Sometimes it is not all about the sharpness and lack of noise

[Rassie]

As we, myself included, obsess over image sharpness, feather detail, seeing every eyelash, minimizing noise and if our camera/lens combinations are producing images up to par, a photo sometimes comes out of our cameras that we like in spite of its lacking in all those other attributes. This is one such photo. 99% of the time I would toss an image like this without giving it a second thought. It was shot well after sunset, ISO 12,800, at 1/1600 second (don't ask I had been shooting short eared owls in the field a few minutes earlier and didn't even think to reduce shutter speed when these deer walked by). I shot it more as a way to remember the end of a very enjoyable day out in the fields.

However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked the way the layers of winter colors lined up, the dark shadows of the deer and the noise gave it a Pointillist kind of look like a Paul Signac painting. I don't know, but there is something about the photo that I like in spite of its lack of fidelity, excessive ISO noise and poor lighting. I guess it's not always about the perfection of the image as much as it is about the perfection of the experience.

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.
View attachment 76275

All my life I was very set in my ways in terms of images or paintings that I hang on a wall. And if it was not a true to life and realistic image, in my view it was no good. Eventually I started to realize that some people hang things on a wall not because of it realistically depicting a scene, but rather to occupy a bland, open space on a wall. Example here is some of the really strange and surreal images I often see on the walls of hotel rooms. So I eventually came to understand that a frame with coloured blobs , squares or lines in it often serves a purpose as part of he decor.

I see this image as something that has good potential to enhance the decor in the right kind of setting while hanging on a wall. If not too severely cropped already this one can be printed large, framed and hung. It's the kind of image that makes one go back and stare at it a few times. I would not delete it either. Someday you may very well find its rightful spot on a wall.

One of my wife's favourite expressions is "The teacher comes when the student is ready"......

 

[Kjellis]

I had the same reaction to this photo taken recently. The geese I was trying to follow were too far away but I like the overall look of this photo.View attachment 76386

My thoghts if you don’t mind. The first thing I noticed is that the picture looks crooked. But the image has some other quilities when I began to look at it, such as beautiful sky, the swans and the bird sitting on the top of that tree (or do you call it a bush?). Is it a bird of prey?

 

[Woodpecker]

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.

KEEP IT.

For me - and admittedly I sometimes also belong to the people digging deep in terms of figures, tests a.s.o. - an image always has two sides. One is the image itself, being it on paper or on a display coming from a digital memory and of course there's always the ambition to shoot "good" or even "amazing" images. In these days the technical quality of an image plays an important role for many people to attract attention, and sometimes even more important than the story the imgae is telling.

The other side is the invisible pendant in your head, your memory of the moment that you took the image. One of my all time favourites is a photo that is roughly 23 yrears old and from today's perspective I would probably classify it as "abysmal" in terms of technical quality (scan of 35mm film). But if I look at it, the feeling I had when finding myself near a grizzly with nothing but an old Rollei SL35 and a 80-200mm slide zoom in my hands, the goose bumps are back in an instant.

Despite all the technology we have today, it is often exactly this invisible pendant that defines the "quality" of an image for me.

The scenery in your photo is nice and without your memory of the moment it is basiically impossible to evaluate your image in the "correct" way" and I would probably prefer my my photo. But if it was a special moment for you - spontanbeous feeling of relaxation and joy, thinking of a beloved person, or may be you had a great idea seconds after watching the swans dissappear, whatever ... - the invisible pendant will always outweigh the doubts related to technical quality.

Nevertheless I am glad to be able to shoot with a Z and lenses attached to it today, that I couldn't even dream of a quarter of a century ago - and I am still learning to use all that properly ...

 

[jeffnles1]

All my life I was very set in my ways in terms of images or paintings that I hang on a wall. And if it was not a true to life and realistic image, in my view it was no good. Eventually I started to realize that some people hang things on a wall not because of it realistically depicting a scene, but rather to occupy a bland, open space on a wall. Example here is some of the really strange and surreal images I often see on the walls of hotel rooms. So I eventually came to understand that a frame with coloured blobs , squares or lines in it often serves a purpose as part of he decor.

I see this image as something that has good potential to enhance the decor in the right kind of setting while hanging on a wall. If not too severely cropped already this one can be printed large, framed and hung. It's the kind of image that makes one go back and stare at it a few times. I would not delete it either. Someday you may very well find its rightful spot on a wall.

One of my wife's favourite expressions is "The teacher comes when the student is ready"......

