Photo Assignment #1 Doors: Vote thread

[octopi]

Here we go! The first vote for the assignment. As previously mentioned, this will be new and old photos. I think with only a week or so to shoot, that wasn't really enough time to ask people to only put in new photos.

I hope I got most people (I combined the PMs I received with people who explicitly mentioned the competition in the thread)...I apologize if I missed you or if you assumed you would be voted upon. I hadn't counted on this week being as busy as it has been and I didn't have time to follow up with everyone to see if they wanted to be in the vote.

El Diablo: my apologies for the 'duplicate' thread. I thought I could throw a poll in mid-thread, and only realized now that it can't be done in here! Will fix this on future assignments.

The entrants in no particular order:

Stuey:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y19/Stuey2plus2/edfphotos/door5.jpg
Shot with Canon PowerShot A530

KJS:

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/9659/greecedoorwayui1.jpg

Private Joker

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5015/doors003hb2.jpg

keikiwai

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/4831/alhambraep2.jpg
Shot with Olympus Camedia 4040

[NLSoldier]

are we allowed to say who we voted for?

first i'd like to say all of em are pretty cool.

[Golden_Rhino]

Nice work people. Who knew you guys where good for something /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[private joker]

El Sapo had an awesome one too.

[Abones]

They are all good shots but one really took my eye.

[Howard Treesong]

Sweet! I picked three out of the other thread, two of which showed up here. Nice job, guys.

[Analyst]

Some great shots here - very nice work! One of them really stands out from the crowd, though.

[solids]

Great shots by all. It was a tough choice, but one slightly stands out from the others.

[ElSapo]

I don't think the best work made it into the voting thread, honestly.

EDIT - I don't mean that to include my work. I think the first photo posted in the thread may well have been the best one I recall.

[ReDeYES88]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think the best work made it into the voting thread, honestly.

EDIT - I don't mean that to include my work. I think the first photo posted in the thread may well have been the best one I recall.

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for you opinion on my pic, Sap, but there is at least one photo in the poll that i like better than mine, and probably three or four not in the poll as well.

[PartysOver]

el sapo should have been in this

[JaredL]

Stuey's shot was a worthy winner, though I voted for Private Joker.

edit: Because I'm interested in the thoughts of others (especially those that know something about photography) I'll add mine. I really liked the colors in PJ's shot. I also was drawn to the chips, rust, mortar work and so forth. This sounds lame and is a cliche, but I think Stuey's and Joker's shots were better than the others because they told a story. There is probably a better way to say what I mean, hopefully you understand.

edit #2: I meant to add that I would really like to start getting into photography and taking good pictures, but I know [censored] all about it so keep that in mind when reading the above.

[Analyst]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I don't think the best work made it into the voting thread, honestly.

EDIT - I don't mean that to include my work. I think the first photo posted in the thread may well have been the best one I recall.

[/ QUOTE ]

thanks for you opinion on my pic, Sap, but there is at least one photo in the poll that i like better than mine, and probably three or four not in the poll as well.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll have to disagree with you here - though there were many fine photos, IMO your first shot was the best in the thread.

Congrats to Stuey on a very fine shot as well - it got my vote.

[Stuey]

[ QUOTE ]
edit #2: I meant to add that I would really like to start getting into photography and taking good pictures, but I know [censored] all about it so keep that in mind when reading the above.

[/ QUOTE ]

Just start taking pics that is all I did. I know nothing about photography. I don't even know how to adjust my focus, I set it to auto and point and click. I was very surprised people liked mine. I have never taken a picture of anything but my friends and family before this.

[ QUOTE ]
but I think Stuey's and Joker's shots were better than the others because they told a story.

[/ QUOTE ]

I showed my photo to my sister and she said the same thing.

I wanted people to feel cold and maybe a little like the black and white landscape was slowly absorbing the once bright red truck.

I really encourage anyone that thinks they know nothing about photography to try it out. I never would have guessed it was such fun. I run/snowshoe past that spot hundreds of times a year. This was the first time I noticed that truck back there.

[Freakin]

stuey's by a long shot, IMO.

Most of the submitted photos were all really good though, but stuey's was the one I remembered when i thought of the thread.

