Since influenced by Eric Mencher I have set myself a project of capturing shots on my iPhone whenever I go on walks etc.
Here's a few examples for review. I'd love feedback in general and any that catch your eye.
Critique is certainly welcomed if you'd like to put your skills of analysis to the test.
FYI - the pictures of the sailor statue were taken using the Average Camera Pro app, taking a series of 4 images with a 10 second delay between each to allow repositioning of the camera.
I think the first one is by far the best. The second one is excellent but I'm guessing because it's a phone, you can't bring out more detail in the dark areas. 3. The pattern around the base is great but too much sky, just cut it off above the statue head. 4. Someone looking at a smartphone? Ugh. Already cliche. Just cut it off above. 5. Nice composition and leading lines. Not crazy about "old style" imaging. 6. It just seems like most people here are really afraid of pure abstraction and experimentation (as opposed to trying something new for themselves. Just my 2 cents.) See my edit.
Thanks Charles, I appreciate you taking time to review and provide honest feedback.
I agree on #2. I am still trying to understand the limitations of the iPhone and hope to find ways of circumventing these kind of issues. I do like that composition so am planning on shooting with my DSLR.
On the smartphone shot, the intent was to capture the girl in the poster seemingly eavesdropping over the girl's shoulder. In this case your crop does not work for me, but a tighter crop from the bottom may well indeed work better.
I can understand your concerns about #6 but I don't feel the image is strong enough graphically to support the crop you propose, I'd love to hear feedback from others on this.
Again, I fully appreciate your feedback and am certainly taking suggestions on-board. Many of these may not justify any extra effort but I feel we are in general agreement with the first two.
These are great experiments with your iphone, Alan!
1). Love the mixture of colors, the opposing lines, and the perfect spacing of elements. Also something about the crispness of everything is spot on.
2). I appreciate the lack of detail and the strong colors (or lack of on the left) in this one. There's something about the crop though. I think just a teensy bit less on top maybe, but I'm not sure. My eye goes straight to the blackness just left of the yellow first then hovers there a bit too long.
3) & 6). Not sure why I don't like these 2 very much. I'm thinking it has to do with the perspective. Maybe if it taken from a different angle. #6 just about got it right. Maybe that's what Charles was thinking too - a different perspective?
4). Absolutely love this one - the old time filmy feel and the color; and the story is fantastic!
5). I like how all the motion, the lines, and the composition is directing outside of the photo to the left. All the elements came together just right for this to happen. It really feels like motion in a still photo!
Thanks for your feedback Jen and taking the time to not only review the images but respond in such a thoughtful way.
#3 & #6 are basically the result of an experiment to see if the 'in the round' technique can be used with the Average Camera Pro iPhone app. What proved interesting in this was the ability to overlay an image onto the previous result before the next shot was taken (I had a 10 second timer set between shots to allow time to move and align images).
Considering a mobile device as a REAL camera takes a bit of a change in mindset, but doing so brings so much freedom.
I realize that I had forgotten about your F.Y.I. in the post - now I get what you were doing ... so you're saying the ACP app actually did the overlaying of the images? I'm looking at the sailor now with this in mind now, and that's pretty amazing ... the camera is just an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera ....
Yes. ACP allows you to take a series of images with a delay between each one.
After the first is taken you can view it plus the overlay of the next shot and so on until the series is complete.
It’s fun to play with.