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Igone
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 04:26 - Edited by: Igone
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IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE WORKSHOP PLEASE READ CAREFULLY THE RULES BELOW:
1. Join the workgroup in this link: http://www.woophy.com/forum/12_4440_0.html . The of members list will be open all the time (to get in and to get out).
2. Each member of the workgroup agrees in being a critic for other members (not necessarily all them) and being criticized by the rest of members (not necessarily all them).
3. The main idea is to make a critic of a whole work from a photographer and not only of a picture. It’s aviced to browse to the whole collection of the photographer under critics (but it’s not obligatory, specially considering that there are some very large portafolios).
4. Nevertheless, a sample around 20 pictures selected by the photographer will be posted in the appropriate forum thread in order to highlight which pictures the photographer considers as the best examples of his/her photographic work. The critics will take specially these pictures into account, but all the collection can be browsed and used for the critic’s work.
5. All opinions must be accepted by all members, like it or not. The only limits for the critics is to be sincere, to be polite and to be constructive. This is supposed to be a workshop to learn... if you want flattery just have a look at the normal comments in your pictures.
6. All aspects of photography would be under critics: quality, quantity, originality, subject, composition, light, color, white balance, edition, etc... But this doesn't mean that you must criticize all these things. Concerning the critics, you will find a very good summary in Miguel's blog here: ".Elements of Analysis
7. This workgroup doesn't intend to be an "exclusive club for experienced photographers". All members are welcome, with all photographic levels... (If you don't know about white balance, depth of field, ISO, etc... just tell us "I like your collection or I don't like it at all and try to explain why with your own words...)
8. The strategy "you scratch my back and I scratch yours" is not accepted in such a workgroup... Let's be serious...
Now some ideas about the way to carry this out:
1st. Join the group in the forum linked before.
2nd. You will be in a queue and you will have to wait to your turn to post your own gallery in a new forum topic. There will be 4 members showing their collections at the same time for one week.
3rd. When it's your turn post a forum topic with the title: "CRITICS WORKSHOP: Member’s nickname gallery". In this topic you will cut and paste these rules and those written above and post around 20 pictures selected from your own collection. It would be nice also if you could write few words about your photographic work: what are you interested in, what do you want to transmit with your pictures, for how long you are a photographer... and whatever you think it’s important to consider for a critic.
Now about me......I started taking photos about five years ago, mainly because I wanted to share with my friends the beauty of the underwater world I had fallen in love with.
Soon I discovered that a bunch of blurry blueish pictures wasn't going to impress none of them, so I started to try to learn more and found Woophy by chance. It's here where I discovered what noise is, what adjusting the white balance can do and many more things. Then, last year I took my son to Egypt and held the first DSLR in my hand, my son's.....I was hooked!!! The rest.... I bought my first serious camera in December 09 and have been playing and experimenting a lot. sometimes with disastrous results  most of the time just having fun.
I have selected pictures in three main groups that are clear in my portfolio....
First underwater.........
1- 
2- 
3- 
4- 
5- 
6- 
7- 
second group, it's the experimental one, editing and shooting. just trying new things....
8- 
9- 
10- 
11- 
12- 
13- 
14- 
And then, what I call the dry ones... standard photos that are not underwater, where no much editing has taken place, just cropping and correcting contrast etc but keeping them "normal"
15- 
16- 
17- 
18- 
19- 
20- 
And now, I just want to thank you all in advance for your honesty.
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chevylady
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 14:13
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Hi Igone,
1.This is a wonderfull picture wit great light
2. Great close-up love the composition as well
3. I only tried once with camera snorkling to make pictures and i know how hard it is great shot nice lights
4. I love the picture but want to know what it is great composition
5. This is so sharp so beautifull with color great shot
6. Great timing with them together and nice black and white
7 I wonder was there realy so much wonderfull light ? great shot nice catching the bubbles
Wonderfull serie i can only snorkle diving lessons went wrong but the more i enjoy youre photo's
8..Nice silouhet sharp but not my taste
9. Simple black and white i would crop more of the left side
10. I would take the lump from tree out it looks like its growing out of his head but great shot
11. I think the reflection is not the same as the duck ?
12. Nice picture but i dont like the color (looks like spome poison in the air)
13. I love this shot great timing great expression love it
14. Wonderfull silouhet Great shot and composition
15. Yes this is great i love the whole thing wonderfull
16.Great girl great light great portrait
17 I love boats and sea but this photo is missing something to attracts me
18. Great shot i would crop something of the sky
19. Perfect place for me to sit greeat shot wonderfull portrait
20 Nice some actions wonderfull shot of friends helping eachother
Wonderfull and good portofolio well done 
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ortho158
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 18:07
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Hi Igone,
About the experimental pics .... I like  , but not the other ones. You seem to like pics with very overburned sections, but I don't (but that's just my opinion). The head in the water is funny, but I think it would have been better in b&w (I am no fan of colorization ... which also applies to the next one).