Thanks. Usually my photos are very "realist" in nature. Sometimes, though I will dp a toe into the abstract (usually with macro) colors or moody black and white (usually snow days or foggy days).
The only cropping I did on this photo was change aspect ratio to 16X9, lift some shadows a touch and a small amount of brightening and brilliance.

Not sure if it will be a wall hanger but I do think I'm going to keep it. If I get another similar shot someday the two may go on a wall as a pair.

Thanks again for your thoughts on it.
Jeff

 

[jeffnles1]

The photo below, a significant crop, is crappy by any standard. But if's hanging on my dining room wall--even though no one has ever complimented it. I like the colors and the joy, which is enough for me.
View attachment 76381

What a happy looking pup. It is one of the "make me smile" photos. At least it made me smile this morning.

 

[jeffnles1]

The Pointillist kind of look can be very pleasing, although a matter of taste to be sure. I understand why you like it.

Thanks.

 

[jeffnles1]

KEEP IT.

For me - and admittedly I sometimes also belong to the people digging deep in terms of figures, tests a.s.o. - an image always has two sides. One is the image itself, being it on paper or on a display coming from a digital memory and of course there's always the ambition to shoot "good" or even "amazing" images. In these days the technical quality of an image plays an important role for many people to attract attention, and sometimes even more important than the story the imgae is telling.

The other side is the invisible pendant in your head, your memory of the moment that you took the image. One of my all time favourites is a photo that is roughly 23 yrears old and from today's perspective I would probably classify it as "abysmal" in terms of technical quality (scan of 35mm film). But if I look at it, the feeling I had when finding myself near a grizzly with nothing but an old Rollei SL35 and a 80-200mm slide zoom in my hands, the goose bumps are back in an instant.

Despite all the technology we have today, it is often exactly this invisible pendant that defines the "quality" of an image for me.

The scenery in your photo is nice and without your memory of the moment it is basiically impossible to evaluate your image in the "correct" way" and I would probably prefer my my photo. But if it was a special moment for you - spontanbeous feeling of relaxation and joy, thinking of a beloved person, or may be you had a great idea seconds after watching the swans dissappear, whatever ... - the invisible pendant will always outweigh the doubts related to technical quality.

Nevertheless I am glad to be able to shoot with a Z and lenses attached to it today, that I couldn't even dream of a quarter of a century ago - and I am still learning to use all that properly ...

Thanks. Yes, the deer were shot at the end of a rather long day in the field with my wife. Light was gone, short eared owls were still flying around but impossible to shoot and hard to see without binoculars since they are the same color as the fields and we were starting the short (mile or so) hike back to our car. Part of the memory of the shot was, indeed, a pleasant day out with my photo partner (my wife). I don't have a Z camera but do have a Canon R camera and agree, the cameras and lenses we have today are fantastic and almost unimaginable tools. I have boxes full of Kodachrome and Ektacrome slides and negatives from the late 1970-s through the early 1990's. Now, I have hard drives full of photos from the early 2000s through today.

 

[jeffnles1]

I had the same reaction to this photo taken recently. The geese I was trying to follow were too far away but I like the overall look of this photo.View attachment 76386

Thanks and I agree, similar quality. The swans wth setting (or rising) sun reflecting of off them sets a mood for sure.

 

[Whiskeyman]

That first shot has the look of a painting with lots of fine vertical strokes. Catches the eye, I like it.

That was my first thought, also; from the school of Impressionism.

If it were mine, I'd run it through some techniques from Adobe Simplify to see if it could be made to appear even more so.

Jeff, I like it very much.

 

[Activert]

As we, myself included, obsess over image sharpness, feather detail, seeing every eyelash, minimizing noise and if our camera/lens combinations are producing images up to par, a photo sometimes comes out of our cameras that we like in spite of its lacking in all those other attributes. This is one such photo. 99% of the time I would toss an image like this without giving it a second thought. It was shot well after sunset, ISO 12,800, at 1/1600 second (don't ask I had been shooting short eared owls in the field a few minutes earlier and didn't even think to reduce shutter speed when these deer walked by). I shot it more as a way to remember the end of a very enjoyable day out in the fields.

However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked the way the layers of winter colors lined up, the dark shadows of the deer and the noise gave it a Pointillist kind of look like a Paul Signac painting. I don't know, but there is something about the photo that I like in spite of its lack of fidelity, excessive ISO noise and poor lighting. I guess it's not always about the perfection of the image as much as it is about the perfection of the experience.

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.
View attachment 76275

I think this image is very artistic and beautiful. It looks like a paint. If I was in your shoes, I will print it and hang it on the wall near a cheminy. I also make with it cards for this Holiday!

