[SI] Symmetry - My Untrained Views

http://www.pbase.com/shootin/symmetry
Feel free to criticize anything I say about the pics. This is my first
attempt at SI reviewing, and if my picture is anything to go by, i'm
probably not someone to do reviewing. I feel like my pic doesn't really
belong amongst the fine photography provided here by others.

Al Denelsbeck http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250212 - Interesting take
on the mandate - at first glance I thought it didn't really meet, but on
closer inspection I saw the front/rear symmetry and the left/right symmetry
of the tombstones. I guess I was looking for a shot where the shot itself
would be symmetrical, rather than looking for the symmetry in the objects.
I like it. If I was going to be a little critical I'd say I don't quite like
the blue car in the background and just the way some of the background trees
are working, but unfortunately you can't do a great deal about stuff like
that.

Duncan Murray http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250222 - Archive? Tut
Tut. Other than that, very nice. You say camera on last legs - don't you
mean no legs!! I love the camera on the ground view. Night shots with
ambient light are one of my favorite genre's, and one I can never get right.
I'm curious about what film you used for this.

Aaron Grier http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250223 - eh? Sorry but I'm
not seeing symmetry there - I'm not seeing much at all. As an abstract shot
it's quite ok - there's nothing really wrong with it, I just don't see how
it fits the mandate. Do tell though - when you pushed the film to 1000, did
you take shots of any subjects with a little less contrast? I'd be curious
to see how portraits would come out under those conditions.

Graham Fountain http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250224 - Clearly the
best photo of the lot. Just Kidding. Actually, the SI tells me that what I
thought was a good shot is really only average. If I'm getting toward the
end of a roll of film I like to take a walk around the garden with camera in
hand just to see what is worth snapping. I caught these two hard at it so I
snapped them once, then went to grab my tripod to try to get a 2nd shot with
a smaller aperture. By the time I got it, they were gone. Not quite 100%
symmetrical, but close. Unfortunately with the wide aperture needed to get a
decent shutter speed handheld, there is bugger all DOF, so the antennae, and
parts of the wings are a bit out of focus. I think there is a bit of shake
present there too.

Jim Kramer http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250225 - Another very nice
shot. I love the contrast of the blue sky, red tiles, coloured bricks and
clean whites. The conventional school of photography would say that the
tower thingy (what do you call that thing anyway?) is too central, but in my
opinion it works for this. The mandate is symmetry after all.

Bowser http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250226 - Woah, that's what I
call distortion from the wide angle lens - I love it!! My only minor
criticism is your shadow at the bottom. My eye gravitated to it. With this
type of shot you can't do a lot about it I know, but a small crop off the
bottom makes the shot work better for me, without losing anything of
consequence from the image.

Walt Hanks http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250227 - An unusual view of
a nice piece of automobile hardware. Fits the mandate quite well - even the
reflections on the windscreen are symmetrical.

Alan Browne http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250228 - When I saw that it
was an archive shot, I thought it may have been a leftover from reflections
a few months ago, but it is a bit older than that. I like your alternative
symmetry view, using the reflection instead of looking for objects with
symmetry. Is it my monitor, or is it a tad underexposed so that all detail
in the darker boat is lost. Your comment that "green blue blocking up for
some reason" - do you mean that your scan came out with a lot more blue than
you would see looking at the slide? cos I have had that problem with sensia
too. There seems to be a bluish cast to it, which I have had troubles with
when scanning sensia. I'm sure your pic would project just perfect.

Bob Hickey http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250229 - Another shot where
the temptation of shooting square on to give the symmetry has been avoided.
While the relevance to the mandate isn't immediately obvious, you have
created a better picture than you would have if you took the obvious
symmetrical view, square on. I'm assuming the specks are dust? isn't it
always the way - the best shot on a roll of film is the one that all the
dust decides to settle on! Other than that, it is very nice.

"Graham Fountain" wrote in message
...
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/symmetry
Walt Hanks http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250227 - An unusual view
of a nice piece of automobile hardware. Fits the mandate quite well - even
the reflections on the windscreen are symmetrical.


Thank you Graham. I went to the auto show looking for symmetry. But it was
very difficult shooting around thousands of people. So I was very pleased
when I found this car being left relatively alone. But, you didn't hazard a
guess. Do you know what car this is?

Walt

Graham Fountain wrote:


Alan Browne http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250228 - When I saw that it
was an archive shot, I thought it may have been a leftover from reflections
a few months ago, but it is a bit older than that. I like your alternative
symmetry view, using the reflection instead of looking for objects with
symmetry. Is it my monitor, or is it a tad underexposed so that all detail
in the darker boat is lost. Your comment that "green blue blocking up for
some reason" - do you mean that your scan came out with a lot more blue than
you would see looking at the slide? cos I have had that problem with sensia
too. There seems to be a bluish cast to it, which I have had troubles with
when scanning sensia. I'm sure your pic would project just perfect.
Hi Graham,

First off, thanks for ignoring the artistry here (esp. the lack thereof).

Exposu well it was a foggy day, so contrast is out the door. This should
lead to favourable lighting for the subjects but, that black boat was very
black, and the exposure is based on the white trim of the boats (+2). The
blacks were below the meter (my meter goes +/- 3, with exp set for whites at +2,
the black of the boat was simply off the meter. This is well outside Sensia.
Is it underexposed? Looking at the slide on a light table, it does not seem so.
It is indeed dull looking.

The above is because (I think) that the light is from above (if difuse and
spread) but the black boat is sitting over very dark water. You can see some of
the joints, but not the surface of the black paint. When playing with the image
you can pull more detail out of the blacks, but it is noisy, and of course in
doing so, the rest of the image goes to hell.

