Assembly

The Principal has a slightly noisy bottom. In my haste I'd failed to adjust the ISO from the 800 I'd been using the night before. But it's possible that the high ISO contributed to the way the kids were rendered, which I like.

The way the kids are lined up looks a bit like barrel distortion, but it must be just the way they were standing as it was shot at 70mm.

Shot with the K20D + DA17-70. I have to say I'm liking this lens more and more (see other thread in lens section) - it seems to improve with age! This shot is wide open @ 70mm & ISO800.

C&C appreciated, as always.

Just looked at this again and realised that people are going to wonder what I'm going on about re. the noisy bottom and rendered children. As this version looks quite different to the original 4,800 pixel one. Hadn't spotted this yesterday - was in a rush to post this and my lens threads before going to pick up my daughter from a party, and I thought it appeared like this just because it was showing a smaller sized image. But looking again the re-sizing has really sharpened up the kids and the noise has gone.

If anyone knows how to re-size while keeping bokeh character and sharpness, please let me know in the thread I've started here link.

Well for me this lacks a focal point noisy bottom or no. I'm not sure what I'm meant to be looking at (no officer I am not looking at any children here, no, not me it's his bottom I'm looking at). As always there's huge interest in looking at a gang of kids as every face is different, every expression different but that wasn't your intention.

You've cut off the principal's feet which everyone seems to think is a jolly bad thing and probably is. The blue posts have reacted unfavourably to something and glow a bit.

So I've broken your duck but not very helpfully!

Mike

Thank goodness, an opinion!

Interesting what you have to say, Mike - and I assume this is representative of forum members given the absence of feedback (but not views). Though I'm not sure why someone has taken so long to say so. I mean there's no shortage of ropey photos posted here - attracting both negative and positive feedback. Perhaps I'm going to have to be nastier in my own comments in order to encourage others to be more forthcoming when I post a dud.

Having said that. I actually don't think this is one (yet:lol. And in the hope of drawing further commentary (from you or others) I'll address your points:

I think the focal point or points are fairly obvious. The teacher first (and not his bottom - my eyes go the head and torso first), followed by the interaction between him and the kids. And of course the kids and their postures etc. are an integral part of the image which I would expect the viewer to dwell on. As for cutting off the feet - I thought general opinion was that chopping limbs is bad at joints, which I haven't (though perhaps could have gone a touch higher here). But the lack of feet doesn't bother me here. The blue posts - these were really not something that jumped out at me before your comment. Having been sensitised to them now I find it a bit hard to assess - but you may have a point (though this is easily dealt with).

Anyway, critical or otherwise it is good to read someone elses' assessment (other than Tim's Flickr post). And thanks for saving me the ignominy of a photo post totally devoid of any response!

By the way, can I now claim the 'indifference record' of 143 views without a response - though it could have been up to 149 (as when I looked at your response the number of views stood at 150). Beat that Pentax Users!

I agree about where the eyes go.

Cutting off limbs - you could be right although with missing feet you do wonder what was so awful that they were left out

Gee I think I can beat 150 views no comment - not on this forum but on another where I delete them if they are met with blank indifference. As you say getting a negative response is better than no response.

I think the problem is that there's nothing wrong per se so it's hard to offer anything constructive. I find a lot of my shots drop into that category. Also I think people are hesitant to be the first. After Bob commented on my headstone some more followed. I have no problem commenting and equally have no problem with being wrong and having it explained to me why I'm wrong which makes life easier!

Asking for the impossible if you could see the guy's face then it would work a whole lot better. But that is physically impossible.

Mike

I'll jump in again, if only to provide a positive opinion for the people who don't visit Flickr.

I really liked this photo. The main thing is the cross shaped formed by the line of kids and the teacher. I generally like geometric shapes in photos and this one is great. It's been nicely offset too so neither line is too central. The deep contrast really emphasizes that for me. The teacher is also wonderfully sharp, this is much more apparent at the larger size. And the gang of kids gives me a real sense of impending action. We all went to school, so we know what's going to happen as soon as the teacher finishes talking (there'll be an explosion of activity, for you home schoolers reading this).

Yes, the image is slightly noisy around the guy's khakis, and some of the kids (see the girl in the unusual ragged trousers), but for me this isn't a problem at all. The blue pillars don't worry me either, although I think the pic would have been slightly improved without the two adult ladies intruding on the kids' space.

Firstly - how do you find out how many people have looked? I see it in the gallery, but not elsewhere?

As for the photo, I agree with Mike. No chopping off of limbs (joint or not!) unless it can't be helped, which I assume is not this case. The main problem I have is that I'm not sure what this is a photo of. Therefore it doesn't engage me. Looking again though, I can see a case for a small crop of the top right corner (to the left of the teacher, just below the pupil's feet.) Some of the kids are staring to the right (their left) and the teacher is also going that way, so that could suggest something...

Otherwise, in a dud/no-dud vote it gets dud from me I'm afraid! (Good to see you make the point though, and I do think we could all be a bit more critical sometimes, although I think the nature of the internet forum tends to mitigate against that as it is soooo easy for people to take offence!) I look forward to the next one.

Tony

Forgot to mention that I also like the way none of the kids are looking at the teacher, except possibly that blond girl in the red trousers on the right. That might make an interesting follow-up project Mhuni - greyscale everything except that girl and the teacher.

Back in the 'Your Photos' forum list, you can see the number of replies and number of views.

Thanks Tim!

