Safeway, Sky, Subster
Last week the famous Uncle Robert remarked to me that people are too nice to me when it comes to commenting on my photos. Although I appreciate everyone's feedback on this site, I tend to agree with him. I would like to take my photography skills to the next level and Azhar has come up with a brilliant plan to help me do just that. It is called the Policy of Subster (see icon in right sidebar).
By abiding by this policy, I am inviting the most cruel critics to speak their minds. If you hate my photo, I want you to say so in no uncertain terms. The only thing I ask is that your comments are helpful. If you state that you don't like an image, please be so kind as to tell me why, and give me an idea as to how I could have made it stronger. You are allowed to like a photo, but I welcome your nitpicking too.
This photo was taken from the parking lot of Safeway, one of our local grocery stores. As I approached the store I began to appreciate the evening sky, but became annoyed that I didn't have a decent landscape or foreground to place in front of it. I grabbed my camera anyway, and challenged myself to come up with an interesting composition. I have been studying shapes a lot recently so I figured I would use this as an exercise.
Canon PowerShot S2 IS, 7mm, f/5.0, 1/125 sec, ISO 50
posted by Bethany at 11:32 AM
11 Comments:
I'm pretty certain that your Uncle Robert is correct. People are much too nice when commenting on other peoples photoblogs. So I read then with interest your 'policy of subster' and liked the idea. It says to me that you are DEFINETLY interested in honest feedback. Yeah okay, I know your website carries the text 'I crave honest feedback' but still, I kinda doubted when I saw the type of comments you were receiving. But know I'm convinced you really mean it.
So I hope you start to get the kind of comments that help you improve as a photographer. I think your next dilhemma will be whether or not you should listen to the comments you get or ignore them. How do you know whether the person offering advice knows any better than you do ? I have seen quite a few blog articles lately taking the mickey out of the so called 'improvement suggestions' from other bloggers. Heres a very funny one. So be warned who you listen to !
I have seen what the previous commentor, martin is referring to. Rather interesting read really.
The sky is quite pretty in this shot. I often have to pass up beautiful sky shots because there is nothing more to them but the sky since I am often not in an interesting place when I see them.
I think this shot is ok. Perhaps removing the bottom so that just the triangular part is there would look better. But I imagine you probably played with the crop a bit and found this one to work best.
I find this an interesting shot. Reminds me of the kind of images done by Brent of A Distorted Perspective.
I use a simple policy: if I like an image and it moves me to comment, I do; if I don't like it, no comment. If there is something obviously wrong with it, then I offer suggestions on how "I" would treat it.
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O.K. Here goes... honest feedback you want? Honest feedback you get. You asked for it and I'm going to unload...
Go get the rusty bike from the last photo and prop it up against the Safeway triangle. THEN you'll have a photo!
(I guess I am no good at this "honest feedback" thing....) ;-P
Good lighting for the silhouette. Composition is interesting with the crop to the roof line, leaving little of the store in the picture beyond the geometric shape. Good use of rule of thirds by placing triangle off center. I might have tried to position the triangle with the cloud pattern either to have a point of drama end in the negative space in the triangle (instead of the relatively plain blue sky) or have the slanting cloud line run down along the right side of the triangle (if you could reposition yourself) to have the long white thin cloud mimic the slanting line of the triangle to add some cohesion between sky and store to the image. Your focus is clear and the colors are appealing.
Is that better?
Oh yeah... Nice photo.
There's a difference between being "too nice" and finding something positive to say. How many of us post a perfect photo every time? How many of us do it once a month? Is there such a thing as a perfect photo? By whose standards are these photos judged? If you are pleased with the image, isn't that what matters most. It's your work. It speaks of you. "Every job is a self portrait of the person who did it." Helpful thoughts on what you could've done better (in their opinion) are one thing, but sometimes who are we to say? Why do we blog in the first place? I think we all have a need to share what we do. Taking the picture isn't good enough. We want to share our work, share the vision we saw. We also want to learn, and helpful comments from others are a way of doing that. I just hope this policyofSubster doesn't get out of hand.
I was linked to the most amusing site the other day. I recognized a lot I've seen on the blogs here. Check it out if you want a good laugh. http://theonlinephotographer.blogspot.com/2006/06/great-photographers-on-internet.html
btw, I think your composition is brilliant (and I'm not just saying that to be nice.) You also managed to save all the details and colors in the sky, not always easy when it's this bright. Nice work.
I agree with Laurie, I think you should try and see how the photo will work if you crop out the bottom bit and leave only the triangle. Otherwise, it kind of distracts the eye. Lovely tones in the sky though. I am yet to find such a glorious sky to shoot!
Funny thing, the Susbter who is all about honest feedback is probably going to give you the shortest comment here.
You earn yourself a coveted "I Likey" for this shot. It's PERFECTR as it is to me, nothing I will change or can add. Just jumps up and slaps me silly and says, "I am a darn good image". :P
Suby
P.s
Honest enough for you?
I'm all over this image and in aggreement with Suby. Further, I am in 100% agreement with Micki. It's about you, what you saw, and what you are trying to say ... your message. Comments are nice to haves.
I don't have any suggestions for this photo. I really love it. I have a hard time giving pointers a lot of the time because I don't necessarily consider myself in a position to tell someone else what should have been done. When you read a comment that I leave keep this in mind. In any photo I see, I say something positive about a particular aspect of it. So, If I only say "you captured great ___ here" and nothing else, that means I only like whatever was in the ____ (generally). When I have a suggesion I will give it, and do the same for me :)
I agree with Micki.
This is a good one, triangle pointing up at sky. Very abstract, and neat.
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