Blocking up. A mystery. If you look closely at this image on the screen you
can see it in the green/blue of the boat. Yet the slide appears smooth on the
light table. I'll look at it on the projector when I get a chance.

Cheers,
Alan

--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 10:27:14 -0500, David Clark
wrote:

Graham Fountain wrote:

Alan Browne http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250228 - When I saw that it
was an archive shot, I thought it may have been a leftover from reflections
a few months ago, but it is a bit older than that. I like your alternative
symmetry view, using the reflection instead of looking for objects with
symmetry. Is it my monitor, or is it a tad underexposed so that all detail
in the darker boat is lost. Your comment that "green blue blocking up for
some reason" - do you mean that your scan came out with a lot more blue than
you would see looking at the slide? cos I have had that problem with sensia
too. There seems to be a bluish cast to it, which I have had troubles with
when scanning sensia. I'm sure your pic would project just perfect.

Hi Graham,

First off, thanks for ignoring the artistry here (esp. the lack thereof).

Exposu well it was a foggy day, so contrast is out the door. This should
lead to favourable lighting for the subjects but, that black boat was very
black, and the exposure is based on the white trim of the boats (+2). The
blacks were below the meter (my meter goes +/- 3, with exp set for whites at +2,
the black of the boat was simply off the meter. This is well outside Sensia.
Is it underexposed? Looking at the slide on a light table, it does not seem so.
It is indeed dull looking.

The above is because (I think) that the light is from above (if difuse and
spread) but the black boat is sitting over very dark water. You can see some of
the joints, but not the surface of the black paint. When playing with the image
you can pull more detail out of the blacks, but it is noisy, and of course in
doing so, the rest of the image goes to hell.

Blocking up. A mystery. If you look closely at this image on the screen you
can see it in the green/blue of the boat. Yet the slide appears smooth on the
light table. I'll look at it on the projector when I get a chance.

Cheers,
Alan

David Clark = Alan Browne ?

--
Owamanga!

Owamanga wrote:

David Clark = Alan Browne ?

Damn! There I was getting ready for a troll rampage the likes of which the NG
has never seen. Damn cancels are never fast enough.

;-)

--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:22:58 -0500, Alan Browne
wrote:

Owamanga wrote:

David Clark = Alan Browne ?

Damn! There I was getting ready for a troll rampage the likes of which the NG
has never seen. Damn cancels are never fast enough.

;-)

Tsk.

You had the account for what, 7 hours, and screwed it up already? So
the rampage became a single 'blip' on the radar - probably a good
thing.

;-)

What was the intended topic/victim - Clockwise-to-infinity focusing
lenses are better than anti-clockwise?

...and then get Dave to introduce some insane argument like it depends
on which hemisphere you live in.

--
Owamanga!

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:22:58 -0500, Alan Browne
wrote:

Owamanga wrote:

David Clark = Alan Browne ?

Damn! There I was getting ready for a troll rampage the likes of which the NG
has never seen. Damn cancels are never fast enough.

;-)

Tsk.

You had the account for what, 7 hours, and screwed it up already? So
the rampage became a single 'blip' on the radar - probably a good
thing.

;-)

What was the intended topic/victim - Clockwise-to-infinity focusing
lenses are better than anti-clockwise?

...and then get Dave to introduce some insane argument like it depends
on which hemisphere you live in.

--
Owamanga!

Owamanga wrote:

You had the account for what, 7 hours, and screwed it up already? So
the rampage became a single 'blip' on the radar - probably a good
thing.

The need for that anon has nothing to do with this ng. But as I checked it out,
I foolishly entered this ng as a test. And then I saw Graham's post and simply
answered as I usually would... BAD Troll. BAD!!!

What was the intended topic/victim - Clockwise-to-infinity focusing
lenses are better than anti-clockwise?

Are you a mindreader or what? Wow!


..and then get Dave to introduce some insane argument like it depends
on which hemisphere you live in.

Oh... spooky.

;-)


--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.

Owamanga wrote:

You had the account for what, 7 hours, and screwed it up already? So
the rampage became a single 'blip' on the radar - probably a good
thing.

The need for that anon has nothing to do with this ng. But as I checked it out,
I foolishly entered this ng as a test. And then I saw Graham's post and simply
answered as I usually would... BAD Troll. BAD!!!

What was the intended topic/victim - Clockwise-to-infinity focusing
lenses are better than anti-clockwise?

Are you a mindreader or what? Wow!


..and then get Dave to introduce some insane argument like it depends
on which hemisphere you live in.

Oh... spooky.

;-)


--
-- r.p.e.35mm user resource: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpe35mmur.htm
-- r.p.d.slr-systems: http://www.aliasimages.com/rpdslrsysur.htm
-- [SI] gallery & rulz: http://www.pbase.com/shootin
-- e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.

"Graham Fountain" wrote in message
...
http://www.pbase.com/shootin/symmetry
Feel free to criticize anything I say about the pics. This is my first
attempt at SI reviewing, and if my picture is anything to go by, i'm
probably not someone to do reviewing. I feel like my pic doesn't really
belong amongst the fine photography provided here by others.

Jim Kramer http://www.pbase.com/shootin/image/40250225 - Another very nice
shot. I love the contrast of the blue sky, red tiles, coloured bricks and
clean whites. The conventional school of photography would say that the
tower thingy (what do you call that thing anyway?) is too central, but in
my opinion it works for this. The mandate is symmetry after all.

Thanks for taking the time to comment. This was taken at old Salem in
Winston Salem, North Carolina. The building is an old Moravian school for
women. The sky was just a spectacular shade of blue that day. As to the
thingy I would call it a cupola, a belfry or a bell tower even though I
could see no bells in it. I've never been to a conventional school and I've
been accused of being very unconventional in a number of other areas.

Jim Kramer