Well, let me chip in my view first of all.

Not sure if the image is just for experimental/technical purpose or it was taken due to some interesting aspects of the moment. I assume it must have been due to the second reason because of the title, I suppose, in which case I am afraid it doesn't hold any interest for me. But please do not take this the wrong way, as you are quite aware I am not really good at evaluating artistic stuff, and I have seen before your ability to really capture great and attention absorbing images. And also having just stepped into the art of photography I am still learning the ropes, including learnng to extract hidden beauty or may be not so hidden from what we generally see. I do miss lots of things although I am learning now and been improving.
So the image really doesn't hold my attention from that perspective.

Looking at it plainly the first thing that gets my attention as you well mentioned is the principal's backside, may be because its slightly dark or perhaps because he is bang in the center. But another thing that immediately calls my attention is the ground right underneath him, slightly to the front. That dark patch of concrete right in front of him and with the trail slightly to the left really makes me imagine things , sorry I just can't help, its my imagination running wild but its what I see and notice immediately. Blame it on too many puffs of coloured smokes , but its how I see it unfortunately.

Then looking at the students it then becomes more intersting and I like the fact that the bunch of kids assembled always has interesting features, some looking distractingly to nowhere, others yapping with each other, the girl with the black dress on the right and pink trousers tying her sandals while the one next to her so absorbed at what the principal is saying, the left boy with the purple/bllue Tshirt hands in the short love that pose, then another girl in the pink top with a very easy modelling pose etc. These really absorb my attention, and probably I would like this image better if the image was captured slightly from the side so the principal's profile was slightly visible so as I would see whether he is just staring or right in the middle of a talk addressing a particular pupil on the right which I assume he must be doing as a few students on that side are all looking over to the right. Has someone being a handful? Or is it just something that he might said pointing to an object over that side? I would definitely like to have seen what the center of attention on that side was.

Well, that's all, and with regard to no comments on the thread from me personally, there could be many reasons, sometimes its just because I do not hold an opinion on an image if I have seen it and it doesn't strike to me either negatively or positively, which I take that its my fault as I am missing the tools (artistically) to extract something out of it, again positive or negative, so I leave it to others. Or could be just because I missed the thread. I am used to click the "RECENT ACTIVITY" tab from the drop down menu of FORUM and I like the layout of the page giving me the thread titles and the last commented member and first few lines of the comment, and this was discussed once between me and Martin and it seems by me using this system of updating might make me miss some new threads, but its something that I got used to and I like it, its just a shame it doesn't have a next button down and seems that its a much more reduced way of showing threads. I know some of the members use "NEW POSTS" but this is the way I got used to. And sometimes as I mentioned this could be also one of the reasons I could miss a few images in the comments threads, but usually I do like to give my views, provided it blinks a light up there in my neurons, positively or negatively as I said

Thanks

Blimey, I go away for lunch and all of a sudden the comments are coming in thick and fast (well by the previous standards of this post at least:lol.

BTW, this was written before Amin's post (had just pressed Preview Update and saw yours appear, Amin) - you make some very good points but if I respond to all the posts I'll be at it all day. Actually thinking about it maybe this is just me being evasive, because I'm not sure I can address your concerns very well! Anyway, I need to crack on in case (like London buses) the next time I press preview another post will appear! So here's wot I wrote earlier:

Tim's highlighted both of the things about this photo that I really like - the cross pattern (almost like a flag); and the fact that the kids are paying absolutely no attention to the teacher addressing them, other than the girl in red (nor are the teachers)! And I love the many different things the kids are getting up to instead of listening to the teacher - this is a bit like all the incidental detail you get in a cartoon away from the main action. All this is of course more evident when viewed large - I really like the shot on full screen. And in the original I do like the way the kids are rendered - quite smoothly oof but with enough detail to work out what they're up to (but you'll have to take my word on that as the image I worked on was a sharpened jpeg, so I can't do what JR suggested in my other thread to this image). I understand it isn't immediately apparent what exactly is happening but with the title I thought there are enough clues for the viewer to work that out.

Re. chopping feet - I couldn't avoid this without losing the composition. I was pretty close to the teacher. And, even if the composition wouldn't have been wrecked, I actually don't think inclusion of the feet would have improved it. I wouldn't say the teacher was the main subject of the photo, but instead the interaction between the teacher and kids, and to optimise this I think I would do the same again (but crop a tad higher). There would have been too much teacher with the feet - though a longer lens from further away might have made a difference, but this wasn't an option.

I take your point about the face Mike. I do have a shot with him looking to one side, but he's looking out of the frame and doing something funny with his legs.

I was only claiming the record for this forum!

Forgot to say - thanks everyone for all the feedback!

Dr Mhuni,

The only thing I can tell you is that I think you should be careful posting photographs of children without their parental consent.

In the UK, this is a serious matter, and working with kids, and often photographing events, I can only suggest you don't post images on the net without thinking about this issue.

Kindest regards,
Nathan

I understand your point, Nathan. But given the nature of this photograph - the children are in a large group setting, oof, quite distant in the frame - I wouldn't have thought anyone could make a serious objection to it.

Perhaps you're right in suggesting I should have thought about the issues you raise before posting - I confess I didn't. But probably the reason why I didn't was the same reason why I would still have gone ahead and posted: this isn't IMHO in any way an exploitative or provocative picture.

I understand you're probably making a legal point as much as anything and advising caution, but I'd be interested to hear your's and others' views on this.