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From the Atlas Mountains
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this is a great idea, i love it! so i’ll put the first image that hopfully fulfills the criteria, and for which i would love some honest critique. It was taken a few months ago in the atlas mountains in a little village where we stopped for lunch
and here’s a link to the large size
http://static.flickr.com/64/161533927_9ecfba6ccc_o.jpg
Hi Shrapnel
Thanks for your enthusiasm for the new section.
While I hope that new posters will open new threads rather than use this ?sticky? thread, I think it is great to have a typical example posted here in this thread.
Here?s my take on the photo?
It has great character and authenticity. The flaking wall and the old lady really look the part. The composition has a lot going for it. The window within the frame makes for good focus on the subject. The old lady is on the point of thirds. Colour saturation is good in spite of a lot of beige, white and black.
There are two problems I have with the photo, however. Firstly, travel photos rarely succeed by leaving too much unanswered. They try, rather, to tell a story and create desire rather than too much mystery. So the gaze of the old lady is a very strong implied line going right out of the frame. What is she looking at? We don?t know. Secondly, I think that she needs a prop or something like that. If she had some dish or craft item on the windowsill and was looking at it or interacting with that, the photo could have given a stronger impression. Or if the background had some typical item of furniture. Something on the sill would probably be best though.
I think that the photo is more or less beyond improving with post-processing. Technically it is excellent. I think the improvements are needed at the time of composition.
The photo is strong enough to make it as a passenger along with a batch of strong photos from the region, but I don?t think it is strong enough to stand alone.
Just my ?0.02, of course.
Thanks again
BertieI’m lost? Are we, well not me. trying to read too much into a pretty perfect photo? I suppose that is an intrinisic danger with a forum like this but Bertie, sorry, your response would make me think twice about posting here. Surely there is no need to do a labotomy on stuff to that degree? There is so much more to a photograph than cliinical analysis.
I think that this photo says a lot. Regardless of the “tourism” stuff!
As a tourism photo it works perfectly.
Valentia wrote:
I’m lost? Are we, well not me. trying to read too much into a pretty perfect photo? I suppose that is an intrinisic danger with a forum like this but Bertie, sorry, your response would make me think twice about posting here. Surely there is no need to do a labotomy on stuff to that degree? There is so much more to a photograph than cliinical analysis.
I think that this photo says a lot. Regardless of the “tourism” stuff!
As a tourism photo it works perfectly.
Well, Valentia, we’re all different. Some give more detailed analysis than others and some want more detailed analysis than others. I often give the amount of analysis I would like to receive for my photos – ie lots. I do a fairly severe analysis on my own photos and it is only when someone gives a lot of detail that there’s a liklihood that I’ll be told something that I didn’t spot myself. I also added in my earlier posting that if anyone doesn’t like the amount of feedback I give they should send me a PM and I’ll back off or not post at all in their threads, as appropriate. Certainly, if Shrapnel PM’s me I’ll apologise and be more concise in future comments on his images.
You have made your position clear. Feel free to post in this forum. I understand that my level of critique isn’t what you wish and won’t be commenting on any of your images.
BertieWooster wrote:
The photo is strong enough to make it as a passenger along with a batch of strong photos from the region, but I don?t think it is strong enough to stand alone.
Maybe it is not strong enough for some travel photography editor but this photo can stay alone as picture because it’s strong enough.
Bertie, sorry, your response would make me think twice about posting here. Surely there is no need to do a labotomy on stuff to that degree?
For me, Bertie makes a valid point, and I’d welcome such deconstruction of an image if I posted one. shrapnel posted his image for honest critique, and Bertie obliged.
The point about the image needing another element to tell more of a story is a fair one. I wondered what the woman was looking at when I first saw the shot… and while I realise that it’s always nice not to know, to wonder about it, project your own story onto the image… sometimes it is also nice to see what is going on.
Also, to claim that…
As a tourism photo it works perfectly.
…is a bold statement. Define ‘tourism photo’ – e.g. I can imagine shrapnel’s image in amongst a group of pictures on a page of the Lonely Planet, for example (it’s crisp, happy, bright) but I can’t see it in a more in-depth feature on that location in, say, a newspaper. That’s my gut instinct anyway.
Bertie’s “labotomy” of shrapnel’s image actually made me think about it, see that it could have been better in some ways, perhaps… I found it quite refreshing after reading so many “good colours, nice composition” one-line comments on other images in this forum.
Work away Bertie. I’ll be posting here eventually, when I can muster up a decent shot or two (although it will take a while!)
First of all, i wanted to apologise to Mark and Bertie for posting in this thread. I was actually reading through Bertie’s description of it when this photo popped into my mind, which automatically made me post it. I spend way too much time on flickr where that kind of behaviour is normal, even encouraged :? . So, in my mind, there is no reason my photo should stay in the sticky, and i would ask Mark with his infinite powers if he was able to remove my photo and its following comments onto a new and separate thread.
Secondly, I appreciate Bertie’s honesty and constructive criticism, and frankly, to me anyway, there are positives there and some perfectly valid negatives (some with which we can easily agree or disagree) . “Technically excellent” certainly shows me i’ve come a long way in a year of shooting with an SLR. Composition wise, i did the best i could within the circumstances. Yes, it could be better with some typical furniture seen behind her (which i completely agree with), or a plate next to her (not too sure personnally about this one), but you have to understand this was a stolen moment. I passed by this house, saw this woman leaning out of her house, asked her if i could take her photo which she kindly agreed to, and took a few shots. This is one of the results, which all in all i was happy with. Some of my other shots are slightly stronger composition wise but her expression and pose were the strongest here and therefore this is the one i kept and uploaded here.
Always feel free to criticise what i post, that’s why i post here in the first place.
thank you also for all concurrent comments. I very much appreciate them
Dave
Thanks for the comments, and for the recognition that my comments are not an effort to rubbish good photos. I?ll look forward to seeing some of your photos and to discussions in the future.Shrapnel
Delighted to hear that you took my comments in the spirit in which they were intended. The photo is a great photo, and if it were in the People section, some of my comments wouldn?t apply. And the comments were merely my opinion, at the end of the day. Anyway, you know what I meant. I hope we?ll see more of your work here. I am impressed with what I?ve seen so far.
Thanks again
Bertie
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