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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 24: photoGRAPHIC (Host: Olaf.dk) >> Eligible > Books*
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September 12, 2004 Susan Craig

Books*

Mammoth Lakes, California

Canon EOS 10D ,Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
1/350, f4.0, iso 400 hide exif
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other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 20-Sep-2004 14:33
Ah, Olaf, I was really responding to this point: "Had it been my idea, I would arrange the books more neatly"... where-as I would have made them *more* random! Phil
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Sep-2004 14:07
Phil with all due respect ;-), I did write: "the books are clearly arranged, but not neatly enough to be neat and not randomly enough to be random." --Olaf
Guest 17-Sep-2004 13:41
I have to admit my first reaction was "This has been put together specifically for the shot". Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but this just feels too ordered. Unlike Olaf I think I would have chosen a more random stacking, as if the books had just been thrown in a pile, perhaps with some showing not the spine but the page ends. Phil
Canon DSLR Challenge14-Sep-2004 19:01
OK Susan, glad it was well-received! - relieved actually!!! Please bear in mind, that what I write is merely one man's opinion, so don't look at it as an objective truth! You always have to be your own judge! --Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge14-Sep-2004 15:34
Olaf, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Your constructive comments are eagerly accepted. That is why I am here......to learn from everyone and maybe even help someone. (Someday anyway. I am pretty new and I am not sure how much help I can be......yet) I may just scrap this shot and re-enter. I took other shots with a longer lense. While I like this shot on one level, you are quite right about its potential to be more grapic. Susan
Canon DSLR Challenge14-Sep-2004 14:53
I commend you for coming up with this idea! The weaving pattern of the books definitely has some graphic potential. The close shooting distance here makes the perspective vary greatly from the bottom to the top book. At the same time the books are clearly arranged, but not neatly enough to be neat and not randomly enough to be random. IMO, that weakens the photo as well as detracts from its graphic potential.

Had it been my idea, I would arrange the books more neatly and frame more tightly. Then I would shoot from a greater distance to get a flatter perspective, probably from a either a higher or a lower vantage point as well - having the lens at the same level as either the top or the bottom book. I think that would yield a more graphic, calm and structured composition.

Can't really show you what I have in mind without shooting a similar photo myself, but I did try to crop your image just to get an idea of what a tighter framing might do: http: //homepage.mac.com/me2/.Pictures/Misc/bookstest.jpg (remove space after http:)

Hope this critique is well-received and you find it helpful - that is definitely my intention! --Olaf