PLEASE, please comment!! (SF judges, do not look)

[opus]

I need to know your opinion: Are these six images a "cohesive group of photos from one specific place, that strongly illustrate a sense of place"?

And do you like them?

I'm not looking for technical advice at this point. I realize that the images are small, I did that because 1) I'm trying to keep within my 5-photo limit, and 2) the images are very low resolution, taken from the CD I had made when I developed my film.

If you want to see any of them bigger, I'll post them later, but for now, if you can just let me know if you think the 6 images qualify for the category, and what you think of them, compositionally. I'm not looking for a "win" in the contest I want to enter, but I don't want to be laughed out of the room either.

Thanks so much!!
~Kelly

[opus]

oh, these are all from Paris. Is that specific enough of a place?

[Photo-John]

I think these are all great. They have a lot of life, a great sense of place, and the light is wonderful in every one of them. I actually like them in the little stacks, as you posted them, too. They're interesting in groups.

[gahspidy]

I think these are all very good and they work nice as a cohesive group of shots. As Photo-john said they work great together stacked . I especially like the one on the bottom with the aincredible sky over the water. Thats a postcard shot. . . Good work. . . .No you would not be laughed out of any contest with these to the contrary, you could easily win

[Piet]

oh, these are all from Paris. Is that specific enough of a place?

This is what i like and enjoy about this forum,Not do I learn from you guys bur I trvel the world sitting at home.Thanks.Piet

[Chunk]

I need to know your opinion: Are these six images a "cohesive group of photos from one specific place, that strongly illustrate a sense of place"?

And do you like them?

I'm not looking for technical advice at this point. I realize that the images are small, I did that because 1) I'm trying to keep within my 5-photo limit, and 2) the images are very low resolution, taken from the CD I had made when I developed my film.

If you want to see any of them bigger, I'll post them later, but for now, if you can just let me know if you think the 6 images qualify for the category, and what you think of them, compositionally. I'm not looking for a "win" in the contest I want to enter, but I don't want to be laughed out of the room either.

Thanks so much!!
~Kelly

Terrific collection Kelly. I'm glad that you didn't interpret cohesive to mean that all the shots should be similar. Like others, I like the stacked grouping and like the alternate warm, cool, warm arrangement. You can pull that hood off and hold your head high in that contest.

[opus]

Thanks everyone! Now I've got to get on the ball and get these negs printed and out the door in time for the deadline -- August 1st!

Penny, all these shots were taken the first weekend in January 2003. I don't think snow in Paris is all that common, but the weather sure made for some awesome photographic conditions. On Friday evening, around 5 pm, I got the "amazing sky" shot. Then the next morning I went out for a walk at dawn and got the two "wet streets" shots. Then the rain turned to snow around 11 am, when I got the "snow" shot. The snow fell, then started melting in late afternoon, when I got the "cars" shot. Then the next day was sunny and cold, when I got some awesome Eiffel Tower shots. This one is more interesting, compositionally, but my "standard Eiffel Tower postcard" shot shows a terrific late-afternoon orange-to-blue sky!

Can you guys believe that, before these shots, I hadn't really taken pictures for 20 years? I was so discouraged by the results I was getting from my old Pentax (I thought I had lost my "touch") that I seriously was not going to take a camera on my trip to Europe. Then, just before I left, I wandered into a camera store, discovered the Rebel Ti and bought it. The first week in London I barely used it, but when I got to Paris instinct must have taken over because I couldn't NOT take pictures there! When I got back to London I took the film into Snappy Snaps for developing, and when I got these back, well ... I'm a photographer again!!!

Two interesting stories about these shots: I didn't have a tripod. For the first shot, I literally became a "human tripod", contorting myself into as sturdy of a position as possible--planting my feet wide apart, wrapping my arm around my neck--and then resting the camera on that arm and holding my breath for the duration of the shot. I'm amazed that it came out clear. The fifth shot was from inside a cafe, where I piled 5 or 6 wobbly ashtrays on top of each other to act as a tripod. I'm sure the waiter must have thought I was nuts.

