Your photos (131)


Hints and tips
by Philip Grosset



If you'd like to submit photos for criticism,
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with comments from Philip Grosset




"this was taken with a ricoh diacord g tlr. the taking lens is a f=8cm 1:3.5 rikenon. the film used was portra 400 nc. i don't remember the shutter speed or aperture, but would suspect somewhere around 250 at 11." (David Eads)
Red barn lightened
Red barn
Your photo on the left looks rather dark and gloomy. On the right, I've tried lightening it up a bit. The problem remains, though, that too much of it is in shadow. The red color makes the barn stand out well, but we are too far away from it to see it at all clearly. The main emphasis seems to be on the white railings, and as you don't explain why you chose to do this (or give your full name and say where you come from), I'm afraid it's all a bit of a mystery to me.

Reply from David Eads: "thanks for your reply and critique. my name is david eads and i live in somerset, ky. i took the picture on a trip to shakertown, at pleasant hill, ky. i have no good response as to why the emphasis is on the while rail. i snapped the photo without any clear thought process. in the original photograph, the red barn is very detailed in that you can see the individual slats on the side. i guess some of that is lost in the scanning and transmission. all that notwithstanding, i appreciate your comments.

the first photo below was taken with a ricoh diacord twin lens reflex. the taking lens is a f=8cm 1:3.5 rikenon. the film used was kodak portra 400nc. the detail seems good but i question whether the color is right on, compared with the second photo.
the second photo below was taken with a leica mini-zoom. the leica has a vario-elmar 35-70 lens, and i would assume that it was zoomed out about half-way, although i have no idea how much. the film was kodak 400. compared to the top photo, the colors appear more vivid, although i think the detail is less. i hope i am not imparting too much of my own $.02 worth, but thought the background, as it were, would be helpful. this was on a day when we were comparing what the two cameras could do."
Parrots (Leica)
Parrots (Ricoh)
Your two photos make an interesting comparison. I prefer the Leica photo on the right as the closer you can get to a subject like this, the more detail is revealed. Both the two parrots in this second picture are very effectively positioned at intersections of thirds, and this produces a fine bold composition with the emphasis firmly on them, and the relationship between them. The color and sharpness appear better too, but, as with your previous picture, I think something may have been been lost in the scanning. A pity, this, because it makes it difficult for me to do justice to what I suspect may be really pleasing originals.

Reply from David Eads: "okay, here's one my daughter took in egypt, last summer. she uses a leica mini 2 which has a leica elmar 3.5. i think this lens is better than my leica mini-zoom. this has also been enlarged via wal-mart, so, therefore, it is not the original print. she used 400 film. thanks"
Camels
This is a perfectly pleasing holiday photo, although it might have been even better if we'd seen the boy (?) in the middle more clearly. Also, if he'd been looking at one off the camels rather than at the camera, it might have made it all look a bit more natural. But the background was very well chosen, and the camels stand out well from it. Altogether, a happy record of what was obviously a very memorable journey.




"My name is Karlis, i`m from Latvia. here are some "photos for criticism": "niteroad" - 8sec exposure, holding camera on dashboard, following another car at (quite) high speed (samsung AF105g)
"snowroad" - simple scene somewhere in Poland (full auto) (samsung AF105g)
"chatswort" - forgot the camera settings (Zenit)
"baaka-mols" - lighthouse, bad weather day (full auto) (samsung AF105g)" (Karlis Dambrans, Latvia)
Night road
This is an interesting experiment, but it doesn't quite work as a photo because it doesn't really mean anything without your explanation as to what it is!
Road cropped
Road
Chatsworth
Chatsworth cropped
Seascape cropped
Seascape
Your other photos are on the left above, with my versions on the right. I've done the same thing each time: simply moved in closer! I like my version of your second picture ("Snowroad") best as the road leads us into an attractive scene, with the muted colors producing a very pleasant effect. I think this is a very successful photo. Your Chatsworth photo (no. 3) looks a little impersonal with, in its original version, too much emphasis on the paths. Your fourth picture of the lighthouse doesn't show it clearly. I've tried repositioning it at one of the intersections of thirds - but there's really not much here (other than the surface of the sea that I've tried to emphasise) to bring it to life.




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