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Photo Assignment: Weekend 01/05/08

Blasphemy in the National Gallery of all places. I bought a hash pipe at St. Martin in the Field so I guess that is proper ? :dunno It was never used and I thought it to be very interesting. Atleast that is what the Bobby said about it later at Heathrow.

Throwing stones at the Louvre ? I would bet the anti-Di Vinci Code Protesters from the Vlaams Blok ? Their fries are better.

This thread is similar to a class trip to an Art Gallery. I wonder if we are scaring anyone away since we are so clannish ?

I'd hope we aren't being clannish...the thread does seem to add new folk each week, and they are welcomed with open lenses.

I bought a scarf in St Martins and gave my old one to a bag lady...I bet she smoked it!
 
I'll jump in from the cheap seats. I don't think this thread is clannish or too chatty. IÔÇÖm not a chatty person so I hesitate to jump in most posts unless there is some technical aspect of photography being discussed. Speaking strictly for myself, I think it would be useful to have more time on the themes. I typically don't bother pursuing them because anything I've thought of shooting takes a little time and experimentation. It would be easy to just shoot a door knob ( :p )or something, but I don't want to do that just for the sake of doing it. By saying this, I probably have offended a few people, but it would be useful to have an "advanced" shooterÔÇÖs time line as well as the usual Friday-Sunday. I used to have a studio area set up in my home, but itÔÇÖs being relegated to other purposes now. By the time the weekend rolls around, so does real life and I simply canÔÇÖt set-up the shots that IÔÇÖd like to contribute in a few hours. I believe doing this would accomplish two things: set the bar higher; and give those learning the ropes of photography a bigger opportunity to learn technical skills and new (different) techniques from more advanced submissions (i.e. a few of bluestunes contributions) . The crossover between the two levels of the assignments would be very engaging and instructive in my humble opinion. And once the photo forum is established itÔÇÖs important for all of us to remember, there are very few experts in photography. IÔÇÖve never met another shooter that didnÔÇÖt teach me something new or learn a bit from my technique. The goal should be for all of us to be able to grow our skills while contributing something to the universal effort. We have a tremendous opportunity to create a unique motorcycling/photography symposium.

I have lots of ideas to help make this a good learning experience and look forward to what is to come.

And thanks Tom and Jeff for volunteering to moderate! :clap
 
I'll jump in from the cheap seats. I don't think this thread is clannish or too chatty. IÔÇÖm not a chatty person so I hesitate to jump in most posts unless there is some technical aspect of photography being discussed. Speaking strictly for myself, I think it would be useful to have more time on the themes. I typically don't bother pursuing them because anything I've thought of shooting takes a little time and experimentation. It would be easy to just shoot a door knob ( :p )or something, but I don't want to do that just for the sake of doing it. By saying this, I probably have offended a few people, but it would be useful to have an "advanced" shooterÔÇÖs time line as well as the usual Friday-Sunday. I used to have a studio area set up in my home, but itÔÇÖs being relegated to other purposes now. By the time the weekend rolls around, so does real life and I simply canÔÇÖt set-up the shots that IÔÇÖd like to contribute in a few hours. I believe doing this would accomplish two things: set the bar higher; and give those learning the ropes of photography a bigger opportunity to learn technical skills and new (different) techniques from more advanced submissions (i.e. a few of bluestunes contributions) . The crossover between the two levels of the assignments would be very engaging and instructive in my humble opinion. And once the photo forum is established itÔÇÖs important for all of us to remember, there are very few experts in photography. IÔÇÖve never met another shooter that didnÔÇÖt teach me something new or learn a bit from my technique. The goal should be for all of us to be able to grow our skills while contributing something to the universal effort. We have a tremendous opportunity to create a unique motorcycling/photography symposium.

I have lots of ideas to help make this a good learning experience and look forward to what is to come.

And thanks Tom and Jeff for volunteering to moderate! :clap

I have been thinking along those lines, not so much as in expert/novice but in starting another series that would run for longer durations, and encourage a peer-review process, since I know that for some short-term assignments can be limiting, not everyone has the time to devote in short notice. I've basically just been waiting for the forum to get set up.

And since you volunteered you will be called upon!:laugh

If there are other ideas people want to float, how about we take them back to the discussion thread started a while ago on this subject, shall we?



Photo forum discussion

Tom? thoughts?

RM
 
I have been thinking along those lines, not so much as in expert/novice but in starting another series that would run for longer durations, and encourage a peer-review process, since I know that for some short-term assignments can be limiting, not everyone has the time to devote in short notice. I've basically just been waiting for the forum to get set up.

