[TIM]

Hey guys and girls, first of all, happy happy, and may 07 be a great year for everyone!

I was lucky enough to go to mozambique (a country to the east of South Africa that was ravaged by a civil war until recent times, and is slowly trying to revive it's tourist industry) for my new years holiday! We had an amazing time! Although the infrastructure isn't very advanced at all, and a capable 4 wheel drive is a must, the natural beauty, and the friendliness of the locals makes it all worth while. Never mind white beaches that stretch as far as the eye can see, flanked by lush tropical forest on the land side, and crystal clear blue sea water on the other.

This will be the first of a couple of photo's I'll put up here, the angle/crop/and border really aren't my normal style, but I think it looks really nice, and would love some thoughts...



Higher resolution here - http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/3...0e4176fc_o.jpg

[Gary Bagshawe]

Hi TIM, cracking shot but I would have liked to see it a normal shot, just my humble opinion.

[TIM]

Thanks gary, i'm looking for humble opinions...

[stepheno]

Well that looks just like a nice sandy beach flanked by blue seas and skies and lush vegetation Seriously, I like the shot and, like Gary would like to see the original.

[Rob Barron]

Interesting idea and ordinarily would have no probs with the angled shot except that there is rather a lot of black surrounding this which is diminishing its impact. The thing is, the picture is of the footprint trail going off into the distance. Let's say the trail goes 50 feet, in this picture that 50 feet is compressed into a vertical space of about 2 inches. Now, were this footprint trail going from corner to corner diagonally it would emphasise the length and even allow for the footprints to be sharp and clear at the start, fading off itno the distance. Because the sun was so low when you took this, the shadow of the sidewalls of the footprint are so long they go right across the footprint. Basically, we ASSUME these are footprints because of the context and the title but we can't really see that they are footprints as such as the mix of print, sand depression and compression to the sides and long shadows is making them less distinct. The thing is, in this picture, the first two prints are really the main subject for the eye to focus on as there isn't anything else other than to fade off into the BG.

On a side note, I always feel bare footprints feel more natural for this type of shot rather than shoe or boot prints.

The shot itself is good with strong focusing and an attempt to get the trail to an angle and frankly I applaud your attempt to do something a bit different so well done

Cheers,
Rob

[Soupdragon]

The shot itself is basically faultless.
I am not sure about the framing though.

[sweet_sac]

I really like the shots, but not the framing! Can we see it without the frame please tim?

[skipper954]

Nobody seems to like the framing here, including me.

I think this would have been a better shot in landscape orientation, emphasizing the loneliness of the single stepper in the vast area of the sand. And in this case, perhaps a higher shooting angle would show the distant steps better.

skip

[Angela]

No, the framing doesn't do it for me either....I think it is quite harsh for what is a soft scene and it distracts from what is a cracking photo.

[Markulous]

Another vote for the pic - but against the border
(And for the explanation!)

[daveyuk]

Agrees with the other guys cracking shot, but I'm not all that keen on the presentation as I find it some what distracting with the large amount black around the photo.

[dwramynydd]

Sorry Tim...but I'm another going with the "great shot, not so great presentation" camp!

Gwyn

[TIM]

Ok, fair enough, will remove the frame and post it soon as i get a chance.

Too explain from my point of view, the photo is intended for my website, I wanted it to capture the feeling on the beach that afternoon, and I felt the frame made it look like a window too our holiday. I understand the complaints though, and will improve it.

Rob, i think viewing it at a higher resolution will solve most of the problems you have, there is a hell of a lot of detail in the shot that is lost at 200k.

Skipper, in my opinion a higher angle destroys the feel of the shot all together, detail in the sand is lost, the angle looks more normal, and thus gives the shot a snap shot feel.

[Rob Barron]

Yup, it is very possible Tim. The compression effect does take away detail and quite often markedly so. However, can I just make a suggestion on that? Utilise as much of the file size space as possible. In this case you compressed it to 89kbs which is less than half (or compressed to more than double the amount!) the size allowed of 200kbs.

Anyway, interesting work and look forward to seeing the version without the black. i do think this will look good on your website though, especially if you put it on a black BG so the angled photo is the only thing seen. It would look good in that way i feel.

cheers,
Rob

[TIM]

Originally Posted by Rob Barron

Yup, it is very possible Tim. The compression effect does take away detail and quite often markedly so. However, can I just make a suggestion on that? Utilise as much of the file size space as possible. In this case you compressed it to 89kbs which is less than half (or compressed to more than double the amount!) the size allowed of 200kbs.

Anyway, interesting work and look forward to seeing the version without the black. i do think this will look good on your website though, especially if you put it on a black BG so the angled photo is the only thing seen. It would look good in that way i feel.

cheers,
Rob

Thanks for the crit rob. The angled photo is all thats meant to be seen.

Too be honest, I upload a high quality 800 pixel wide version to my flickr, and since that is too big for here, i use the 500 pixel wide version flickr offers me automatically. So maybe my lazyness can be blamed...