[ReDeYES88]

[ QUOTE ]
Stuey's shot was a worthy winner, though I voted for Private Joker.

edit: Because I'm interested in the thoughts of others (especially those that know something about photography) I'll add mine. I really liked the colors in PJ's shot. I also was drawn to the chips, rust, mortar work and so forth. This sounds lame and is a cliche, but I think Stuey's and Joker's shots were better than the others because they told a story. There is probably a better way to say what I mean, hopefully you understand.

edit #2: I meant to add that I would really like to start getting into photography and taking good pictures, but I know [censored] all about it so keep that in mind when reading the above.

[/ QUOTE ]

JaredL,

There is nothing lame or cliche about your noticing that Stuey's and Joker's shots tell a story. I was really struck by how both of them show the passage of time...the rusty, paint chipped truck with window gaskets flapping in the wind. Joker's doorknob with the finish almost worn off, multiple coats of paint on the door and jamb, chipping wood, etc.

These two particular pics also heighten your awareness of somebody being there before you...almost as if you've arrived at the tail end of some story. How did the truck get out there? Did someone get out and run into the woods, leaving the door open?

Have you noticed that there are other similarities between the two pics as well. The composition is very similar, with almost a 50/50 division of the frame between door and surroundings. Both doors also have vibrant colors that contrast with their surroundings...Stuey's more so with the black and white forest. Both pics are cropped/framed quite well. You could show more of the truck and forest, or the surrounding bricks, but it's a better shot because they didn't.

As for you getting out and taking good pictures, I would venture to guess that a good number of people here are amature at best (including me) and are using simple point and shoot digital cameras. Nothing wrong with that at all.

One of the keys is to play the tourist in your everyday environment. Carry your camera with you when you walk around your normal surroundings. Look around the place you live and you'll begin to notice great shots that you never saw with your head down. Take multiple shots of something that strikes your eye...a few from a distance, a few closer in with tight crops. Get to know the basic settings on your camera and slightly tweak them from shot to shot, even repeating an identical shot with a slightly different exposure, etc.

One of the most wonderful things about digital cameras is that you aren't constantly investing in film. You only pay for flash drive space once, so the more you use it the better the value. Carry around at least 1 gig of space, and shoot all of your pics in high resolution. You never know when you'll get that winning shot.

One final suggestion is to analyze pictures that strike you and ask yourself what it is about them that is interesting. Is it the composition? The colors? The action? The story? The dramatic light? I think that you will start to notice similarities between them, allowing you to consider those sorts of elements when you take your own shots.

Have fun and please share your results. I enjoy looking at other peoples pics.

[ElSapo]

I'm shocked that keikiwai's photo got the so few votes. If it wasn't the best photo in the group it was easily second. Absolutely not last.

[JohnAndersen]

keik, where is that? Is it the Alhombra?

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
keik, where is that? Is it the Alhombra?

[/ QUOTE ]

good eye, yup, la Alhambra in Granada, Spain.

[kipin]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm shocked that keikiwai's photo got the so few votes. If it wasn't the best photo in the group it was easily second. Absolutely not last.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to blast his work, and hopefully this comes across as constructive, but for me it has no sense of focus and has too much going on. Am I supposed to be centering my eyes on the arched door, the window screen, the detail on the wall?

Good work all, this challenge octopi came up with is pretty awesome.

[keikiwai]

[ QUOTE ]
but for me it has no sense of focus and has too much going on.

[/ QUOTE ]

i 100% agree... when i was looking at those rooms, i basically felt like "omg wtf OVERLOAD!" and i guess it came across in the photo.... i probably should have found a focus point

[octopi]

I enjoyed ElSapo`s submissions quite a bit as well. Again, sorry for this first assignment being so haphazard. My schedule really blew up on me and if I had had time, I would have asked the other submissions which photo they wanted to enter. I didn`t feel right picking MY favorites to include.

I was kind of worried `doors` would be a [censored] topic and am pleased we got enough to start the ball rolling. ANYHOW! Learned things, and appreciated the input from others on how to make these run a bit more smoothly. I`m new to this innernetting thing. /images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[ElSapo]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I'm shocked that keikiwai's photo got the so few votes. If it wasn't the best photo in the group it was easily second. Absolutely not last.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not to blast his work, and hopefully this comes across as constructive, but for me it has no sense of focus and has too much going on. Am I supposed to be centering my eyes on the arched door, the window screen, the detail on the wall?

