Okay, I didn't enter the Stopped Motion II challenge, but I spent many hours designing a setup for two ideas I had: breaking a light bulb, and freezing a bullet in mid air (I was thinking of getting it just after leaving an apple or something juicy like that).
I researched what it would take to stop a bullet and it seemed like it requiredexpensive equipment. Such as ultra-high speed flashes to freeze something as fast as a bullet.
So I gave up on freezing the bullet because I didn't have the time or money to buy/build a high speed strobe and trigger.
Also, I gave up on BOTH ideas because it seemed to obvious, and uncreative. Of course everyone else must have the same idea, I thought. So I decided that I would have to have a more 'original' idea or I wouldn't enter.
Well, look what won:
Yeah.
I've seen images exactly like these two before somewhere. Not original at all.
What can I learn from this experience?
You'll never know unless you try. I should have tried freezing the bullet.
Also, voters don't usually rate creativity high, or these obvious THOUGH OF COURSE VERY DIFFICULT shots wouldn't win all the time. Let me say these are both *outstanding* shots, and congrats to terje and eojedaa. Then again, voters are always saying things about images not be original, like this one that I think is really nice, but people still say its overdone:
So I'm sort of sharing what I think I've learned, and hoping someone else can add to it.
I know what ya'll mean but have you seen some of the entries for the Complexity challenge? There's some awesome stuff in there! I saw lots of shots that I thought were just exceptional because they were... well, how do I say this? I guess non-DPC. Jeez, I hope that makes sense.
Congrats to all who entered - ya'll really posted some nice work, took some risks, showed off your creativity... I could go on and on!
I know what ya'll mean but have you seen some of the entries for the Complexity challenge? There's some awesome stuff in there! I saw lots of shots that I thought were just exceptional because they were... well, how do I say this? I guess non-DPC. Jeez, I hope that makes sense.
Congrats to all who entered - ya'll really posted some nice work, took some risks, showed off your creativity... I could go on and on!
It's very unlikely to get something completely original that has not been seen by at least one person in their lifetime. Originality is subjective. People voting today may never have voted on or gone back to look at the first stopped motion and may never have seen a shot like the first three or even the first ten before and was impressed. There are people who have seen all that before and still found the photograph to be good enough to warrant high scores. Originality is always something worth striving for but a good photograph is a good photograph. How many portraits of a woman have you seen in your lifetime? Does that make the Mona Lisa that much worse? How many sunsets have you seen in your lifetime? Does that make each sunset after tonight's unoriginal and boring?
It's very unlikely to get something completely original that has not been seen by at least one person in their lifetime. Originality is subjective. People voting today may never have voted on or gone back to look at the first stopped motion and may never have seen a shot like the first three or even the first ten before and was impressed. There are people who have seen all that before and still found the photograph to be good enough to warrant high scores. Originality is always something worth striving for but a good photograph is a good photograph. How many portraits of a woman have you seen in your lifetime? Does that make the Mona Lisa that much worse? How many sunsets have you seen in your lifetime? Does that make each sunset after tonight's unoriginal and boring?
I agree completely. I thought the "non-DPC" referred to maybe a more photographic approach vs. software?
Also, I gave up on BOTH ideas because it seemed to obvious, and uncreative.I've seen images exactly like these two before somewhere. Not original at all.
Well skylen, I need to point out here that by no means these images are obvious. Maybe its obvious for you seeing a 747 fly, althouh tons of knowledge are needed to design one.
Its not obvious how a water balloon breaks, how the surface creates wrinkles, how half the water is pushed upwards and half downwards, how
the initial impact of the bullet creates a backward tail... and much more you can discover if you look enough.
And maybe you think I just have tons of patience shooting at hundreds of balloons until I just got the right one. Belive me or not, the image I submitted was the first and only made during the challenge week for the Stopped motion challenge. Lucky? No. I just spent more time on the system setup, and created a new and simple method to trigger the flash.
Its not based on sound or light.... and this is by no means obvious.
You also point out that you dont have time to build your own high speed flash. Well let me tell you, I'm a electrical engineer with years of hardware design experience and it wasnt obvious for me to build it. I needed expensive equipment ,available at work, to test it. There is always the possibility that your extensive electronic design experience makes you devise this as obvious.
