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Post by katynoelle on Feb 8, 2012 1:23:06 GMT
#1  #2  #3  I'm really curious to know what you guys think about these, please. |
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Post by jeeperman on Feb 8, 2012 3:50:03 GMT
Katy, While #2 looks close to another you have posted before...And I liked....I think I like this one better even.  It makes me feel like strolling through the grass and taking in all the smells. |
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Post by chrisc on Feb 8, 2012 11:47:15 GMT
 You are one of my critique examples for this Friday: My crop is to demonstrate several different as-pects of what makes a photograph "visually" appealing. Visually appealing is much more technical that "emotionally" appealing but in most cases, you can't have one without the other. A good example of this is seen recently with Wirefoxes' Variants. Katy's open field shots are (at least for me) shot with an emotional appeal in mind: the scent of the grass, the feel of the misty air, the barn (which tugs at the nostalgia we all hold behind carefully shaded tears - this goes with bodacious sunsets, babies and puppies). However, to accomplish this while delicately holding the attention of her viewer, Katy has to set up a number of controls which will direct and guide the eye. As the shot sat, while I found it "nice," I didn't get the same kind of feeling of "emotional" tension I got with Wirefoxes' Variants. I wasn't necessarily looking for a grab your socks shot in Katy's image, but at the same time, I didn't want to have to search for the "message." Note, in my crop, how I use repeating patterns to push and pull the eye. There is the pattern of the trees set way back into the mist that pulls the eye upward, but I felt there was too much sky left to act as an agent to push the eye back into the frame. Contrastingly, there is the large clump of grass in the foreground which at the top mimics the treeline, thrusting upward, and the darker grass behind it holding in place much like the sky does with the trees. Also, by cutting off the roof, I am making a more effective use of the roof's diagonal line to "cut" through the scene, effectively creating more tension without the tension taking over the overall emotional response. A delicate balance is always a necessity, even when confronted as in Wirefoxes' first Variant. These two "organic shapes" act as barriers to hold the viewer's attention to the center of the frame, the barn structure, which in turn because of a tighter crop on the right side window keeps the eye enclosed in the initial scene (we read left to right and there is a natural tendency to keep reading unless there is a period at the end of the sentence.) The lighter areas to the right and left (especially the right) side of the larger grass clump provide pathways for the eye to move toward the middle of the frame, again the fence and barn. It is traveling through the grass that allows our memory to remember what a misty day in a field of grass smells and feels like, thus, combined with the technical elements of art, and the emotional appeal to the senses, which make this photograph outstandingly successful. Note the distinctive fore, middle and backgrounds, with each successively becoming lighter as they travel both backward and upward. This is called "Atmospheric Perspective" and is a predominate reason the Mona Lisa is so successful. Nice job Katy. As always, the crop is to my personal taste and should not be seen as a definitive "this is the only way it should be seen" criticism. However, for grading purposes, for the students on this forum, you might want to heed these suggestions a bit more strongly than a seasoned artist. |
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Post by robnaylor on Feb 8, 2012 12:28:37 GMT
Katy. if you have managed to get this far down the post to read this, these are my comments  #1 composition works well for me, great depth and your trademark subtle hues. #2 IMO not quite as good as your "Summer Field" version, I liked the addition of yellow in that version. #3 I prefer your "softer" subjects, stone/wood and barbed wire are not your usual subjects. |
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Post by Barry on Feb 8, 2012 17:51:36 GMT
Image 1 - I like this, even with the large amount of sky/mist that draws my eye straight away, as this gives the barn a more remote feeling. From the sky I find the lines of the corrugated roof draws my eye back down to the wild grass meadow. I think I may had just added a bit more contrast to the foreground grasses, which would then give a good focal point.
Image 2 - This shot works well filling the frame, yet still managing to get separation between the foreground and background purples.
Image 3 - I think this is the weakest image of the three, I like the subject, but felt that the stonework needed to be sharper.
