Update: I originally posted this entry to my gallery category, but given the generally negative response to this shot I've demoted it to the photolog one instead. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't do this – the category I put an image in is supposed to reflect my opinion as to its quality – but since switching to the 20D I'm not as confident about what works and what doesn't. I guess I'll get the hang of it in the end ;-)
Finally, I've managed to take something with my new 17-40 that I'm happy with. I would have preferred the background to have been a little less distracting, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out.
capture date camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality white balance cropped?
6.48pm on 27/9/04
Canon 20D
17-40 f4 L
17mm (27.2mm equiv.)
f4.0
1/13
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
auto
no
comment byjoe holmes at 12:27 AM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Dave -- you shot this at 1/13...tripod?
comment bydjn1 at 12:32 AM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Joe: no, this was handheld.
comment by Maxine at 01:01 AM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Amazing...just feel like being inside a japonese movie :) Wonderful colours as usual!
comment by Marc at 01:16 AM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Oddly, this shot doesn't do much for me. I find the shadow and the glare on the hood distracting. The fact that I don't find the subject matter interesting doesn't help, but I can't help but find this shot a bit boring and unremarkable.
To be fair, I'm a layman, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
comment byAli at 08:02 AM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
You sure have steady hands. Perhaps this was shot in multiple burst?
comment bydjn1 at 01:14 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Ali: what's 'multiple burst'?
comment bymiklos at 01:46 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
dave: frame burst? Multiple shots with one click? Surely you've heard of it :)
comment bydjn1 at 02:01 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
miklos: yes. I guess I should have worded my question differently. What I didn't understand was why Ali had asked, and what relevance the question might have to his previous point that referenced the slow shutter speed of this shot.
comment bymiklos at 02:29 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
I only see one comment from ali .. Am I missing something? I'll just stop replying I think :) I'll check back tomorrow.
comment byMatt at 02:59 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
I agree with Marc. This shot is unremarkable. The subject matter is less than interesting and it seems that the focus is soft. Perhaps you are looking for something different to be satisfied with but I liked yesterday's shot much better.
comment byKjetil at 03:03 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Looks great David! Keep up the good work. Great to see you enjoy your new gear.
comment bydjn1 at 03:08 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Marc and Matt: the things I like about this shot are i) the way the contrast has seemingly altered the shape of the bonnet, particularly on the left; i.e. is seems to have taken on the contours of the painting, and ii) the subject matter - I'm always fascinated by the various ways in which people customise those things that would otherwise seem mundane. In itself this isn't a remarkable car, but the time and effort that has clearly been expended on it, to me at least, makes it a thing of interest.
As for the focus: the foreground is sharp, but looks soft due to the nature of the artwork.
Btw, I like the irony of two people both remarking on the unremarkableness of this shot ;-)
comment byJason Wall at 04:20 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
I don't think the shot is unremarkable David, but I do consider it odd that you would rate it something your finally like. The composition itself doesn't seem to rise above snapshot status to me. The car might be remarkable for the artwork on the hood, but credit does more to the airbrush artist for any interest in the photo. ( I hope this doesn't sound as harsh to you as it does to me?)
Not that it isn't worth posting. I'm curious why you liked it so much. I don't see the alteration in the bonnet. Perhaps the photo is better appreciated if you've seen the actual subject. A case where the photo needs to be paired to be properly understood?
I feel like I'm beig a snob! :) Is it intersting to you because it illustrates a specific quality or technique about photography as a craft, or do you like it as an art piece?
comment by• emarquetti • at 04:24 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Mortally poisoned!
I don´t know how you say there in UK for a car or engine when it is like this. Here in BR we say the car is poisoned, and this pic is the synthesis of it.
comment bydjn1 at 05:40 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
"but I do consider it odd that you would rate it something your finally like"
Actually, I'm beginning to wonder myself ;-)
I think, probably, (maybe) that I like it because it's the first shot I've managed to take with this lens that isn't totally crap. And this is going to sound like an excuse, but I don't mean it that way: since switching to the 20D my entire workflow has changed - viewfinder rather than LCD, DoF issues, different RAW conversion software (hence differences in the basic images I'm working with), and so on - and at the moment I'm not feeling anywhere near as comfortable with things as I did. This isn't a bad thing, but it does mean that I have a few things to (re)learn before my images get back to a standard I'm entirely happy with.
comment byJeremy at 08:47 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
I really don't think the framing is entirely great.. I dont want to sound too negative, but I dont really like this at all
comment byTin at 09:50 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
david,
ali referred to frame bursts because when you hold the shutter release down to take several shots, the later shots are usually sharper because they dont suffer from the vibration/camera movement of actually pressing the shutter. the first shot usually suffers from this small camera movement.
comment bydjn1 at 10:07 PM (GMT) on 28 September, 2004
Jeremy (and everyone else): I think we should probably just draw a line under this one and move on ;-)
Tin and Ali: thanks, this is something I wasn't aware of - though it makes obvious sense.
comment bywookiee at 03:22 PM (GMT) on 1 October, 2004
Though it makes an ugly car, it makes a great photo.
