It Snowed in the Desert Today HDR

[spacefuzz]

I also like the natural edit.

On the road up I really like that tree on the right of the frame, perfect snow covered pine. Would like to see a shot without the rock on the left and more of that tree.

 

[JRE313]

Are all these photos 3 exposure? Looks good to me

 

[Omofo]

Where exactly in the desert?

Tucson AZ (Mt. Lemon)

I grew up there, Mt. Lemon was and gates pass are very photogenic.

 

[vipgraphx]

Are all these photos 3 exposure? Looks good to me

Yes

 

[o hey tyler]

I have been a graphic artist since 1999 and into photography for about 10 years, thats probably what brings out the heavy processing because I am use to doing so much in adobe PS and Ai.
I never said I was a pro at HDR but I am learning fast and I know where I want to go with it. I do take CC and try to better myself thus why I am posting so many pictures. I normally do portraits where I am completely comfterable confident hence why I do not
post to much in those sections. With HDR I still have room to grow and once I found the exact techniques I need and feel 100% confident in my work, my posting images will most likely go down and Only post those killer shots but, same thing my style/method may still not be something that you or others may like but, I will and so will others who like that same style.

Your image you posted is not bad rather its pretty decent but, not the look that I am headed towards so not to be rude but that does not show me anymore experience. I have viewed through your flickr and you have some cool stuff that I really like and you have stuff that is just hideous. I am not a big fan of those interior toranto hotel/ whatever home it is. Those are very noisy images that could use some noise reduction software and the colors or so fake way to much red talk about keeping it natural yeah OK...but hey that is your style and many I am sure like it. Then you have some really nice shots of industrial places that I say hats off to you excellent work and more of the stuff that I like great stuff!!

I think with the knowledge I have from graphic design, how fast I am learning and the drive that I have to succeed I should hit my goal soon enough. One thing holding be back is really there is not much going on here in Tucson where I live. I mean like so what the Mountains but there not green foresety fantasy land settings.. Our industrial part of town is very small and no underground areas. I have to really hunt around because I think we will both agree on this. HDR is not for every photo and will bring out the best in the right photos.

With that said here is another attempt at a more realistic looking picture (I did this before you posted yours so I thought I would post it anyways)

No offense, I was under the impression you were <18 years old. So far, I haven't seen anything to change my mind.

Until this point, I'd say you haven't taken C&C well. Thus far, you've been here for under a month, exhibited some pretty entry-level photos (antique bike comes to mind), and basically told anyone that gives you C&C "Oh well it's an HDR and it's all artistic expression, and I like it that way."

It is VERY POOR FORM to bring up another person's work to basically make yourself seem "better" than them, or kick them down a notch. You'll probably try and refute that as well and say "Well, I was just trying to exercise a point." Which is not true. Bynx, didn't ask for his Flickr account to be critiqued.

I too have graphic design experience. I worked in pre-press for a few years, and went to school for it. It doesn't translate into knowledge of photography. It translates into a base understanding of how to process images at the beginning. It doesn't teach you photographic composition, exposure, or how to see light.

Furthermore, you chose a cop out of "http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...265873-i-live-very-visually-boring-place.html" to make the pity train stop at your station. Maybe you and Blackrose can meet up and find something visually interesting somewhere?

You say you do portraits as well? I haven't seen you post them. Perhaps you could get some pointers on your portraiture... That is of course, if you haven't already mastered portraiture.

 

[vipgraphx]

O hey tyler - I take your comments with a grain of salt now. It seems as though your just a person with a lot of negative energy in your life. The majority of your post are just nitpicking everything with not much positive things to say. CC is not just whats the bad part but also what is the good part. When you post you come across as an arrogant person and nothing I have read has changed my mind.

I don't think I have even seen one your photos to get an idea what you bring to the table (prove me wrong)!

On the note of CC if a person just says don't like it or negative comments without offering some useful tips on how to make an image better than yeah what is there to say and respond?

I am not choosing a cop out that I live in a boring place those are your words not mine. I said I will have to work to find better areas to work with....meaning I will not settle for my geographic location but look for places to shoot. How do you see that as a cop out?

As far as portraits I don't care to post to much here because I am apart of another forum that people give great CC and help you out achieve better results, therefore I do my posting there with portraits as they are not fans of HDR at all.

With Bynx, hey he came across rather rude, his first post was not CC it was just a few rude statements of his opinion. Kinda like your posts. He may not ask to have his flickr account be critiqued but I will do my homework and see that someone brings to the table before I
I challenge them. I remembered that toranto house and thinking this does not that great so I thought i would look more in depth and what I found was good and bad stuff in my opinions but the point is if someone is going to say stuff like that they better have a portfolio to
back it up. How things changed though " a point and shoot" as an excuse. What is your excuse and when are you going to post some HIGH QUALITY photos since you talk like your a pro.