Good work all, this challenge octopi came up with is pretty awesome.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't mean to blast anyone's work or opinion...

But the photo hinges on the complexity and intriacy of the subject. My biggest critique would be that the white in the lower portion is blown out. I might also have cropped it slightly differently. But compared to the other three photos, this one kept me looking.

I understand the truck door photo and why people liked it, but it struck me as fairly cliche. All of them were, maybe, but the old truck door was solid-yet-predictable. I shoot predictable and cliched photos all the time, we all do and it's inevitable, but I wasn't that impressed. Two-thirds of that photo is blown out snow.

"No sense of focus" in keikwai's photo just seems a silly thing to say because the power of the image is from it's tight focus and detail. It glows. It's sharp and tight and impressive to look at. (And yeah, maybe a little cliche, but aren't they all ...)

I don't mean to get this vested and caught up, but when you put four photos up that are about "door," and then the one who scores lowest is the one that was arguably the most interpretive and interesting, I think that's weird. The picture of the doorknob had a sense of focus, but really, how long do you want to look at a doorknob for?

In the future, I'd suggest people can vote for more than one of the entries, like OOT does with their Iron Chef thread. I think we might get a better representation that way.

All four photos were flawed. And yeah, it's all about opinions and interpretation and there's no right or wrong. But the votes here, in my opinion, are way off the mark and I really don't understand why.

[private joker]

[ QUOTE ]


All four photos were flawed. And yeah, it's all about opinions and interpretation and there's no right or wrong. But the votes here, in my opinion, are way off the mark and I really don't understand why.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're certainly right, El Sapo.

I think something that can explain why the votes may have been 'off' in your opinion is because you're simply more educated than most average posters here. A lot of people like photography but aren't good critics of it because they haven't studied it as an art form.

Similarly, the films that movie critics (those scholars who are well versed in all around cinema) think are the best are often different than the ones that the average amateur moviegoer thinks.

Take a poll and you'll find that laypersons like STAR WARS and THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION while film critics prefer THE CONFORMIST and BARRY LYNDON. C'est la vie.

[josh_x]

***Idiots opinion warning***

I liked KJS's the most. PJ's and Stuey's were both really good but i though they were a little cliche (and perhaps a little too similar which works against them in this style of competition). keiki's was cool but there was so much going on it was tough for my eyes to really comprehend it all. Perhaps needed to simplify a bit and focus more on one thing?

KJ's really grew on me. I still don't know what it really is but that little spot of orange with the green in the middle just mesmerizes me. I think i think it looks like a piece of sushi.

to add, regarding that tells a story thing, i think that's why i like KJ's more than the rest - because it really doesn't tell a story. It leaves things so wide open to interpret what it is about. Stuey's makes me pretty clearly imagine an old abandonded car in the forest, burnt out over the months or years it's been sitting there. Maybe some old hermit has something to do with it. PJ's makes me pretty clearly imagine a rusty door in a lower class sort of town house in the city. Many owners over many years etc. One of the problems with Keiki's i think it that it is a specific place - something with a specific history that can be read and learnt about. It is too grand and too important to leave much to the imagination.

The ambiguity of KJS's is what makes it great. I can look at it and imagine all manner of exciting, adventurous, humble, grand, and romantic stories. I imagine some beautiful italian town by the ocean, where an old lady sells food at the market, or some rich person (played by me) living in luxury, or some guy (played by me) with a hot wife living in poverty, or mediocrity, or grandeur. Whatever, you get the point.

I know basically nothing about photography, but i like looking at pwitty pictures. Thankyou to everyone who has posted pictures they are all really good, keep it up!

[KJS]

[ QUOTE ]
The ambiguity of KJS's is what makes it great. I can look at it and imagine all manner of exciting, adventurous, humble, grand, and romantic stories. I imagine some beautiful italian town by the ocean, where an old lady sells food at the market, or some rich person (played by me) living in luxury, or some guy (played by me) with a hot wife living in poverty, or mediocrity, or grandeur. Whatever, you get the point.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the kind words! I am not a pro by any stretch and have barely started taking pictures but this one is my favorite. I just got lucky that Octopi picked this subject first.

