Photo Critique: "Planting", Feb 1, 2023

[johnmsanderson]

I really like this. It's got a strong central focus with the house and tree, but what I particularly like is the added perspective of the field which brings the eye towards the house and back to what I think is my favorite part of the image -- the fence, which is brilliantly lit and is placed perfectly in the frame (it matches neatly the distance of top frame and tree). The lighting on the fence is my favorite detail -- how it goes from shadows to highlights from left to right. Not sure what I would change -- I even like the clouds which are not "perfect" and add a bit of randomness to the otherwise serene scene. Is the film sharp all over? On the screen it looks like the left side is a bit soft -- I would personally love a print of this!

[jtomasella]

The image overall is very pleasing. I probably wouldn't do anything different. The only thing I see is front tilt was used to get the fence and house in focus which softened the middle, but that is the trade off that one must expect.

[Alan Klein]

You guys are great. I really appreciate you all spending the time reviewing and posting your feelings about this. I picked this picture because although it got a lot of Favorites check marks on Flickr, I knew it had a lot of flaws. Some comments about critiques and what I learned.

First off, I was never going to put this in Flickr because it's fundamentally not in good focus. I was able to get away with it though because at 1024 pixels wide, I've hidden a lot of the defects. I could never make a decent print out of it. Here is what I learned from you all.

1. Focus: I used a 4x5 and focused on the roof then tilted the rear standard to put the fence into focus. That's why the field middle ground is so out of focus. Any suggestions for how I should have handled this better.

Also, I don't know why the left seems more out of focus. It could be I shifted the standard (twisted). Or could it be that area was further away from the right side?

Lesson: I have to make sure I default the large format standards to their initial positions. I often forget to do that. Lesson learned.

2. Cropping: Some of you commented on the centering of the house and tree making it less dynamic. Some commented that cutting off the left side would make it even more balanced. I agree. I have an eye that tends to balance my pictures-maybe too much. I included the original picture below before the crop for comparison and comments if anyone wants to add them.

Lesson: Be more daring. Try different kinds of crops.

3. Position of camera. Some commented that the lines in the field don't line up the best. I agree. I should have move around more to see if I could have found a better position.

Lesson: I can't be so lazy. I admit especially with LF, after I set up, it's a pain to move around refocusing etc. MF is easier in this respect. But I have to do it if I expect better results.

4. Aesthetics and meaning. Some really commented in depth about a psychological examination of why I chose this and what it means. I'm not that smart or complicated. It just looked interesting when I passed it on the road. There was something about the house and tree just standing there with the lines of the fence and furrows in the field that made it interesting and which had potential for an interesting shot.

Lesson: Photos can be like Rorschach blots. People can see into them whatever they envision. I have to go with what I feel since I'm not in anyone else's head. But it;s fascinating to see how we all interpret things differently.

5. Vignetting: Overdone, I agree. I violated my own standard of never overdoing an edit so the viewer notices I did the edit. The effect should be subconscious.
Lesson: Spend more time reviewing the final results before posting. Give it a day.

Thanks again.

[tgtaylor]

1. Focus: I used a 4x5 and focused on the roof then tilted the rear standard to put the fence into focus. That's why the field middle ground is so out of focus. Any suggestions for how I should have handled this better.

Depending on your camera, focus on the near and tilt for the far. Do this for 3 iterations and then STOP DOWN for the middle.

[h2oman]

I should have move around more to see if I could have found a better position.

Any significant lateral movement would eliminate the straight-on view of the side of the house, which would then significantly alter the feel of the image. That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but that straight-on, formal presentation would be lost.

[h2oman]

I personally have learned a lot from this thread about how other photographers look at, and think about, images. It would be interesting to get another assessment from non-photographers. If they like it, why? If they don't, why not? I need to ask those questions of my friends!

[Alan Klein]

1. Focus: I used a 4x5 and focused on the roof then tilted the rear standard to put the fence into focus. That's why the field middle ground is so out of focus. Any suggestions for how I should have handled this better.

Depending on your camera, focus on the near and tilt for the far. Do this for 3 iterations and then STOP DOWN for the middle.

My camera has asymmetrical tilts on the rear standard. In order to set the far focus on the asymmetrical line, I had to move the front standard up to get the far tree (not the roof as I mentioned earlier)on the line and focused the tree on that line. Then I dropped the front standard down and tilted the rear standard back until the fence gets into focus. Rising and then lowering the front standard shouldn't change the focus with asymmetrical tilts, I believe, Is that wrong? The aperture was set on f/22.

Any suggestions?

[Alan Klein]

I personally have learned a lot from this thread about how other photographers look at, and think about, images. It would be interesting to get another assessment from non-photographers. If they like it, why? If they don't, why not? I need to ask those questions of my friends!

