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from minis/Mindaugas (5,444) 
on November 18, 2009 9:16:05 PM CST
(4)
Hi, John,
i think that's an interesting picture as it really portrays somebody having relaxing ride along the seashore. I think that every element in the picture suggest some relaxing atmosphere which is really well captured. Though i find that i would want something to be much sharper than it is. I like how the legs of the biker turned out, though bike and his back are not really sharp and that somewhat spoils the picture to me. Cheers!
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from mudgeon/Del (5,899)
on November 18, 2009 4:48:09 PM CST
(2)
Hard to be certain without knowing the speed of the bicycle, but I believe you have gone too slow in this case. The trade-off is clear; there needs to be an indication of speed for the bicycle, with different speed effects seen in the moving water in the background. And a faster shutter will reduce the background blur. Still, seeing nothing sharp detracts from the effect. A motion-stopped head or head and torso might be enough; most of the body in sharp-edged silhouette, with the ghosting of the rest of the man and bicycle showing directional motion, is the effect that I think most attractive. If that can be done with sufficient impressionist look at the same time, you have quite a photo. I like your decision on the colors; brighter and more saturated would be contradictory to the scene.
Del
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From mudgeon/Del (5,899)
on November 18, 2009 6:34:27 PM CST
I might be looking for the impossible. I know a faster shutter will reduce the effect on the water, just don't know how much. Since I am nowhere near the shore, especially shore with sunsets, I am counting on you to do the experiments. Hope to see some more like this.
Del
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from fabian9/Fabian (2,805)
on November 16, 2009 4:38:10 AM CST
(5)
John,
Whilst I really like the atmosphere you have created by using a very slow shutter and "keeping the colours muted" as you put it, I think that the cyclist is not sharp enough. I know this is extremely difficult to to do especially when using such an extremely slow shutter - but it still would have added to the shot.
Fabian
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from donnalee/Donna (7,450) 
on November 10, 2009 1:29:02 AM CST
(5)
The colors really stand out in this one for me. There is a calming feeling to the photo, I find. I think that I would like to see a bit more sky in the photo. I love the blur on the bicyclist for sure. Overall a real nice effort here John. Donna
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 10, 2009 8:31:17 AM CST
Thanks Donna - I agree - either more or less of the sky would probably had been better here - live and learn! John
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from thedavidwright/David (8,820)
on November 9, 2009 11:57:01 PM CST
(7)
I was trying to guess from the thumb what category this was, and was going with 'contra jour'... This is a beautiful image, well captured and treated, with pleasing water and wave blur. I like the purple color scheme. However IMO it's not that strong as a 'panning' image, since the bicyclist seems almost as blurred as the sea. You obviously had to pan, since at 1/3 second he would have been blurred beyond recognition, but the immediate reaction is that 'everything is motion blurred'. It's also interesting that his feet and legs are blurred more (from pedalling) than his arms, head and torso.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 10, 2009 8:30:26 AM CST
Hi David - I completely understand your opinion - i was just happy to have the wheels come out circular ;-) John
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from robchant/Robert (7,706) 
on November 9, 2009 5:21:56 PM CST
(5)
Hi John, I am mixed on my reaction to this, but I still think it deserves 2TU. I love the harmony, the nice calming feel, and the subdued colours. Everything just seems to come together to make a pleasing shot. The blur from both the forward motion and the blur of his legs peddling the bike, add a lot of nice drama to something that would be very ordinary without the panning effect. (And I would doubt that it would get as much attention as it is getting.) I looked at Robin's version, and would have to agree that cropping the sky is an improvement. Everything else I could nit pick, would be a side affect of panning at 1/4sec, and well discussed already. Take care, Rob.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 9, 2009 5:34:23 PM CST
Hi Rob - I think I agree about the sky - I had wanted to leave it to give a better sense of context, but as usual, keeping things simpler makes the image stronger - thanks for your thoughts! John
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from cremmins/Ian (3,327)
on November 8, 2009 6:35:56 PM CST
(6)
Nice photo John, i really like the effect you have obtained on the water making it look like a huge sheet and the hue in the sky over the horizon
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from baba/David (30,025)
on November 7, 2009 12:55:22 PM CST
(5)
Kudos on beating me with the shutter speed! The water in the background reminds me a lot of my wave shots, which isn't too surprising since this is about the shutter speed I use to take those shots. The bicyclist isn't tack sharp, but that doesn't bother me at all. I also don't mind seeing the horizon in the background. I might suggest playing with the color balance and adding some magenta to bring in some reds and blues. Also, the nit pick is the tires below what I presume is a sand berm. I would prefer to see all of the wheels.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 7, 2009 1:04:00 PM CST
Glad you noticed the shutter speed ;-) Good idea about the color balance - I was thinking of trying this in monochrome with blue, but I think having the blue and red would be more pleasing - I'll play - and i totally agree about the wheels - I would have gladly given him a few bucks to ride back and forth a few times... John
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from laurenw/Lauren (1,496)
on November 7, 2009 9:13:03 AM CST
(9)
Hi Jon. I do think the impressionistic feel is present here and I like the space in front and can feel the movement. I also like the way the waves add to the movement in the photo. i wish you had been able to get the full wheels...and a separation of the legs ...i also wish it were slightly more focused...though I am still figuring that part out myself. In any case I like this soft toned mellow mood photo and I give it 1.8 thumbs up.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 7, 2009 12:45:54 PM CST
Hi Lauren - I agree about wanting more of the wheels - next time I'm at the beach i have something to work on! thanks for looking - John
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from karin2007/Karin (11,140)
on November 7, 2009 12:54:44 AM CST
(8)
Hi John!