Here are a few portraits just for the sake of posting them so you can not use an excuse to hit me on this..


tamaris2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


_DSC0097 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


Bri 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr






Sorry but I am not a push over and will stand my ground! At least I post pictures trying to get better at this rather than just talk crap about everybody's pictures.

Once again lets see your stuff and make me shut up and gain respect for you.

 

[Bynx]

I only mentioned the point and shoot because it was you that mentioned you didnt like the look of them. And I agree with you. Not my best stuff with too much noise. The whole house was lit with gas lamps and it was rainy and cloudy outside resulting in a very dark and gloomy atmosphere. It was long exposures which brought out the colors which didnt look like I remembered them because they were so dark. I also took to heart your comments on some other pics in Flickr which you didnt like and I dumped a few I also didnt like. If you check back, let me know what I missed. As for your portraits, 1 and 3 have good composition and processing. #2 has too much space at the top and if it was my pic Id crop a bit off. But then again the girl is so beautiful I dont let my eyes wonder up too much to take it into account.

 

[vipgraphx]

Bynx- I can appreciate your expressions and I think you and I can be civilized people with respect to each other. I am all for CC as long as their is always some good feedback because in almost every picture people take there is (usually) good and bad. People have to know what they could improve on and people have to know what they did do right so they keep that up. In regards to your flickr this is where I gained respect for you as a photographer! I saw that you could back up your talk and you have some very nice works of art!! I am not at the level yet with my work however it is inspiration.

Thanks for the cc on my portraits. I have more but, some of my clients and friends and family do not want their pictures posted all across the web so I kindly respect that. In regards to portrait 2 yes I think you are right to much space on the top. Really need to remember this sometimes as often times I get caught up in the image. Of course when clients, friends and family come to view their proofs they are always blown away but they also do not know what to look for 8). This is where forums come into play this is where I need CC so I can further develop as a photographer.

I own a Graphic Design and Printing business and do photography on the side. However the reason I got into HDR is because of many of the pictures floating across the web. I would like to be able to try to sell prints to people and bring in another avenue of income into my business. Times are tough and its time to start thinking outside the box.

Really Best regards Bynx

Rich

 

[o hey tyler]

O hey tyler - I take your comments with a grain of salt now. It seems as though your just a person with a lot of negative energy in your life. The majority of your post are just nitpicking everything with not much positive things to say. CC is not just whats the bad part but also what is the good part. When you post you come across as an arrogant person and nothing I have read has changed my mind.

So, you're saying I was disrespectful to you in this thread? Because I gave you negative C&C? http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/hdr-discussions/265267-bike-porch-hdr.html#post2415717

Proof that you can't take C&C. I wasn't rude, I wasn't bashing your work. I was giving quick, clear and concise pointers on how to improve your photograph. No disrespect intended.

I don't think I have even seen one your photos to get an idea what you bring to the table (prove me wrong)!

You haven't looked very hard. http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-gallery/265565-your-best-photo-2011-a-2.html#post2419868

I'm not trying to make this a pissing contest. I'm not trying to assert that I am better than you. I am trying to get you to understand that you are not very good at accepting critique. I have nothing to prove to you. I've had more photographic experience than you. That's not the point. I'm trying to HELP you by giving you pointers.

On the note of CC if a person just says don't like it or negative comments without offering some useful tips on how to make an image better than yeah what is there to say and respond?

That's EXACTLY WHAT I DID. I gave you pointers on how to IMPROVE YOUR BIKE PHOTO. Just as Bynx gave you on how to improve the shots in this thread. Granted, the only photo with oddly colored median lines is #2. The median lines seem to be pretty accurate in the other photos.

I am not choosing a cop out that I live in a boring place those are your words not mine. I said I will have to work to find better areas to work with....meaning I will not settle for my geographic location but look for places to shoot. How do you see that as a cop out?

You said "One thing holding be back is really there is not much going on here in Tucson where I live." Learning to see creatively will open more opportunities for you to shoot in your current location.

You think you live in a boring area? I've been to Tuscon. It's beautiful. It's a city of 500,000 people, and has breathtaking landscapes a stones throw away. I live in MAINE. In a town with roughly 20,000 people. You live in a much more industrious, diverse, and visually interesting place than a lot of people. In a city with 480,000 people more than mine. Granted, Maine is beautiful, and I love shooting here. I can see creatively. I don't make excuses about it.

