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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/16/2008 8:55:47 PM
Ah yes... A great setting, great poses, and a great photo. I really like this one.
I'll keep going with my nit-pickings, although they are pretty minor on this one. It's just that I find the heads of the two guys at the top of the staircase are a little lost against the background.
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 11:28:00 PM
All good points about the building, Tony, but as a publicity shot for the band, this is a picture of the guys, not the building. So move them to the right, lose the alcove, put the faces against the wall and get in closer!
Can't advise objectively on the lens. I assume the Sigma is quite a bit cheaper. How much will you use it? Does the Pentax justify the extra cost? I've got a couple of Sigma lenses and am very happy with both...
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 9:34:58 PM
This one is brilliant! (Though I would perhaps crop the bottom just a little...)
AJ
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| Photo By: txules .
(K:62768)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 9:30:21 PM
Now this is (almost!) brilliant!
I know you're looking for critiques so I have no qualms about being tough. There are two issues I see here:
1) the tree behind the three guys in the middle reduces the impact a little.
2) I think you could lose a little of the space on the right - the focus is after all on the band.
Don't get me wrong, Tony - I think this is an excellent image (and don't I know this building?) But I'm just trying to give you an outsider's point of view on a publicity shot for the band.
BTW, these guys look like they are used to having their photos taken...
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 9:22:40 PM
A remarkable array of faces.
AJ
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| Photo By: txules .
(K:62768)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 8:13:28 PM
Hm, I can see I'm going to have to play!
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 8:11:48 PM
Milk, food colouring, flashes off-camera - yes, I'll go along with all of that. As to the flash duration, I'm just going by what it says in the spec of my cheapo Starblitz. But I've also read that cheap flashes are often faster flashes - hey, now there's a bonus!
AJ
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| Photo By: Patrick Ziegler
(K:21797)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 7:49:12 PM
Wonderful colours, Stan.
AJ
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| Photo By: Stan Ciszek
(K:56854)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 7:46:39 PM
It's wild - and I want to know how you do this!
AJ
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| Photo By: Patrick Ziegler
(K:21797)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 7:43:45 PM
Hey, Pat my friend, I am so happy to see you having a go at this!
You've got good shapes in the drops, nice colours and excellent sharpness, so I guess you've sussed all the settings (presumably a 1/20,000 flash?) Hoping for more...
AJ
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| Photo By: Patrick Ziegler
(K:21797)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/14/2008 11:04:39 AM
Cheers Ray, and all best wishes to you for Christmas and the New Year. A lovely and appropriate photo accompanies your message.
AJ
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| Photo By: stingRay pt.4 .
(K:250401)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 6:21:05 PM
Merry Christmas, Jen! Hope you have a great time, and see you next year!
AJ
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| Photo By: Jen van Wijn
(K:24075)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:18:27 PM
I forgot to mention the thistles - yes, I think they work well.
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:15:57 PM
I like it - even the form of the landscape fits in the image!
AJ
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| Photo By: Lugal Sar
(K:4838)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:10:03 PM
Wonderful colours and detail, John - this really gets my eyes going!
AJ
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| Photo By: John Hatz
(K:156973)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:06:03 PM
Wonderful scene - I've had a desire for a while to do a sheep flock shoot and this just reminds me why!
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:04:14 PM
Definitely prefer the previous one. Here I find the background more distracting. I take it the guy on the left is the "main-man" - if not, the others may be less than happy about being in the background somewhat.
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 5:00:24 PM
Wow, I was going to say that this could be straight off a publicity shoot - but you've already put that in your about! You've certainly nailed all the poses and postures here! The background is reminiscent of U2's "The Unforgettable Fire". My only nit-pick would be with the graffiti on the wall which I find just a little heavy and thus slightly distracting.
AJ
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| Photo By: Tony Smallman
(K:23858)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 4:53:43 PM
A beautiful scene - I particularly like the way the branch echoes the arch of the bridge.
AJ
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| Photo By: Howie Mudge
(K:27933)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 12:19:59 PM
Well John, what would you like to know? Just to start, here's a picture of the setup. The little metal funnel is there just as a guide for the straw, so that the drop lands in exactly the right place. The little pink pin is there temporarily for manual focussing and is removed before the shooting.
The flash was set to 1/8th power (trial and error) which I think means it fires at 1/20,000th of a second. (Interestingly, I have read that cheaper flashes tend to have smaller capacitors that are faster - and this is definitely a cheap flash!) There's a silver card at the back of the setup to get a bit of light bounced back. The camera is fired with a remote cable, but this is just for convenience really.
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 11:59:45 AM
Thanks John - that cut reflection does seem to be an issue! Unfortunately this is uncropped so the reflection is cut in the original. But I've got plenty of these so will select the next ones more carefully!
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 9:42:20 AM
Hi Brandon! No, it's not paint - just milk with a little food colouring and ink. The dark background is a sheet of glass with black polythene (actually a dustbin liner...) beneath and behind. The drops are falling directly onto the glass - there is no body of liquid.
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/13/2008 9:38:49 AM
Many thanks, Ray. The red is food colouring, the blue is good old Parker Quink...
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 3:00:15 PM
Many thanks, Ray. Yes indeed, custard does come to mind, and is somewhat cleaner (and politer) than the impressions created by some of the others. BTW, it's food colouring in milk - the greater viscosity of milk makes it much easier to work with than water.
No need to apologise - you are one of the most meticulous commentators, and far more reliable than I am myself...
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 2:55:21 PM
Thank you Nicki - you may be seeing a lot of these!
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 2:54:30 PM
Thanks Jacques.
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 2:54:03 PM
Many thanks, Koc!
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 2:53:11 PM
Many thanks, Lugal.
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 1:28:15 PM
Many thanks, Nicole. This was the first drop session with the D300, and it didn't disappoint!
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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Critique By:
AJ Miller (K:49168)
12/12/2008 12:30:50 PM
Many thanks, Anyla.
AJ
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| Photo By: AJ Miller
(K:49168)
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