Steel wool spinning

[czarben]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/115381688@N03/12123576773/in/photostream/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/115381688@N03/12123705684/in/photostream/

 

[The_Traveler]

pictures not displaying

 

[czarben]

Ya not sure whats up. I cant even delete the post now either. Fail

 

[czarben]

Hopefully the links work correctly. Please critique, just got a dslr a few weeks ago and I'm trying to do some steel wool shots

 

[The_Traveler]

These are just pictures documenting the scene without much of real beauty or interest.

Sorry

 

[weags77]

These are just pictures documenting the scene without much of real beauty or interest. Sorry

While I'm not sure Id say there's no value in these , I kinda agree with Lew.

With that said I'm not really sure what you were going for. The technique is nicely done but I'm not sure it adds anything that other wool spinning pictures don't typically do. Kind of like light painting a heart or a simple water droplet picture. It's you spinning wool with a longer shutter speed. And while the spinning looks cool. The background makes this feel more like a snapshot that an expression.

Play around with it. Eliminate things like yourself and house numbers. Use a plain background or something that adds interest. Never done this before so I can only add what I feel when looking at it. You seem to have the tech part down now just get a bit more creative with it.

 

[czarben]

Thanks for the advice. I agree the background sucks, but here in Minnesota it was -15 degrees out so I didn't want to leave my front yard haha

 

[Bossy]

Fun

 

[weags77]

Thanks for the advice. I agree the background sucks, but here in Minnesota it was -15 degrees out so I didn't want to leave my front yard haha

Haha yeah I hear ya. Not that cold around here but still hit the negatives ...brutal stuff. Felt like spring today and it barely broke 30.

 

[The_Traveler]

No nastiness intended, just advice from a not-you standpoint.
You need to remember that you are only shooting a phenomenon that has been shot thousands of times before and, in order to make the pictures appealing, they need to be more than just documenting the fact that steel wool burns.
Like most shots of the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge or any iconic subject, it's a kick for you because you've not done it before, but to others the shot has to be of some worth.

 

[Bossy]

When you are just starting, it should be perfectly fine and encouraged to shoot "mediocre" and "overdone" shots. Good for you for learning your camera

For what its worth, I've never seen it. And I think its neat. Sure it would be better outside with some atmosphere or something, but holy cow the "worthless" commentary is more than a little mean.

 

[weags77]

When you are just starting, it should be perfectly fine and encouraged to shoot "mediocre" and "overdone" shots. Good for you for learning your camera For what its worth, I've never seen it. And I think its neat. Sure it would be better outside with some atmosphere or something, but holy cow the "worthless" commentary is more than a little mean.

Not really sure where anyone said they are worthless. Then again I guess that depends on what you consider valuable. As a learning lesson, yes these are valuable. However I'm not sure the OP meant these as anything but a mere demonstration of photographing steel wool spinning.

The Traveler's comparison to Statue of Liberty photos is a perfect illustration of the point I was trying to make.

Was only trying to help. After all this was put up in a section that allows or suggests comments and CRITIQUE. There is a "Just for fun" section in case the OP wasn't looking for critique and that id suggest Bossy stick to if anything said in this thread comes close to being considered offensive or that you would consider "mean".

Obviously we are different, but when starting out I want no punches pulled honesty. It's the best way to learn in my opinion. I complimented him but suggested he try a more creative photo next time. This is basically what amounts to a "snapshot". And that's perfectly fine. However I'm pretty sure the OP isn't gonna be satisfied taking "snapshots" with what many would consider an expensive camera.

Sorry if you took it the wrong way OP.

 

[Bossy]

More creative is subjective The comment "documenting a scene without beauty or interest", how is that constructive? It's not about pulling punches, but but I wouldn't consider this a snapshot at all, there is a technical aspect to it.
OP is probably fine, it just struck me as callous. So I commented as such. I'd hate to see a newb put off by this great forum just because he got met at the door by Lew
And there isn't anything that hasn't been shot, does that mean you shouldn't shoot it?

 

[weags77]

More creative is subjective The comment "documenting a scene without beauty or interest", how is that constructive? It's not about pulling punches, but but I wouldn't consider this a snapshot at all, there is a technical aspect to it. OP is probably fine, it just struck me as callous. So I commented as such. I'd hate to see a newb put off by this great forum just because he got met at the door by Lew And there isn't anything that hasn't been shot, does that mean you shouldn't shoot it?

I gotcha. But nobody was saying he shouldn't shoot it. Just that he should attempt to shoot it differently next time. In other words giving him constructive criticism in order to help him maybe make the next photo better using the same technique. I don't think it's said or implied anywhere that he shouldn't be doing this. Just maybe want to think about doing the same thing differently to make it more interesting.

 

[czarben]

I guess I was more looking to get the camera settings down for this practice session. I understand the photo is not creative and the backdrop sucks, and I agree with those comments. I was really just looking to figure out what ISO, shutter speed, etc to use to get the light trail effect. I'll have to wait til it gets a little above freezing before I really go out somewhere and do these shots.