As far as portraits I don't care to post to much here because I am apart of another forum that people give great CC and help you out achieve better results, therefore I do my posting there with portraits as they are not fans of HDR at all.

This isn't specifically an HDR photoforum. The HDR section is a subsection. You can post portraiture for C&C in the Photography Beginners' Forum & Photo Gallery . Perhaps you'll see a different side to portraiture other than what DeviantArt says.

With Bynx, hey he came across rather rude, his first post was not CC it was just a few rude statements of his opinion. Kinda like your posts. He may not ask to have his flickr account be critiqued but I will do my homework and see that someone brings to the table before I I challenge them.

Neither Bynx, nor I have made 'rude' posts towards you. This is additional proof that you cannot accept critique. I know for a fact that other forum members would agree with me on this one. Why don't you get off your horse and stop judging people? You think that you have the photographic knowledge of composition, lighting, and exposure. But you've done nothing to demonstrate that type of photographic knowledge. I am not trying to be rude, but you've basically JUST joined the forum and are under the impression that others work has to be 'up to your standards' to accept critique from them. That's asinine, especially for a newb to the forum.

The way critique works is that you absorb what people say. Some people may have better ideas than others. You go out and experiment and see what sticks. Not say "Oh I like it the way it is." There's no point in posting for critique if you just disregard it.

I remembered that toranto house and thinking this does not that great so I thought i would look more in depth and what I found was good and bad stuff in my opinions but the point is if someone is going to say stuff like that they better have a portfolio to
back it up. How things changed though " a point and shoot" as an excuse.

I can't say I follow the broken sentence structure in this part.

Here are a few portraits just for the sake of posting them so you can not use an excuse to hit me on this..

Thank you for posting some of your other work. I'm not going to critique them because you didn't ask for them to be critiqued and portraiture isn't what the thread is about. I see some things that could be improved, but I will refrain from interjecting.

Sorry but I am not a push over and will stand my ground! At least I post pictures trying to get better at this rather than just talk crap about everybody's pictures.

It's great that you're not a pushover. To take a photograph with intent, and then be able to back up your artistic decisions is admirable. And if by "talking crap" you mean giving constructive criticism, then yes, at least you do post a lot of photos.

Once again lets see your stuff and make me shut up and gain respect for you.

As I stated previously. I've got nothing to prove to you. You can look at my photos in the other thread. Here's a quick shot that I threw together using strobed light the other day. Have you had any experience with flash photography? Other than on camera pop-up flash? I'll even explain how I lit it and why I lit it that way.

I used a Canon 5D1 with an 85mm f/1.4 lens mounted on it at f/8, 1/200s @ ISO 200. I used f/8 because it gave me an appropriate amount of sharpness throughout the camera body, while slightly defocusing the lens statistics of the 50mm f/1.4 mounted on the camera. I initially exposed at ISO 100, but the image was slightly underexposed, so I used ISO 200 instead of changing the power of my speedlights. With a full frame camera, and even some of the new cameras coming out have very low noise up to ISO 800. So using ISO 200 for this shot did not noticeably harm image quality.

I had two 430EX II's setup, one shooting through a parabolic umbrella at 1/2 power approximately 4 feet camera right, and a bare 430EX II camera left at 1/16th power reflecting off the wall to get the proper angular light to give the grip texture. They were both fired by Cactus V4's.

Here is another shot I did with strobed light of my girlfriend and I on our 2 year anniversary.

I used one 430EX II on a light stand, bare. I put the 430 with a plastic bag over it to prevent it from getting wet. Set the camera up on a tripod, same setup as before, 5D, 85mm. I shot this on ISO100, 1/200s @ f/3.5 to get adequate DoF. The flash was on low power behind us to freeze the rain and provide light bloom around our silhouettes.

It's true. I am defending Bynx. Someone who long ago I got into a forum quarrel with. I've moved on, and I think he has too. I will not let someone, even if I've been in an argument, be told that their C&C is disrespectful when it clearly isn't.

I am totally open to providing respectful C&C on peoples work, but I will not stand for someone saying that my C&C was "all negative, with no pointers or tips", when that is clearly not the case. You yourself have to be open to critique prior to even posting an image. I apologize for the lengthy post, and the tough love, but you've got to be open to new ideas if you're going to really grow from C&C.

Capish?