About the traditional ones ... I like 
I find  oversaturated.
 also suffers from overburning.
I don't like too much the composition of  and  . In both cases, the man seems to be the subject of interest, but he is too small (and centered). The first one is not sharp enough.
I like  , but the kids are too much centered.
About the underwater pics ... They are very interesting and well done, but I don't see how I could criticize them. I mean, it's a kind of very specialized photography that can probably only be judged by a fellow underwater photographer. I tried underwater (snorkel) photography a long time ago (in the Maldives), with a compact ( and yellow) underwater Minolta camera, and I know that it is very difficult: those bloody fish don't stand still and tend to show their tails and not their heads. And, before the digital era, you had to make parallax correction, you couldn't see the result before development (at home, and thus too late), ... So, I won't try to tell you what you could have done better. My favorite, not included in your selection is 
Hope you won't be mad with me (and, anyway, you still have the option to get revenge with my own portfolio  ).
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Igone
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 18:13
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why would I be mad??? This is why I joined this group! I wanted to know what i'm doing wrong, I'm not here to be flattered....
Thanks so much.
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la rafale
Member
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 19:18
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Hello, Igone,
well, don't forget I'm not a photographer so I will give you only my feelings and surely no tips
1) about the whole pics underwater, I'm just astonished because not a lot of photographers do this job!
anyway, my favourites among your selection are n°1 for its peculiar mood, n°2 because the tutle seems to be jumping out from a desert and not from water, almost saying " but what are you doing in my space?", n°5 for its amazing "face to face" and the light ,n°6 because they look so sympathetic and n°7 because of its format ;
n°3 &4 are less interesting for me
2) 9, 10,11, 14 : I don't like them ; neither the light, compo nor the brightness that hurt my eyes
n°12: i remember it from "catkiller" acount but with nicest colours previously
n° 13: i stay loving it because it's so funny but, unless i'm wrong, same comment than for 12 ( i prefered catkiller's vision)
i like n° 14 and still more your n°8 where i see strenghth by the angle chosen and the 3 parts i see in it through the colours
3) from the "standard", I notice only your n° 17 ( again 3 parts well matched in the compo ) and moreover, your n° 19 ( sorry, Ortho, it belongs to "my favs" ) because of its mood that your POV and angle enhance greatly ( already said in my previous comment)
the other ones, i'm not interested with them
OK, now, if one day, i decide to learn diving, don't drown me because of this comment
brigitte
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zoidberg
Moderator
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 20:41
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Hola Igone,
starting for your underwater section I must say that I agree with Alain's comment, it's impossible for a surface guy as me to criticize such kind of photography, I use to visit your portfolio and this kind of pictures ever amazes me (cómo narcices traduzco "me flipan"? ) My favorites are  ,  (this one is amazing, it has great sharpness and light, and turtle's expression is wonderful) and  (the compo with the fishes coming from the light is amazing).
This one  is also very beautiful, but I would crop a little at left, and I also like very much the light and sharpness in  but I don't find it so interesting as the others (I dare to criticize these two pictures because there's not any "bloody fish" on them  ).
From the second section I like very much  (it would be a great logo for a horror movies festival, as I said on the comment, but in this case it's a little bit far of the photography and more close to design, just imho, same as in  case),  (although after Brigitte's comment I wonder how was looking on catkiller's account), and (one of the best in the selection, maybe it's right that is too centered, but I think it's the only thing that can be improved here).
I confess ashamed that I didn't enlarge this one  when you upload it, so I liked very much that time, but looking now to the large view I see is not well focussed and it's overburned…
This one  it's also very close to design, but I like it very much, specially for the blue/white contrast perfectly separated by the figure.
From third section my favorite is , it has a great compo, and very beautiful colors and light, the only mistake I see here are some spots on the sky (me refiero a "manchas" por si San Gúguel me está engañando ) that are on the up-left side. I suppose that they are some little drops of water on your lens (so it means that you can use it also in certain DROPS forum threat ) that you can easily delete them with the "Healing Brush" tool in PS, I suppose Picasa or other softwares have a similar tool.
I agree with Alain's comment about this one , and I also think that and are too centered.
Other pictures I missed in this selection are  ,  , and this beauty .
Besos!
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Jan Hemels
Moderator
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# Posted: 21 Feb 10 21:39
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Hello Igone,
I am probably the only Dutchman that does not like swimming but I dow have a pond with beautiful Koi fish that eat out of my hand.
I once tried snorkeling on Islas Mujeres but soon went aboard the glass bottom boat again that also offered a fascinating view of the underwater world.
Your pictures however show the real thing like those scenes from the NatGeo series that I like so much watching.
The numbers 3, 5 and especially 6 are my favourites under water.
In your other pictures I find a large difference in quality. The weaker ones have already been identified by the previous commentators.
I admire your desire to break with traditions and looking for boundaries but some of them do not appeal to my senses (8-11) I do prefer 13 and 14 but the added colour of 12 goes too far i.m.o.
