<<< o >>>d-day 13 comments + add yours
chromasia.com

Joe made a couple of really good points yesterday when he commented on my previous entry – that I’m often surprised by how other people see my images, and that if I want a discussion about why an image doesn’t quite work, I should just ask. And I suppose, in terms of the latter, that I’ve supposed that people will say if/why they think an image doesn’t work. And I’d much rather have a critical commentary than no comments at all. One of the things that has made the most difference to my photography is the feedback I receive here – what works, what doesn’t, and so on – so please feel free to critique any of my images. I do like positive comments, but I need critical feedback too.

As for this image: I would have preferred a wider angle lens for this shot – I think it would have been more striking (and I could have cut out the wall in the foreground) – but I do think it’s reasonably effective.

camera
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metering mode
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Canon G5
12.07pm on 24/5/04
f4.0
1/500
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
50
7.2mm
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auto
 
 
4x3
comment by James at 01:10 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

Certainly a big change from your recent more colourful shots - great impact.

comment by Keith at 01:11 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

Critical comments? But Dave, it's just so much less work for us to just say "Great shot!" "I love it!" "Incredible!"

Fine, so, I love the composition, I love clouds and high contrast pictures so this picture is awesome great. Yes the wall in the foreground is a little distracting, other than that, maybe if the the top part of the sky is lighter... But then I'm nitpicking, this is an amazing shot.

comment by Tudy at 02:19 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

I love the look of this, the composition the light to dark balance.... and would really like to know how you achieved it. Reason being, I almost had a photo similar to this in looks, not subject, using filters.. but when I saved it in PSP.. poof.. it was back to the original color. Not sure why and now I can't even remember how I did it. DUH..

comment by Kjetil at 09:46 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

Yes, the composition is great. If you want I'm sure people would give more critisism, but you take really good shots. So I rarely see the point in saying something bad! Keep up the good work. This image is great!

comment by Jasmin at 10:40 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

This is a very impactful shot. Was contrast increased to get such starkness?

comment by djn1 at 10:44 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

Tudy and Jasmin: the shot was taken with a polarizing filter so the original was quite contrasty anyway, but it was further increased with the Curves tool.

comment by paul at 11:21 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

very eyecatching and most captivating contrasts

the sky is dramatic as the moment of D-day itself!

comment by Ryan at 11:58 AM (GMT) on 26 May, 2004

What a junk shot..put your camera down, give it up, your going nowhere. Heck man, you have clouds in your shot! Geez, if you were smart enough you would have cropped out everything. This is garbage. Sorry man, I had to :)

comment by djn1 at 12:35 AM (GMT) on 27 May, 2004

Thanks all. And Ryan: :-P

comment by Mona at 07:01 PM (GMT) on 27 May, 2004

I think this photo should be your bench mark. Although most of your photos are strong in composition, the Photoshop enhancement takes away from it or even overbearing.

The clouds for this photo are perfect, highlights have details and it's believable since on film, a red filter would be used for the high contrast.

comment by djn1 at 02:23 PM (GMT) on 28 May, 2004

Mona: Interestingly enough, more Photoshop work went into this image than most of my recent shots, but I take your point. It does point to an interesting assumption though – Photoshop is ok providing you use it to replicate what can be done with film. Do you think there’s a particular reason that Photoshop can’t become a part of the creative process in its own right, in much the same way that red filters have done?

comment by Emily at 10:46 PM (GMT) on 3 June, 2004

the dramatism of the skies and the ad complement each other very well.

comment by Andy at 09:52 AM (GMT) on 23 June, 2004

I love this shot and I have to disagree with your comment about the wall, I think it actually adds dynamic to it.

I do think however the use of Photoshop in digital photography is very important if used in the correct way. I used to buy digital photography magazines and just got too frustrated with articles/tuturials on how to turn a crap photo into a worse one by using 13 different filters! Anyway, what I'm saying, is that if used responsibly, Photoshop is a fantastic tool for digital photographers.

Spot the graphic designer!!!? ;0)