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Post by The Wirefox on Feb 8, 2012 20:22:50 GMT
I am still trying to get past the lipstick...watch this space |
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Post by katynoelle on Feb 8, 2012 20:27:30 GMT
Alright, firstly, I just have to say this before I can even respond to anything else. Chris, I thought of you on Sunday, when I logged in. It was the time of day when just us Yanks would be online and I wondered if you would be here or watching the game on tv. When I saw this....my first thought was, "woah - that's enough Superbowl for him!"  ....which is, of course, totally a friendly tease....  edit: I just saw WF's response.... ;D We're so irreverent....are you sure you want your class to hang out with us? |
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Post by katynoelle on Feb 8, 2012 20:36:04 GMT
I think that Barry wins the prize by putting it best - the sky gives it a feeling of remoteness. I think that the whole point of the image IS the sky - almost the 'big open sky' which we don't really have in Vermont. Open - clear - peaceful spaciousness is the message. Calm and free. So no tension, please! Chris and Barry, you really encouraged me by saying that you saw the foreground, middle and background. I'm working on that - I just don't quickly consider it and I need to. I had worked on the front grasses, already, to bring them out but after my sister and Barry's suggestion, I added much more contrast and it really helps! #2 totally reminds me of a Renoir painting that I know of but I can't find the image anywhere. I'm SO glad that you guys like it! and, may I, please, say one more thing? I wish you could tell lumps of grass to just move a little to the left, please!!!!! (Nature is hard to organize!!!) |
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Post by nickjohnson on Feb 8, 2012 23:07:50 GMT
Well, I have to say that I'm finding the commentary here most illuminating.
Whilst the assessments of Chris and Barry are different – they do have many common elements.
In contrast my own – well – passing glance (it cannot be anything grander by comparison) starts with the clump of grass then zooms off to the barn window with the “picture frame”.
Oh dear, no wonder my work is so inconsistent. No wonder I continue to be unable to make any meaningful assessment of my own work.
Hummm …... I need to have a think about this.
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Post by The Wirefox on Feb 9, 2012 20:48:45 GMT
Right, lipstick removed and shirt collar in the wash. I am not seeing the complexities in the composition that others are seeing with the first image. I see rhomboid + rhomboid sitting on a rectangle..that is why the image needs to be cropped at the apex of the roof but no lower. Each shape has its own texture and the colours are complimentary....yeah it works and still that inimitable dreamy style. No2 I love. The DoF is spot on . The background alone makes this image. No3 Too much coffee |
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Post by clactonian on Feb 10, 2012 7:45:31 GMT
I'd just bloke to see all the images but they appear to have been censored. Must be that lipstick!!
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Post by katynoelle on Feb 10, 2012 13:14:12 GMT
I don't know Mr. FW. I've been getting the comment 'dreamy' on absolutely everything I post anywhere for the past three weeks. Perhaps, I need some coffee! |
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Post by katynoelle on Feb 10, 2012 13:16:26 GMT
Well, I have to say that I'm finding the commentary here most illuminating. Whilst the assessments of Chris and Barry are different – they do have many common elements. In contrast my own – well – passing glance (it cannot be anything grander by comparison) starts with the clump of grass then zooms off to the barn window with the “picture frame”. Oh dear, no wonder my work is so inconsistent. No wonder I continue to be unable to make any meaningful assessment of my own work. Hummm …... I need to have a think about this. Nick, I just totally can relate.... |
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Post by The Wirefox on Feb 10, 2012 16:40:34 GMT
I was watching Sherlock Holmes the other night (Jeremy Brett of course) - The Adventure of The Missing Flickr Link. After, a lot of "me dear Watson's", "the game is afoots" and "Sling over the crack will you Watson" the mystery was solved...turns out Irene Adler Knoelle and Prof. Chris (does this lip gloss make me look trampy) Moriarty have been tampering with their privacy setting causing untold distress across the photography world. "This Photo is Currently Unavailable"...where is it? in the mens room, on holiday in Bognor or just plain shy. ;D |
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Post by katynoelle on Feb 10, 2012 16:48:40 GMT
Oh, are my images missing??? I haven't touched anything in a week....I don't think....I don't remember.... (Did you know that I can practically quote every episode or the Jeremy Brett's S.H.s? - except for the last series - that got too much like it was written by a blue caterpillar high on a mushroom... :  |
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