[Rainer.]

Silhouette

Kinda like the iPod commercials before they jumped the shark.

__________________________________________

Rules:

1) Photo must be taken in this time frame. No digging up old photos.

2) Please post entries either as a jpeg attachment or as a thumbnail no bigger than 500px wide with a link to the larger version if you want.

3) We will not exclude images based on conforming to the rules, but keep in mind that one of the things the image will be judged on is how well it shows this week's challenge subject.

4) To keep this thread simple and clean, if you don't want to enter and just want critique before an official entry, post it in the designated photography critique thread, not here. You can however discuss the subject or any entries here if you want.

5) You are encouraged to share your camera settings, shutter speeds, aperture, etc., but EXIF is not strictly required
__________________________________________


Here are the entries (in no particular order). Voting should be based on technique, creativity, and how interesting the photo is while within the challenge's criteria. Voting will be open for one week after this posting, and the winner will be able to choose the next challenge. Voting for yourself is discouraged.

Rainer.


sKaRoCkS


dogfood


Here-am-I


Jump5fan


Purple Girl


Emo_Rachel


FTS


tht00

[FTS]

This was a tough one for me. It was either between Jon's or Rachael's. I think Rachael's is fantastically quirky with a fun subject, but Jon's, for me, was more visually interesting, had a bit more impact, and I really liked the colour. But like I said, it was tough to choose. Here-am-I's was a close third for me as well.

Of course I have to qualify all this by saying this is all my non-educated opinion

[PatrickStar4491]

I chose Jon. This one just stood out most to me. Great job!

Rachael... your's was a really close second. I love the creativity. The unusual subject makes it stand out to me. Great job as well! (In fact, if I could change my vote, I'd probably choose yours now )


By the way, what happened to allowing us to vote on two entries?

[Rainer.]

Originally Posted by PatrickStar4491

By the way, what happened to allowing us to vote on two entries?

That's generally saved for contests with more than 10 entries. This one, not quite there yet.

[Art]

I have to say, this one was absolutely no contest for me, and it really surprised me.

FTS's picture is just amazing.

The other ones I really like are Jon's (Of course), and Rachael's. Rachael's I really think of a lot more as simply a great picture, as opposed to a silhouette picture. And I want it hanging in my kitchen.

[Purple Girl]

I voted for Rachael's. I love it! Jon's was a close second for me and Rebekah's is a close third. :]

[natedawg5280]

I voted for here-am-I's. It's one of those shots I just sorta loved at first glance and fits well in the competition.

[Pre-Ex-Girlfriend]

I have to admit that I got the idea for the picture I took from the screensaver belonging to a girl in one of my political science courses years ago. It was a pear (and not a silhouette) though. So it's borrowed creativity.

I voted for Jon's picture because it's just great and I think it fits the theme the best. I love the way the light seems to bend along the ground as well. It's beautiful!

[Ordinary Sarah]

I'm going to take a stab at critiquing this time. I voted for Here-am-I.

Rainer.

You know, the silhouette is beautiful and the deep colors are beautiful.... I love the texture of the sand.... but I really, really wish the kid's head was not crammed up there in the top of the frame. I feel like this just might be a pet peeve of mine, but I felt like that little issue took away from the rest of the photo for me. I can see why you probably did that, to put more emphasis on the shadow... but I still would like to see more space above his head. Juuuust a bit.

dogfood

I really liked this one. It was one of my favorites. I like the colors, and the movement of the cymbals a whole awful lot. I didn't vote for it because I thought the only bad thing was that the cymbals are too centered in the frame. I would've liked to see them up a little more, with a little less space on the top and more of the stand showing. I also think this would've worked better to raise them up or lower them in the frame because, if you notice, there's a hint of that lever down in the bottom right corner.... but you don't have enough of it showing for it to be part of the composition, and not enough hidden to make it go away.

Here-am-I

I really love this one. I loved it when I saw it the first time. I think the colors are gorgeous, and it's a unique take on a silhouette, with all the glowing lights inside those buildings. That really, really makes the picture for me. Not to mention those colors compliment the color of the sunset beautifully. The only thing I thought was lacking was that, again, your sense of horizon across the top of the buildings is almost smack dab in the middle. I would've wanted it to be offset a little to achieve the rule of thirds.

Jump5fan

I really love the way the sun is glowing around the edges of the point in this one. You got that right on. However, I don't think the composition is all that engaging.... you may have benefitted from messing around with the colors a bit, since I don't know how much leverage you had with angle and what not?

Purple Girl

I think this one is interesting because you can't really tell what it is behind/below your feet. The colors are nice as well. Still not a very intriguing composition, though... but you definitely achieved the silhouette effect.

Emo_Rachel

This was also one of my favorites. I love the tonality and the textures. Great, great textures. This is just a really beautiful shot for its depth and tone and texture. It looks gritty and raw but also very elegant and appealing for some reason. However, I didn't vote for it because I feel that something is disrupting your balance and flow. I don't know if it's the placement of the onion, the angle you're getting, or maybe a combination of of a couple of different things. It just feels slightly off somehow. This is sort of a situation like Jon's however... this is probably just a personal preference here. Still, I think playing around with it a little more and you could get a really resounding angle on this.

FTS

I really liked this one as well. I think it turned out really great. Very unique, and I love the movement you caught. I don't know if you did that on purpose or not, but I'm going to assume you did since it seems to work for you. I don't really have a reason for not voting for this one except that I still thought Here-Am-I's was top notch still. You definitely would have been my second choice if I could've had one.

tht00

I like the colors on this one, but I think the fact that you are so far away and have so much negative space makes this look not very much like a silhouette at all, unfortunately. I'm not entirely sure, I guess, what I should be focusing on.... the sky, or the streetlight. And if I focus on the streetlight, it doesn't really achieve the effect of a silhouette, in my opinion.

[Rainer.]

I'd get my critique on, but Sarah did a good job.

Rachel wins... again!

Next!

[Purple Girl]

Originally Posted by Ordinary Sarah

I think this one is interesting because you can't really tell what it is behind/below your feet. The colors are nice as well. Still not a very intriguing composition, though... but you definitely achieved the silhouette effect.

Haha... I wasn't in it to win, it was just some playing one night. The background is my computer desktop. I changed it from a picture of friends to an abstract sort of background that came with my computer and decided to stick my feet in front of it. haha

[Pre-Ex-Girlfriend]

Was it not established that if the poser of the challenge won, the second place person would pose the next one? So shouldn't Jon be the poser now?

And yes, I used the word poser on purpose... Because I'm old enough to think it's funny.

[Rainer.]

I don't think that was ever established... Go ahead and do the next one unless you really want me to.

[Ordinary Sarah]

I don't think it was established, per se, but that's what we did last time because there were some qualms about it.

[Pre-Ex-Girlfriend]

Okay, well I have an idea, so I'll go ahead and use it. But if I ever win another one, then I'm all out!