Critique My Photo Please

[catalinajack]

I have been into LF photography for about 4 years. As with most others I have been experimenting, testing, etc various film and developer combinations. Until just recently I have not found the look I personally prefer. The attached photo is what I have been looking for. I would like others' opinions on the quality, always judgmental of course, of my photo. It was taken with a Crown Graphic, hand-held and focused with the rangefinder. The film is Ilford Delta 100 developed in Xtol, 1:3 for 10 minutes (68 degrees) in a Jobo drum rotated on a Beseler motorized base. The photo you see is a scan of a darkroom print, not a scan of the negative.

[Michael E]

Unfortunately, you say more about the agitation of your developer than the look you strive for.

Your image is a mixture of documentation (everyday scene of a truck in a driveway, restrained photographic means, no effects, no visible compositional effort) and arrangement (the truck is sitting prominently in the driveway with more reference to the street than the house, rather private view from the property facing outwards). The subdued technique doesn't get in the way of the image. Viewers can relate to a common scene that is often seen but rarely noticed or photographed. Well done!

About the technique: I like the scale of tones, the beautiful reflections in the side of the truck, and the quality of light. I don't like the way the right house seems glued to the truck, and the empty upper right hand corner of the print. This is the only major bright area and it leads out of the composition. I would burn it in.

Please elaborate about your approach, your goals, and the look you are going for.

Michael

[chassis]

The highlights are a bit high (ref: the wheel rims), which is another way of saying there is too much contrast for my liking. Contrast can be reduced through shorter development times, or more dilute developer. Sharpness overall could be improved by using a tripod, smaller aperture and faster shutter speed.

Compositionally, I would have chosen a feature of the truck as the subject. As it is, the truck is the subject which seems pretty ordinary to me.

To me, it's a picture of a truck. One that would be used to document a property insurance policy, or place a classified ad. Literal and utilitarian. These are positive adjectives if this is what you were striving for.

[catalinajack]

The purpose of the picture was not for an artistic masterpiece. I shot it as a test for for the film and developer combination. Online it does appear to be too contrasty. The print is not so much. Yes, it's a truck in a driveway. The observations I seek are more technical in nature. I suppose I should have been more clear in my posting.

[Pawlowski6132]

The purpose of the picture was not for an artistic masterpiece. I shot it as a test for for the film and developer combination. Online it does appear to be too contrasty. The print is not so much. Yes, it's a truck in a driveway. The observations I seek are more technical in nature. I suppose I should have been more clear in my posting.

Can you be more specific on what you're looking for in regards to feedback?

Looks like you all the whites (rock, house, sky, trees etc.) are blown out. Maybe should have reduced development time.

[Rick Rycroft]

On my monitor there is plenty of tone in the whites and separation in the dark back of the car. To me it looks like a good starting point and I would go out shooting more scenarios and process the film the same way. One image isn't enough to get a feel of it, me thinks.

[photobymike]

The first a photographer needs to do is nail down his technique. An art photographer needs to not really think about the technical technique, but how his or hers picture will look like finished on a wall framed. Personally i have taken thousands and thousands of photos. Yea it looks good .... but would you want this on your wall in your house? Would you take the time to print and frame this photo? As a mechanic your photo is great... you got it. There is a very very thin fine line between good and great. A lot of times i have seen photographers become "legends in their own minds" because they can take a decent technically correct photograph. If you really want to cross the very fine line to be truly great photographer is to accept the critique of others is a start. You might consider a subscription to LensWork Magazine... Actually i would consider the older printed issues because of the "Editors Comments" and the "End Notes" by Bill Jay. Taking really good photographs is more of a proper mental state... than being in the right place at the right time.

The one thing that did make my pictures better, was to quit digital and use film only. I have found for me that using film involved more work, and sweat so i studied what i was taking a picture of. It involved getting a little bit of "subject connection" and fore thought. When i had my Nikon d3 and all the cool lenses i took hundreds if not a thousand pictures at a time, and then studied them on the computer to pick out the best ones. That worked great if i wanted good pictures. But for me and this is my opinion only. Once i went back to film, thats when i started taking great pictures. Now when i do a portrait or any other type of photograph, it takes me sometimes hours to get what i want. Taking a portrait photograph can just take a few minutes for good picture. But takes hours sometimes for great portrait picture. I taught photography in collage when i was much younger. I had a older student who was working on his MFA in photography. All he did was photograph clouds. He used to spend hours just watching the clouds.. i thought he was crazy. Butttttt... i am not so sure now....

[bobwysiwyg]

On my monitor there is plenty of tone in the whites and separation in the dark back of the car. To me it looks like a good starting point and I would go out shooting more scenarios and process the film the same way. One image isn't enough to get a feel of it, me thinks.

I agree with this assessment. I see subject contrast but little lost detail. Keep going.

[mike rosenlof]

I have read the Mr. Catalinajack's initial description and intentionall skipped the other comments to comment only on the photo and information supplied by the photographer.

According to the photographer, the image we see is a scanned darkroom print. Ilford Delta 100 was exposed in a Crown Graphic, most commonly 4x5 inch film size, and developed in Kodak Xtol developer.

The photo depicts a dark colored 2 door smaller size SUV. The vehicle is parked on what looks to be the driveway of a house is a somewhat rural, but suburban area. The vehicle is rendered fairly sharply, facing away from the camera giving the viewer a 3/4 view from the left rear. There are three houses on the other side of a road. It appears that there are no sidewalks along this road. All of the houses are painted light colors, do not appear to be large houses. The years have mature trees, grass, and overhead wiring for power and telephone. The vehicle does not appear to be a new model, but neither is it very old. I'm not an expert in these vehicles, so I would make a guess that it is a few years old, but not more than ten years old. I am not able to read the state of the license plate. The dynamic range of the exposre and the contrast look natural. There is detail in the lit tires on the near side. The right rear tire in shade might have no shadow detail. Trees reflect off some of the windows of the vehicle. It appears clean.

I would say it is well photographed and printed. It's not a very exciting picture. The smaller SUVs are pretty common in such suburban/rural neighborhoods. I'm not sure if the photographer is trying to tell me more about the car or the town. If he is, I have not received the message.

[Brian C. Miller]

After running the license plate number visible in the photo, we now know where you live! And we're showing up for figgy pudding. We won't go until we get some we won't go until we get some we won't go until we get some we won't go until we get some so bring it out or we'll keep singing at you and driving you mad, utterly mad. Share and enjoy share and enjoy journey through life with your plastic boy or girl at your side let your pal be your guide...

Along the right-hand side of the photo I see a stripe, like a light leak or a mis-print or something. Other than that, I guess you did well with the photo.