[Don Schaeffer]

[Toad]

Critiques section, eh? Well here goes...

#1 could benefit from a more classical composition. The primary focal point is the center tree which is dead center in the photo. Cropping the bottom 1/6 of the photo would also help.

#2 has nice colors and a variety of things to look at. No clear focal point however.

#3 is the best of this lot IMO.Great texture on the tree and the 2D silhouette of the fence works really well with the lines of the siding. Well done!

#4 is interesting but, as you say, anti-scenic.

[Rufus]

Anti scenics. What a great idea, and you being so practised at it too!

[Cremetti]

Was that necessary? Perhaps though, you and Mr Schaeffer are friends?

[Don Schaeffer]

I love the pimpled and wrinkled

[Cremetti]

I love the pimpled and wrinkled

[Pavel]

Don, you asked for a critique and so here goes:

Every photo I take has an intent - a story I wish to communicate to the viewers. The story may be as simple as: "look at the backlit leaf, it is shining like a lightbulb" to a more complex like: "Newfoundland is a beautiful land which is tough, largely empty, windswept, poor and you have to be tough to make it there". Just like in a story, composition helps in communicate the message, the intent. Technical aspects are like grammar, spelling, choice of words etc. All these parts need to work together to tell the story.

Looking at your photos, I do not understand your intent. This can be as much my problem as yours, but I would argue that your composition does not help me in understanding your photos. Some of these photos seem to be a montage of several or a very rough post-processing as in number 3 and 4. The colors in 2 are off and I find them jarring. I do not know if it is intentional or not and if it is intentional, what did you try to say. If your intent was to show anti-scenics, as the title implies, I am not sure that you are accomplishing the goal. I think that an effective anti scenic needs to hold viewer attention for long enough to be turned off. I believe that to create an effective anti scenic, you first need to know what makes an effective scenic photo, have experience in producing such photos and than work in reverse.

I hope that the comments are helpful

Pavel

[Irma]

Hi Don,

#1
I quite like this one, to me it gives me the idea of neighbourhood and backyard... The trees in the way they are placed in the frame tell me that there is a line of trees just behind those houses... and I can imagine the view from those windows to the lined trees over the year. I have the impression that you took this one from the bus?... as such you did a good job showing this neighbourhood.

#2
I have no comment on this one.

#3
I like the way you worked with contrast here, or should I say juxtaposition? I like the light in this one, the bright wall and the dark trunk... the lines of light in the fence and the chaotic lines in the tree... I see it also as a very well balanced composition.

#4
The textures you have in this tree are really nice... I like very much your bw conversion, and the wall in the background works really nice. I like very much how the lines of the stones in the wall work in contrast with the texture of the tree....

[Don Schaeffer]

Thanks all. Actually, I rarely think about why a scene looks interesting. I just shoot it. This is anti-scenic, not because I am making a point, but because it's ugly vacant lots and old trees. I can't justify any of my pictures. They can all be tossed. I just like 'em.