 

[jeffnles1]

I think this image is very artistic and beautiful. It looks like a paint. If I was in your shoes, I will print it and hang it on the wall near a cheminy. I also make with it cards for this Holiday!

Thank you.I may print it ut here soon.

 

[seh]

What a happy looking pup. It is one of the "make me smile" photos. At least it made me smile this morning.

Thank you, Jeff.

 

[Patty15]

Thanks.
I may never print it and it surely isn't "contest" material but I do think I will keep it, if for nothing else, a memory of a beautiful winter day out taking photographs with my wife and some other good friends. Years from now, I may look at the image and smile at the beautiful memory of my wife standing in the afterglow of the already set sun watching the same deer cross the same field.

I keep many photos that are not "exceptional" as far as sharpness or noise. Steve once said sometimes it's good to put the camera down and just enjoy the experience. And while I do that in not so great situations, I still take a shot or two because my memory at my age is not what it used to be and even seeing that not so great photo does bring back all the memories.

 

[jeffnles1]

I keep many photos that are not "exceptional" as far as sharpness or noise. Steve once said sometimes it's good to put the camera down and just enjoy the experience. And while I do that in not so great situations, I still take a shot or two because my memory at my age is not what it used to be and even seeing that not so great photo does bring back all the memories.

Thanks.
Yes, I always try to capture a couple "mood" shots from every day my wife and I go out shooting. I'm not fatalistic or "death wish" by any stretch of the imagination, I try to enjoy and cherish every moment of life. However, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Like you, I have hundreds of photos that are for no purpose other than to look at and remember the day and the time with my wife. I hope to collect tens of thousands more photos where we can reflect on good times.
Jeff

 

[wotan1]

I just grabbed my photo from lightroom as shot, I agree it needs some editing and leveling.

That was taken at the end of a long day. The area was heavily populated with active birds including a variety of active predators including eagles, harrier hawks and owls. There were many swans and thousands of snow geese as well as a large variety of ducks. The problem I was having is that most of the action was too far away.

I was using the Z9 bird tracking to follow the four flying swans. Normally I would have discarded these images but I liked the light and the background.

 

[Tom Reynolds]

What Ginnie and I do is try to pick one photo from a trip that brings back memories of that trip and post it on our wall.

 

[jeffnles1]

I just grabbed my photo from lightroom as shot, I agree it needs some editing and leveling.

That was taken at the end of a long day. The area was heavily populated with active birds including a variety of active predators including eagles, harrier hawks and owls. There were many swans and thousands of snow geese as well as a large variety of ducks. The problem I was having is that most of the action was too far away.

I was using the Z9 bird tracking to follow the four flying swans. Normally I would have discarded these images but I liked the light and the background.

Kind of the same as with my photo at the beginning, there are some photos that just captivate us. I liked your swans.

 

[wotan1]

Thank you and thank you for the great topic

 

[Larry S.]

As we, myself included, obsess over image sharpness, feather detail, seeing every eyelash, minimizing noise and if our camera/lens combinations are producing images up to par, a photo sometimes comes out of our cameras that we like in spite of its lacking in all those other attributes. This is one such photo. 99% of the time I would toss an image like this without giving it a second thought. It was shot well after sunset, ISO 12,800, at 1/1600 second (don't ask I had been shooting short eared owls in the field a few minutes earlier and didn't even think to reduce shutter speed when these deer walked by). I shot it more as a way to remember the end of a very enjoyable day out in the fields.

However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked the way the layers of winter colors lined up, the dark shadows of the deer and the noise gave it a Pointillist kind of look like a Paul Signac painting. I don't know, but there is something about the photo that I like in spite of its lack of fidelity, excessive ISO noise and poor lighting. I guess it's not always about the perfection of the image as much as it is about the perfection of the experience.

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.
View attachment 76275

I love this scene. It reminds me of a time when I stood on a knoll, not with a camera, but a rifle. I would watch the parade of does and smile. It was a good day. You also had a good day. It’s a keeper!

 

[jeffnles1]

I love this scene. It reminds me of a time when I stood on a knoll, not with a camera, but a rifle. I would watch the parade of does and smile. It was a good day. You also had a good day. It’s a keeper!

Thank you. I hunted with a rifle or shotgun for many years. Now, I hunt with a camera and lens. Lots of the skills are transferable.

 

[Whiskeyman]

As we, myself included, obsess over image sharpness, feather detail, seeing every eyelash, minimizing noise and if our camera/lens combinations are producing images up to par, a photo sometimes comes out of our cameras that we like in spite of its lacking in all those other attributes. This is one such photo. 99% of the time I would toss an image like this without giving it a second thought. It was shot well after sunset, ISO 12,800, at 1/1600 second (don't ask I had been shooting short eared owls in the field a few minutes earlier and didn't even think to reduce shutter speed when these deer walked by). I shot it more as a way to remember the end of a very enjoyable day out in the fields.