I hope you are not offended by my comments as Im not by yours, but I just think you comment is related to knowledge and the lack of it.
My photography could be strange, not clear, too simple, with horrible colors and much much more.. but by no means its obvious.
Well, in the current challenge:
13 circuit board/computer pics
8 spider webs (including one man-made in title)
6 watches
I did also notice a few each of car engines, dandelions, and architecture.
Those just started sticking out to me, especially the spider webs... I had to go back afterwards and make sure I didn't vote on some of them just because I was tired of seeing them.
eojedaa, I left a note on this pic as I thought this would have definitely won the Blue had it been entered in the stop motion. Everyone had these thoughts about the bullet through something, but you actually did it, so kudos.
Everyone had these thoughts about the bullet through something, but you actually did it, so kudos.
Well thats probably only true of American members, and those members living in war torn corners of the globe. Getting hold of a gun and live ammo in the UK is a little more difficult. In fact it would have been almost impossible to capture that image here.
I thought this would have definitely won the Blue had it been entered in the stop motion. Everyone had these thoughts about the bullet through something, but you actually did it, so kudos.
Thank you skief, the white balloon shot seems better to me, but it was done a month ago....
BTW, I live in Spain, restrictions on firearms are also high (which is something im proud of). I dont have any firearms but used an air compressed rifle instead, which doesnt require any license here.
If you do it originally or REALLY good, you will get the really good votes, even though it is not 'original'. If you do it poorly.. lookout, you will get voted down for crappy picky AND being unoriginal.. people KNOW what is possible and compare it. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing a shot that has been done before, even though i highly value creativety.
Oh well, I tried to be orginal. I haven't seen a hammer crush a bulb before, and I don't think it's like the #2 from the previous challenge at all. Am I restricted from using a bulb you say? If you want cliche, I'd say a waterdrop is more what this thread should be about, or not?
Oh well, I tried to be orginal. I haven't seen a hammer crush a bulb before, and I don't think it's like the #2 from the previous challenge at all. Am I restricted from using a bulb you say? If you want cliche, I'd say a waterdrop is more what this thread should be about, or not?
I think the #2 shot in Stop Motion II is amazing and VERY orginal. I don't get why someone one call it a cliche. Can someone show me a "copy" of this image that you've seen before? After reading how he set this up, and what technique he used, I think he should have had the blue ribbon.
E. Ojeda will take home many ribbons in the time to come, he's a genius!
Everyone had these thoughts about the bullet through something, but you actually did it, so kudos.
Well thats probably only true of American members, and those members living in war torn corners of the globe. Getting hold of a gun and live ammo in the UK is a little more difficult. In fact it would have been almost impossible to capture that image here.
You can get an air rifle without holding a licence.
Everyone had these thoughts about the bullet through something, but you actually did it, so kudos.
Well thats probably only true of American members, and those members living in war torn corners of the globe. Getting hold of a gun and live ammo in the UK is a little more difficult. In fact it would have been almost impossible to capture that image here.
You can get an air rifle without holding a licence.
And this shot was made using such an air rifle, if you read the details ;o) BTW, the laws regarding air rifles in the UK are that anyone over 16 can buy and use one as long as the pressure is below a set limit, otherwise a firearms license is required (which are nearly impossible to get).
if I read one more comment saying something unoriginal, or over used, im going to choke mnyself. Hi, everythings all ready been used. Get over it and judge the photo you see, not the hundreds of others you SAW beforehand.
Original, not original. Even with my entry, I was accused not being original and trying to copy the blue ribbon photo of Stopped motion 1.
this is my entry for sm2:
and this is the blue ribbon photo of sm1:
I was definately not trying to copy this image, and using a Seagull as a motive is just a coincident, I shot few kinds of birds at 15 minutes downtown, after that I chose the best imo, and it happened to be a Seagull (not the most beautiful bird imo). I try to be "original" in my photography.
Almost every photograph can be accused of not being original, I have even seen almost a duplicated photo winning a ribbon here on dpc lately, but it was duplicated from somewhere else.
It's just a matter of what is original to every one of us. The #1 and #2 ribbon photos in sm2 were both done without trying to copy someone else's photos.