1,5 TU
A photo with very pleasing muted colors- I like the different shades of
violet in combination with the black. I also like that the bicyclist is on the
right and having enough space on the left of your image that the eye can follow
the movement to the left.
I wish the bicyclist was sharper, but that's my personal taste - as you
stated you went for the "impressionistic pan shot" - something you
really achieved! -
Cheers, Karin
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 7, 2009 12:44:45 PM CST
Hi Karin - I'll be really interested in what I think of this in a few months! Like most experiements, I tend to like the results immediately after and then less so as time goes on ;-) John
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from mbiasion/Enrico (10,586)
on November 6, 2009 2:13:39 PM CST
(9)
Hi John, very nice picture, it's unusual to see panning of bycicles and it's a shame, because despite the low speed, I can see a good and beautiful dynamic feeling. The faded sea in the background is really nice and also the not sharp body of the man. Maybe the tones are a little too cold. Very good work! Best regards, Enrico.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 2:28:25 PM CST
Hi Enrico - it does make a good subject for shooting! I wouldn't have thought of it without the hunt - nice to try something new and different - I'll play with the tones a bit and see how a warmer version works - thanks for looking! John
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from robinab/Robin (54,723)
on November 6, 2009 10:58:58 AM CST
(10)
Hi John. It is a pleasing shot overall. I think the gentle ripples of the water help this quite a bit. Panning: good yet I yearn to see the person a the bicycle a little sharper. The resulting streaks in his face and the back of his head really are a bit much. Did you try a few slightly faster shutter speeds? Composition and overall: As I mentioned earlier, I think the gentle waves save this. I would crop off the sky area completely. Removing that extra horizontal line more than the empty sky really looks better IMHO. Lastly, knowing your camera's capacity for multiple frames/sec I wish you had nailed him with the other leg more in the down position showing one foot better - or just a drop ahead in time where there is lighter background. Here, it seems to blend in with the dark of the wave unfortunately. One last thing, I am going to look at this in PS in a few minutes to see if adding sharpening might boost the edges since they are key to this silhouette anyway. 1.3TU :)Robin Edit: Here is my cropped & sharpened version if it matters... Rework
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 12:12:52 PM CST
Thanks for taking a crack at it - I like the suggested crop, but I'm stubbornly sticking to my soft and impressionistic version! (or maybe i should have saved this for breaking the rules!) I thought about cropping the sky before, and decided I liked it to balance the shoreline, but I guess I knew it could a distraction also, and I should have removed it - now on to the rest of them! John
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from duss/Luca (616)
on November 6, 2009 7:46:26 AM CST
(9)
I think this is a great shot, nice composition and nice mood, tonality of colors are really great and nothing wrong I see! Nice shot, great work!
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from stacy81/Stacy (251)
on November 6, 2009 7:06:38 AM CST
(11)
colors are pleasing and I do get the feeling of movement and by adding a silhouette to this shot adds a dimension but the biker really should be relatively sharp against the blurred background for this shot to work, so close to a trifecta homerun.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 7:26:12 AM CST
Hi Stacy - glad you got the sense of motion - and I'll just have to try harder for that homerun on my next submissions! Thanks for stopping by! John
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from sedatkisa/Sedat (37,110)
on November 6, 2009 6:55:30 AM CST
(10)
Hi John, it seems that the secret treasure of the photography buried in such kind of shots, for me you caught the rider well enough, pan effect at bg is nice with wonderful colors,his leg in action is also good, your title is alike a name of movie and I can't meet an old man figure with the feeling of speed energy of the cycle maybe.Rgds.
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 7:24:44 AM CST
Hi Sedat - hmmmmm.... good point - maybe I should have called this the Old man with lots of energy and the sea? ;-) Thanks for taking a look! John
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from rrayfield/Robert (53,676)
on November 6, 2009 6:19:09 AM CST
(12)
hmm . . the overall impression is excellent - crop, colour, mood. But, perhaps you have go a touch too far - it's like a kid who discovers that cinnamon adds a bit to French toast. The first batch he makes after that has MUCH too much cinnamon . . . So here, the initial impact is good. But there is so much blur that the eye is forced to settle on the bike's crossbar since it is the ONLY thing that's sharp. Did you try some at about 1/10? Did you get a more powerful silhouette?
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 6:26:00 AM CST
lol! I love your analogy! You may be right, but I really wanted to try for something different for me - a shot where nothing was sharp and see how that worked - along the lines of some shots by Max, Sheila, and others - really was thinking of a person walking in rain with him or her really blurred but the weather right now is pretty nice in Florida... thanks for taking a look! John
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From johngoyer/John (84,171)
on November 6, 2009 7:56:15 AM CST
I'll think about that - some motion blur in another layer maybe? - thanks! John
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