Hi Cherl. I liked this photo, its a good billboard and your tank really fills up the frame. Its a good crop, you have nice sharp focus and a nice contrast. You used an ISO of 1600 and a shutter @ 1/4000 of a sec. Thats a really fast shutter and tanks dont move at high speeds so you could of gotten away with a 1/1000 shutter speed for this shot. Your photo is grainless and considering your high ISO, you have a really neat photo here. Your background could of been a little more interesting if there were no trees and just sky. However, you just cant move trees out of the way so you did a good job achieving good DOF (depth of field) and maintained strong focus throughout. When someone looks at such an amazing tool or vehicle such as this tank, it gets your blood pumping and would definatly motivate people to join the army, keep up the good work
ok, i am voting this challenge in 2 passes. in this pass, you will get a partial comment and a score. then i will come back to comment again. if you have any problem whatsoever with this comment, pm me and let me know. otherwise, take it with a grain of salt...i'm not trying to be a know-it-all, i'm just explaining where i'm coming from in voting this challenge. and, if this comment is NOT helpful (of if you think i'm full of $#!+), don't mark it helpful.
billboards are a science unto themselves. a lot of research has gone into determining just how much information a person can digest and retain in specific time spans. they use this information to develop formulas for determining the number of words and letters to use on billboards, as well as their sizes. they also determine the size and number of visual elements to include.
the graphics/photograph on a billboard are designed to get the point across in a moment. on the road, a driver will have less time with a billboard than a voter will give your image. this is a key element in the challenge: composing a shot that will get its point across quickly and succintly. along those lines, a strong composition will probably have few details and make strong use of negative space.
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ok, so you want to promote joining the army, and you want to do it on a billboard.
that being said, this image is also a great place to start figuring out what dpc is really all about. there are two things going on: improving your photography, and, if you want, learning how to compete in these challenges. these are not necessary the same thing, as evidenced by the number of great photographs and photographers that do not win ribbons.
as for your image. you have a dead-on shot of a combat vehicle. for all intents and purposes, this is a snapshot, documenting something that got in front of your camera. to make it more than a snapshot, you have to do something to make it interesting. shoot from a different angle, try to include interesting backgrounds and exclude detracting backgrounds. the key to a successful image is to have only elements that compliment the subject, not things that distract from it. you might could have made this interesting by climbing on top of it. the thing to do is to take advantage of your digital camera: it's paid for, so taking pictures only cost you time. don't just settle for a quick shot--try LOTS of shots.
which brings me to competing in challenges. challenges are what makes this sight unique in that everybody has to start from scratch, as opposed to raking their archives for a 'best of' type picture. as you peruse the archives, you can see the differences between the top 20% and the bottom 20% very easily. one of the biggest differences between the two is that the bottom ones nearly always come across as images snapped quickly in hopes of 'meeting the challenge'. it is very rare that images that are not thought out and worked out in advance do that well. yes, some people have the equipment to do things that the rest of us can't, but that doesn't mean we can't compensate by excercising our imaginations and pushing our skills.
another key is to really pay attention to the challenge descriptions, and to also check out the forum discussions related to the challenge before you start shooting. you might get some ideas for what to shoot, but, more importantly, you'll get a flavor for what voters are thinking. and, when you're participating in the forums, be patient...dpc is made up of a lot more new and upcoming photographers than veterans. in reality, we're all learning here, even the vets.
well, you've paid for a membership. i hope you use it to your full advantage. dpc has helped my photography tremendously, but it hasn't been without its bumps and bruises. i hope that it will help you get where you want to be, as well. good luck!
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