Results and Feedback for the "Fragility" Weekly Photography Assignment

[keithsnell]

The guidelines for this assignment were to construct an image in such a way that it emphasizes the fragile nature of your subject.  As always, I recommend that you review the images in a color managed browser such as Safari.


Sue started off the assignment on a great note with her Crocus image.  The light and airy feel of this image just sang Spring!  I love the way Sue filled the frame with this beautiful composition, and the exposure settings were "spot on."  This image tied for People's Choice and I have awarded it Editor's Choice for Technical Merit.  Very, very nicely done Sue!  

Crocus
Editor's Choice for Technical Merit and tied for People's Choice
Photographed by Sue Pepin

The very shallow depth of field in Lorin's by a thread image did a great job emphasizing the fragile strands of the web and concentrating the viewer's attention on the caterpillar on the left.  Although the bright exposure helped to emphasize the fragile nature of the scene, I think Lorin might have been able to achieve a better overall rendition of the scene if he hadn't blown out the exposure of the branch.  Perhaps lowering the exposure a bit during the initial capture and then lightening it in post processing as required would have enabled him to render the branch a bit more natural looking.

by a thread
Photographed by Lorin Schroeder (wildshutter)

Lorin's New Life image was a wonderful environmental portrait of the two baby doves, with the crisp detail in the feathers helping to draw the viewer's attention on that part of the scene.  I looked at the image to see if a different crop might work better, but then decided that I liked the way Lorin's crop emphasized the curve of the nest.  Very nicely done Lorin.

New Life
Photographed by Lorin Schroeder (wildshutter)

Julie captured a wonderful image of the adult dove in her Focused on Momma image.  Julie explained in her caption that she cropped the image based on another submission that emphasized a "focal point" for the image.  I debate with myself whether I think the crop Julie chose was the strongest one for this image.  On the one hand, having the large portion of the blurred branch on the left gives the feeling of "discovering" the dove hidden in the nest, however, I think the blurred branches have too much "weight" in the image, and prosed an alternate crop below.

Focused on Momma
Photographed by Julie Schroeder (Writeheart)

Here's an alternative crop for your consideration.  It reduces the "weight" of the branches on the left, and shifts more emphasis over to the primary subject. While I had the image open in Photoshop I also applied a bit of the lens blur filter to soften the out-of-focus branches and make the rendition a bit less distracting.  I'm still not sure which rendition I like the best; however I think it is fairly clear that the second rendition reduces the competition for the viewer's attention and allows them to focus more on the dove.

Focused on Momma
Photographed by Julie Schroeder (Writeheart), alternate crop by Keith

Rebecca liked an even tighter crop, like this:

Photographed by Julie Schroeder (Writeheart)
Alternate crop recommended by Rebecca

Julie's Life is Fragile is a fascinating image, and as Marilyn said, "It definitely pulls me in and makes me want to know the story (or else make one up!!)"

Life is Fragile
Photographed by Julie Schroeder (Writeheart)

Lorin's ready for the World! was another great capture, although I didn't think it was quite as strong as some of the other images of the doves.  Although it was a great capture of the baby dove, the blown highlights and out-of-focus rendition of the grass in the nest were a bit more distracting than in the other images.  Very nice detail in the dove and great catch light.

ready for the World!
Photographed by Lorin Schroeder (wildshutter)

Luc's hanging by a thread was a wonderfully expressive image.  On my display the white balance looked like it was a little green, so I pulled the image into Photoshop and used the Color Balance adjustment (Image>Adjustments>Color Balance) and pulled the magenta/green slider to the left to increase the magenta color tint (and reduce the green color tint) in the image.  This adjustment is usually best made using the "tint" slider under the white balance adjustment in the raw processor.  While I had the image open, I also set the black point and white point in the image to provide better contrast.  I used the "levels" adjustment for this, and simply pulled the "carrots" for the black point and white point towards the respective ends of the histogram.  (I'll show an example of this later.)  It all sounds much more involved that it really is, since these adjustments only took me about 30 seconds in Photoshop.