The third shot, of the river, I rested the camera on a bridge.

[bobbythebandit]

I need to know your opinion: Are these six images a "cohesive group of photos from one specific place, that strongly illustrate a sense of place"?

And do you like them?

I'm not looking for technical advice at this point. I realize that the images are small, I did that because 1) I'm trying to keep within my 5-photo limit, and 2) the images are very low resolution, taken from the CD I had made when I developed my film.

If you want to see any of them bigger, I'll post them later, but for now, if you can just let me know if you think the 6 images qualify for the category, and what you think of them, compositionally. I'm not looking for a "win" in the contest I want to enter, but I don't want to be laughed out of the room either.

Thanks so much!!
~Kelly

Only new to this game and you have put your name on the pics ? A distraction before we even start ! Do you think you need to copywrite them ? The first three are lovely, dump the paris collection. Posting six at once is also as you realise a mistake.You will get a flood of info so i will talk about the one i like the best.And it is the one of the winter scene with the people under the brolly. Excellently composed and exposed, it tells a tale of two lovers sharing a brolly, beautiful moment. I wondered how it would look with a crop on the right, so had a go. Hope you dont mind, Kelly.
Bobby

[opus]

Hi Bobby,

Thanks for your comments. I don't usually put my name on my pix but I see everyone else do it, so since these are so important I decided to follow suit. My name is definitely not on the originals, but will be on the back of the prints I submit. That was just a little thing I did (at the last minute) for here.

I don't know what you mean by "dump the paris collection", because all six are from Paris. And, I need to enter six photos, and I thought these were my six that showed the best sense of "place". I have a few others that could be considered but they're either not as technically good as these, or they're so "common" that, while beautiful, feel too much like a cliche.

I like your crop! But I like mine, too. I'll have to give it some serious thought as to which one I go with.

Thanks!

[Chunk]

Only new to this game and you have put your name on the pics ? A distraction before we even start ! Do you think you need to copywrite them ? The first three are lovely, dump the paris collection. Posting six at once is also as you realise a mistake.You will get a flood of info so i will talk about the one i like the best.And it is the one of the winter scene with the people under the brolly. Excellently composed and exposed, it tells a tale of two lovers sharing a brolly, beautiful moment. I wondered how it would look with a crop on the right, so had a go. Hope you dont mind, Kelly.
Bobby

I feel like you do that the copyrights on photos are usually a distraction and that it seems counterproductive when a shot is posted asking for a critique. I do think that Kelly has as much right to do it on her first post here as others have to do it on their 800th post and I can see why some people might want to do it. I don't think anyone should be castigated for doing it as it's a fairly common practice.

Posting a group of more than 5 photos that are being considered together for the purposes of determining their cohesivness as a group seems reasonable to me. The posting guidelines ARE guidelines and not hidebound rules.

I like youre crop. I think it puts the attention more squarely on the couple and that's a stronger statement.

[bobbythebandit]

Ahhh all is clearer now !! the first three are so good i thought they were from another time and place !! If you have any more along the lines of the first 3 post them and lets hope they can better support my favourites.Good luck anyway, if you have no choice post them all.They are well composed and exposed. Should do well.
Bobby

[opus]

So is the "5 photos" rule an attempt to manage server space, or does it have some other purpose?

Because my grouping is actually only "two" files, and they each also adhere to the size rule. I did that to save server space.

Am I missing the point of the "5 photos" rule?

[bobbythebandit]

I think the idea was to stop people from "flooding" the site and not giving others a chance. Also if you post to many in the one clip and ask for critique the amount of time it takes to answer and critique them would be too much bother for most of us on this site.I can see you are learning fast and it is great to be of help.The rule also asks that you critique as many as you post and we have had people here before that did not abide by this in any way.
Bobby

[gmen]

I love these pics... I have been to Paris on several occasions and will have to go there again now and hope for snow! Thanks for sharing kellybean!