However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked the way the layers of winter colors lined up, the dark shadows of the deer and the noise gave it a Pointillist kind of look like a Paul Signac painting. I don't know, but there is something about the photo that I like in spite of its lack of fidelity, excessive ISO noise and poor lighting. I guess it's not always about the perfection of the image as much as it is about the perfection of the experience.

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.
View attachment 76275

"Sometimes it is not all about the sharpness and lack of noise"

Jeff, after reflecting on this quite a bit today, I believe that there is more to this image than you give yourself credit for. I feel that you're knocking it on its technical shortcomings. Yet, you shouldn't, because there's more to this photo than there is in a lot of "technically correct" photos; a lot more, in fact. Keep it!

 

[jeffnles1]

"Sometimes it is not all about the sharpness and lack of noise"

Jeff, after reflecting on this quite a bit today, I believe that there is more to this image than you give yourself credit for. I feel that you're knocking it on its technical shortcomings. Yet, you shouldn't, because there's more to this photo than there is in a lot of "technically correct" photos; a lot more, in fact. Keep it!

Thank you. I appreciate this.
Jeff

 

[O]

As we, myself included, obsess over image sharpness, feather detail, seeing every eyelash, minimizing noise and if our camera/lens combinations are producing images up to par, a photo sometimes comes out of our cameras that we like in spite of its lacking in all those other attributes. This is one such photo. 99% of the time I would toss an image like this without giving it a second thought. It was shot well after sunset, ISO 12,800, at 1/1600 second (don't ask I had been shooting short eared owls in the field a few minutes earlier and didn't even think to reduce shutter speed when these deer walked by). I shot it more as a way to remember the end of a very enjoyable day out in the fields.

However, the more I looked at it, the more I liked the way the layers of winter colors lined up, the dark shadows of the deer and the noise gave it a Pointillist kind of look like a Paul Signac painting. I don't know, but there is something about the photo that I like in spite of its lack of fidelity, excessive ISO noise and poor lighting. I guess it's not always about the perfection of the image as much as it is about the perfection of the experience.

Here is the image. I keep telling myself it is a garbage image by all measures we typically discuss here but, there is something about it I like and cannot bring myself to delete it.
View attachment 76275

100%, if one doesn't like what their looking at it doesn't matter if its noiseless and eye bleeding sharp, the photo above has or makes a connection.

My friend she wins constant awards, sells out exhibitions with on going regular sales of her works, she uses a D850 28-300 is all she uses other than a 40mm macro lens.

Only an opinion

 

[jeffnles1]

100%, if one doesn't like what their looking at it doesn't matter if its noiseless and eye bleeding sharp, the photo above has or makes a connection.

My friend she wins constant awards, sells out exhibitions with on going regular sales of her works, she uses a D850 28-300 is all she uses other than a 40mm macro lens.

Only an opinion

Thanks you O. My wife uses a bridge camera (Sony RX10iv) and has won numerous contests and had images published. She cares very little about technology, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, bokeh or al the other stuff. She looks at a scene with her heart instead of her head and photographs what she sees as beautiful. She has an amazing eye.

I'm a retired IT guy who spent 36 years in the IT industry. Sometimes my head and tech gets I the way of my heart. There image that I started the thread with was a heart shot.

My goal for the next year it so view scenes through the eyes of my heart instead of my head.

Jeff

 

[O]

Thanks you O. My wife uses a bridge camera (Sony RX10iv) and has won numerous contests and had images published. She cares very little about technology, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, bokeh or al the other stuff. She looks at a scene with her heart instead of her head and photographs what she sees as beautiful. She has an amazing eye.

I'm a retired IT guy who spent 36 years in the IT industry. Sometimes my head and tech gets I the way of my heart. There image that I started the thread with was a heart shot.

My goal for the next year it so view scenes through the eyes of my heart instead of my head.

Jeff

So much wisdom in what your saying, a good goal for 2024.

In finance the head should rule, in love the heart should rule...........love what you do is the key.

There are those of us that make photo's and those that make record shots, neither is right or wrong, its what makes you happy that counts.

I believe a artistic approach is more sustainably enjoyable in the long term than a clinical deadly sharp technically perfectly accurate shot.

A good photographer can use any tool anywhere any time to make the photo connect with the viewer and evoke a pleasing emotion of some sort.

Pleasing your self first second and third is all that matters.

Only an opinion