Slacklining 6 Photo

Photographer’s Note

Part 6 of a 13 part series on slacklining on library lawn at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As the action became a little bit more dynamic, i would like to think that my pictures became a little bit more dynamic, also.

Most of these pictures were taken over the course of two or three different days. At first i was just trying to get a feel for what was happening, to get a little bit more of a big-picture understanding of what angles to cover. As time went on, however, i felt more comfortable with the people and the activity and began to pursue more dramatic pictures to reflect the more dramatic action that was beginning to happen.

After a few hours of practice, some of the new slackliners could get onto the line, but then struggled to keep their balance. Arms and legs spread out, the line would begin to rock, and after a few seconds, the slackliner would fall... but became more and more comfortable in the process.

A few things bug me about this picture, primarily the shadow across her face, the tip of the hand being just out of the frame, and the figure just visible behind her right leg, but i thought that the fairly dynamic composition made it worth using.

And on a personal note, i really found my work on Library Lawn to be personally enriching as well as merely a source of subject matter for pictures. This particular slackliner, a girl named Jacki, ended up becoming one of my closest friends in Stillwater.

Also included are two workshops... once more i had a couple pictures that i considered using for this picture, which i wanted to have a dramatic composition and to show a slackliner struggling to keep his or her balance. i'm more than open to suggestions as to which picture i should or shouldn't have used.

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Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11

robertosalguero, dougie, KevRyan, AnimeshRay, siolaw, happypoppeye, pcp, noborders has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

dolin (15647) 2007-09-12 23:50

Hi Sam.
I really like your POV, with this foot on my face :)
Excellent effect !
The nice blue sky, the tree, the position of the woman...all is good....damage for the hand crossed...
Fred

danyy (68492) 2007-09-12 23:57

Dynamique cette composition.
J'aurais tenté une DOF plus faible.
Bien à toi.
Daniel.

dougie (2920) 2007-09-12 23:58

Hi,
Nice dynamic shot with a creative POV. It conveys a real feel of the precarious situation of the walker. The half hidden figure might have been better fully exposed and watching but no worries. I prefer this one to the w/s. Good note. Thanks.
Dougie.

yopiefranz (128) 2007-09-13 0:26

Hi Sam,
Fascinating shot and good angle
Regards,
yopie

Haymotion (1793) 2007-09-13 2:14

Bonnard compo !!
Angle de vue dynamique et original !!
On a l'impression d'être en équilibre avec la personne..
Couleur et qualité d'image très bonne
Bravo
Vince

geist_21 (652) 2007-09-13 2:55

Great POV you got here, from down up and from one extreme of the body (the foot) away.

The blue sky adds the colour to the photo, and the branches of the tree make it more filled

MarcT (21093) 2007-09-13 3:09

Hi Sam,
interesting POV. Good picture. Just a pain you missed the left hand. But it's hard to have the perfect movement and frame at the same time. There's also some vignetting you can treat with PSP for example.
Regards

Marc

Furachan (0) 2007-09-13 7:28

Very cool shot, Sam, fuly exploiting te vertical frame in the most spectacular fashion. Super dynamism at work here.
Congrats!
Francis

AnimeshRay (8886) 2007-09-13 16:21

Ooops!! There she goes! Excellent angle. You must have been lying down on the ground. I agree with you that this is the strongest, my next preference being ws #1. Very nice photography. The tilts worked well and naturally, the closeness of the foot is a strong point.

Homerhomer (4005) 2007-09-13 17:09

the best photo in the series so far, the only weakness is the guy behind her leg, it would have been much better if he was more to the right, apart from that everything is great, superb timing, interesting pov, great colour and composition.
Peter

Brian (1) 2007-09-13 18:33

I'll be honest, I've been slacking you your slacklining photos lately. Despite the little imperfections that you mentioned, this photo really makes up for it in content. The compo is really something, in the way she's trying to balance herself and all. The lighting is superb. Everything here is working together to creat a feast for the eyes.

-Brian

euryan (8345) 2007-09-13 18:56

Of all your slackline photos this is by far my favorite so far. Keeping the color in this one was a great choice because the blue sky and her orange skin complement each other and make the photo really pop. The low to high POV is great because it silhouettes the tree and her body against the blue sky. I also like how her foot is almost touching the front of the lens. Very cool shot.

rbcy1974 (20742) 2007-09-13 23:42

HellO Sam
Again another fascinating point of view and angle,
very original to capture the elevated feet like this
only comment is that the guy in red is a bit distracting
Regards
Daniel

siolaw (25720) 2007-09-14 22:01

Hi Sam,
Excellent POV here and vivid colors and natural looking sharpness... a bit unfortunate not to catch the hand on the top but also fine that way.
TFS
Laurent

yanseiler (20) 2007-09-15 0:54

Hi Sam, you have interesting compos in this last serie... I would have a small thing to say here, it would have been nice to see entirely the person who his hidden behind your subject... Otherwise I like this wide angle shot and the light is awesome...
Cheers
Yan

happypoppeye (4060) 2007-09-17 11:14

Great POV Sam. A really original and nice looking shot. Love the tilted horizon and the girls foot just about kicking the lens. Colors are good enough (this one'e not really about perfect color) and except for the hand being cut off, composition is excellent.

The two WS photos look good too, but I like the original better than either of them. Maybe just because of the color though...

Nice work.
John

kensimage (8539) 2007-09-20 8:34

Excellent choice of POV, Sam. We get the feel of the fact she's trying to balance though it's not easy, and we see the context that she's on a college campus. I like the way she fills the frame, so that we're really in there with her, not just watching from afar. Of the flaws you mention, I think only the guy blocked by her leg is significant--it would be nice to have him fully visible as a spectator, (unintentionally) putting pressure on her! Regards, Ken.

pcp (3346) 2007-11-19 12:59

Wow, Wonderful POV with Beautiful colors :) Nice timing shot. I like the sky very much. Well done.

TFS

Senthil

barni (14479) 2008-01-08 0:35

Hello Sam
Un bon angle de vue avec une incroyable perspective.
Congratulation
Christophe

Tomorrow ;o)

noborders (14199) 2008-01-10 9:14

Great movement, great POV ! The little moon seems to smile at the whole exercice...
Compliments,
Cath.