Looking for comments on three shots

[filmamigo]

I shot a little bit of medium format while I was on vacation (Ilford Delta 100, in a Yashica 12.) The original negs are 6x6, but I cropped for 5x7.

Let me know what you think -- I really crave getting some outside opinions to help me improve.

Thanks in advance!

Dave

 

[XjeffX]

I love the first shot!

 

[arogge]

I do not like the framing of these shots. The first shot could be moved to the left so that the attention is on the lettering. The second shot could be moved slightly to the left and upward. The third shot could also be moved to the left so that the chairs are in the middle of the frame and the lines of the pier are shown in a matched proportion.

 

[PlaceofDis]

1. is nice. i like it. dont know what to say really.
2. the blurried background is distracting and makes it hard to focus on the sundial.
3. love it. not sure about the boat being in the shot too. but the empty chairs are great.

 

[balofagus]

My opinions:

#1. I really like this one, easily the best of the three.

#2. I find this one a little boring, the sundial is too near to centre in my opinion and there is too much going on around it. I think if you got closer it would look better. Play around with narrower crops too.

#3. This one I like as well, but the canoe is... funny . I don't know why I don't like it though. It does offer a nice leading line to the focus (chairs) but it's not working.

Overall, nice work.

Edit As much as it seems I copied everything PlaceofDis had to say I swear I started before that was posted

 

[devilot]

Shot one would be my favorite... except the hard black of the dock's shadow is really distracting to my eye. If you were printing in a darkroom, I'd say dodge that fool out. Likewise, I'd burn in the entire upper left edge and corner. Even burn in part of the water between the left side of the boat and the frame. I think it's sort of blown out and distracting.

But with the three shots just as you've presented them?

Last one is the one that I find most compelling. I like the mood I feel from the photo. As if the viewer should be relaxed and comfortable but something is just slightly off. Not quite as things seem ostensibly. I like the duality of the two chairs, even the two land forms being broken up... but then the singularity of the boat in the forefront of the frame. I also appreciate the simplicity of the "big" shapes in this composition.

Did you scan the film? I recently bought some of that film... haven't shot w/ it yet.

 

[filmamigo]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. Interesting and helpful.

To answer some questions:

This was the first time I've used Ilford. It was a recommendation from a lab I trust where they do good scanning/digital and optical printing from B&W. (El Pro on Elm St. in Toronto.) I asked the proprietress what her favourite B&W was for scanning and printing digitally, and she immediately answered Delta 100. She likes that it has snappy contrast but is still scannable, and has a very smooth grain.

These particular shots were processed and scanned at a different lab, on a Nortisu scanner at 6mp. If I feel I have any real winners, I will take them to El Pro for a good scan.

One technical note on the sundial:
I agree that the background is busy. To try and isolate the sundial, I am at maximum aperture (f3.5) and minimum distance (about 2.5 feet.) It's the limits of the camera, and I knew that it might not work.

 

[compuwar]

I shot a little bit of medium format while I was on vacation (Ilford Delta 100, in a Yashica 12.) The original negs are 6x6, but I cropped for 5x7.

Let me know what you think -- I really crave getting some outside opinions to help me improve.

Thanks in advance!

Dave

In the first shot, the pier and chairs have really high contrast but subtract from the focus that should be on the boat. The boat is the subject, but the pier is leading my eye to the horizon, then it's being led off to the left by the land and there's nothing to see there and the sky is featureless. If the pier wasn't there it'd be a much better shot.

In the second shot, the background is way too busy/contrasty, and the subject doesn't have a good point of interest visually and off-balances the image heavily to one side. There are no leading lines, contrast of the trees and water grab the eye, but give them nothing to focus on.

The third shot has the most potential. Losing the canoe and separating the chairs from the land mass a bit would produce a picture with nice leading lines and good overall contrast.

If you're not shooting 645, the choice to crop rectangular is an odd one, the nice thing about 6x6 is that you can frame interesting square compositions in camera- balance and symmetry from the square format is something that's really nice when it's well-done.

 

[filmamigo]

More good comments.

I shot these for the square frame, but found that I liked the 5x7 framing when I was going to make some standard size prints.

I had taken another shot of the boat, which used reduced DOF to accentuate the boat and minimize the background. Here it is:

 

[psycoswimmer]

Shot #1 - I really like this one. Nothing too much to criticize; it's good.

Shot #2 - Nice picture, but the background is much too busy.

Shot #3 - Another great shot. I'm not sure wether I like the canoe there or not... I'm trying to imagine the shot without it.

 

[seenew]

I do not like the framing of these shots. The first shot could be moved to the left so that the attention is on the lettering. The second shot could be moved slightly to the left and upward. The third shot could also be moved to the left so that the chairs are in the middle of the frame and the lines of the pier are shown in a matched proportion.

I'm glad I don't ask you for composition advice.
Rule of thirds, ftw. Look it up. (It should come natural, though)

 

[arogge]

I'm glad I don't ask you for composition advice.
Rule of thirds, ftw. Look it up. (It should come natural, though)

I had taken another shot of the boat, which used reduced DOF to accentuate the boat and minimize the background.

This shot is a better version.

 

[Doylem]

I look at these photos (and others that are posted here), and the main issue is the one that's easiest to put right... It's about not pressing the shutter until you've wandered around a bit more. There's often a composition that just *works*... but to find it you need to slow down, take a few steps and fine-tune the composition till it *clicks*. Digital cameras speed up the process... we need to slow it down...

 

[compuwar]

More good comments.

I shot these for the square frame, but found that I liked the 5x7 framing when I was going to make some standard size prints.

I had taken another shot of the boat, which used reduced DOF to accentuate the boat and minimize the background. Here it is:

I like this one a lot more. It's not just DoF, it's also that the chairs blend into the land as a single contrast area instead of distracting against a bright background.

 

[filmamigo]

I look at these photos (and others that are posted here), and the main issue is the one that's easiest to put right... It's about not pressing the shutter until you've wandered around a bit more. There's often a composition that just *works*... but to find it you need to slow down, take a few steps and fine-tune the composition till it *clicks*. Digital cameras speed up the process... we need to slow it down...

In general, I agree with you.

I find that shooting with a modern film SLR (like my Nikon F80) or digital SLR (like my Pentax), the level of automation makes it tempting to squeeze off shots before you have explored all of the possibilities in composition, exposure, DOF, etc. I have a much higher "keeper" rate when I pull out an old Canon TL-QL and use a hand-held meter.

But for these shots I was taking my time and enjoying myself. It was vacation after all so I spent four hours on a roll of 12 shots.

I love shooting with my Yashica, because I enjoy working slowly, methodically, and exploring options on the big ground glass screen. I always use a tripod, I meter everything by hand, and carefully consider the effect of both shutter speeds and f/stop.

I think that's why I am so eager to get feedback on these shots, because I spent a long time on them, and carefully adjusted both the subjects and the camera to get what I wanted. Yet, I know I could have done better. (Who can't?)