Feedback from Assignment 3

Received feedback on day returned from New York.

Plaesed that turot notes "commitment to the course" - it has been less easy now working four days per week and with marathon training (very disappointing that New York marathon was cancelled after all the preparation) but determined to maintain some momentum on the course.

Subject wise, tutor has noted the variety induced by choosing public places and places of work.

Kiev metro

Tutor likes the grainy black and white as emphasising the lack of modernization.

M Shed Bristol

More bright and cheerful, befitting a leisure attraction. Tutor comments that bus picture is very bright, noting that may be caused by composite image. This is true to a degree, as I selected the image from Photomatix that provided the richest colours, but alternatives were available. I take the point that perhaps the brightness of the green and red take the eye left and right. Here is the image less saturated compared to the original below:

Perhaps works better less saturated - not sure myself, rather prefer the richness of the original.

Silhouetted picture "works very well"; I thought this was the best shot of the portfolio, and actually one of the best I have taken for OCA work. I shall enter this in competitions. The composition is perfect with the people on the left, and the Matthew on the right.

Balloon is "very bright and busy"; the annual balloon festival in Bristol is indeed a bright and busy occasion, and tried to reflect that in the image.

Edge Equipment Hire, Runcorn

Images "work really well to demonstrate a functional place set out for purpose".  Again, pleased that the message trying to convey is being understood. Tutor looking for more clarity on the shot. Am I working with cable release or remote? No, not on these although do use remote sometimes.

The City Academy, Bristol

 Tutor queries sharpness of first shot and whether file size is issue. Answer, no, always shoot in RAW and convert to medium size jpeg for web. It may be a function of web.

Tutor likes library image but is "less keen on the the third image with students partially hidden behind over-hanign lights". Agree with that; I am usually meticulous with taking and choosing images with sound composition but actually did not take heed of the blocking nature of the lights in this case. It was a mistake.

Bonawe Iron Furnace

 Tutor prefers the second, non compositional, shot as "clearer, sharper detailon the itmes on display." Wonders whether images could "be a fraction lower". Let's see with second image:

The second image is as presented, the first has been adjusted to reduce white balance, brightness and vibrance. The first probably does look "truer" but perhaps less eye catching - to be frank, the scene was not particularly photogenic so I worked to make it so.

As a general point, demonstrated with this and the bus image, I like to be bold, to stretch the viewer's perception as to what is genuine and what is constructed. Freeman himself makes the point in The Photographer's Mind that people on the whole prefer vibrant colours. This may not be to everyone's taste, and certainly does not work in some images, but is my style.

One other point I note from tutor's point concerns sharpness of images, this was mentioned last time so is evidently a concern on some images. Two comments:

1.  I do not have very steady hands and consequently sometimes snatch the shutter button. One tries to mitigate but does not always work;
2. Despite this, it is not something that is frequently raised with my work - not at all in TAOP and not in feedback from competition images. I weed out images that are clearly not sharp enough to use and post process nearly all images for sharpness.