Tez, thank you for your comments... I see what you say too, but something intrigues me...
I'm asking for opinions on my photo because I see some ribbons on photos of the same type, maybe not the same quality, but they are just "snapshots" of birds. Then I got curious what is wrong with my photo. Could you please give your opinion regarding some of these ribboners below?
I agree with Tez, the chicken shots is very snap shotty, I would expect my daughter to be able to do better than that - to make it better I would of maybe got down to ground level and shot from his view - it would of been more intimate, however ultimately it is just a pretty dull subject with, and I can only assume here, no effort or thought of composition, subject or lighting.
Tez, thank you for your comments... I see what you say too, but something intrigues me...
I'm asking for opinions on my photo because I see some ribbons on photos of the same type, maybe not the same quality, but they are just "snapshots" of birds. Then I got curious what is wrong with my photo. Could you please give your opinion regarding some of these ribboners below?
Thanks again!
What stands out is how CLOSE UP they are, the frame is filled, they are exceptionally sharp, they are cool/rare looking birds, DoF is very thin, compositions comport with the rule of 3rds/are otherwise interesting, all elements which your photograph i'm sorry to say lacks. True there isn't a whole lot of 'artistic' expression but for nature shots they are stand out images.
The first one: well, it was from a challenge in 2003! The standard on DPC changes every year and usually for the better, and back then the amount of entries was much much smaller meaning there was less competition. If that same shot was entered today it would bomb and score about a 5.3 or so. If you compare the ribboning entries from 2003,2004,2005 to present you will see a gradual increase in quality and photographic skill as i think people on DPC have become more discerning/desensitised it takes something out of the ordinary to make an impression.
The second one: if you look at the challenge title it says 'Independence', the bird in the pic is the bald or golden eagle (I think) which is an emblem of the USA. That pic is appealing to the patriotism of the audience here since they're mostly from USA. There is a comment in there saying that the eagle "says independence to all americans" and that is my point- it is an emotional connection. So rather than it being the greatest technical achievement ever or the best use of lighting/composition/whatever else, it is a much more basic and guttural emotional response that allowed it to ribbon.
If the second picture was taken out of context and was entered in a free study under a title like "Eagle" or something not having the emotional attachment it has, I think the scores would have been different.
Guys, thank you so much.
I'll try to get better next time... I knew the photo would not be so good since the time that I took it mainly because:
1-the sun has gone at that time
2-the fuckin chicken could not stop for a second
3-I had to use on camera flash (which I hate)
4-My wife was hurry to go home
This photo is just one more of a desperate try to enter a DPC challenge and all the times that I've done that, the scores are low. I just did not know it would go so low, and why. Now I know...
