random photography (image heavy)

[luminous]

Like the random poetry thread...but not.

Take or see an interesting picture, or just like to look at them? Lesse.
Everyone welcome, critique if you ask for it.
Otherwise, this will turn out to be a boring "lumi wishes she were good at this" thread.

On with the show!
Most of these are part of my portfolio (for those of you who don't know, I try hard to be an artsy fuck and this is the result.)

















look closely!




















(san juan, my favorite city ever, in the nighttime)

[sylphish]

loved the park bench and the agro sex cat. at least, thats what i'm calling it from now on.

[sylphish]

here are some of mine..though..less arty. more fucking around with a camera-y.















(taken of the scenary across a river through the window of my train and the window of the train next to my train. clear yes? i do not like green eggs and ham, i do not like them, sam i am.)

[luminous]

the first train one is crazy!

i haven't been on one in forever. =/

[luminous]

oh, i forgot this one i took of my cat quite a long time ago- before i got heavily interested in photography, actually.
i lurve him.

[Samadhi]

I like the eighth one from the bottom, the porch or whatever. It took me a bit to grasp what it was and even look at the background.
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[Internet Stranger]

I dont see any boobs.
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"I didn't know she was your sister I swear!"
www.InternetStranger.com

[Samadhi]

I see one ^^^^
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And he lived happily ever after. Except for the dieing at the end and the heartbreak in between.

[luminous]

your mom's boobs.
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AntraxJ3: do we still get to cuddle?

[Vinny]

I see something else.

Those are really good, luminous. What camera do you use?

[luminous]

thanks, vinny.

all of those are taken with a nikon coolpix digital camera, for the digital part of my portfolio.
i do, however, have an enormous collection of b&w prints from various SLR cameras.

i'm getting a new SLR camera soon so...maybe i'll be persuaded to scan some of them?

[Guest]

I dont know. You're a pretty tough girl to persuade. Can you?

[Vinny]

FGTLI (forgot to log in).

Oh hey, where can that giant cock be found? Is that some art project or something?

[luminous]

it took me a minute to figure out what you were asking.

it's at the nelson. (art museum)

[Lepton]

Do you have a larger version of the picture with the birds flying?

[luminous]

yes, lepty, most def.
want one?
what size?

[Leptonn]

That picture would make for a very nice desktop wallpaper. However, if you have a large enough version, I might get it printed, pending your approval. Here's a personal favourite of mine:

[luminous]

bauhaha.
lepty, the original that i have is enormous. like...enormous like you wouldn't believe, because my digicam feels the need to make them so.

so just gimme a size you want and i'll mail it to you or summat.

[Leptonn]

Something in the 1-5 MB range would be ideal, if you don't mind.

I'll scan in some of my star pictures some time.

[Beartalon]

I playing around editing photos I grab from the net, usually from news sites. I don't have my own camera (next on my 'to acquire' list), but I like photos like lumi's, often zeroing in on the one aspect of a picture that is unique.

Today I was playing with color inversion. I inverted this mostly white picture, then reinverted the part I wanted to stay the same as the original - the face and hands. I think the effect is rather striking.

In honour of lumi's friend, here's the pope in white and black robes. The original photo is of him saying Mass on a very windy day on one of his tours.

[Neo]

Do you have that one in 1024x768?
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_{Ad Astra}

[i_h8_evil_stuff]

or maybe 1152x864 or 1280x1024?
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Space for sale. PM i_h8_evil_stuff for details.

[Mackay]

I have come into this thread so many times, and just left again, completely speechless. I know nothing about visual art, but I absolutely adore some of the photos that have been posted here. I like the ones that play around with light. Light and shadow. Uh-huh. But... I'm extremely unqualified to make any kind of judgement, I guess. Still - keep up the good work everyone, and post more! MORE!

My favourites:
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/dayinthelife/DSCN6032.jpg
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/photographs/biking/DSCN6369.gif
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/photographs/biking2/DSCN6441.jpg
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/rainy%20day/DSCN4296.jpg
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/photographs/omgthehood/DSCN4475.png
http://www.glpics.com/luminous/arggg/DSCN4888.jpg

http://www.glpics.com/katelin/throughatrain.JPG
http://www.glpics.com/katelin/reflections.jpg

Yup.

