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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 79: Rule of Thirds (with Purple) (Host: mlynn) >> Eligible: Rule of Thirds (with Purple) > enology
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22-OCT-2006 Michael Puff

enology

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
1/125s f/9.0 at 28.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Canon DSLR Challenge30-Oct-2006 17:32
I guess I came in late here too. Before I read the other comments, let me just say that it seems like a great idea to me and I like it. Jim H.
Canon DSLR Challenge25-Oct-2006 19:04
I like this - very interesting idea Michael. I'm looking forward to the reshoot - I know it will be terrific! CJ
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Oct-2006 23:33
Wow, lots of great dialogue going on here :). Like Phil, I'm afraid I had to research the word itself, as I wasn't familiar with it (as a suffix of sorts, yes, but not as its own word) :). Intriguing shot Michael; it makes me think of something like-- can't make wine without crushing a few grapes (or is that cake and eggs?--not sure). The only thing about it that I found somewhat unusual/surprising when I first viewed it, was the angle/volume of the stream shooting into the glass. But it does sort of create an interesting triangle of sorts. I actually rather like the mess at the bottom. I guess I'm not quite sure what I think, but that's not unusual for me:). --Melanie
Guest 24-Oct-2006 05:09
Thank you all for the terrific feedback and the time you've taken to write comments. It's really very appreciated. OK, so I'm getting the picture so to speak, it just ain't working for ya, LOL!

Traveller, nope, I wasn't going for phallic (this time) so yes, you've made yourself crystally clear obscure :-)

Lee, thinking over everyone's comments on my commute today, I reached much the same conclusion but it hadn't solidified as much as your thoughts. You weren't too harsh, I can handle harsh as long as it's honest and your comments (as well as everyone's) were just that...honest opinions. I really like your idea of introducing the human touch...lots of new visual images are coming to mind as I think about it. It's a grueling week ahead, but I'll try to squeeze in a reshoot before the challenge ends.

Whether I get the time to reshoot or not, I sincerely appreciate that y'all took the time to tell me that this wasn't really working for you. If I get the chance for a reshoot, your collective thoughts will certainly be taken into consideration. -Michael
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Oct-2006 19:17
LiLike Lee, I have also been thinking mightily on this image...and I think that Lee has defined a correct approach.

The problem, if a problem there be (this could well be the effect you are after), isn't so much the busyness but...to me, the grapes seem very phallic and the stream is too forceful...unless the grapes are representatively phallic, both of these elements are reinforcing my sense of the image. It is doing something and that something, to the general viewer, may not be what you intended. I trust I make myself obscure? (Smile)

Other than that....lol...this is a very interesting & imaginative take on the Challenge, excellently executed.

Best Wishes, Traveller
Guest 23-Oct-2006 16:33
Michael,

I have been thinking about this shot all morning. I hope I did not sound too harsh. I hope I can be so bold as to offer a suggestion to make it a winning shot. I think it needs a human touch. Maybe a hand squeezing the grapes and wine and grapes flying everywhere. Just a thought.

theFly
ctfchallenge23-Oct-2006 11:13
I have a little more time to define what I meant by busy. I thought the following elements did not add to the picture.

- drips
- fallen grapes
- spilled wine under the glass
- change of color between the background and foreground.

I hope that helps for what it's worth.

I also agree with others about the stream of wine.

I do think it was a cool idea and your photoshop skills amaze me.

theFly
Guest 23-Oct-2006 08:32
To my shame I had to refer to a dictionary...
I'm going to have to side with Chris on this - somehow it just doesn't fit together.
Michael, your usual PS skill is that you can take images and make the unreal real - it's not just the seamless way you create the images but the sheer "belief" that your images convey.
For this one, I don't get that - the stream of wine just doesn't appear to originate in the grapes (and nor do the drops).
I think many, many of us would be proud of this image - but I'm afraid (IMO) it doesn't hit your usual heights.
Phil
jnconradie23-Oct-2006 05:22
Michael, you are as creative as always and your PS skills amaze me. The composition is self-evidently carefully planned and the grapes provide more than sufficient purple. And it looks like loads of fun... and mess! :-)

If I may be to bold as to offer my few comments or suggestions. I can appreciate that you wanted to show the places on the bunch where those fallen grapes came from and thus the green "stems" on top, but when I look at it, if feels to me as if the bunch is upside-down, i.e. as if those fallen grapes should have come from the under-side of the bunch.

Secondly, the stream of "wine" into the glass stops before actually reaching the glass or the liquid. Perhaps it would have looked (even) more natural, if you could have placed the composites such that the stream was more connecting with the wine already in the glass?

Thirdly - and perhaps simply impossible to achieve? - would have been if you could somehow have managed to use a white (whiter?) surface, such that the background and the surface became virtually indisguishable. I am not too keen on the greyish look of the surface.

By now you know that I would not have bother to add comments or critique if it was not a great photograph to begin with, and I also know that you receive these comments in the positive and constructive spirit intended. Compliments and regards ~jnconradie
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Oct-2006 05:05
Michael, I agree that nothing is more valuable then knowing what others preceive of your work, that is what helps us all grow. As when I make a comment hearing yours, or others responses helps me to grow. Thanks for taking my comments in the light that they were meant. I will be curious to know what you are trying to say with this image at the end of the challenge.
Chris
Guest 23-Oct-2006 04:22
Thanks for the comments. I'll be honest and say that the image does not feel busy to me, in fact it feels very simplistic to me...but perhaps I'm entering a Baroque period. Each element in the image is there because I wanted it there. I won't expand on those elements since I'd like to see how others react. However, your impression is valued and I thank you for giving it honestly.

Yes, it is a composite but the grapes, wine glass, and background were shot at the same time. Only the pouring wine and wine drops were taken from a secondary image. Chris, perhaps what you are seeing with the grapes is a shallow DOF, focus point was on the stem of the glass. I know F9 seems like it should have sufficient DOF, but I probably should have gone to F14 or F16. Again, thanks for your honest impression and critique. While I know what I wanted to say here, it's invaluable for me to know what you perceive. -Michael
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Oct-2006 02:33
Not sure if these grapes are too young, or too old, to fill the glass while standing up, either way they are making a mess that their mother will not like at all. Okay, can you tell that I have two boys?

Anyway, I agree with Fly, I think that the drips and the "fallen" grapes distract more than add, if they weren't there, to me this would be much stronger. Also, the drops seem funny, and physically incorrect, they might not be, but still they are distracting to me. Is this a composite image? The grapes don't seem to be in the same focus as the rest of the image, I would think that they should be.
Chris
ctfchallenge23-Oct-2006 01:48
Cool idea, but seem a little busy to me.
theFly