I am glad you got some sense of mystery out of the shot. Part of the reason I took it was because I was walking around an tourist island in Greece (Sifnos) during the off-season. So there was a heightened sense of wanting to see things but not knowing where the line between being curious and nosy was. When everyone is around that line is clear. When most people are not at their residences one is challenged a little more because they know they can cross a line without any repurcussions. I am not talking about obvious things like going inside. But on some of the winding roads it was unclear what was even a public walkway. So when I saw this entryway I was drawn to the faraway door but wasn't sure about walking all the way up to it. So I shot the pic instead.

KJS

[UncleSalty]

[ QUOTE ]
***Idiots opinion warning***

I liked KJS's the most. PJ's and Stuey's were both really good but i though they were a little cliche (and perhaps a little too similar which works against them in this style of competition). keiki's was cool but there was so much going on it was tough for my eyes to really comprehend it all. Perhaps needed to simplify a bit and focus more on one thing?

KJ's really grew on me. I still don't know what it really is but that little spot of orange with the green in the middle just mesmerizes me. I think i think it looks like a piece of sushi.

to add, regarding that tells a story thing, i think that's why i like KJ's more than the rest - because it really doesn't tell a story. It leaves things so wide open to interpret what it is about. Stuey's makes me pretty clearly imagine an old abandonded car in the forest, burnt out over the months or years it's been sitting there. Maybe some old hermit has something to do with it. PJ's makes me pretty clearly imagine a rusty door in a lower class sort of town house in the city. Many owners over many years etc. One of the problems with Keiki's i think it that it is a specific place - something with a specific history that can be read and learnt about. It is too grand and too important to leave much to the imagination.

The ambiguity of KJS's is what makes it great. I can look at it and imagine all manner of exciting, adventurous, humble, grand, and romantic stories. I imagine some beautiful italian town by the ocean, where an old lady sells food at the market, or some rich person (played by me) living in luxury, or some guy (played by me) with a hot wife living in poverty, or mediocrity, or grandeur. Whatever, you get the point.

I know basically nothing about photography, but i like looking at pwitty pictures. Thankyou to everyone who has posted pictures they are all really good, keep it up!

[/ QUOTE ]

Mine is also a layman's opinion, and I also picked KJS' shot. However, my choice had nothing to do with an underlying story or lack thereof, I really just enjoyed the composition of the shot. I thought there was a really nice balance of light and dark and the placement of all the rectangles was interesting to my eye. Also I thought the bright color of the window added a nice contrast and focused my attention at the center of the shot, adding an additional framing function to the rectangular doorways.

[El Diablo]

All,

I liked pj's the most.

Stuey's was a very close second for me, but I felt that even thought it was sort of beautiful and haunting at the same time, there was a tiny bit of "I've seen this before" in it as well. In any case, an outstanding pic.

pj's pic there was just something about the combo of the colors throughout the pic + the splintering wood + the peeling molding or whatever, I dunno, it just seemed more unique to me.

[keikiwai]

i think pj's pic would be greatly improved if the doorknob was just a tad bit lower.... it's a little too close to the middle

i think pj's photo is a great spot to apply the rule of thirds, which roughly says that the focal point of your photo should be at one of the intesrsections of the lines below (since your eye naturally moves to these points)... left and right-wise the doorknob is spot on

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4663/fig17b93bri1.jpg

great photo by the way, but i just want to move the doorknob - lol

reading everyone's comments was very interesting in this thread... i've never really spent much time thinking about my photos (most of them are underwater ones), since i usually use them to showcase specific species of animals, but it's definitely interesting to hear the different ways people can look at, feel about photos

[private joker]

keiwakikweiiak:

Hopefully you will laugh, as I did, at the irony of your post considering I wrote this (http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=eldiablo&Number=8997421&S earchpage=1&Main=8997046&Words=composition+private +joker&topic=&Search=true#Post8997421) at the beginning of the first photography thread in this forum.

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[El Diablo]

k,

Maybe you'll like my pic a little better.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/sleepboxer/dk-1.jpg

[KotOD]

PJ's was the best photo. Contrast, color, and texture. It's pretty much a perfect photo.