POTM [11/07] Revealing Secrets

Edit: Just learned my lesson with colors. They _should_ hopefully show as good as possible on your monitor. Sorry for that mistake.


Click for large version

EXIF:
Canon EOS 350D
f/2.8
1/2000
-1.0ev
ISO400
50mm

 

Updated the pic slightly cropped and hopefully with the right colour profile so it'll look spiffy on all yous monitors. (Edit: and so it turned out to be the wrong one... yay but finally it should be back to the right one )

 

Excellent subject, further enhanced by the title, but I think let down by the composition and background.

I can see where you're going with the rusting metal backdrop, but don't feel it offers anything to the shot. I think I'd rather either see these either in a more natural environment - but don't imagine it'd be that attractive - or on a pure black studio type set up.

Also, I think if they were a little further offset so that the bulb of one is level with the stalk of the other, that'd give a nicer balance to the image, and they could fit closer together. More intimate. I think with that arrangement a portrait orientation may also work losing some of the dead space you have currently.

Hope not overly harsh. I love the subject, colours, and it's well taken, I just think it could be pushed a lot further.

 

I think the rusting backdrop works really well --a black backdrop is too boring and a natural background may be too busy or distracting. My only gripe is the short depth of field --it would have been so much nicer if both fruits were in focus. Otherwise I think it is really good.

 

Not harsh at all I have 50 different compositions of these on a couple of different surfaces and chose this peticular composition and combination because I liked it the best... but it was a REALLY tough choice. After this month has closed I'll post some of my other versions of the ground cherry.

Backdrop: There are several reasons for the rusty backdrop: Not disturbing. Not clean. Blue contrasting the red in the berries. Rust also signaling decay. And a few more but off to bed so stopped thinking further about that point.

Focus: I wanted the fresh one out of focus because thats where the older one isn't any more. Trying to have it there to show what it looks like when fresh but not take focus.

Orientation of the fruits/flowers/whatever they are: They were shot lying on top of an old dumpster so taking them from a higher angle was excluded by the height they were in (couldn't snap without the viewfinder) and this particular shot was one of the last before I went home from my 2nd trip to that dumpster to shoot these ground cherries. I completely agree that the arrangement and composition could have been taken further, but: I'm only as skilled as I am. I usually never shoot "studio" or arranged shots like this so its pretty new to me. And I was using my new 50mm lens for the first time. I had taken most shots at f1.8 but the last three I tried taking it up a step each time... just in case. Yet at that point I was done messing with composition. I was on my way home.
I agree with your critique but I don't think I'll go reshoot. Some good pointers though and I have noted them mentally. I have one last location for this months theme I want to visit first.
Thanks for the feedback! There's actually nothing better that hearing an honest and positive criticism because it tells me you've really looked at my picture and wanted to help perhaps improveit

Thank you I'm glad you like the backdrop like I do I think I've already answered the DoF above but, in short, it's because I wanted to concentrate information and focus in the beautiful pattern and little "secret" of the foremost cherry.

 

No, I think you have the DOF spot on in this shot, don't think I'd change that. And on second review, with my calibrated home monitor, the background looks better and I start to see how it complements the subject. At the front left, by the older berry, I think it works well. However, the browns at the top, in spite of their being outside the focal plane, are a little too bold and seem to jump further out the frame than the blues around them which removes depth and negates the effect you've created with the DOF.

All subjective, of course. Glad my personal insight can help though.


Hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of trying to visually demonstrate when what I was explaining earlier with some dirty potato-chopping.



It's not exactly as I intended, but suggestive of the composition I was describing. Meh.

 

it's a nice subject and a great take on the theme. seems a little underexposed though and i'm confused as to why you shot ISO 400 at 1/2000th?

 

That's actually a very good question that is answered by the fact that I'm still new to photography and especially all the manual settings. I'm slowly getting control of some of the details but as you mention this one is a good point as I indeed prefer lower iso. Another reason is that I just switched from the standard kit lens to the 50mm and while the 50mm is happy with iso 200 or even 100 in this situation I completely forgot resetting that detail

The photograph is purposely underexposed just a tad. I've found out that when shooting at -1.0ev and below the Canon doesn't burn out the colors as much as it otherwise has a tendency to. The reason it has not been beefed up afterwards is because it wasn't what I was going for. Oh yeah and it was cloudy and grey when I shot this so I think I got a lot from the little light available.

Also I recommend looking at the picture outside firefox or IE as I've come to not trust their color display. It should be in a color profile that FF and IE supports, but... *shrug*

 

Had one very close to that. Except they were lined up: http://www.jessien.dk/blog/wp-content/gallery/almostpotm/1107sRGB10.jpg

Edit: Just found this one that I think comes incredibly close to what you potatoed together above:

Did you by the way notice what happened to the colors in the one you posted? That's what I've battled with On a mac the color profile to export to for web+lcd is "Color LCD" don't know what it is on Windows yet.

 

Just thought I'd list what has been a success for me with this picture even though there are things pointed out which could be done even better:
Exposure: Exactly like I hoped. Vibrant but still calm.
Color contrast: Never did this so purposely before
Depth of Field: Used my new 50 mm lens purposely for the first time and succeeded. Very happy with result.
Meta: Having the contrast between the new and the old berry as well as having the deteriorated backdrop all hopefully adding to communicate some sort of decaying beauty.

All the critique is definitely noted and will follow me and hopefully help me being better when I shoot an arranged subject again
Thanks!

 

now that is a really really nice shot

 

Submitted to POTM.webshaped.com

 

Added lomo effect (never heard the name before but saw it via the Thundercat thread and google and liked it) and upped the contrast.

DELETED

changed to URL not to force load on yous My GF didn't like and since she is almighty I've decided it to be worse ;-) .

 

Thank you

Should I switch with this one instead?
Thumbnail - click for real size

 

most definately

 

I think the DoF is possibly too shallow on the new picture. I personally really like the composition of the first but the colours of hwulex's chopped version.

 

Agreed. But only slightly...

The colors are actually the same but your browser doesn't display them correctly. Take a look at this thread.



This is really getting to be a hard choice for me... I'm completely blank... can't choose. Heeelp

 

I saw swap for the latter one, exactly the kind of thing I envisaged. Top shot.

 

Okay. Thanks for all the help. I swapped for the latter and then I think I'll leave it at that before I go crazy

This was the old one:

 

Personally I liked the first one better...