[Vinny]

The Pope is Merlin!??!?!?

[Lepton]

Four Favourites below. Text describes the picture below it.

Star Trails. Basically, you sit the camera on a tripod and hold the shutter open for a little while. The stars move through the sky, leaving nice curved lines on your film.


The sun was setting. (that's not my thumb, I swear)


The moon through the trees shortly after sunset.


The eclipse this past november. This was taken through the spotting 'scope on my school's telescope. There were a bunch of students that showed up invited, so I felt obliged to entertain them during most of the 5-hour event. Fortunately, they got bored and left after a while, but not before I'd missed the umbral portion (when the moon is entirely blocked by the earth and black/red)

[luminous]

kickass, lepty!

i especially love the third one- the color composition is superb.

and apologies to who i owe larger versions- i've been very busy lately and therefore have been incapable of getting those done for you guys yet.
BUT IT WILL HAPPEN.

[Lepton]

wow... those came out pretty pukey.
Anyways, I felt that I should mention that I use a Pentax K1000... available at your local garage sale for about the same cost as a roll of film. To do star trails, you will also need a shutter release, which will cost you about the same at a photo supply store. And a tripod, which you will already have if you do any photography, right?

[Mackay]

Wow, Lepty! Those are gorgeous. I particularly like the last two.

[sylphish]

lepton..the third one is soo hot right now =)

[Lepton]

bigger


more trails

[luminous]

snuh.
that last one is absolutely gorgeous.

more randoms-








(look closely ^)

[Beartalon]

The one quoting Jeremiah looks familiar - Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC?
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Shun the unbeliever... SHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN-NUH

[wordcross]

ooh, I have a digicam too, but it's the sux0r compared to most.

Still, beauty still shines through

Raleigh Little Theatre and Rose Garden:











That one flower is blurry because i hadn't yet found out how to do close up shots, but i still think it looks awesome
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Has anyone really been far even as decided to use even go want to do look more like?

[Mackay]

*droooooooooool*

[sylphish]

eeeeeeee!!! i loaf it!!! reminds me of winter in germany.
shiny =)

[luminous]

beart, nope. nothing so important.

actually...it's a hot springs spa in hot springs, arkansas. -_-

[Dr. Borodog]

WordX,

I recognized the Rose Garden before I read your caption.

FANTASTIC place to take a woman.
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You will respect my philosophai.

[Termital]

[puts on pretentious hat of all-knowing]

Lumi: OK, first of all, an interesting texture does not an interesting picture make, for more than 0,1 seconds anyway. Now don't get me wrong, holding someone's attention for that long in this day and age is something, but I'm not really sure that's what you want. Cases in point: Wet park table, sewer lid (though that one loses more points for the inevitable focus problems), harbour lights, bath hall. Some of them just seem to have nothing more to say than "ain't that a pretty colour/contrast?" What feelings would the private property sign and some shrubs possibly evoke? In the same category go "indigo sky" and "polka dot heart". I will not comment on the buildings and animals, because I have a soft spot for all building photos and a thorough hate of pet pictures. On the other hand, you seem to be getting the hang of shooting straight at the light, and all the moving water pictures have (different) character and actually use your love of texture for good. The people pics display some of your finest qualities- (old-fashioned) modernism and a humourous streak. A pic-by-pic commentary:


Padlock: If artsy fuck is the target this is rightfully first on the list. Lots of textures, lots of objects, no apparent interest in structure or colour, indecisive focus, trivial subject.

Water rushing around concrete: The exact opposite: lively, capturing the geometric beauty of the flow, a small eye-opener to common beauty in a japanese style.

"Rings, gravel and path": While superficially similar to #1, the ring alignment suggests a raison d'etre immediately. A cute little visual puzzle to decipher. Shadow in front not too good.

"Swamp": Great water surface - the innocent lighting conspires with the muddiness of the water and the tangle of roots and branches to suggest something lurking below the surface. A fine day at the swamp indeed.

"Web" could have been better, but you'd prolly have to go to some unstable and slippery spot to get another angle. Bonus points if you captured the web this clearly with one take.