And since you volunteered you will be called upon!:laugh

If there are other ideas people want to float, how about we take them back to the discussion thread started a while ago on this subject, shall we?



Photo forum discussion

Tom? thoughts?

RM

+1? I agree?

I think several of us have been holding off until a forum gets up and running. Once that happens, having multiple threads will be a lot easier. I think Bricci's suggestion is a good one. It could be a separate thread or this one could become that two-week or three-week time line. . . . I have a couple of ideas that I've seen on other forums that could be fun.

I guess that all for now. If I've something else profound to say, I'll go over to the proposal thread.

p.s. I just realized, we have five concurrent threads running about photography right now. And that's just screwing around.

Photo Assignment 01/05/08 (this thread)

Photo Assignment Karma

Photo Assignment Index

Photo Assignments 2007 Year-In-Review

New Forum Area Proposal: Photography
 
RM--thanks. Didn't look at the other thread on the photo forum before my prior post. Sounds like you've been thinking what I was thinking. Sorry for missing that. ;)

Tom--thanks for rounding up those other threads. I've been a bit lazy on seeing/finding those topics. :blush
 
I don't know that I would characterize it as complaining. We're a co-op: member owned and operated. Everyone has a say and most comments contain some merit, at least IMHO. We're a thoughtful group, don't you think?



For you? Absolutely. But no BBQ dinner.

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You right, I am sorry. Complain was the wrong word for Dawg, I was really thinking about the 42 threads about final Drives and Gillette sucking. I'll behave and follow da rules.

Now can I get the BBQ dinner?:laugh WOOT!:dance
BTW, Josh was right, there wasn't enough pork, unlike our gov't.:laugh
 
My niece: "DangÔÇöit smells like updawg in here."
Me: "What's "updawg?"
My niece: "Nuthin'. What's up wich you, dawg?"
Me: :huh
 
Is everyone afraid to comment in here now, or are my pictures not even worth a guess?
At least Mr Glaves tried, Thank you. :wave
 
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Is everyone afraid to comment in here now, or are my pictures not even worth a guess?
At least Mr Glaves tried, Thank you. :wave

Pictures? there are pictures in this thread? well, dang..(or is that dawg?):scratch

Oh, you mean the woman (in front of the one) on the sidehack.........

RM
 
Feedback

Better late than never, I suppose. Hope I haven't kept anyone waiting. It's a big thread this week with lots of posts; I may not get to everything, but if I skip one of yours and want some feedback, just ask. I'll skip my submissions. That should cut my task in half.

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Boney is up first this week with four really nice ones. I like rivets because it's unusual and not flat. Because the focusing distance is so close, there's a tremendous shadow in the LRC. Still, it has great texture and commands attention.

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This is also a neat close-up shot, an ordinary object rendered more interesting by virtue of its magnification. Background is perfect; anything but a plain background would have distracted from this rather intricate subject. Nicely lit, too. Perhaps a tad bit underexposed.

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Speaking of good lighting, this is a gorgeous shot. An ordinary subject, like we've seen 1,000 times before, but rendered in such a way as to make it an object of beauty. Someone commented on the photographer's reflection (I failed to notice). I think Bricci said one way to combat this is to wear all black.

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This shot bears worth repeating simply because it is so damned interesting. It would be interesting to play with the depth of field on this to increase and decrease it to see how it played with fore- and backgrounds. This shot really grabbed my attention.

750/1,000 bonus points for listing exif info on three of four shots. Thanks.

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Another vintage view from BMWDean (keep 'em coming!). I love the rich colors in this image, and the subtle signs of decay: a bit of rust, spots, scratches. I note that the speedo's configuration is upside down in comparison to more modern bikes, but it still called "VDO." It's perfectly composed, too. The bright sunlight is great, but I don't care much for the shadow. -50 bonus points because the two face-plate screws are not aligned. :stick

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Rocketman's image this week took up and bested the challenge. Very close, not at all evident, and really nicely exposed. This, too, has a giant shadow, though here it may work with, rather than against the photo. Maybe. I love the texture and the soft, rounded edges, too.

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As an abstract image, Lamble's shot doesn't really appeal to me; however, it suits the assignment perfectly as did RocketMan's. Unusual item rendered in such a way as to keep it a complete mystery. I don't think it was unfair though, just tough. A good answer to the challenge. It's a bit like one of those psychology puzzles: is this a picture of a woman or a bird? Or a bit like a Rorschach test. Never mind what I think it looks like.

