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Summer in the City
Summer in the City
bing3102


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Honey (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D3100
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
Location: Chicago, IL
Date: Jun 1, 2011
Aperture: f20
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/10
Galleries: Nature, Floral
Date Uploaded: Jun 1, 2011

 I've read about the decline of honey bees in the city. I had some wilting flowers and placed it against my view of Chicago.

With the heavy sunlight (taken mid-morning on a clear day) I kept my ISO low with the default white balance. I kept the aperture small hoping to get some definition of the background and a sense of the city. I liked how the flower looked sad even on a bright sunny morning...no bees!

Statistics
Place: 79 out of 82
Avg (all users): 3.8436
Avg (commenters): 5.0000
Avg (participants): 3.9756
Avg (non-participants): 3.8118
Views since voting: 680
Views during voting: 377
Votes: 211
Comments: 12
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 06/20/2011 06:04:47 AM
Hi Ryan, welcome to the Critique Zone!

This is an interesting idea but I'm not sure that it tells the story that you are aiming for. I have no doubt that the voters couldn't figure it and that hurt your score. Perhaps a wilting flower and a dead bee against the cityscape would have sent the message? Twin that with a long exposure (using a tripod) against the city at night, to capture light trails and you might have taken a ribbon!

Technical: This is a very capable camera / lens combo - but almost no lens is at its best at f20 - refraction creeps in from f16 onwards and sharpness goes. f8 would probably have been enough here which would have boosted your shutter speed - again good for sharpness. I know that the reciprocal law says you only need 1/focal length but Ansel Adams reckoned anything below 1/250 wasn't fast enough. We can't always get there but more speed = good a lot of the time, unless you have a tripod and remote release!

PP: The shot is a little 'flat' - try adding a little contrast with curves or levels to make it more three dimensional. It also could do with some sharpening.

Artistically: While this looks like you were going for the 'rule of thirds', to me the flower is a little cramped and almost off the edge of the shot. I would pull it a little more to the centre, using the stem as a leading line perhaps, to make it really the subject, with the city as a background.

All of this is just my opinion, but I hope that there is something of use in here. You clearly have an eye for the unusual, and a lateral perspective on life which I'm sure will result in some interesting shots - I look forward to seeing more!

Happy hunting,

Frank.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
06/14/2011 02:45:00 PM
The gaudy hot pink seems perfect in front of the gorgeous soft muted tones. Very nice.
 06/13/2011 05:33:17 AM
Poor little flower.
 06/13/2011 12:32:04 AM
Nice color but doesn't seem to address the challenge.
 06/10/2011 02:31:33 PM
I do not see how this picture meets the challenge criteria at all, and it's a tad out of focus. 3 from me, sorry.
 06/09/2011 09:02:00 AM
very different. color is incredible.
 06/08/2011 07:37:13 PM
Conceptually, this feels a bit shoehorned in the challenge. On the technical side, it seems like the flower is a bit on the soft side.
 06/08/2011 11:54:15 AM
Wonderful DNMC
 06/08/2011 11:29:18 AM
Gorgeous flowers. I really like the subtle background!
 06/08/2011 09:48:45 AM
but ...it just doesn't say "Honey" to me... *sigh*
 06/08/2011 07:25:56 AM
No bee, and no honey. I was looking for a little drop of honey on the tip of one of the petals, but can't find it.
 06/08/2011 06:48:57 AM
Interesting composition. Didn't seem to fit with the "honey" theme though.


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