What I've found in general, is that if a picture works, everyone likes it. Of course, photographers will notice technical issues that non-photographers often don't notice or care about.

[johnmsanderson]

You guys are great. I really appreciate you all spending the time reviewing and posting your feelings about this. I picked this picture because although it got a lot of Favorites check marks on FLickr, I knew it had a lot of flaws. Some comments about critiques and what Ilearned.

First off, I was never going to put this in FLickr because it's fundamentally not in good focus. I was able to get away with it though because at 1024 pixels wide, I've hidden a lot of the defects. I could never make a decent print out of it. Here is what I learned from you all.

1. Focus: I used a 4x5 and focused on the roof then tilted the rear standard to put the fence into focus. That's why the field middle ground is so out of focus. Any suggestions for how I should have handled this better.

Also, I don't know why the left seems more out of focus. It could be I shifted the standard (twisted). Or could it be that area was further away from the right side?

Lesson: I have to make sure I default the large format standards to their initial positions. I often forget to do that. Lesson learned.

Ok. First off only tilt the Front standard for focus adjustment unless your camera lacks front tilt. Using Rear tilt will change the perspective of the vertical objects in the frame. It does not seem to have much affect on this image here, but it can. Always keep the front and rear standards in as perfect alignment as you can. With that said, some cameras cannot get front and rear alignment exactly perfect, but focusing carefully and aperture settings will, hopefully, fill in the gaps where there might be some slight variations in distance between the lens and film plane. Always keep both standards in alignment and level prior to beginning and composing. This is a challenging scene to conquer with a view camera with the intent of getting everything sharp because of the verticality of the foreground fence, flat field and again a vertical object of the house and tree. With a basic understanding of how camera movements affect the sharpness of an image, I can see that this scene really does not lend itself well to using tilt alone to maximize sharpness. The vertical objects of the fence, tree and house will not benefit from using front tilt that much, it will merely push them out of focus as your foreground becomes sharper using tilt. You might get the fence and house in focus together (which is what you seem to have intended to do), but then the field will fall out of focus and the top of the tree will as well. You need to find a combination of tilt and aperture that will yield the sharpest possible image.

As I suspected, the left side of the frame is softer than the right. My guess is one of your standards was swung (in your words twisted) which threw focus off. It's important to make sure everything is centered before starting to compose. It ain't easy and I have made mistakes like this many times. With large format its important to double check everything if you have the time.

2. Cropping: Some of you commented on the centering of the house and tree making it less dynamic. Some commented that cutting off the left side would make it even more balanced. I agree. I have an eye that tends to balance my pictures-maybe too much. I included the original picture below before the crop for comparison and comments if anyone wants to add them.

Lesson: Be more daring. Try different kinds of crops.

Ahhh, this is an area where your emotions and intuition must take over. Do what feels best, not what pondering about it tells you. You composed it this way, so I'm assuming this is how you felt the scene should look. Stick to it.

[QUOTE]3. Position of camera. Some commented tha tthe lines in the field don;t line up the best. I agree. IU should have move around more to see if I could have found a better position.

Lesson: I can't be so lazy. I admit especially with LF, after I set up, it's a pain to move around refocusing etc. MF is easier in this respect. But I have to do it if I expect better results.[QUOTE/]

See my response to #2

4. Aethetics and meaning. Some really commented in depth about a psychological examination of why I chose this and what it means. I'm not that smart or complicated. It just looked interesting when I passed it on the road. There was something about the house and tree just standing there with the lines of the fence and furrows in the field that made it interesting and which had potential for an interesting shot.

Lesson: Photos can be like Rorschach blots. People can see into them whatever they envision. I have to go with what I feel since I'm not in anyone else's head. But it;s fascinating to see how we all interpret things differently.

People like to intellectualize over things, its because they are not truly experiencing the art for what it is and instead trying to put their own spin on it.

5. Vignetting: Overdone, I agree. I violated my own standard of never overdoing an edit so the viewer notices I did the edit. The effect should be subconscious.
Lesson: Spend more time reviewing the final results before posting. Give it a day.

Thanks again.

Yeah, the vignette might be a bit much. But it's just one version, come back in 5 years and you might edit it a totally different way. It's how you felt at the moment.

[Vaughn]

...
People like to intellectualize over things, its because they are not truly experiencing the art for what it is and instead trying to put their own spin on it.

Wow...odd thing to say about critiquing. By definition it is a thinking-type activity.

If one shows one work to others, then one should consider caring about how others approach one's images. Otherwise one is in danger of becoming like a person who can't stop talking about a boring subject that interests only themself.