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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Chains (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: Signs
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Location: Allamuchy, NJ
Date: Apr 7, 2007
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: auto
Shutter: 320
Galleries: Landscape, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Apr 8, 2007

 neat image. calculations to black and white, overlay of red channel on itself. levels to lighten it a bit.

===============
post-challenge:
thanks for great comments! the line on the left was unavoidable, as you might imagine. the OOF was a deliberate choice. since the shape of a chain is so iconic it comes through loud and clear even when it's OOF, especially when it's silhouetted like this.

as far as composition, I could have cropped in further but I couldn't have pulled back further. I went with this because I liked the shadows on the bottom. perhaps a different curve would have emphasized them better.

Statistics
Place: 81 out of 171
Avg (all users): 5.4808
Avg (commenters): 6.8000
Avg (participants): 5.2714
Avg (non-participants): 5.6512
Views since voting: 1062
Views during voting: 247
Votes: 156
Comments: 17
Favorites: 3 (view)

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AuthorThread
 04/20/2007 08:32:53 PM
Very interesting viewpoint, Don. And the title really drives it home. What a great way to flip the usual association with the weakest link.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/20/2007 02:15:53 PM
I agree with the crop and the shadows. One of the best entries in an otherwise somewhat uninspiring challenge - Purple hit most of the really cool stuff. I just like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/17/2007 08:49:51 PM
This is good man. Right up my alley.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/17/2007 08:23:23 PM
great you did good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 03:33:08 PM
Greetings from the Critique Club.

Fantastic photo. I gave it a 7 during voting, and having now been made to sit and think about it a lot more, I would have bumped it up a lot. I think it's too subtle to score well.

The photo seems reminiscent of 1930s Great Depression photos, it has that same barren feel to it. Combined with the title, this makes it seem like an outcry against the industrial revolution, with workers being trapped in conditions close to slave labour, and removed from nature and freedom. The OOF actually works fantastically for this - the viewer is drawn towards the far edges of the picture, but is frustrated by the chains and barriers in the way. Very strong symbolic value. On a similar note, I love the lines of shadow on the ground, which appear to make a cage, but then dissolve near the top right, as the viewer moves away from the cage, and further towards light and freedom.

Technically, I think the photo is very well done. The textures of the ground and of the plants in the background are fantastic. The B&W conversion is perfect. Yes, the line on the left is in the way, but that adds to the caged in feeling of the photo, I'm sure removing it would have gotten you higher marks, but imo wouldn't necessarily make the photo better.

Powerful and original. Well done.

Jelena
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 08:40:14 AM
Don, this is a cool shot. I like the gritty feel to it and normally, I would have wanted to see the focus on the chain and the background blurred but this works very well. I think this should have scored higer.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 07:47:17 AM
one of the best in the challenge, i like the title a lot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 07:02:51 AM
lovely image don. a slightly more off centre composition might have made the image a little more dynamic, but i like it aas is. the b/w is super - deep, rich and ture. well done.

fab title too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 06:45:42 AM
I like this, the moodiness and desolate feeling. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 01:35:24 AM
nod
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/16/2007 01:24:40 AM
WOW, the oof chain and the wonderfully desolate, lonely background are AWESOME!!! I'm sure there is nothing you could do with the shape on the left but still this so moody and just draws you into the image!!! This is very very cool!!! Love it!!! Should have done better than mid 5's. Great shot!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
04/13/2007 03:07:03 AM
in
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/12/2007 11:33:27 AM
this is very interesting, and I love the B&W. Wonder if it would have been even better without the dark shapes on the left & right ...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/12/2007 09:20:28 AM
This picture would have been PERFECT, if the line wasn't in the middle. Don't know if you could have avoided that or not, like the title as well, great job here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/12/2007 08:30:45 AM
My favourite of this challenge. 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/09/2007 03:56:33 PM
I like the chains OOF in the foreground. overall a good strong shot but not jawdropping. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/09/2007 03:28:08 PM
moody
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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