Critique 26. October

Photo Credit Rachel Gabel:

I disagree with a couple of the critiques that were made on other blogs about this image. I actually really like the flares seen in each lens element (and they are different colors - which means that your lens is multi-coated against dispersion... anyway).. each flare creates a line that all leads to a central point down the middle of the lens' aperture. I also like the fuzziness a little bit up in the corner, because it is distracting yet keeps my eye down in the middle of the frame with the flares again.

Photo Credit Rachel Gabel:

I like the concept you chose for this picture. The light is fairly even, except for the right space, and the plant creates some interesting shadows on the wall. And your house, and the door specifically looks exactly like my grandparent's house, but that's neither here nor there.

Next time, try and diffuse your pop-up flash a little bit, so it's not entirely harsh. Try a piece of tape, or an index card in front of it, essentially to "bounce" the light.

------------------

Video Credit Josh Brumley:

http://www.youtube.com/embed/KVdJjLDvwVw

(blogger doesn't like iFrames, so I just posted the link)

I really like this video! I have a lot of respect for folks that have the patience for timelapses.

I enjoy the music that you put to the video; I think it helps the story. I also like how you did weather, instead of, say, cars moving down a street. I enjoy watching the colors in the sky and the various times of day.

The only thing I would try differently is the transitions/panning/zooming - I'm not a huge fan of those effects in this video. I watched the video that you based yours off of, and I'm not a huge fan of it there, either.

Just nitpicky things, which I tend to be good at...

Experiment & Explore

So... I decided to do something very radical and something I would not want to risk doing when being paid.

I went to Elluminate Productions' Dress rehearsal in the mall this past weekend. Elluminate is a sort of 'play' production. It was incredibly dark, so for my 'experiment' I decided to not use a flash, push my camera, and shoot the entire thing like I would a wedding. No, don't give me that crazy look. I put my camera at some ridiculous settings ("Don't Try This At Home!") - ISO 6400, F2.8, and 1/200th of a second shutter speed, to see what I would get. The lights were constantly changing in color, and the majority were a crazy orange/red, that was a pain to correct later.

But I think the shots turned out very well, and I especially like the B&W. I feel like both shots have an "intimate" feel to them.

The experiment reminded me why I only second (or even third) shoot weddings, and rarely at that. :)

Motion

Both at Frontier sporting events, these photos are both prime examples of how motion can give a viewer a sense of what was happening at the time of the photo.