[kamboura]

If I may add my 2 cents, I am a newbie for sure, so please take it as a layman's opinion. Your specific request was for: "cohesive group of photos from one specific place, that strongly illustrate a sense of place" , just in reply to this only, I would say the Paris set is by far more cohesive. Although on an individual basis, I like every single one of the pics in the first set better, I do not see them as a group, the different season doesn't make it better either. As individual pictures, the 2nd and 3rd pictures in the first set are amazing.
The middle shot in the Paris set is a bit funny, I like it, then hate it, then like, then hate it. Maybe someone more experienced than me will have a more accurate feedback. I find the experienced team is able to articulate these types of situations way better.

[opus]

kamboura, I know what you mean about "liking, then hating, then liking" the cafe photo. I don't like the framing, yet it's just not the same if I crop it out. It needs that "looking out" feel. I also don't like the car in the shot, yet if I hold my finger over it and imagine it gone, the shot looks dull and uninteresting. I don't like the reflection of the neon sign on the glass at the top, yet it is terribly intriguing and adds to the shot somehow. The light is beautiful, and yet the scene is somewhat ugly.

I think that's what makes this shot most interesting, is the emotions it stimulates.

[jcharris]

Hi Kelly,

Maybe just a idea ?

If you would like to put your name on your photo's why not considering making a bit bigger frame for the photo and then put your name in the frame part of the photo .
If you look at Gaspidy's photo's for example .

Your photo's are great !

Greetings
james

[opus]

James, thanks for the comment.

I *only* put my name on these as a last-minute thought, and *only* because I'm entering them in a contest and didn't want anything weird to pop up down the line about anything. The intent was not to post them for "display", it was just for a gut reaction from people.

But I shouldn't have. I know that now.

[Asylum Steve]

What in HEAVEN'S NAME are you guys talking about with all this "name on the shot" malarkey????

Sure , I haven't spent a great deal of time in critique lately, but as a site moderator I can tell you you're fully entitled to put your name or WHATEVER ELSE you want on a pic, including a big ole' copyright right down the middle.

Not only is it kosher, but it's probably a real good idea (please note Photo Johns' posted pics). In fact, I should do it when I post my pics, but I always forget.

Am I missing something? Was there actually an argument over the fact that you put your name on your shots? I just assumed the first comment about your name was meant to be funny, but reading your response about thinking now it was a mistake makes me wonder.

Really, somebody set me straight if this was a real discussion or not, and if there's anyone out there that seriously has a problem with what Kelly did, please please speak up and explain why.

This I GOTTA hear...

BTW, just my opinion, but seeing how you weren't asking for technical advice, these are probably better off in Viewfinder. And, BTW2, the multiple pics in a single post, yes is a no no when asking for critiques, but you were asking about how the shots work together, so IMO it's fine...


Oh, and yes, nice stuff...

[opus]

Thanks, Steve, the whole issue confuses me too. I'm just trying to "fit in" here, and every so often I end up feeling upended, like I'm posting "wrong" or something. Am I just taking people too seriously? I guess I'm not familiar with personalities. I didn't take the original comment to be funny at all. I felt "chided". So I decided not to put my name on anything until I get technically better...unless I feel the shot is "saleable," I won't put my name on it. That's my solution to the confusion.

As far as posting in Viewfinder, I actually thought that's where I was. Imagine my surprise when I hit "Post" and they showed up in Critique. But I didn't know how to move it without deleting and starting over.

[Asylum Steve]

Kelly,

I reread the thread (something I probably should learn to do BEFORE I post, heh heh), and I'm only guessing that two possible issues are 1) Any text over a shot is a distraction to the viewer, and 2) Putting your name or copyright text on a "less than perfect or professional" (ie something posted in Critique) image is totally presumptuous.

Well, I feel everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I think either of these arguments is downright silly.

Like I said, putting your name on a pic posted on the web is probably a good habit to get into. Photo John plasters his logo and name right over his images, and IMO it's never gotten in the way of enjoying them...

[adina]

I think it is to discourage people from posting all the photos they want, but not commenting on anything.

And I think your six go well together, even with your name on them

adina