Found two more swimming photos...

[timmyquest]

...that i liked

http://www.questphotos.com/december2004/whs01.jpg

http://www.questphotos.com/december2004/whs02.jpg

[eric1]

abit noisey Tim. swimming indoors is a lighting nightmare. i do like the shots though. maybe you could do some noise reduction. these shots would make a good test for something like neat image or noise ninja.

[OneManArmy]

Don't really care for them much... don't know why, just nothing special, can't see much, and some noise.

[timmyquest]

The more i get into the paper the less i worry about noise.

I walked in there today and i got praise from the staff for my swimming photos. They all loved how sharp they are.

These are a bit noisey though for sure. ISO 1600 i think...eventually i gave in and threw a flash on the camera.

I'll play with Neat image just to apease ya guys though

http://www.pbase.com/timmyquest/whs_swimming

thats all of em incase you missed the few that i posted a while back.

[drisley]

TQ, I'm with you. The noise really isn't that bad, and won't really be noticable in print.
I kind of like a little noise in sports shots. Just like the old days. I think we are all too spoiled when it comes to noise now that we have these fancy new DSLR's.

[gmen]

Yep... noise is noise... which is perfectly acceptable in newsprint. The shots do look like they have been cropped a little too much to me.. but again, that'll work just fine in a paper.

More worrying is the spelling of the word 'anual'.. oops... annual please!

[Mills]

I like the "bubble" effect of the water over the swimmers head.

[JX]

TQ, no offense, but they are average. I am swim coach and was also on a swim team for 12 years. Your football photos are very good because you know the sport. My suggestion would be to go to your local library and check out some videos on competitive swimming stokes. Invest an hour or two watching the videos, take some notes, and then go shoot another swim meet. I will bet that you will see a big difference next time you shoot a swim meet.

[timmyquest]

TQ, no offense, but they are average. I am swim coach and was also on a swim team for 12 years. Your football photos are very good because you know the sport. My suggestion would be to go to your local library and check out some videos on competitive swimming stokes. Invest an hour or two watching the videos, take some notes, and then go shoot another swim meet. I will bet that you will see a big difference next time you shoot a swim meet.

Considering i'd never done it before...i'd agree with you. It was the first time i'd ever done it.

And, although i'm not saying my other shots are best, i hope your not basing this reply on the two images i've posted.

Oh, and i'm redoing the sig tonight, i'll make sure and speel et ull rite

[JX]

Timmy,


I have read a lot of your post, and seen a lot of your work. Your work is very good.

[timmyquest]

Timmy,


I have read a lot of your post, and seen a lot of your work. Your work is very good.

Well, thanks a ton if you really mean it (not saying your being sarcastic, just dont want you to think i cant take a good 'ol critique). I was just hoping you saw all of my swimming photos. :cool:

[maderito]

Timmy,

We're not viewing your the newspaper version of your photos. I frankly find the "noise" quite objectionable. What you are calling noise I think is a combination of noise, low resolution (pixelation), blur and possibly poor focus.

Are these crops? Are we looking a low resolution, noisy images?

Have you sharpened them - that is, are we looking at sharpened noise? High ISO noise usually looks OK at the image sizes you're posting.

Why is the white balance so far off? That has nothing to do with noise, unless you are picking up noise instead of real image data when using an eye-droppers to correct white balance.

I can't identify a plane of focus on the images - so there must be motion blur or camera shake. Most pools have very suboptimal lighting. Are we looking at images with slow shutter speeds? Was your AF thrown off by the water spray?

And finally - what's wrong with a bit of Neat Image or Noise Ninja (not overdone) for your web posts.

I think I know you well enough to offer these comments with the belief that you'll accept them constructively.

[JX]

Yes, Timmy, I took a look at your new site. You have some excellent photographs posted. One that I can remember is the Basketball photo "theft".



Just try my suggestion go to your local library and check out some videos on competitive swimming stokes. If you know the mechanics of the strokes you will be able to anticipate the head and body position of the swimmer.



In one of your posts from the other day, you pickup on the fact that a good freestyle swimmer will alternate which side he takes a breath. That was a very good observation. The more insight you have the better your pictures will be.

[timmyquest]

Just try my suggestion go to your local library and check out some videos on competitive swimming stokes. If you know the mechanics of the strokes you will be able to anticipate the head and body position of the swimmer.


Well thanks for the advice. It's a good idea, may be a decent idea come track season too.

[timmyquest]

I think I know you well enough to offer these comments with the belief that you'll accept them constructively.

Part of the reason i hadnt posted them initially is becuase they were under-exposed, high ISO images. But after looking at them again, i decided that i liked the content. I try not to be a "pixel peeper". Thats not to say i cant apreciate.

As for for the noise reduction software. I dont use it because noise doenst bug me anymore. It takes time out of my life for something that really doesnt matter to me. And typically, it takes away from the image. In this instance you lose much of the distracting noise, but i also feel it makes the images look too digital. But as promised, here they are

http://www.questphotos.com/december2004/ni1.jpg
http://www.questphotos.com/december2004/ni2.jpg

[maderito]

Well you've made your point. These imges don't handle well with noise reduction. They look too glassy/plastic. I think the problem goes back to the original image - motion blur, maybe focus, maybe resolution, and the general challenge of capturing images of swimmers bathed in water.

Among sports, swimming would rank high on what I'd like to shoot (beautiful action) but low on what I would try to shoot because of the very difficult conditions and my very limited knowledge of the sport.

[timmyquest]

Well you've made your point. These imges don't handle well with noise reduction. They look too glassy/plastic. I think the problem goes back to the original image - motion blur, maybe focus, maybe resolution, and the general challenge of capturing images of swimmers bathed in water.

Among sports, swimming would rank high on what I'd like to shoot (beautiful action) but low on what I would try to shoot because of the very difficult conditions and my very limited knowledge of the sport.

Like i said in another thread, when i got there and saw how dark it was, and how wet it was, and felt how hot and humid it was i thought "Man, i dont wana be here". But when i got home and starting seeing the possibilities i was hooked. I cant wait till they "make" me do it again :cool:

[eric1]

hi,TQ. i didn't mean to imply that your shots were too noisey. i just wanted to see how that type of shot would handle NR. thanks for the samples.

eric

[timmyquest]

hi,TQ. i didn't mean to imply that your shots were too noisey. i just wanted to see how that type of shot would handle NR. thanks for the samples.

eric

I know, i mean...dont get me wrong, they are too noisey. It just doesnt bother me as much as it may others.

[MilesG]

dont really appeal to me but they are really noisy