Not moaning, just a little bewildered as i received only 2 comments in the AA challenge. The score and placing was more then i expected and i am very happy with that but the comments, that's what really counts to me and that's what i do it for really. Please realize that to find some scenery that somehow had something AA'ish here in Holland which is flat country, was very difficult and i went to a lot of trouble to find something that was not a Dutch looking landscape. i Notice that the images which placed above and below me, (even all the way down to the last page) all had many more comments then mine. So if folks can explain to me why they gave my image high scores but didn't comment i would appreciate to know why. Personally i rather like it myself.
Very good question. With a high score and good placement, it's quite unusual not to have more comments. People recognized it as an excellent photo which met the challenge well, but perhaps it didn't strike an emotional cord.
I think it's a very fine shot Fred and the fact that you shot it in Holland makes it even better, well deserving of the high score you received, some photos are just dificult to comment on.
Good question. Why no comments? Just now I looked at it w/the intention of thinking of something to say & couldn't think of anything. Which in my estimation makes it a perfect AA photo because I have no reaction to his photography also. Beyond comments admiring its technical perfection there isn't much to say, & that's true of most landscapes. A blue sky is difficult to make interesting in BW & you did a very good job w/your sky which is probably why you got good scores. The effort you put into getting the shots also shows in your good score. My entry had obvious imperfections & it got comments pointing that out, but I got a lower score, too.
There's not much to say about your shot. Your technique and processing is excellent. But the image is uninspiring. Part of that is the 800 x 800 limit to dpc. There is a lot to the image that doesn't present well that small. You did an excellent job processing the sky, but the clouds were not cooperating - almost all of them are fairly low on the horizon.
I'm not saying things well. Perhaps - your image lacks energy - there is no power in the clouds - you're just left looking at the scene with no investment or draw. Still not saying it well.
It is a great image. The technicals and processing are excellent. B&W is very well done. Post processing is excellent - great job in controlling the strong light on the tree trunk to keep it from blowing out while bring up the rest of the scene. My nit-picks focus on what you had to work with, and other than going to the same site day after day to catch different cloud formations, your result was as good as almost anyone could do.
In addition, you did an excellent job of matching AA's style.
It looks like noon at the beach. Maybe shooting a different time of day to get the shadow of the tree on the white sand would have been more effective?
Some dramatic clouds would have made a difference too, but that's not an option that we can control very well without having a lot of time to spend on the scene.
The mysteries of DPC, Fred. Why fill-in-the-blank. I wish there was an answer, because it does happen to all of us. A perfectly good, high scoring image with few or no comments. But kudos for finding a non-flat surface in Holland :-)