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OK, I'll do a couple of mine. I really like this shot, the colors are really rich. It's pretty underexposed, better part of one stop, I would say. I would have liked to increase the depth of field, it just trails off at the end. I couldn't get any more oomph out of my two flashes.

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For those of you waiting with bated breath :)cricket sound effect) this is a hex tool for front wheel removal on '05s+

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MLS2GO is here this week with three really nice shots. The one above is great: well-lit, nicely composed. The background is a bit distracting. I almost want it a bit fuzzier.

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I love the background in this shot. This is probably due to the fact that he's substantially closer to the subject here, resulting in a higher magnification. This always results in a shallower depth of field, especially in macro photography. If you look at the box on the side, you can see how razor-thin the DoF is. This lens has a nice bokeh, a term coined from Japanese to refer to the quality of the out-of-focus image that a lens renders. Some lenses are better than others and the really good ones are described with adjectives like "buttery" or "velvety."

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What's not to like about this? A bit underexposed, but the colors are richer for it. See this and all of my photos this week. Lots of photographers will set their cameras to -1/3 EV to get this richness from slight underexposure. It's nice.

+375 bonus points for humorous descriptions. You really had me going. . . .
 
Feedback II

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This is an interesting image and I have no idea what it is. I see the homage to Van Halen, but what is this? The large patch in the center where the contrast drops off almost makes this look like a photo of a photo, though I wouldn't think that's what it is. He said it wasn't retouched and it was hand held, but he didn't say what it is. It's awfully interesting, but a compete mystery.

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This is something, though I don't know what it is, either; however, it's a really neat abstract image and beautifully composed and exposed. If it's related to the third shot, I may have a guess.

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These appear to be bells/chimes/pipes of some kind, in a church perhaps? One of those modern Swedish Unitarian affairs? Are all three shots of the same subject? The first seem darker than the latter two. You've got me going. . . . Do tell.

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I like these Dutch shoes by Statdawg. Could they have been closer? I don't know if you'd reached your minimum focusing distance or not. These two shots are very instructive for two reasons. First, note that one is shot straight on (downward) and the other at a somewhat oblique angle. I'll leave it to you to decide which works better, but I like that we can see and compare two different decisions. The second instructive aspect is in the choice of backgrounds. To my eye, the table cloth competes with the shoes for the viewer's attention, whereas the rich wood grain, which is fairly plain and a contrasting color to the shoes, accentuates the subject rather than fighting it. Thanks for the lesson, Dawg. Er, Mr. Dawg.

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Straight away, Lamble gets 125 bonus points for his title, "Keep still you little sod, a flash has never killed a squirrel has it?". This is an oddly compelling photo. Dramatically underexposed, it's quite mysterious and yet absurdly familiar. We don't normally get close-ups of such skittish creatures, and if he's to be believed, Lamble went through Hell and back to get this. It's also a very unusual perspective, most squirrel shots (and the like) are either straight-on or straight-down. I really like the way that the subject and the background seem to meld, though not to the degree that the subject disappears. I also really like the highlight in the little bugger's black eye.

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Kartcon started posting on our board with a bang, no? This is a cool shot. Like several wheel photos I can remember, this one has an ambiguous point of focus. Almost everything in the foreground (and there are multiple items) are out of focus. As a general rule, this just doesn't work for me. AF cameras allow you to choose your point of focus. Do that. In the photos defense, the complexity of the wheel assembly is rendered nicely with the receding depth of field.

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Same thing here. Cool photo, but I hate that the logo is OOF. IMHO, it would have worked better to focus on the K1200 and let the honeycomb be just a tad soft. I might have tried to move to remove the bothersome reflection, though that may not have been possible.

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This image is quite nice, especially given the high-contrast conditions. I'm not sure it has a central subject (the flowers in the LRC?), but it's got beautiful color. I love how the branches are lit in the open shadow. Very, very nice. The POF is in the foreground here and the background recedes. All is right with the world here.

Post more, Kartcon. Nice stuff.
 
Am I too late?

Shot tonight at Steak & Shake!
 

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Tom,

Only one problem...since I tempted the squirrel with food, four of his mates have turned up too.

Thanks for the comments.
 
Feedback III

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JDMetzger comes along this week with a couple of nice shots. I'm very impressed with the one above. I love the receding DoF here and the showcasing of such a common object in such a dramatic fashion. The background works well here, but form and texture, and that it is absolute--no edges, no clutter, no nothing. It's like a product shot and well-executed one at that.