 

[Robin Usagani]

Sorry man, these 3 portraits aren't that great.

tamaris2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


_DSC0097 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr


Bri 3 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

 

[vipgraphx]

O hey tyler - I will not pick apart your images you have posted but, I will say they are both just ok. Nothing real special and nothing that says you are experienced photographer (maybe with flash) however I do not know your background in photography but if this is what you decided to post to show me up well umm ok. With that said I think you have to look into the mirror as well.. I can take CC but perhaps its the way it is being said that hits a nerve or not. I will take what you said and try not to respond in defensive way as perception is everything and one person says this about me its enough to make me think twice.

enough said.

 

[vipgraphx]

Sorry man, these 3 portraits aren't that great.

Please explain, thanks.

 

[Robin Usagani]

Faux blur, dreamy effect, weird color, excessive faux vignette...

 

[o hey tyler]

O hey tyler - I will not pick apart your images you have posted but, I will say they are both just ok. Nothing real special and nothing that says you are experienced photographer (maybe with flash) however I do not know your background in photography but if this is what you decided to post to show me up well umm ok.

Okay VipGRAFFXXXXXXX. If you say so. By the way, are you sure you're not 18? You're expecting people to "show you up?" Is this the Jersey Shore? Or some kind of petty freestyle-rap competition that I was unaware of?

Your attitude towards life, your demeanor, and your method of typed communication does not lead me to believe you have been a "graphic designer for 10 years", operating in a professional environment. Graphic Designers who have been through a private art school know at least a thing or two about a basic level of composition. I know, my girlfriend is one of those people. She's a senior at a private art school in Maine, being taught by professionals in their trade. Every one of her professors owns their own business, and are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of their craft. Students at private art schools receive far harsher critique than you have been given thus far, and they grow from it and push THEMSELVES to make their work better.

Like I've said before, I have nothing to prove to you. I can take critique, but you didn't offer any. I'd be interested to see why my photos are "just okay." Is it because I didn't heavily process them, but instead got the image I wanted right out of the freakin' camera? Doesn't that take some level of skill? Come on, tell me what you think of the 2 photos I've posted in the thread. It seems you are guilty of the very same thing that you wrongfully accused me of.

 

[vipgraphx]

O hey tyler - I will not pick apart your images you have posted but, I will say they are both just ok. Nothing real special and nothing that says you are experienced photographer (maybe with flash) however I do not know your background in photography but if this is what you decided to post to show me up well umm ok.

Okay VipGRAFFXXXXXXX. If you say so. By the way, are you sure you're not 18? You're expecting people to "show you up?" Is this the Jersey Shore? Or some kind of petty freestyle-rap competition that I was unaware of?

Your attitude towards life, your demeanor, and your method of typed communication does not lead me to believe you have been a "graphic designer for 10 years", operating in a professional environment. Graphic Designers who have been through a private art school know at least a thing or two about a basic level of composition. I know, my girlfriend is one of those people. She's a senior at a private art school in Maine, being taught by professionals in their trade. Every one of her professors owns their own business, and are extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of their craft. Students at private art schools receive far harsher critique than you have been given thus far, and they grow from it and push THEMSELVES to make their work better.

Like I've said before, I have nothing to prove to you. I can take critique, but you didn't offer any. I'd be interested to see why my photos are "just okay." Is it because I didn't heavily process them, but instead got the image I wanted right out of the freakin' camera? Doesn't that take some level of skill? Come on, tell me what you think of the 2 photos I've posted in the thread. It seems you are guilty of the very same thing that you wrongfully accused me of.

No just you! I would know if I am 18 or not I am 37. How I treat my clients and business are totally different on how I treat people like you. They pay they get quality work and customer satisfaction. I graduated from the Art Center in 2001 and yes taking CC is a big deal and I did learn however when you have a presentation in front of classmates and teachers you can hear their voices and they give the good and the bad. It is a professional environment, this forum is not. Yes I am guilty but what came first the chicken or the egg. I think I was defending my self and my perspective. So without your post things would not have gotten this far. I think you enjoy this stuff I really do. I think Bynx is a grown man that can handle himself but instead you chose to be Superman and save the day.

In regards to your pictures,

Camera sitting on a table WOW why didn't someone else ever think about this. You talk about rule of thirds but I don't see it here? Color is good but has to much black. It would nice to see more into the lens. Also the lens is blurry. the white coming from the left onto the camera is a different white than the other side and its a little more harsh and not as soft.

The rainy night looks like your about to get him by a train. There is more space on the girls side than yours its not evenly spaced and it looks like it was supposed to be centered. The light on the ground is over exposed and fades into a purple color. The Green on the left upper side is distracting and keeps my eyes moving up into the corner.

Thats about it.

If you would like to argue more I don't mind and lets take it PM so that the topic can get back on track.