I just can't find a way in to this one I'm afraid Dave - the in-focus portion seems to act as a barrier rather than drawing me in, so my eye has to fall upon the structure in the background as the second point of interest, but it is too far out of focus to hold any attention.

regards,
mattp

I like the photo, but it seems to me that there's too many objects blurred and I think the viewer would like to see more items than the iron pole.

matt: that was my wife's reaction to this shot too ... pretty much. I guess I have my own thoughts about this one, that I'll hold off mentioning for a while, but I suspect you won't be alone in your reaction.

Martin: yes, I suspect you're right ;-)

I keep trying to focus on the building in the distance and, obviously, failing. It's a very strange sensation.

it's out of focus. it's a neat picture, but my eye was all trying to find something to rest on. then i saw that bar in the foreground. but since it looks too much like the rest of the dark structure it still gets lost. sorry.

what kind of eyes do you expect behind the ironbridges,-blur out-

This makes my eyes hurt, it seems well composed, but I would like to see more of the image in focus...

i think whatever you like you should post - if this is something that you think is cool, more power to ya. it's good that you don;t hold back because of what others may think. definately unexpected, and i like that. i like how the eye travel never stops or settles on one area. convention, bah who needs it? ;)

i think if the pole in focus was brighter and stood out more it would be better. i still like the shot anyways

I somewhat see where you were trying to go with this Dave, but there is too much blur. Also, there is no real focal point that captivates me and i find all th objects under the bridge to be extermely dark. Not your best at all. Keep working at it mate.

I'm very interested to see why Dave likes it. For me, it does not seem to say or do anything. Allmost as if the shot were taken when you tripped the shutter by accident while focusing.

this ones hard to look at. not like your others is it. i'm a little surprised you decided to go with this. on the other hand i'm not. i think thats what makes you so good photography. your not afraid to give it a go.

I was a bit startled to open the shot and find it was apparently totally out of focus. Then I discovered the near bar. My feeling though is that the bar doesn't have enough presence to anchor the picture. I feel a bit like I've been hit between the eyes with that bar and now they refuse to focus.

I admit I'm confused by the underexposure effect and wide aperature to maximize the lack of focus. So, pray tell.

I found myself waiting for the image to pop into focus while loading - I thought it was a progressive jpeg!
Other than that, I pretty much agree with most of the other comments so far. It's a 'challenging' picture for the viewer, but if it has significant elements for you, as the photographer, then you are right to post it. I think that s.hu has picked up on one possibly relevant point - a picture without a real subject maybe?

Excellent, the fuzzy idea is excellent!

Hi david!

As the others commenting, i'm not able to find anywhere to rest my eyes... I'm just searching the whole picture for a focused and meaningfull spot, but the focused point is, in my eyes, to dark.. Good composition though it didn't turn out too god...

But i'm glad you gave it a shot, because it's really a challenging picture for the viewer, it just didn't make it all the way :(

Have a nice day, and keep the pictures coming, we love it :)

Sorry Dave. I can't get this one at all. I thnik I see what you are aiming at but it doesn't work. Just TOO much out of focus. It tips over the edge of art into the realm of a misfocus shot. A casual observer would think "hah, his camera focussed on the closest object - he should have selected a focussing point manually". If it were mine it would be for the recycle bin.

i can't get what you're trying to express through this one dave...

perhaps it's time u reveal the truth!

I think it's an interesting and querky shot. It's something different and that's what makes it interesting. Yes, maybe it doesn't conform to the standards most expect, but that would make it "normal", and there's nothing worse than being normal in my book ;)

lol, I guess this one didn't quite work then ;-)

But to explain ...

I guess what I was after here is a shot that wasn't quite about anything – no central point of focus, no explicit center of attention. There's an interesting out of focus building in the center of the shot, a blurred structure off to the right, a forbidding sky and some distant hills. And all of these are 'balanced' by an overy dark bar in the foreground, too ill-defined to hold your attention for more than a moment. I guess, if anything, that I was going for a shot that couldn't be 'fixed'; one where your eye wanders around the scene failing to find a central point, wondering what it's all about.

Or, put another way, it's an attempt to play around with what a photograph 'should' be.

And, despite the experience being a negative one for most of you, I guess that that's what I achieved. All of which isn't much use though if nobody likes it ;-)

~a wee bit dark imo, constructively it's not a huge nit ater reading your thoughts above-your eye has a unique quality that invents itself over and over, that's the key. I/eye am wandering, which is a fine attribute of the frame; make me see ALL of it, that's a bonus..~

Well, yours is really dark, not really in focus, and not that all captivating. I guess I dont particularly care for it ;) But your friends...blob thing he got is intresting...

so i guessed. You were trying to break the "photography rules"...

"the wanderer"

Very interesting photo.

Hmm, not great imo. Underexposed and the choice of DOF doesn't do a lot for me.

It just goes to show that the number of comments does not equate with an image's worth ;-)

Thanks everyone.

When the concept takes precedence over the actual final output, it's time to sit back, relax, smoke a fatty, and just come up with something just plain beautiful ;)

I also think the effect would have been better if the focused pole was better lit. It is the only thing in focus and it hardly stands out at all. Interesting effect, though.

i already made a comment on this one, but i would now like to say that i love it. completely love it, though it seems i am the only one. like i said, i love that my eye never stops looking for a place to land, and it's even better now that you said that was your intent ;)

Hmmm, didn't take the time to check out the other comments, so I have no idea if people liked it or not. I like the idea, mostly the idea of the frame, but it's too blurry for me. Would have liked to see more in focus... But that's just IMHO...