hanging by a thread
Photographed by Luc Bigler

Here is the adjusted file:

hanging by a thread
Photographed by Luc Bigler, slight color and contrast adjustments by Keith

Luc's daffodils image was a great illustration of the fragility of these beautiful flowers (and life in general).  The flowers in the lower portion of the image were a little over-exposed, so perhaps this image would have been a little better if taken under less contrasty light conditions.  Still, sometimes you capture images when you get the chance.

daffodils
Photographed by Luc Bigler

Speaking of softer light, Julie's image titled Mama's Reminder was taken in nice soft diffused lighting that resulted in a very nice rendering of the baby dove and feather.  I loved the symbolism of the feather in this image.  Nicely done.

Mama's Reminder
Photographed by Julie Schroeder (Writeheart)

Of all the images submitted for the assignment, Dave's Precession image told the most compelling story.  The timing and composition in this image were exquisite.  As I mentioned in my comments in the gallery, somehow this image captures the extended time of struggling up the stairs. It makes us patiently linger in the moment, instead of moving on without thinking. This image evokes the emotions I've felt in the past when in similar situations.  Wanting to help but holding back out of respect; slowing down our pace to accommodate the frailties, and somehow living life more fully because of it.  This image tied for People's Choice, and is my Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit.

Precession
Editor's Choice for Artistic Merit and tied for People's Choice
Photographed by Dave Leiker (prairedust)

I liked the rich tones and strong symbolism in Ree's image titled Fragile, and the triptych was a very effective way to tell the story.  This is a concept that I would like to explore further in the future.  Nicely done Ree.

Fragile
Photographed by Reecha (Ree) Lal

I had my camera with me when Evan and McKenzie and I were exploring at the Ranch, and tried to compose an image to capture the feeling we get as parents when our children get too close to danger.  Evan seems past that age when we would hover by ready to intervene, but McKenzie still seems so fragile that we want to protect her from any harm.  I used the widest setting on my zoom in an attempt to accentuate the distance of the potential fall from the edge.

Young Minds
Photographed by Keith

Michele's Life composite was another great storytelling image about the fragility of life.  MIchele chose a very effective crop for the images, and I thought the background in the first three images in the composite contributed to the overall design of the image.  (The slight shift in camera position for the fourth image resulted in a few distracting branches in the scene.)

Life
Photographed by Michele Bollhalder

Marilyn did a wonderful job composing her image titled Respecting fragility: Books, family, and democracy.  The colors she chose for the background complemented the subject and tone of the image, and the rich colors, detail and wonderful tonality she captured helped convey the rich legacy these books provide.  This was a wonderful image Marilyn and I loved hearing the story behind the books.

Respecting fragility: Books, family, and democracy
Photographed by Marilyn McKinney

Dave's Spring Snow Storm image was a true work of art.  The slow shutter speed was perfect for capturing the sense of blowing snow, and the high key treatment of the rendered image enhances my ability to imagine that I am standing in the middle of a winter scene.  This is a wonderful example of photography as art.  Everything about the image contributes to the vision of the artist and what he wanted to convey.  Very inspirational Dave.  This image would look beautiful printed on watercolor paper.  Of all the images submitted for the assignment, this is the one that I would most like to have hanging on my wall.

Spring Snow Storm
Photographed by Dave Leiker (prairiedust)

Chris' Wine For Sale image was another very nice composition, with a great design.  Just looking at the image on my screen I guessed that it might benefit from a levels (contrast and brightness) adjustment in Photoshop and so I gave that a try.

Wine For Sale
Photographed by Chris Franklin

Wine For Sale
Photographed by Chris Franklin, levels (minor contrast and brightness) adjustment by Keith

Here's the image with a simple levels adjustment, accomplished by pulling the white point carrot in Photoshop to the left so that it was even with the brightest information in the histogram.  Like this:

Rick's Barbed wire image was another well executed image that invited the viewer to attach their own symbolism and meaning to the image.  Nicely done Rick.

Barbed wire
Photographed by Rick Pepin (TrvlRick)

Thank you to everyone that participated in this assignment.  You continue to inspire me with the ways you apply your photography skills to create such beautiful and moving art.

Keith