Update: I originally posted this entry to my gallery category, but given the generally negative response to this shot I've demoted it to the photolog one instead. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't do this – the category I put an image in is supposed to reflect my opinion as to its quality – but since switching to the 20D I'm not as confident about what works and what doesn't. I guess I'll get the hang of it in the end ;-)
Finally, I've managed to take something with my new 17-40 that I'm happy with. I would have preferred the background to have been a little less distracting, but on the whole I'm quite pleased with how this one turned out.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
white balance
cropped?
Canon 20D
17-40 f4 L
17mm (27.2mm equiv.)
f4.0
1/13
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
auto
no
Dave -- you shot this at 1/13...tripod?
Joe: no, this was handheld.
Amazing...just feel like being inside a japonese movie :) Wonderful colours as usual!
Oddly, this shot doesn't do much for me. I find the shadow and the glare on the hood distracting. The fact that I don't find the subject matter interesting doesn't help, but I can't help but find this shot a bit boring and unremarkable.
To be fair, I'm a layman, so take what I say with a grain of salt.
You sure have steady hands. Perhaps this was shot in multiple burst?
Ali: what's 'multiple burst'?
dave: frame burst? Multiple shots with one click? Surely you've heard of it :)
miklos: yes. I guess I should have worded my question differently. What I didn't understand was why Ali had asked, and what relevance the question might have to his previous point that referenced the slow shutter speed of this shot.
I only see one comment from ali .. Am I missing something? I'll just stop replying I think :) I'll check back tomorrow.
I agree with Marc. This shot is unremarkable. The subject matter is less than interesting and it seems that the focus is soft. Perhaps you are looking for something different to be satisfied with but I liked yesterday's shot much better.
Looks great David! Keep up the good work. Great to see you enjoy your new gear.
Marc and Matt: the things I like about this shot are i) the way the contrast has seemingly altered the shape of the bonnet, particularly on the left; i.e. is seems to have taken on the contours of the painting, and ii) the subject matter - I'm always fascinated by the various ways in which people customise those things that would otherwise seem mundane. In itself this isn't a remarkable car, but the time and effort that has clearly been expended on it, to me at least, makes it a thing of interest.
As for the focus: the foreground is sharp, but looks soft due to the nature of the artwork.
Btw, I like the irony of two people both remarking on the unremarkableness of this shot ;-)
I don't think the shot is unremarkable David, but I do consider it odd that you would rate it something your finally like. The composition itself doesn't seem to rise above snapshot status to me. The car might be remarkable for the artwork on the hood, but credit does more to the airbrush artist for any interest in the photo. ( I hope this doesn't sound as harsh to you as it does to me?)
Not that it isn't worth posting. I'm curious why you liked it so much. I don't see the alteration in the bonnet. Perhaps the photo is better appreciated if you've seen the actual subject. A case where the photo needs to be paired to be properly understood?
I feel like I'm beig a snob! :) Is it intersting to you because it illustrates a specific quality or technique about photography as a craft, or do you like it as an art piece?
Mortally poisoned!
I don´t know how you say there in UK for a car or engine when it is like this. Here in BR we say the car is poisoned, and this pic is the synthesis of it.
"but I do consider it odd that you would rate it something your finally like"
Actually, I'm beginning to wonder myself ;-)
I think, probably, (maybe) that I like it because it's the first shot I've managed to take with this lens that isn't totally crap. And this is going to sound like an excuse, but I don't mean it that way: since switching to the 20D my entire workflow has changed - viewfinder rather than LCD, DoF issues, different RAW conversion software (hence differences in the basic images I'm working with), and so on - and at the moment I'm not feeling anywhere near as comfortable with things as I did. This isn't a bad thing, but it does mean that I have a few things to (re)learn before my images get back to a standard I'm entirely happy with.
I really don't think the framing is entirely great.. I dont want to sound too negative, but I dont really like this at all
david,
ali referred to frame bursts because when you hold the shutter release down to take several shots, the later shots are usually sharper because they dont suffer from the vibration/camera movement of actually pressing the shutter. the first shot usually suffers from this small camera movement.
Jeremy (and everyone else): I think we should probably just draw a line under this one and move on ;-)
Tin and Ali: thanks, this is something I wasn't aware of - though it makes obvious sense.
Though it makes an ugly car, it makes a great photo.