"Statue sketching": If this was meant to suggest some sort of posture symmetry in statue and sketcher, it's only working enough to the extent that you notice that it isn't there.

"Street clock": Touristy pic. Shows how difficuly dark objects and lots of sky are to put together without lighting looking off. Would have looked better in a wider format.

"Lightbulb": Fun pic. Bulb looks great. It was hard to go wrong with composition here, but it's proper anyhow.

"Call me": Pictures with strong/unusual but implied action are always lots of fun, and so is this one. Nice catch/setup (whatever applies). Myself, I could have done without the spill, but I can see the argument for it enhancing the picture.

"Attack of the 50ft. Shuttlecock": Subject might be funny, but the pic isn't. Now if only somebody was holding a racket looking perplexed...

"Fruit stand": I kept thinking that this picture would win irony points if a kid was in the picture, perhaps smiling/ carrying a load/ juggling fruit or something. Nice shot, though again the sky washes out the top a bit.

"Burgers": The lack of people on the other side of the counter makes this picture look oddly static. Multiple light sources at wildly different temperatures and the dress similarity combine to suggest unease and perhaps tiredness. This one is very artsy and very good. This might look better with a horizon parrallel to frame (use counter for reference).

Vase, mail : Why did you shoot these?

"Yellow Rose": I can't quite put my finger on it. It's not focus, it's not colour burning but a ring around the centre of the rose looks odd to me. Maybe it's the similarity between colour of light and flower. I like it anyhow. I like pretty flowers. Were I there, I'd like to shoot it so that much more of the sky to the right showed. Were I there, you'd like to shoot me so that much more of my innards showed I reckon.

"Hitchcock": Classic subject, but classics become so for a reason. Birds don't contrast perfectly against building, but it's not like you could ask them to pose or anything.

"Joker's mild": A "game" that risks your life savings! A sedactive sign! Old people in drab shirts doing nothing but glaring at machines in a dimly lit room! Nice catch of a mostly inactive moment. Air brush out the woman in brown and the red woman's hand and it's perfect.

"Radisson": Perfect modernism. The best possible shot that wouldn't result in vandalism charges. Maybe the best of the lot.

"Southglen": Chameleons have independently focusing eyes. I don't. Same vertical axis or not, and much thanks to the road, the sign and shoes make for two attention focus points that fight each other to incoherency. Unless you're a dryad wannabe. [<-- (self-) mocking incoherency, dontcha know?]

"Grass tween cement": another classic compo. Ambivalence points for plant state.

"River S": Very very good indeed. Classic subject, proper composition, acceptable contrast and light level. I would have gone for a higher shutter speed to capture detail, but I can certainly respect the decision to make the water look more concrete, impenetratable and oh so very dangerous. I can almost hear this stream.

"Sick": Excellent subject choice, action, tricky but cool composition, proper colour palette, the works. Even without the IV visible, it would have been very easy to drive the point across. I would have been tempted to slightly fiddle with the colour of the bowl contents to make it stick out just a little bit more visible, but that's just because I can't leave good enough alone until I break it.

----

Sylphish: Well, I could nitpick the way I did with Lumi, but it seems that Sylphish holds herself to an amateur standard, so that wouldn't really be fair. I'm lying through my teeth here. I couldn't nitpick anywhere near as much cause, frankly, she could make money selling off a couple of these. They're more common and operate on a shallower and cooler emotional scale to be sure, but that doesn't alter the fact that this gal intictively knows when to pull out the camera and exactly where to point it at. Well, either that or she's excellent at separating the wheat from the chaff, which amounts to pretty much the same. I'm tempted to surf for evidence of plagiarism .

_{recent to post #8}
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_{Better ways to push & pull!}

[Mercuria]

hardly artsy, or unique, for that matter... but this was sitting in the bushes that line my porch when i got home from lunch, and it was so cute i had to take a picture. and then i didn't know what to do with it ;p



as a note, i wasn't trying to make it a portrait with the large aperture. i just didn't want to use a flash, and i don't have a very stable hand. but i like that it ended up that way, even if i just wanted a pic of the green bug in the middle ;p

and... the skin...



sorry for the focus issue... the mf on my camera leaves something to be desired =/

[extropalopakettle]