Poll: Which of these images looks best?

[Kryzantine]

...the hell is this?

A question.

 

[RheynbowDash]

without tooting my own horn, i'd like to post one of my own personal artsy-type pictures:

 

[bryanfuel]

1st - this ones my fav probaly because the bright red and its a pretty simple picture
2nd - this is my least favorite, there's nothing really to look at and the sidewalk in the bottom right corner is ugly :/
3rd - this one is not bad but it would be a lot better if that fence wasnt there IMO

EDIT: forgot to say goodluck

 

[Hollock]

My first choice is the last one of the light. Next I would choose the first one, I didn't really like the 3 rd one as much but that would be my last choice.

 

[Deef]

Welcome! Welcome to Escapistmagazine.com! You have chosen, or been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining Internet Utopias. I thought so much of Escapistmagazine.com, that I elected to establish my administration, here, in the Forums, so thoughtfully provided by our Moderators. I am proud to call Escapistmagazine.com my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through to parts unknown, welcome, to Escapistmagazine.com. It's safer here.

I'm ever so proud of you. You deserve a banana sticker.

I have bought a chest-full of them.

Isn't it just great to be able to just go and buy psychological gratification?

 

[epic_ellen]

The first has an interesting simplicity to it, I'd go for the first. It could almost be an album cover. Actually, it reminds me a lot of the cover of the album Pink Flag, by Wire.

I can't say I'm particularly fond of any of them though, really. They seem to lack a sense of depth and place, can't really put my finger on it. I'd suggest before taking a picture next time, pull back a bit. Let what's around the object you are focusing on give it a sense of context.

I totally feel the album cover thing. And there is definitely an emotion connection missing in these photos. It doesn't make me feel anything, it just make me think 'oh, nice picture'.

 

[Purple Shrimp]

the second is the best

 

[Ragsnstitches]

without tooting my own horn, i'd like to post one of my own personal artsy-type pictures:

Spoiler

Thats a pretty damn good pic. But I'm just a stickler for snowy scenery.

OP: I'm curious as to what your intention is? If your looking for which Image is looks better over the rest then I'd say 3r or 2nd one. If I had to choose one then I'd go with 2, the 3rd one is too fuzzy for me. The 1st is too bland for any kind of interesting composition and yet not stark enough for deeper meaning or what have you.

2nd Question to the opening poster, what was it you were trying to do when you took those pics? Where you just shooting at random or did you have a goal in mind?

 

[SMILEYkyle21]

image 2, it seems to have a deep meaning

 

[TheRealJustSean]

The first one appealed to me the most, though I can't put my finger on why...

 

[Bucket0Bones]

The last one, although I know nothing about photography. I just chose the one I like the most.

 

[ultracheeser]

...a what? what in gods green earth is a "question"?

no.
I was refering to the pictures.
I guess I just don't understand this artsy stuff

 

[Private Custard]

Honestly, nether of the three convey any particular message in my opinion.

The third you can disregard straight away. Done right, it should have some shallow depth of field to separate the subject from the background. Even if you managed to get a nice soft bokeh in the background, wire fences are notoriously horrid as a backdrop.

Example of subject separation and DoF

The first is just a little bland. Some HDR/Tonemapping wouldn't go amiss. If you have photoshop and photomatix then you could create three different exposures of the same shot and then layer them, apply some tonemapping. You can turn a flat image into something textured and with depth. Excuse the rough example, I didn't really have anything instantly to hand as I'm messing around with the catalogue settings in lightroom at the minute.

Original

Two exposures, layered (no tonemapping)

The second is the most pleasing to the brain as it seems to conform to the rule of thirds in a couple of places. But its meaning is unclear.

 

[carelesshx]

The first one was the most visually appealing. As someone's already fiddled about with it, I decided to have a go with the third one.

This is a quick and dirty example of what I would do better if I had the time or inclination...

* Corrected crooked camera
* Added a bit more depth of field
* Sharpened the foreground
* Corrected horrible pink highlights on the LEDs
* Contrast

 

[Private Custard]

This is a quick and dirty example of what I would do better if I had the time or inclination...

You need the time and inclination. Good photography doesn't just happen, you need to give it your all for it to truly work.

About the wall shot, if you have enough pixels to play with then you could crop it and then rotate so that the bulk of the shadow is straight. When working with lots of straight lines, you should either get them horizontal and vertical perfectly or just go really wild. Try and confuse the viewer, it'll hold their attention for longer and make them really look at the image.

 

[Flying Dagger]

You need a better camera

 

[Private Custard]

You need a better camera

It's not all in the camera, Believe it or not, this was shot with a P&S and then processed heavily.

Check out Compound Eye on flickr, he's a master of making the most of a shot in post processing.

Although four grands worth of gear certainly helped me!!

 

[Eerors]

The second because it reminds me of the time I came back to futilely collect my (unbeknownst to me) stolen bike. To add to the insult they left me the locks they had brutally cut through.

If any of you see a black Specialized Hardrock Mountain Bike anywhere then I would love it back...