowers" answers.

2. You've somehow failed to detect that this is RPD, where we share
things about digital photography (Occasionally even pictures!), and
you seem to be operating under the impression that this is rec.it's-
all-about-Bertrand.

I'm telling you what I (and, I'm ready to bet, many other people) see in
the picture. As you say this is rec.photo.digital, but you may be
confusing it with rec.motorcycle.

Alas, this is not the case.


--
Bertrand, who owns bike but doesn't take any pictures of it, except
when selling it.

On 27/04/2010 22:05, Twibil wrote:
On Apr 27, 9:22 am, wrote:


1. You don't count very well, and therefore lack a sense of
proportion. There are several million flowers but only one bike in the
field of view. A singular motorcycle is hardly impressive, but a poppy
bloom extending to the horizon *is*; motorcycle or no.

It's a picture of your bike because it's smack in the middle and in
focus in the first, and in focus, even bigger, and, by sheer luck, on
one of the rule of thirds points, in the second.

Sorry, but the unique parts of pictures such as this -if any- are what
draw the observer's eye, and there's a time-honored art technique
which uses this fact for effect by placing a prosaic object at the
center of focus and surrounding it with something utterly different by
contrast.

If you choose not to use this technique in your own work that's fine:
you obviously haven't been aware of it until now anyhow, and since
they're *your* pictures they should express whatever *you* want to
see. My opinion doesn't come into it at all; and criticising you
because you don't take the same pictures I would have taken under the
same circumstances would be stupid and self-centered. It would mean
that I thought *my* opinions of your work were more important than
*yours*.

As I pointed out above, (and you carefully ignored) motorcycles are a
dime a dozen practically anywhere you can name, while multi-million
flower poppy blooms are rather unusual to say the least, and the
reactions I've had to the pics so far have mostly gone like this:
"WOW! Those flowers are *AMAZING*! Where was that?........... Oh, is
that your bike?"
Of course these people are just normal every-day citizens who take
photographs at face value: not self-appointed art critics whose first
instinct is always to respond with "You should have done it the way
*I* would have done it!"

Lastly: had you actually been interested in making a useful comment on
the composition of the photos you'd have done so by beginning with
positives and politely working in suggestions for whatever you'd see
as technical improvements later on in the post. That's just basic good
manners and simple logic. But instead you began your post with "These
aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike.": an insult
that intentionally ensured a negative response.

Since such a beginning is an iron-clad guarantee that your advise will
be give short-shrift, it's fair to assume that being helpful was not
your intent: you were simply being arrogant and saying "Look at me!
I'm so cool and you're not!"

So if this sort of response comes as an unpleasant surprise to you,
and you don't like it, I suggest you examine your own manners and
motivations before repeating the same mistakes.


Looks like I have hit a nerve...

So, I rephrase my first comment: next time, take out the distracting
bike and get closer to the poppys (it will also avoid the unsightly
poles in the background). For instance:
http://amolife.com/image/images/stories/Nature/Flowers/poppy_flower_12.jpg

--
Bertrand

On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:05:13 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
wrote:

On Apr 27, 9:22*am, Ofnuts wrote:


1. You don't count very well, and therefore lack a sense of
proportion. There are several million flowers but only one bike in the
field of view. A singular motorcycle is hardly impressive, but a poppy
bloom extending to the horizon *is*; motorcycle or no.

It's a picture of your bike because it's smack in the middle and in
focus in the first, and in focus, even bigger, and, by sheer luck, on
one of the rule of thirds points, in the second.

Sorry, but the unique parts of pictures such as this -if any- are what
draw the observer's eye, and there's a time-honored art technique
which uses this fact for effect by placing a prosaic object at the
center of focus and surrounding it with something utterly different by
contrast.

If you choose not to use this technique in your own work that's fine:
you obviously haven't been aware of it until now anyhow, and since
they're *your* pictures they should express whatever *you* want to
see. My opinion doesn't come into it at all; and criticising you
because you don't take the same pictures I would have taken under the
same circumstances would be stupid and self-centered. It would mean
that I thought *my* opinions of your work were more important than
*yours*.

As I pointed out above, (and you carefully ignored) motorcycles are a
dime a dozen practically anywhere you can name, while multi-million
flower poppy blooms are rather unusual to say the least, and the
reactions I've had to the pics so far have mostly gone like this:
"WOW! Those flowers are *AMAZING*! Where was that?........... Oh, is
that your bike?"

Of course these people are just normal every-day citizens who take
photographs at face value: not self-appointed art critics whose first
instinct is always to respond with "You should have done it the way
*I* would have done it!"

Lastly: had you actually been interested in making a useful comment on
the composition of the photos you'd have done so by beginning with
positives and politely working in suggestions for whatever you'd see
as technical improvements later on in the post. That's just basic good
manners and simple logic. But instead you began your post with "These
aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike.": an insult
that intentionally ensured a negative response.

Since such a beginning is an iron-clad guarantee that your advise will
be give short-shrift, it's fair to assume that being helpful was not
your intent: you were simply being arrogant and saying "Look at me!
I'm so cool and you're not!"

So if this sort of response comes as an unpleasant surprise to you,
and you don't like it, I suggest you examine your own manners and
motivations before repeating the same mistakes.

They are neither good snapshots of flowers nor of your bike. The clutter
with the construction, the lighting, the composition.... They're nothing
but crapshots taken by some amateur snapshooter with an Instamatic who
couldn't find an image worth capturing if it was staring him in the face
(which it was).

Get over yourself.

On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:05:13 -0700 (PDT), Twibil
wrote:

Lastly: had you actually been interested in making a useful comment on
the composition of the photos you'd have done so by beginning with
positives and politely working in suggestions for whatever you'd see
as technical improvements later on in the post. That's just basic good
manners and simple logic.

That doesn't work with you. I tried. I said it would be a good entry
for the SI "wallpaper" theme (compliment) and then worked in the
suggestion that the road and motorcycle add nothing to the
composition. You had a hissy fit.

But instead you began your post with "These
aren't a picture of flowers but pictures of your bike."

An accurate assessment except that what was not stated is that the
flowers are incidental background and not in focus.

: an insult
that intentionally ensured a negative response.


--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida