February voting thread - Rule of Thirds

February Challenge - Photo of the Month


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Why have a go at me, I'm not the only one who thought your photo failed to meet the challenge.
Sorry, edited.

I think PB that you have a blunt writing style. There have been a few months where you've made a comment about one of mine that rubbed me up the wrong way... until I paused and realised that you were just offering constructive criticism.

People should take your criticism in the spirit in which I'm sure it's intended, and you should take their criticism with a pinch of salt. All imo of course.
Who has criticised me, only people who don't like the fact I don't like their photo as much as the ones I voted for. Where have I complained! :lol:
 


The whole point of people giving honest feedback is so we can take it on board like grown ups and either choose to use it to improve our photographs, or choose to ignore it because we already like what we do.

What we don't do around here is to take criticism of our shots as "somebody having a personal pop", and that has led to some excellent and enlightening debate over the months we've held this competition / challenge.

I did say in the voting guidelines that if you choose not to vote for a shot, please give some feedback as to why not - it's very helpful to a lot of photographers to get this and use it to improve.

If you don't want C&C the all you have to do is say so when you enter. You can't, however only accept positive C&C.
 
Is it, who said that ??

Are you not allowed to interpret the theme any way you like, I thought that was the point, it was artistic, thinking outside the box <shrug> obviously not.
I am sure you can enter any photo you like but I understood this year's monthly competitions were to be about photography techniques, such as CJ and ROT rather than artistic impression. Although March's comp. has gone back to a theme.
 
...pretentious influencing post that gives everyone some kind of bizarre mark out of three, like your the queen of photography (I mean you voted for pegs on a line ffs :roll: (sorry phil) then please expect to be shot down by totally opposing views too, sheesh.
:lol::lol: If only! (bold)

Red - is that a dig at being a woman? If so you are one weird man.
 
I agree with Mr Spavin on this one. A couple of times when the criticism has stung...but you have to take a step back and take it in the spirit intended. I wish that more people offered such an in depth criticism. I try to do it myself most months and I hope it doesn't offend. I really want to get better at photography and I would also like to help others get better.
 
I agree with Mr Spavin on this one. A couple of times when the criticism has stung...but you have to take a step back and take it in the spirit intended. I wish that more people offered such an in depth criticism. I try to do it myself most months and I hope it doesn't offend. I really want to get better at photography and I would also like to help others get better.
Thank you .
 
FU shed7, coming on here and giving a good post! :)

ps: I agree, my photo was intended to have the heli high up at the back to hit one of the ROT points but due to doing my Uni degree the same day I kinda rushed it.

My fault (and I take the feedback in the way it was meant)

Cheers

Sponge
 
Here are my C&C's for the month. I vote based on my favourite photo that meets the theme if that doesn't sound too obvious. I don't worry too much about how glowing an example of the theme it is. Basically, if you meet the theme, you've passed the first stage...then it's just my favourite shots.

Please take the comments in the spirit intended. In my opinion, there is not necessarily a right or wrong with photography. I'm more trying to think of ways that I think you would be able to express yourself more effectively. Here goes...


The Great Soprendo - I like the silhouette of the church and it really works well having it on a third, I just think it gets a little lost in the composition a little. The houses in front overpower it. Lovely tones in the sky.

Tom Tom Macute - You've got the subject nicely on a third...I'm just not 100% sure what I'm looking at. I think there are some confusing elements in the composition which detract from the main subject. I also think that the light isn't that great. Judging by the top left-hand corner there was some great light near by as well! I think it's good that you spotted something interesting and different to take a picture of though.

taipeisafc - I quite like this. The tones are nice and it's a fairly interesting urban landscape. There's just not a lot going on to make it REALLY exciting. There are a ton of lines in the shot, maybe you could've used these in a more dynamic way?

Iain Hesford's Bait Box - Very similar to an idea I was going to run with (mine was going to be far more minimalistic though, and a probably far shitter!) and I think it shows a good eye. I didn't vote for it because there's nothing that really 'pop's' out in the frame for me. I very much like how you're in the shot though!

Huge Organ - Quite a nice idea but I think that it suffers from the fact that the light aint great and the sky is a bit grey. Consequently, the picture doesn't quite have the nice tones that it would've had in better light.

Amnorrageordie - A beautiful scene and quite a nice shot. I can't quite put my finger on why it doesn't quite work for me. I think that if I was taking it I would've crouched down to get a lower angle. Then you could've kept the ripples on the third but made more of a feature out of the low clouds.

MaDMaCKeM - The waterfall is beautiful and I like the long exposure you've used. The B&W conversion works really well and the tones are beautiful. The only downside for me is that it's a bit cluttered and busy. It might just be a personal taste thing but there's just so many branches and stuff and it detracts from the waterfall.

TiredEyes - I can see what you've attempted to do here and I applaud the idea. The only thing is that, although you've divided the frame in to thirds, the subject is actually right in the middle. I like that you thought out of the box though.

Les the Scientist - I should start by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of HDR! I'm not 100% clear on what the subject is and you've got a pretty bad 'halo' along the horizon. I like the green and yellow tones though.

Clyde - It's like the new Radiohead album - good but not by the high standards of the artist!

Mainze - C&C already offered elsewhere - vert

LuckKnickers - I like the boldness of this shot but, if I were taking it, I would've gone with a wider angle to give more information about the surroundings. The composition is just a bit too tight for my tastes.

Peachbum - C&C already offered elsewhere - vert

Phil - I like the colours and the boldness. It's just a bit flat for me. Maybe a slight shift in angle would have made it more dynamic. I've also just noticed that there is quite a shallow depth of field and the blue peg on the third is out of focus. It might not be a huge deal for now but it's something to look out for in the future.

not spavin - See my C&C for Clyde!

SpongebobMax - I like the way that the black really 'pop's' out against the silvery background. Similarly, the limited use of colour works really well. I didn't vote for it as I didn't find the subject matter too interesting.

Me - Shit

Farralad - I like the idea, I just think there's too much blank space in the image. Blank space can work really well, and I really like minimalist imaged, but the subject here is almost on a fifth horizontally, rather than a third! Not that you should always listen to the rule of thirds, mind, but there are occasions when it really is helpful.

Ghost of EH7 - See Clyde and Spavin's comments! I like the cameras though. I really want to move to medium format...just don't think I've quite got to the ability level I want with digital yet though.
 
Here is my (positive) feedback for what it's worth.


The Great Soprendo
This would have been a nice entry for last month’s. Good use of ROT, the bird works well in the negative space too.

tom tom macute
I think this might work very well in black and white – it’s very contrasty which is good, but as it was (I assume) taken in when the sun is high in the sky, the colours are a bit washed out.

Taipeisafc
I love this, and bizarrely I have been using an image that’s very similar in a presentation for the last couple of weeks. That was of Mumbai, but the colours and feel were very similar. There’s something pleasingly ‘odd’ about it, my favourite entry of yours so far I think.

Iain Hesford's Bait Box
Already covered – got my vote.

Hue Jorgan
I think this is a good example of when a title / explanation lifts a shot. Without it it’s just a snapshot, with it it’s a warm story with a bit of meaning attached to it.

Amnorrageordie
I think this is beautiful, very serene. Think it could be made even more dramatic with a bit of PP – knock it mono, make it more contrasty etc. The raw materials are there for something special.

MaDMaCKeM
Nice, and exactly why I don’t really go along with the ROT. For me this needs a tighter crop in from the right, which would mean it falls foul of the ROT but would be a more pleasing composition overall.

TiredEyes
Sound like a broken record here, but this is another that might with better in black and white – the hint of colour that’s in it isn’t adding owt. Might actually work as a faded duotone either, or even with a mad tint / cross process effect. I really like geometric-style shots like this anyhow, so I was tempted to hoy it a vote.

Les the Scientist
Lovely, restrained HDR. A good example of HDR being used to make a scene look more real rather than less real. Very tempted to give it a go myself now.

Clyde
Your horizon’s crooked marra. ;) I’ve noticed that your black and white shots have moved up a gear since you got that new camera. This is got a richness that I wish I could achieve in my shot. Class, as usual.

Mainze
Lots great about this one. Exposure is bang on, lovely colours, great mood and excellent composition. It’s getting a decent chuck of the vote and rightly so.

lucky knickers
Surprised that this hasn’t clocked up more votes, though I agree that the lamppost dominates a bit. Maybe a selective colouring could help – you can do that easily in Picnic.

Peachbum
Very nice – this kind of shot seems to be your forte. You should do well in next month’s theme.

Phil
I like the thinking in this, and if you’d managed to get the blue peg in focus and the rest out of focus then I think this would have worked brilliantly.

Me
This was a snapshot that I took from the car out of the front windscreen, then cropped and edited to meet the theme. It’s shite.

SpongebobMax
Love everything about this – title, selective colour, bokeh – except the composition. Would have liked to have seen less background and more of the reflections. And I am 100% stealing the idea of selectively colouring bokeh. ;)

ThankHeavenForShed 7
This is charming, and a good example of when ROT really does work.

Farralad
Exact same comment as above. It puts a smile on my face, and the composition works.

Ghost of EH7
A nice example of its type – lovely lighting... and class cameras.
 
:lol::lol: If only! (bold)

Red - is that a dig at being a woman? If so you are one weird man.

wtf
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That's a bizarre connection you've made, nothing of the kind from me.


I am sure you can enter any photo you like but I understood this year's monthly competitions were to be about photography techniques, such as CJ and ROT rather than artistic impression. Although March's comp. has gone back to a theme.


ffs, just say you were wrong and at least get respect for admitting you made a mistake.

but mainly my problem is because I read things like -

neither silouette (sic) nor showing interesting detail
the picture doesn't hold the attention
showing you know the technique of ROT, not an artistic interpretation of "thirds" (or ninths even). Also your object is in the centre.
but the end photograph is let down by the water horizon needing to be placed bang on a third
the composition is let down by the fact that rock centre bottom draws your eye
No good just going for the rule of thirds if the rest of the composition is messy
Oh and the dark bit to the very bottom right needs cropping
Sorry a weak double exposure (type) photograph
you've neither blurred the background enough nor made it sharp
the lines take all the right hand side of the picture and weaken it
placing two single objects next to each other isn't a very good example
your photograph could have shown a better example of composing items


- and I think "who the fuck is this pretentious, arrogant xxxx" I mean I'll take it all back if you have exhibited your photography at the SAGE or work as assistant to David Bailey or something.
 
Farralad - I like the idea, I just think there's too much blank space in the image. Blank space can work really well, and I really like minimalist imaged, but the subject here is almost on a fifth horizontally, rather than a third! Not that you should always listen to the rule of thirds, mind, but there are occasions when it really is helpful.

Farralad
Exact same comment as above. It puts a smile on my face, and the composition works.

Thanks to both, the pic wasn't taken with this thread in mind, I seen the thread title, after I had edited it to put on facebook. The kids were in one third of the shot so I thought I'd give it a bash and post it up here.

It's me son and niece on the photo, so the fact that people like it, and has made someone smile makes me very pleased.

After reading earlier feedback of the photo, I tried to crop it more to bring the kids more into the shot, but it just highlights the flakey paintwork behind them and in my opinion spoiled the photo.

Ta again.;)
 
Still haven't quite mastered voting as i didn't realize that you couldn't return to vote for another after having another look at the pics - so only ended up voting for one:oops:

My views based on no real knowledge at all so feel completely free to disregard and think "well he knows nowt!"

Great soprendo - met ROT well but a bit empty to me- quite liked it though

Tom tom macute - good, interesting photo. Personally i would have cropped out that little stick right in the very bottom left hand corner as i assume that was nothing to do with the title - or was it?

Taipeisafc - very atmospheric, noticed the leaning building but not to sure what straightening that would have done to some of the others and i am not a fan of post production tweaking - still got my vote.

Iain hesford's bait box - lovely find for the location, personally i would have framed it more around the 4 panes towards the top left of your photo but obviously lots like it as it is.

Hue Jorgan -really liked this and may well have voted for this as well, but messed up! - something odd going on down the right hand side.

Amnorageordie - very competent and classy pic.

Madmackem - again a very atmospheric, competent photo . Not sure that the framing is the best for the theme, i might have tried to get that big central boulder more to the right, but hey i wasn't there!

Tired eyes - interesting idea, didn't quite work for me - what about a clothes peg on one of those bars ;)

Les the scientist - lovely view, for me bearing in mind ROT, i might have looked for an angle putting something in that vast expanse of grass front left.

Clyde - i have a very similar pic on my wall. Interesting long exposure - slightly irritating to me was the horizon running thru the top of the person's head making him look lie a monk with a shaved head lol

Mainze - lovely photo of the cat - like it, but not quite a perfect pic maybe too bland a sky

Lucky knickers - feel as if the lamp was competing with michael jackson, and losing. when it should have been winning if you know what i mean. Maybe throwing MJ out of focus might have helped.

Peachbum - liked it a lot and technically very good - the missus would have voted for this.

Phil - good idea but not quite there - wasted on this lot ;)

Not spavin - more than anything i was left feeling confused by this - it looked like helium balloons caught on wires but the wires were too thick, or the balloons too small and why was the balloon not trying to rise upwards? was the pic rotated through 90 degrees? i'm easily distracted!

Spongebobmax - really like this a lot, personally would have framed it with a bit more foreground. What are the spots of coloured light caused by? Were they under your control?

Thankheaven forshed7 perfect for ROT but too much plain sky for me - you should have conjured up some interesting clouds ;)

Farrahlad - nice photo not quite framed perfectly(top right) would have been interesting to crop just a little bit tighter on the girls.

Ghost of EH7 - amazing looking cameras just felt there was a more striking pic to be had - maybe a bit of macro on one of them?


Well there's my 2p's worth. Thanks for the comments regarding my effort - i'm already thinking hard for the next one to see if i can crack the 2 votes barrier!
 
phil said:
Not spavin - more than anything i was left feeling confused by this - it looked like helium balloons caught on wires but the wires were too thick, or the balloons too small and why was the balloon not trying to rise upwards? was the pic rotated through 90 degrees? i'm easily distracted!

No rotation - they were partially deflated baloons caught on this fecker.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Beckett_Bridge

Took it as I was driving over it. Don't try this at home, kids.
 
Still haven't quite mastered voting as i didn't realize that you couldn't return to vote for another after having another look at the pics - so only ended up voting for one:oops:

My views based on no real knowledge at all so feel completely free to disregard and think "well he knows nowt!"

Spongebobmax - really like this a lot, personally would have framed it with a bit more foreground. What are the spots of coloured light caused by? Were they under your control?

Well there's my 2p's worth. Thanks for the comments regarding my effort - i'm already thinking hard for the next one to see if i can crack the 2 votes barrier!

Cheers Phil, I am learning all the time and only starting taking photo's when I got the camera at christmas.

The spots of coloured light are caught using my Minolta 1.7, turned the pic into B & W and then selected spots of colour to show, ie: selective colour.

I wanted to show different bits of the photo and tbh I could have spent more time adhering to the ROT but taking out some of the needless wall caught above the subjects but didnt have much time (only the whole of Feb :) )

Thanks for the comments, good or bad its always good to get some feedback.

EDIT: On the helicopter in the background it lights up and flickers, so that was what the lights were :)
 
Is that the 50mm 1.7 lens? It's a beaut. I love mine.
 
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