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Although less so, I like this shot, too. It's a bit like found poetry. Same comments above about a common object. I don't like that the foreground is so out of focus, though that's personal opinion and not right or wrong. Josh tried to focus on the infamous, and that's what's critical here. Given the chance, I'd bring the focus point a bit closer, but that's pretty picky. It's a neat shot.

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This is a well-crafted shot and one that actually tells a bit of a story, I think. I liked the rust in the full-color shot, but this selective color thing is really neat. Seeing the lock in B&W against a color background is actually a bit disarming. In contrast to the bottle cap shot, here the focus point is spot on. Good stuff, Josh.

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It's very nice to have SheRidesABeemer back after a prolonged hiatus. I already commented briefly on this shot. It's good qualities are evident; what it suffers from a pronounced lack of contrast. Not sure why. . . . It might just be the trick of the lighting in this shot. I know on my Canon Rebel XT I boosted the contrast quite a bit on the menu to affect all my shots. I know others do, too, but this varies from camera to camera. Gail has a rather busy background in this shot, but it's effectively muted by the shallow DoF, making the subject "pop" against the BG. Pretty nice photo.

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Grossjohann is back this week with another good crop. This one is my favorite. Like others, this looks like a catalogue product photo--really nicely executed. The DoF here, like in almost all photos this week, is very shallow and the point of focus, in my opinion, is off. By way of suggestion, I would have focused on the "G" in Godiva or the "7" in 72%. I can't say why (or if this is even correct) but I just feel that it's generally better to have more out of focus in the background rather than the foreground. Of course, if this were a catalogue shot, it might have far greater DoF with the benefit of studio strobes. All that said, this is a great shot.

Take a look also at the key shot. It's a wonderful study in DoF, accurate focus point, and how shallow the DoF can be in macro photography.

It's very nice to have BradfordBenn stop in this week, especially since I happen to know he's swinging around a new camera. I'll comment on a one of his submissions as the pen has already been covered.

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This shot meets the theme criteria perfectly. It's good and close, brightly lit, and in perfect focus. Now compare this to GJ's key submission:

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These are radically different photos of the same thing. (And lest you think I'm picking on Brad, I happen to know that he has big shoulders and is interested in learning). There are three primary differences here to learn from. One is the choice of background. Without specialized metering (a handheld incident meter), plain white or black backgrounds are good things to avoid. Two is the angle of view. GJ's photo is dramatic whereas Brad's is documentarian. It's always good to take a breath, look through the viewfinder (or at the screen) and think, "How would this picture look?" Finally, three is the lighting. Brad's lightsource is harsh and off to the side creating a noticeable shadow. GJ's lighting is more diffuse, even. These two pictures of nearly identical subjects tell very different stories. Much to be learned from this comparison. 500 bonus points to Brad for at least having the decency to use a motorcycle key; however, taking 250 back for using a Honda.

When you step up to a DSLR and are willing to take the reigns on multiple, unfamiliar controls, suddenly taking a picture becomes a great deal less simple. I love mine, but I find myself considering the purchase of a new P&S to just simplify some pictures. Each for its own purpose, I suppose.

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PGlaves is back with an intriguing close up. One of the dangers of providing feedback in these threads is laying bare my ignorance of the inner workings of motorcycles. I don't know what this is, though it looks like some kind of bearing. His reference to failure must indicate that it's part of a final drive. How am I doing? It's a good execution. The DoF is VERY shallow, and the lighting very harsh. Indeed, a good 35 or 40% of the subject is lost in blown-out over exposure. Flash? Maybe diffusing the light source may have helped. . . . It clear and detailed nonetheless, and communicates what you were photographing. Almost nothing is lost in shadow in spite of the object's rather deep recesses. Very wide exposure latitude in this shot; it can be impossible to squeeze in the entire range.

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Voni's back this week with three submissions, each of which I'd like to comment on briefly. The shot above is exquisite. The flames are actually out of focus, I think, but the rich, creamy color of the fire is wonderful. This is the sort of shot I get once in a blue moon quite by accident and would be hard to duplicate. The exif data indicates that is was shot at 1/200th of a second, so the fire is fairly frozen, but the OOF lends a really smooth quality that is really dynamite.

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I was able to spot the helmet here, but not right away. This is a good effort toward photographing something that's not immediately evident. RocketMan and Lamble had submissions that were really tough and mine were absurdly simple. Voni's hit a nice mean here. The exif reveals a shutter speed of 1/25th and the motion blur in her photo is evident. The camera moved and the shutter speed was too slow to freeze. Bump the ISO to increase the shutter speed.

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I love this image. Great texture and lighting. Shot at f/9.0, the DoF is fairly deep here, This just works on many levels. Nice shot.
 
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