Collections within Collections
(
Download)
I think its a very difficult competition to enter. I really cannot think of one thing that I could photograph to meet the entry requirements so one point for at least thinking of a subject you could enter with.
The photo itself although Im pretty sure some may talk of patterns flowing lines etc does not do a lot for me being absolutely honest.
Sharp well focused technically good for sure but a CD collection floating in a black hole just fails to excite or create interest.
If the judge is looking for technical ability as a main criteria you should however score well and you do have my admiration for getting your head around such a strange competition.
I think you needed to arrange your collection in a more creative way and there may just be too much in this frame to grab the viewers eye. I will offer one idea, but there are probably a hundred ways to compose this. What if you used just one of the collections you own .. say Heroes .. and lines them up one behind the other, staggering them so part of each jacket would show behind the next. Focus squarely on the first one and let your DOF fall off. We don't need them all in sharp focus to know what they are. I think in order to do well in the contest you need to:
1) Use creativity in your settings and composition.
2) Make sure that your subject jumps out at you in thumbnail size.
People do not download every pic to look at it. They down load the thumbnails that catch their eye. I have seen some excellent photos get very few votes because they needed to be downloaded to be appreciated.
Billyspad Wrote
The photo itself although Im pretty sure some may talk of patterns flowing lines etc does not do a lot for me being absolutely honest.
Sharp well focused technically good for sure but a CD collection floating in a black hole just fails to excite or create interest.
Thanks Billyspad, for now just getting sharp well focused images make my day. I have mastered out of focus/ soft focus images! Hmmm!, "Floating in a black Hole!" Hmmm! "Star Trek" I didn't think of that!
Skylane5sp Wrote
What? No Blade Runner?
Got it, I have the Bluray Remastered Edition, as well as a Beta Video Tape of it. Next question?
Nightski Wrote
What if you used just one of the collections you own .. say Heroes .. and lines them up one behind the other, staggering them so part of each jacket would show behind the next. Focus squarely on the first one and let your DOF fall off. We don't need them all in sharp focus to know what they are. I think in order to do well in the contest you need to:
1) Use creativity in your settings and composition.
2) Make sure that your subject jumps out at you in thumbnail size.
Thanks Nightski for your comments. I got this camera for a trip to Alaska, last August so I am still learning the camera's capabilities. I am graduating from an automated point and shoot, that wasn't very good for any thing but point and shoot. I shot film years ago.
I see every weekly competion as a chance to develop something new to me. I am getting new equipment to broaden my horizons every chance I can. I have a few images from my film days that I printed 11"x14" that I thought were Ok.
I acquired photoshop limited edition 5 for several years but it just didn't work good with the low res images I was getting with my prior point n shoot. I learned how to use unsharp mask for this weeks competition.
2) Make sure that your subject jumps out at you in thumbnail size.[/i] Thanks for the great tip.
You have managed to display quite a bit of the collection in this photo. The layout conforms to the theory that we read from left to right starting at the top, and your photo draws us more directly by its layout to that starting location. We then continue through the layout in book fashion. (No pun intended.)
Nightski suggestion may not fit with the theme Collections within Collections, so although for another topic it may have been sound it would miss the desired results for this submission.
Billyspad's opinion regarding the background does make the collection appear to be detached from it. Also there are quite a bit of light reflections that are distracting to some degree.
The opinions of members are here for your consideration, and may not be on par with that of well learned professionals.
SoHillGuy wrote:
Nightski suggestion may not fit with the theme Collections within Collections, so although for another topic it may have been sound it would miss the desired results for this submission.
Why do you say this? The whole collection does not have to be viewed in order to convey the idea of a collection. That is the creative part. Conveying an idea with out showing everything creates art. Simply photographing a collection that has been perfectly arranged in order is more of a archive or record keeping shot. Stv3vM did not say that this had to be that type of shot. He did not stipulate that you had to photograph the collection as a documentation.
Nightski wrote:
Why do you say this? The whole collection does not have to be viewed in order to convey the idea of a collection. That is the creative part. Conveying an idea with out showing everything creates art. Simply photographing a collection that has been perfectly arranged in order is more of a archive or record keeping shot. Stv3vM did not say that this had to be that type of shot. He did not stipulate that you had to photograph the collection as a documentation.
One of is missing the point. It was not just about a single collection, it was about a Collections within a Collections. He choose to do it the way it was done. Others could do what they wanted.
SoHillGuy wrote:
One of is missing the point. It was not just about a single collection, it was about a Collections within a Collections. He choose to do it the way it was done. Others could do what they wanted.
True, but he did post here looking for suggestions. While compositional suggestions are subjective, they are part of critique. And if you think about it, technical suggestions are subjective as well .. sometimes a photograph may shoot something OOF for the effect or use a blown sky to create a mood.
If you want to reply, then
register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.