Heresy!!

Hi there,

So it's black & white, it's very contrasted with little detail, there's vignetting, blown-out highlights and no details in the shadows, the subject is not only out of focus but suffers from motion blur, it's the opposite of panning as the setting is sharp yet the motorbike is not, used a highly inappropriate slow, wide lens (10mm f/4), and yet -

I somehow like it.

Reason for which I'd be very curious to see what you guys have to say, and it's okay if you think it sucks, just tell me why.

Cheers

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Not for me..

I liked the shadow of the bike more than the subject. I think because the background is blown out and the subject is blurry, I had to really try and find the motorcyclist's head and helmet. It blended in with the background.

I like the retro feel to it but that bike isn't retro. Personally, it would've been more pleasing to me if he was riding a Harley or something but I think that's just more of my aesthetic needs.

I like the idea and I think it's worth trying again with a different subject.

ecce_lex wrote in post #11658146
Hi there,
...
I somehow like it.
...
Cheers

That's all that really matters! But for whatever it's worth, I kind of like it too. If I were going to change anything at all, I would clone out those two big stems of grass that extend through the shadow of the bike and up into the road. (A perfect job for content-aware fill.)

Thus...

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I like it too. I don't mind the subject blur much as it give a sense of motion. In addition to taking out the two blades of grass I'd see about taking out the power lines/towers too.

Great shot!

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it.

Very true what was said concerning the clash between old school feel to the picture and the modern bike. However, it's them who decide what they ride

Content aware thingie - yes, was actually planning to try it out on those bits of grass. What you did looks perfect. I'll have to play with it myself.

It's true what Rimmer says. As long as you like the photo, that's all that matters. In the end, it's all about what you got out of the picture. I think a lot of people lose focus on that.

Since this is Critique, I have to say, with respect, that I don't like it.

It's an interesting technique worth revisiting.

I'm with Rimmer but also clone out the contrail at the top.

I like the perspective & tones, but the power lines are really distracting.

I like this image. I think the power lines provide something to the image, like it's the streaks of the movement. I used to really take to heart all the nitpicks said of my images on this forum, it really messed me up. I was becoming too concerned about the shadow detail, the blown highlights, all the rules you mentioned that were broken in your initial post. I've seen plenty of images that didn't break a single "rule" but were extremely boring images. Plenty of acclaimed iconic photographers would probably be nitpicked to death on this site because of lack of shadow detail and blown highlights etc. </mini-rant>

Nice shot.

I like the composition with the rider framed to the right instead of giving him lead room and framing him to the left as some people do with shots involving moving subjects. That plus the motion blur gives the subject a sense of speed. At what shutter speed was this shot taken?

Thank you for your feedback.

Powerlines: I think they go well with the framing and the distorsion of the lens. They make a nice angle with the edge of the grass on the lower left... and the biker is perfect in between - geometrically speaking.

Grass and contrail - yes, they need to be removed. I'll get to it.

The shadow is indeed cool.. maybe better than the photo as a whole lol.

Just for the story, these guys went sooo fast it's unbelievable. Taking photos on those narrow country roads, in a bend, is very very dangerous. They are oblivious to anything but their engine, and they WILL run you over.