I don't know, faces to me really didn't show desolation. They were good pictures, but just cause they are old and wrinkled doesn't mean it's desolation.
Don't look at me, I gave it a 9 and explained what I saw in it. I guess this is just one of those photos that you're gonna have to be happy with the quality of what you produced regardless of how others think it did in the challenge.
Here is my opinion. (And we all know what opinions are like since everyone has one.) :) Your uncle's face is a photographer's dream. He has an amazing look with lots of character. I wish his fabulous face had been shown in a more creative way. I don't much like full-frontal views. If you had put him at more of an angle and shown a little more of his body I think it would have scored much, much higher. He definitely has a blue ribbon face. I also think that the background lighting was just a little harsh although I like the pattern of the background...it helps to add interest to the photo.
I think it's a bit of a shame that there's enough of a winning pattern on this site to say that someone has a 'blue ribbon face'.
I agree with Sonifo, your uncle certainly has character and he looks sad, but not really desolate (to me). It's a good study, although too soft, too central and I think your advice is good Patricia. I too was dissappointed that my shot didn't score higher - just because of the [very real] subject matter, but as Patricia put it - the desperate people obviously didn't have 'blue ribbon' faces, or any colour ribbon for that matter.
For me it is not the face that is the problem. It is the tones and the contrasts, it is flat for a portrait, Although the face has character it looses its impact through in my opinion a lack of tones which would help highlight the wrinkles etc. I also agree that the backlighting is too bright and needs to be unclear, perhaps more aperture was required here. Don't get me wrong, but you asked for opinions and this is just mine. I am no expert myself.
my site has people on it in black and white, check it out and give me some of my own medicine. //www.magicmedia.co.uk
FOLKS FOLKS!!! The photograph is not my entry though I wish it was, that gentleman (God bless him) is NOT MY UNCLE. Also the photographer is not known to me
It is a picture that I had liked very much and I stand by my decision to give it a 10
Thank-you very much for paying me such a high compliment.
Jon... When I said the man had a blue ribbon face, I didn't mean for it to be taken so literally. Lots of houses, old buildings, flowers, etc. are blue ribbon subjects. The photographer is what makes the difference. I was just saying that so much could have been done with such a terrific model.
FOLKS FOLKS!!! The photograph is not my entry though I wish it was, that gentleman (God bless him) is NOT MY UNCLE. Also the photographer is not known to me
It is a picture that I had liked very much and I stand by my decision to give it a 10
Yeah go right back to slamming it...
The picture is not fit for this site
You liked the picture, others didn't or didn't like it as well. Perhaps your opinion is more valuable than others, so be it.
You brought a picture up in the forums that didn't score as well as you thought it should. People are telling you why they didn't score it as high as you thought they should. How in the world is that slamming????
I did not read that anyone is asking you to defend your 10. That is your perogative.
I liked the picture, but like Sonifo said, just because it was old didn't make it desolation, and he does lok sad, but that is about it. Having more context may have helped it, I don't know. It was a good picture, just didn't scream "desolation" to all of the voters.
FOLKS FOLKS!!! The photograph is not my entry though I wish it was, that gentleman (God bless him) is NOT MY UNCLE. Also the photographer is not known to me
It is a picture that I had liked very much and I stand by my decision to give it a 10
Yeah go right back to slamming it...
The picture is not fit for this site
Straighten up, young man or I will have to send you to the corner and you can throw your fit there. :-P
FOLKS FOLKS!!! The photograph is not my entry though I wish it was, that gentleman (God bless him) is NOT MY UNCLE. Also the photographer is not known to me
It is a picture that I had liked very much and I stand by my decision to give it a 10
Yeah go right back to slamming it...
The picture is not fit for this site
I'm sorry...I didn't mean anything that I said in a malicious way. I didn't intend on getting you upset, Tarique. I was just expressing my feelings. I didn't think I was slamming it.
I really do appreciate the high scores on my entry and I was okay with it's placing because I got lots of comments. I didn't expect it to do very well...it is one of those love/hate photos. I wish I could have gotten a real model, too.
There are definitly some great pictures in the Desolation challenge for sure.
But some of them do not say "desolation" to me. "Despair" perhaps, but not desolation. Desolation, to me, is more like these dictionary definitions:
1. the act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation
2. the state of being decayed or destroyed
3. a place or country wasted and forsaken
4. an event that results in total destruction
Compare and contrast to "despair":
1. to lose all hope
2. to be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat
3. a state in which everything seems wrong and will turn out badly
I put a lot of emphasis on meeting the challenge topic when voting. That being said, voters weren't voting along dictionary definitions... my Desolation entry placed much worse than I had hoped (including some 1's, 2's and 3's), even though I thought it fit the theme very well.
There are definitly some great pictures in the Desolation challenge for sure.
But some of them do not say "desolation" to me. "Despair" perhaps, but not desolation. Desolation, to me, is more like these dictionary definitions:
1. the act of desolating or laying waste; destruction of inhabitants; depopulation
2. the state of being decayed or destroyed
3. a place or country wasted and forsaken
4. an event that results in total destruction
Compare and contrast to "despair":
1. to lose all hope
2. to be overcome by a sense of futility or defeat
3. a state in which everything seems wrong and will turn out badly
I put a lot of emphasis on meeting the challenge topic when voting. That being said, my Desolation entry placed much worse than I had hoped (including some 1's, 2's and 3's), even though I thought it fit the theme very well.
I looked desolate up in the "Webster's New World College Dictionary" when I was trying to think of something for this challenge. You left out what is first in the meaning according to my dictionary.
1.left alone; lonely; solitary.
Since the primary definition refers to loneliness, I thought that the human condition best portrayed desolation.
I can't believe this got 58th position - was expecting it to win a ribbon.
I can't believe it either!! I gave it an 8 and commented on it. Just because it didn't get a ribbon doesn't mean it's not a wonderful picture!! Your picture is one of the few in this challenge that really touched me....and I wanted to give him a great big hug and tell him it was going to be ok! :) It's a very moving shot IMO.
Kind of depends on how you define "deserve" doesn't it?
I assume that a picture deserves to rank highly only if it is considered to be excellent by the majority of the voters.
In this case there were clearly mixed feelings about the image. Some loved it, others liked it but felt it could be better, others still didn't like it at all.
Surely all their opinions are valid since we're talking about opinions here. That's what the votes are based on, after all.
I guess the way I'd have expressed it would have been along the lines of:
I'm surprised that Name of Entry didn't rank more highly
Since what you're really saying is in YOUR opinion this shot was a winner.
Personally I did like the content a lot but I thought the image itself was weak - poor lighting and poor composition let it down a little. I still liked it, I gave it a 7. For a similar image with better lighting and tonal range in the face, a more interesting composition and, perhaps, more attention to the background, I may have scored it a 9 or 10.
You left out what is first in the meaning according to my dictionary.
1.left alone; lonely; solitary.
Since the primary definition refers to loneliness, I thought that the human condition best portrayed desolation.
I'm not sure I see how that definition makes the word "desolate" (which is different than desolation) pertain to the human condition.
To me, those terms apply to physical objects. For example, the first thing I thought of reading your definition was a lone tree in the middle of a barren desert. I think it is important to take into account the general meaning of the term (by reviewing all of the definitions together).
I think I may start skipping definition-dependent challenges. I'm not only relatively disappointed in the results on my entry, but the general ranking of the entries in general seems a bit off to me. Who needs the frustration...
