Withered thistle

[mistress_elaine]

In which I go all Warhol on your arses and ask how you like the experience...

Last night I made this and posted it to bestshot, a delightful new photo community which all the serious photographers among you should check out.

Comments

[6ft5]

What would happen if you moved in closer to the subject? maybe placing it more offcenter? I like the first one and I like the green one. Perhaps I´d like them even more if they were alittle darker and richer in contrast.

I took the liberty to play alittle with your picture. Hope you don´t mind!

[mistress_elaine]

Hey, that's pretty interesting. And no, I don't mind your playing with my picture at all. I rather like the title you gave it. :-)

First of all, the colour you gave it. I would have tried out a greyish blue eventually, so you were just one step ahead of me. I think I'd go for a slightly lighter hue myself, but I like what you came up with.

Secondly, the contrast. As you probably know, I'm a bit of a contrast whore, so I actually upped the contrast considerably -- by sixty points, if I remember correctly. I tried more, but found I lost some of the detail and refinement. On the one hand, I liked it at +70 because it looked very dramatic (as it does in your version); on the other hand, I got the impression it was beginning to look less like a photo than like a drawing, and I didn't want that. So I stuck to +60. I can see what you mean, though -- I love the dramatic quality of your version.

Thirdly, the composition. I like the way you got close to the subject, but personally, I think you got a little too close. Ideally it should be somewhere between your version and mine, I think. I kind of like your taking it off centre, as well, but it seems to me that that kind of treatment is better suited to rectangular pics than to square ones. Perhaps I should move the thistle a tiny little bit to the right, though. It might indeed improve the composition.

Thanks for your feedback. Much appreciated! :-)

[mistress_elaine]

You know what? The more I look at your version, the more I like it. I was going for a subtle, tender, vulnerable effect, but there's definitely something to be said for your powerful approach. I think I will give the off-centre approach a try, and I may somewhat increase the contrast, after all, as well. So thanks for bringing it up!

[6ft5]

Hey! That´s just great. I feel flattered :)

[universalist]

as much as I am after tight crops, to the point of people asking for more space on a regular basis, I am more fond of the original composition.

I think the tone that you bring is good for the series, but to show a single picture, the original works best to my eyes (and yes, they are the oldest eyes around, I am figuring).

That said, the orange/red tints do bring out a sense of "urgency" or impatience, to contrast the calm of the flower, so a tighter crop like this would work well there. But this blue-hue (and going blue-grey is a great idea), calls out for patience, so the original perspective is good.

Not sure about further contrast increase or sharpening. To me, it was perfect.

Now, about this new border.... ;)

[6ft5]

Now, about this new border.... ;)

I´m so glad you noticed, it´s my littel tribute to you ;oP
Not bad for the oldest eyes around!! *heh*

[universalist]

you know that I would have been disappointed had there not being a difference. I need to make such a comment... more so when just waking up.

;)

[6ft5]

Well. Good morning Sunshine!

[universalist]

LOL!

hey honey.

Oh, yes, loved the alternate title to your re-mix.

[mistress_elaine]

Perfect, eh? Wow. That's high praise.

(Side note: last night I came across an entry by a Russian who used the word "perfectable" when she clearly meant "perfect". I had such a laugh over that. Doesn't it sound adorable, "perfectable"?)

Now, about this new border.... ;)

I'll take it you were referring to what_name's border there, since he obviously took it that way himself, but what about my border? Huh? HUH? Don't you like my new border...?

[universalist]

Oh, yes... I actually love those mistakes. Though I can correct some, it is not without the highest level of charm. OK, no guaranteed, but most likely. Sometimes the new word makes sense... kids do that a lot.

Yes, it was about G's border, of course. Are you getting border-banter envy? I have not seen that going around, except that you have been a clever spectator in our little game here. Now, you want to be part of it, huh? ;)

[mistress_elaine]

Yes, of course I want to be part of your little game! Can't you see I'm suffering from a serious case of border-banter envy here? And really, as simple as it looks, I put a lot of thought into that border. My first instinct was to go for a frail, thin border, so as to echo the plant itself, so I made a 20px border. It looked so odd I decided to go for a broader one. So I toyed with my regular border (two narrow borders inside a broader one), and that didn't look right, either. Finally I settled upon the simple broad border you see above. What do you think?

[universalist]

I would put a big fat border. As posted, the pic is less than 500px (no pun), so I would do:
1. a 10px on each side with neutral grey to separate the pic from the black
2. a 100px on each side of black
3. a 10px with the toning color in the photo (red, orange, etc)
4. a 50px on each side of black

That would be my first try... but, again, not sure if it works. I would also post the pics side-by-side with no text in between them (vertically with those dimensions).

[mistress_elaine]

Mhhh. That sounds elaborate. Not complicated, but elaborate. I thought the picture would be better off with a very simple border, but I'll give your suggestion a try. I should say, though, that I generally frown upon making pictures more than 570px wide (including border) in the vertical dimension, as anything larger will not show up on my screen properly (meaning I'll have to scroll). I have no problems with wide pictures, but height is a bit of an issue for me. So, as it is, I wouldn't add a 170px border to my 490px pic.

I agree on the text. Ideally, I would have shown the images without any text in between, but alas, I was telling a bit of a story, so...

[universalist]

yes, I agree that telling the story is cool ;) I think once you are done with the feedback and stuff, it would be cool to present them as a set to be viewed ;) You could backdate the entry so that it does not show up as new, and just refer to it in a future post for those interested :D

Hmmm... yeah, if the suggestions are out of your normal operating procedures experience (NOPe), I would say skip it. Not all suggestions should be something that you follow, of course, and may be mess around when you are bored (ha!).

When doing border, you can do less than 100% showing of the pic, since you are not looking for details, but just overall feel. This will avoid the scrolling. ;)