Wikipedia:Featured picture candidates/Melbourne Yarra Afternoon

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[edit] Melbourne Yarra Afternoon

My first self nomination. ;) A photo I took on a lazy spring sunday afternoon. Its very high quality (originally 12 megapixels) image showing quite clearly the Melbourne skyline, the Yarra River, a charter passenger boat and one of many rowing crews that regularly use the waterway as recreation.

• Nominate and support. - Diliff 04:12, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
• comment - I know this gets said a lot and sometimes it's an illusion, but I think the buildings are off vertical, leaning to the left. Does it need to be rotated clockwise slightly? I confess I haven;t done a guideline check in a graphics program which is the sure way to test. --bodnotbod 10:31, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Haha, well I hate to tell you, but its about as straight as it could possibly be. I just measured, and there is about 2-3 pixels of shift from the bottom of the largest building to the top. The easiest way to check is simply to view it full sized and scroll it across until the edge of the building is a couple of pixels from the edge of the screen. You'l see any lean quite clearly. In this case I honestly don't think it needs any rotation at all. Diliff 12:09, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
    • I'm a fusspot about leaning buildings, but this pic is vertical enough for me - Adrian Pingstone 17:10, 27 October 2005 (UTC)
    • Oops! Well, I did say it might be an illusion. Looks like it's time to take my head in for its annual recalibration. --bodnotbod 17:22, 30 October 2005 (UTC)
• Support, brilliant and clear. Raven4x4x 02:57, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• ( − ) Oppose I hope you don't take offence and think I'm trying to get my own back, but to quote yourself, it has the look of a tourist snapshot, and doesn't seem too expcetional to me. Clear, (Canon 5D!) and does it's job as far as illustrating the yarra, but that's about as far as it goes IMO. --Fir0002 09:40, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
  • Hehe, no offense taken, but composition-wise, can you offer a suggestion as for how it could be improved or point me to a photo that better displays the river in relation to the city? I guess in the end, judging a photo is extremely subjective. I hate to say it, but photography here tends to be sensationalised - if it doesn't shock or amaze, it isn't considered worthy. Can I ask, though, why have you nominated so many photos similar to this if you didn't think this one was worthy? :) Just wondering. Diliff 14:53, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

Composition wise (and I know this is obviously asking a lot) maybe a shot from the top of one of the towers boardering the yarra would like pretty good. The night shots use took already work well - but to me broad daylight is too ordinary. More dramatic lighting I guess is the gist of what I'm saying. Something like this looks pretty good. As to your other question, well that's a pretty hard question to answer really. I guess you could say it's personal taste (I've seen some photos which I thought pathetic gain amazing admiration by others) - and I think it's pretty hard for the photographer not to be biased towards their photo. I mean it's for a layman to appreciate the trouble you go to get a photo - the fact you go out of your way and find time to visit somewhere for no other reason but to get a photo for wiki - it doesn't get counted by the general public. They want something that is visually stimulating. But I guess the real reason is that I think it is far better for a photo to be nominated and utterly rejected than to have it sitting around never being recognised. --Fir0002 10:12, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Yeah, I can understand your point, but are you submitting photos simply for recognition? :) I guess we all have a slightly vain side and the desire for someone to actually see the effort we've put in - you're right. I'm mainly just sticking them on wikipedia to do my bit to help out though. Some of them are a bit borderline professional and I'm a little wistful leaving them online with such a generous licence, but for the time being its just a hobby anyhow. Thanks for the reply. Diliff 14:26, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

• Neutral. It's so clear and high res! But it's a little ordinary, so overall, I'm not swayed either side... Enochlau 10:38, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Support. 5D... lucky. The picture is sharp and it does a great job of illustrating the river and the city. What more do you want from a featured pic? Rhobite 16:12, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Oppose. I agree fully with Fir & Enochlau. Its a pretty picture, but quite ordinary. --ScottyBoy900Q∞ 23:39, 29 October 2005 (UTC)
• Comment for discussion. With no disrespect to Piccolo intended at all, and I'm really not even attempting to blow my own trumpet here, but why is it that landscapes seem to be more easily dismissed as 'ordinary' when a picture of a bug against a white background is considered great? I'm not saying the bug is not a good photo - it is - but given the same criteria, its just interesting that a (in my opinion anyway..!) well composed, exposed and illustrative landscape photo is considered ordinary. :) Diliff 03:05, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

We've all seen rivers, trees and highrises before. In their usual context everyday things do not seem special. But when you take them out of this context and allow for a more focussed closer look they seem spectacular (like the bug pic for example). --Dschwen 22:17, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Fair enough. I can accept that as a valid reason, but I do maintain a detailed, well composed and relevent photo of a boring subject could still be worthy. :) Just my opinion. I'll submit something a bit more 'out of the ordinary' next time. Diliff 14:26, 1 November 2005 (UTC)

Not promoted Raven4x4x 02:57, 10 November 2005 (UTC)