Not expecting a high score on this one but I just wanted to sumbit something to be able to read all of\\\'ya comments over the week :)
Few matches, Canon Eos350D + Canon EF-180mm F/3,5 L .
Lit with a lamp and a reflector on the other side...
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Place: 152 out of 248 Avg (all users): 4.9550 Avg (commenters): 4.3333 Avg (participants): 4.7640 Avg (non-participants): 5.1081 Views since voting: 929 Views during voting: 273 Votes: 200 Comments: 8 Favorites: 0
Thanks for the comments and the Critique Paul.
I wanted to capture a sence for the heat and texture in the match when it's lit.
So I set the aparture to 3,5 and put the matches in a row, a bent one so I would only get the second one in focus.
My choice was to dhow the detail in the matches, not the fire becouse this is the way I saw it when I lit it.
And It's not at all grainy, I only used ISO200 and did not push it up in PS afterwards, only changed the white balance in the RAW file.
And since DPC only allows a limited sieze of each picture I had to drop the detail and got some grain insted...
Seems that most of the voters didn't go for your grainy take on this subject. I think the main problem though is that in a challenge like this where there are so many buring matchstick based submissions you need a really special, creative submission to do well. What might be useful to you is to take the time to really review the top 20 or so entries.
For myself, I like the grain in your shot. It makes it different to all the other crisp, sharp flames out there. It would have been dead useful to see your post-processing steps so that I could understand what you chose to do to achieve this look. I personally would have loved to see more orange in the flames - best place to get this done is in your white-balance (easiest when shooting in RAW). The fact that none of your matchsticks are cricply in focus I think hit you badly - it makes it difficult to work out exactly where your main subject is.
It is my hope that these insights are helpful and constructive. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique. And please remember to mark it "Helpful" if you found it so. Good luck with future challenges.
This is a tough one. If you're going to enter a shot that you (should) know is going to be well represented, it helps to take a unique approach. If not, the photo needs to be crisp and clean. This is a little bit too noisy/grainy to hit even an average score I'm afraid. All JMO of course. Good luck to you in the challenge.
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