Well folks, this is my 300th challenge submission, and a Free Study, no less. I looked very hard through my folders to see if I had a surefire 6+, or at least a shot I was pretty sure would hit my average. I didn't have any. And I took LOTS of pictures this month - tons! So then it came down to finding either a) something that would least displease voters (heh!) or b) something that *might* please a handful of voters. I went for the latter, as the score will indicate. (Note that I have a lot of pictures that *I* like this month, just not a lot that would score well here.)
I'm just kinda sorry I couldn't enter both this and my favorite pigeon shot of the month. This one has the street thing going on, with random folks (tourists, even) and shooting into the sun WITH flare (woo hoo!). But no pigeons. Couldn't get it all in one shot.
This is shot without looking through the viewfinder directly. Kinda held the camera up in front of me and shot about four frames while walking along behind this family and trying not to be too terribly obvious. It is also a nod to the Serendipity side challenge folks - I couldn't have lined up the sun or its reflection any better if I'd tried. And I liked the sun on the little girl's hair.
Anyway, 300 entries. I should quit now but probably won't. Unless this comes in sub-5... then I may have to. :-)
[Oct. 2nd, 2009 02:09:49 PM]
Well, I thought I was being funny with the sub-5 comment. Apparently I was not, as my score is current 5.1.
This makes me quite sad, actually. And truly does make me wonder why I try.
[Oct. 5th, 2009 01:39:20 PM]
Thanks, Paul, your comment does take away a bit of the sting! And to Magen, Mark, and Tim for the favs. Definitely helps take away the sting! (Oh, and Paul - I did straighten it whilst editing for the FS. Didn't like it as well so put it back the way it was.)
[Oct. 7th, 2009 02:58:07 AM]
Please don't tell me how underrated this is. It isn't. It is rated, and it is rated fairly by this audience. And that is fine.
Statistics
Place: 306 out of 400 Avg (all users): 5.3143 Avg (commenters): 8.5000 Avg (participants): 5.3365 Avg (non-participants): 5.2500 Views since voting: 1247 Views during voting: 248 Votes: 140 Comments: 18 Favorites: 7 (view)
I still love this shot. I love the long shadows and the wonderful way the sidewalk is lit. I love the hand-holding. Funny, for how bright the cross is, I never noticed it until I read the comments!
Unfortunately, I did not get this far in the voting process. I probably would have given it a 7 because, personally, I like sunspots and rainbow flares. The two starbursts are cool plus I love that little girl's fly away hair. Thanks for submitting this european slice of life photo :)
A beautiful capture. Congratulations on making 300 challenges. I love the flares/sunspots, the back lighting, and the most of all the emotion of this photo. Tilt is a negative for me, as is the prominence of the green pharmacy sign. One thing I have to say, Deb, don't change... we love you... look forward to seeing your next 300 challenge submissions.
If the child was not in the picture I don't think it would work. But with the child, the colors just add a bit of a whimsical appearance. Makes me think fun, happy, the world through a child's eyes. In my imagination it is almost as if when she puts her feet down she produces these little color bubbles and is just smiling at her accomplishment.
Deb, Deb, Deb! I remember voting on this shot and I guess I don't know why I failed to comment on this. I like this image because it's a great 'every day' scene on a bright sunny day. I gave this a 6 but it was the lens flare that stopped me from giving it a 7. What intrigued me the most was how bright the cross was on such a sunny day and the fantastic highlights on the little children's hair. Both of them. Overall, I thought this was a very nice shot.
I gave it a 6. I loved the contre-jour lighting and the tilt, and the kid is great. One thing I did not like much were the christmas colors of the glare, they stand out too much. I would probably just make everything sepia (it is almost sepia as it is already). Good shot regardless!
Deb, glad to see it stuck over the 5.3, although in my mind it should be more like 6.3 than 5.3. I love how you manage to see this type of image. Your timing is always so great. Please note the 2 10s, so you are surely resonating with a number of people.
Great immediacy. My first impression of the force of light, how it almost passes through the little girl and her red jacket; and of how soon this moment will be gone. About the tilt and possible stumble of a very young girl on the cobblestones in a very old city. She is the centre, this is her moment, precarious.
You are, have been, and always will be, one of my faves. This picture is perfect, IMHO. Please keep sharing your brilliance with us. You have a true talent, and you inspire me. So there. You have to keep shooting, and sharing. Because without your inspiration, I might cry. :)
So glad this climbed a bit more for you Deb, hang in there...you're a GREAT photographer but, just as I love my negative space shots (which don't always go down well here) you have a still which you enjoy and which I am sure at times will see you getting some cracking scores! {{HUGS}} :-)
OK, I'm going through the Free Study submissions, purposefully finding those images I think are shot with a less conventional eye - this is one of those images! Thanks for offering something that isn't just DPC friendly eye-candy (though of course there's nothing wrong with eye-candy). I'll be picking one of these images for my Mu (most underrated) award:
Positives: You're so right to title your image after these compositional elements for the sun is so key to the success of the image. Both directly and indirectly through the evening colouration and the elongation of the shadows. There's plenty of story here too - I really like the most distant child in near silhouette with the hair catching the light; I also like how (I think) I can tell that his / her top is blue.
Critical stuff: The tilt is driving me nuts a little, I think it would've been easy to straighten it and I can't see what would have been compromised.
Overall: A charming, simple scene which captures a straightforward slice of life very well.
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