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Monochrome critique please and thank you

Joined
Jan 14, 2013
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Location
Veracruz
Non-DSLR all were done with pocket camera and a few with a bridge camera.
Be brutal. I have thick skin and it is the only way I am going to improve.

Big time fight with lighting for some of the shots, harsh beach sunshine.
Thanks for having a look, I appreciate it!

No particular order. I was experimenting with the use and concept of negative space with a couple.

1

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2

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3

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4

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5

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6

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7

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8

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9

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10

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11

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12

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13

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14

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15

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1, 6, 7, 10 would be my pick. Some of the others are a bit busy on the subject matter.

Is the monochrome in the cameras or off a software program?
 
Thanks, Trice.

Sharkey, about half were in camera monochrome. However, I've been trying to compose and envision only in monochrome ie "seeing in black and white".
Even if I shot in color, nowadays only about 5% to maybe 10% of what I digitally develop is in color. I really enjoy and feel more comfortable with b&w.
I am trying more minimalist and use of negative space compositions and have even done a monochrome portrait...trying a little bit of everything really.
Thanks for the feedback.
 
I'm digging 5, 7, 10 and 12 for composition and content. 14 holds my interest for subject matter that makes me really look at it.

1 and 3 have artifacts that for me distract, like the scaffold falls off the edge and the bird has what appears to be a rod thru it's head to the left.

I suppose I need to go learn the difference between monochrome and B&W. Whatever is presented, they remind me of B&W stuff I did in the darkroom that I was not pleased with, i.e. that kind of muted yellow/over-fixed look. Now if they were in a true B&W, they might be more appealing to me. But that's just me and should be no reflection on what your tastes and objectives are.
 
Thanks!
For me, monochrome is black and white for the kind of computer developing that I do, I might be using it incorrectly though???

#13 is an example of HDR black and white shot from the bridge camera I was using.

Whereas #14 and #15 were simply converted to filtered black and white with Picasa.

I think I have a version of #1 cropped to include almost all the sign structure, I'll have a look for it.

The buzzard with the rod "touching" the head was a rule breaker as I was waiting for the bird to actually look in the direction it did so it would "connect" with the broken antennae rod and make an "electric buzzard" something odd and different. Breaks the rule of not having shots of things like statues and such that are connected to lamp posts or having flowers growing out of their heads etc...The other buzzard shot I have of the same bird in the same position has its head turned slightly and the rod doesn't connect.
I've got over a hundred different buzzard shots, they were living on my neighbor's roof until they renovated the house. They rarely come back now.
 
My thoughts. Remember: I'm just an average Joe (Jeff, really) with a camera and opinions, so place no real weight on what I say...

#2 This one is nearly great. Meaning it's OK :) I really like the idea of the shot, but the execution misses and I'm not certain why. I would crop to something closer to 16:9 by chopping off sidewalk and sky. Printed big, I think that would look great. This is a hard shot - a lot going on, near-infinite DOF so everything is sharp, so you really have to fight to get anything in the frame to be the subject. Typically, you would use contrasting tones to isolate the subject, but that's not possible here. Looks like some "clarity" artifacts around the bright churches on the darker sky, halo's around the light posts, etc.

#4 Love it. Nice job retaining the texture in the brighter part of the wall. A tiny bit more foliage on the left might have been nice.

#6 Senor Perro. Great parallelism of the light and the dog. Dropping even lower might have been interesting, but I like it!

#7 My favorite. Love the texture and that you can see through the first layers of leaves to the layer in the back.

#11 A bit too rough looking for me (over-sharp), but I really like the composition. Maybe les umbrella? Also, maybe mirror the whole thing so "sol" reads properly?
 
I'm not a photographer and have no real experience with it. But number 5 draws me in. The white dress on the statue is easily separated for the white of the photo. It stands out just enough to force you to look at it. It's elegant yet dare I say sexy at the same time. Definitely my favorite.
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Thanks for the feedback, guys. I really do appreciate it.

Dualsportvet, glad you liked the dancer statue. That's from inside a house with an interesting story to it. The main garage door was being repaired so I had an open shot and one shot only, I got lucky with that one.

Jeff, I tried to get more foliage in as suggested, however I couldn't get it to work. But that is from my backyard so it won't be too difficult to just wait for some good light and shoot it again. Wish all things were that easy! LOL!

I hope to put some more work up in about a week or so, hope you guys can shoot me some more feedback then, too.
 
5, 7, 8 and 10 :clap:

That said, I do like 1 because I like the angles and geometry. On 2, the people to the left of the main walkway makes it seem unbalanced to me. If they were not there, I would love it.

Great job!
 
Thanks Janet. I should have some more pics up next week or so and hope you can have a look at those, too. Wide variety of subject matter.
 
#1 Do you/can you correct for lens distortion? I would try to capture men in silhouette without lines going through their heads and torsos if possible.

#9 I would have tried to position the two focal points in the vertical thirds and then heavily weighted either the ocean or sky, probably ocean, since the vastness of the ocean against the paddler would, I think, have more impact.

#5 I like it.

#10 seems overly grainy, as if it was heavily cropped/blown up.

Maybe it's just some OCD thing with me, but any shot with a significant horizon needs to have the horizon spot-on level. If you scroll up some of the beach/ocean pics, really any with a clear horizon in the shot, some are not on level.

others have some interesting points, but mostly strike me as a 1/2 step above snapshots.
 
Tracker, thanks!
I'll be putting more eye on the horizons.
I wrestled with the composition on the ocean shots. How much sky? How much water? Subject here or there? Etc... thanks for the input.
I am definitely trying to get the images more than just a little step above a snapshot, I appreciate the input.
 
Nice shots!
I'll echo Tracker's horizon comments.

The rule of thirds works well for the horizons, for me at least.
Whether its 1/3 sky and 2/3 land, or 2/3 sky and 1/3 land depends on what you're trying to make the focus.
Showing the action on the beach? 2/3 land.
Showing the beautiful sunset? 2/3 sky.
Etc.

That's just what I do, and it's worth exactly what you paid for it :deal:
 
Nice shots!
I'll echo Tracker's horizon comments.

The rule of thirds works well for the horizons, for me at least.
Whether its 1/3 sky and 2/3 land, or 2/3 sky and 1/3 land depends on what you're trying to make the focus.
Showing the action on the beach? 2/3 land.
Showing the beautiful sunset? 2/3 sky.
Etc.

That's just what I do, and it's worth exactly what you paid for it :deal:

for #9, I would at least do a 2/3 ocean, 1/3 sky ratio, and with that much ocean and sky with the small paddler, to emphasize the overwhelmingness of the ocean, would at least try a 80% ocean/20% sky ratio test shot.
 
for #9, I would at least do a 2/3 ocean, 1/3 sky ratio, and with that much ocean and sky with the small paddler, to emphasize the overwhelmingness of the ocean, would at least try a 80% ocean/20% sky ratio test shot.

Funny, I understood what you were talking about, and agree.
 
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