About the Image(s)
So I really tried to do some thinking about what I was shooting these last two weeks of vacation with my wife and daughter’s family at the Delaware seaside. Turns out I shot only family snapshots. Then my wife and I went back alone to our daughter’s house for four days to fill in a gap in time when our daughter had no dog-sitters, so her family could stay at the beach for that time. I still had no shots from the vacation. I had given cameras to all four grandchildren recently, and our oldest (age 9) liked to document shoot all kinds of silly objects around the house (terrible results, but getting him interested is the point), so I started looking around his house similarly. The result is this pattern study of a large pot of water set out on the bathroom floor for the dogs to water from. I shot this at a mild telephoto to exclude the nearby fixtures of the bathroom. The pot was not crystal-clear reflective, so that is a minus.
I really appreciated your sincere explanations Stephen and you did what a grandfather should do. Choreography is excellent and it's a clever idea to shoot pot reflecting floor pattern. I couldn't decide where the focus point should be; but the reflection on pot could be focused. Thanks for sharing.   Posted: 09/01/2021 03:12:06
Stephen Levitas
You are quite right, Ata, about considering the focus point. Since this is a repeatable shot, I think I will go back, polish the pot, and try various focus points.   Posted: 09/01/2021 11:22:58
This is a fun shot and I like the floor pattern. There are a lot of things you could do with this - I recently saw a paint commercial that had an ocean inside the paint can. You could make the water black with any dark food coloring, create a pattern in the pot with shaving cream and see what images you get…   Posted: 09/04/2021 18:08:19
Stephen Levitas
Oooh, those are great ideas. Thanks.   Posted: 09/04/2021 21:51:51
Wes Odell
Try focus stacking to widen the focal point.
Since I've never seen a photo like this, I have to say that I like the creative approach.
nice.
  Posted: 09/04/2021 19:30:01
Stephen Levitas
Thank you, Wes.   Posted: 09/04/2021 21:52:49
Tom McCreary
Of course the floor pattern makes this image. I think that you have plenty of depth of field, and it is the pot not being polished makes it look like it is not sharp. It was a good idea to convert to mono as the blue in the floor would otherwise be a distraction. I like the composition and that the pot has grey instead of white which creates separation. Like you suggested, you should polish the pot, and clean the inside so that there are no hairs. It would be good if you could also eliminate the harsh white area from the overhead light. I hope to see you next try.   Posted: 09/06/2021 14:54:11
Stephen Levitas
Thanks, Tom, good point about the harsh white from the overhead light. We are again dog-sitting at our daughter's house soon, so I will have a lot of time to clean that pot and work on the lighting.   Posted: 09/06/2021 15:00:08
Jennifer Doerrie
Stephen, this is yet another example of your skill in finding patterns and details that generally tend to pass me by. The repeating pattern here, broken up by the pot, is intriguing to me. I agree with Tom that eliminating the harsh light creating the the hot spot would be beneficial. What about having the pot a little more off-center in the image, too? Perhaps try moving it more to the right and leaving a little more of the patterned floor around it (unless there are other objects that prevent doing that, of course).   Posted: 09/22/2021 23:00:34
Stephen Levitas
Thanks, Jennifer, next month I will have a chance to try this composition again, with a tripod, and I will follow your and Tom's suggestions.   Posted: 09/23/2021 15:08:21
Diana Magor
Again some very good points made by the group -we all seem to pick out different aspects to criticise! I wondered whether the pot was just too central. We've just had a talk about the myths of composition and the 'rules' which seem so contradictory. One aspect the speaker highlighted was the use of negative space. Putting the pot offcentre allows the eye to be drawn in to the pot by the patterns, especially those running up the side of the pot. I think you can't crop to get this effect right, so you'll have to take it again. Shiny objects always create hot spots which can be reduced with a diffuse lighting, or being really careful to ensure no clipping. You could try a couple of shots and HDR them to retain the detail. I also agree with Wes-try focus stacking as well. I do like the idea of doing a montage with something interesting in the water of the pot.   Posted: 09/25/2021 05:04:03
Stephen Levitas
Yes, I hope to try this one again next month, and submit it the month after. Thanks for the ideas.   Posted: 09/26/2021 21:22:07