My favourite is the child's portrait although the composition is not optimal.
I agree with Alain on the composition of 18 and 19. Nr. 20 I like much better.
Screening your full portfolio I discover some pictures that indicate you certainly have a potential to become a successful photographer
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Cloudbuster
Member
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# Posted: 22 Feb 10 16:08 - Edited by: Cloudbuster
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Hello, Igone!
I will be having a hard time criticizing some of your photos. It is easy to dream away to the under water world you drag us into!
Still. I'll give it a go and be extra critical to weigh up for the feelings towards sub water level!
As allways... All IMO!...
Vidar
1. First of all: Incredibly clear water, but I wonder what is above the surface. There are some white fields that draw my eyes away from the true motif; What is below the water line.
This photo would probably be better without the surface present. Also, when viewed in large it is easy to see the light stripes going into the water. A close up of it may also look very good.
2. A little strange colors, but it works. The compo is imo flawless and you have created an almost cartoon like sweet figure.
3. I love this photo! Great activity, good light, sharpness is more than good enough and it makes me want to go diving! Very good!
4. I wonder how this would look if it was shot from a tripod and a few second shutter time... Feel free to try it some time!
The colors are a little strange in this photo, but it may of course be some kind of sub-water-effect. The top of the photo looks purple. Other than that, the compo looks good. So does the details
5.  This must have been very exciting, but I'm going to be a nitpicker...!
Seeing the whole shark or a close up would make it better. Also, seeing the boat in the background is a little disturbing.
6.  A classic! i do not know if seeing their tails would add anything, but it may be the only thing to criticize on this photo. It is absolutely beautiful!
7. Another beautiful photo. I see no reason to find errors in this photo. It looks very good in panorama, the compo is perfect and the blue colors are a joy to the eyes
8. Not my taste. I am not a fan of abstract, and this I cannot see what is.
9. Not your most exciting photo, but it is not bad. A vignetting and a little noise might do wonders
10.  Good! I am sucker for high contrast, and this is in that way perfect! It is also very different from other child photos. It stands out as an experiment gone good! There is almost a "Chaplin feeling" in it
11. Another high contrast photo, and in addition the red eyes! Good! Still. There is one one thing that is disturbing. From the birds mouth there is a stripe going forward. I'm sure it is waves from the water, but it is unneeded imo.
12. Honesty.... Hm. M'kay..! The color on this sky is far from pleasing! Orange sky is too psychedelic and it looks over-edited.
13. In small size: Great! The smile, color and compo looks good! Sadly, when enlarged it is far from sharp. A pity, since this is really good imo
14. Lovely! Again, high contrast, and it really brings a smile to my face. Joyful scene, great weather, relaxing and probably (Hopefully) close to paradise!
good one, Igone!
15. Great compo and place, but very unsharp and grainy. It looks like a lot of work has been done to the sky? The "pole" looks like it has been cut of at about the middle. Good compo and possibilities, and I hope you take another trip or re-edit
16. A very sweet portrait, well lit, great colors and the finger in the mouth creates a beutiful photo! Very good!
17. A little tight crop. I'd love to see a little more of the scene. Other than that, the color looks nice and I like the light. The fact that the horizon is missing at some parts do not bother me at all, and actually fits the photo.
The guy with the small boat should have a look at the engine! It ruins parts of the photo with black smoke!
18. Good scene, but maybe the boat and person could have been more to the left in the photo? He is looking to the right side of the photo, but the left and empty side has gotten most attention.
19. Excellent! This is proof you control a lot more than what is underneath the surface! This photo has soul!
20. . Faces Do not be afraid to shoot peoples faces. It is difficult for most of us, but telling people about the shot, who you are, then asking for permission to add it to the internet usually goes very well as long as they have the possibility to download the photo themselves
So.. I hope we're still friends! 
You know how much I love your scuba photos, but you are definitely adding some great photos from above the surface also! My main suggestion would be to keep an eye on the noise. It sometimes get to be too present in the photos even if it not really is that important.
Very best
Vidar
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Igone
Member
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# Posted: 23 Feb 10 13:43
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Thanks Brigitte, Santiag, Jan and Vidar, I really appreciate your honesty.
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Dieneke Boonstra
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 10 18:07
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Hi Igone,
Wow, so much superbe underwaterphoto's!!!! Makes me wanna dive again( I did for about 12 years).
You really captured the serene atmosphere underwater, but also the excitement about what will be seen.I think it's amazing how bright and great the colours are, even the compositions are looking often good.
I never made pictures underwater, but I know it's difficult and you're doing a great job!!!
From the experimental ones I like: n0.10, 11, 13 and 14. The otherones are not good imo.
The "dry ones" : I like them all.Especially no.19: makes me wanna sit there, just with my thoughts.
Some others in your interesting portofolio I like:    Hope to see many more of your photo's!
Best Regards Dieneke
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