Critique Wanted which one do you prefer

[Luke]

It's just a goofy little macro testing out a new lens, but I still kind of like it. It has a retro vibe that like. So the first one here is pretty much SOOC except for a slight crop and messing with the tone curve a bit. But after I loaded it up onto flickr, the top line going off at an angle kinda looked weird to me.

Grundig radio by Lukinosity, on Flickr

So then I took it into Photoshop and leveled off the Grundig, but now I feel like it's a littl odd because I feel like there still enough context for the eye to understand that this was shot at an angle with the radio "going away" from the lens so it kinda looks weird to me now that the top is parallel to horizontal. So, it doesn't really matter....it's no great shakes....just a throwaway image eventually, but now I just can't tell which one looks more "right". What do you thebrilliant minds of SC think?....#1 or #2?
View attachment 64661
Grundig macro by Lukinosity, on Flickr

 

[BBW]

I cast my vote for numero 2!

 

[Ripleysbaby]

I prefer the first one. The second seems distorted. The Grundig logo looks square on to the lens while the speaker is at an angle.
So leveling up the logo imo, maks the image look false.

 

[grebeman]

This won't help, but to me they both look a little odd, as though the top half is at a different angle to the bottom half. Some sort of optical illusion, or my eyes are more screwed up than I thought. #2 is odder than #1.

Barrie

 

[Luke]

Don't worry Barrie. There is definitely something else going on here and I can't quite put my finger on it. Can you people even guess whether the letters are indented or embossed? The first time I looked at it, I kinda freaked out. Because it appears to the the opposite to what it really is. At least to me.

But then, I like images that unsettle a little bit.

 

[grebeman]

embossed

 

[Luke]

embossed

that's the way it looks to me as well. But it's not. I'll have to take another shot with the aperture stopped down with everything in focus and see if that clears up the weirdness going on, but I really like the shallow DOF here.

 

[fin azvandi]

I'm definitely getting a weird gestalt-effect looking at both images...with the tight blurring and very few other clues it's difficult to tell which side is closer/farther away. Even with the shadow on the grill it almost looks like the silver is sticking "out" rather then "in."

 

[pdh]

Is not the difficulty of making it look "right" to do with the planes of radio and sensor not being parallel?

Can't speak for any embossy effect as I'm viewing on a 'phone

 

[Luke]

Is not the difficulty of making it look "right" to do with the planes of radio and sensor not being parallel?

Can't speak for any embossy effect as I'm viewing on a 'phone

But then I couldn't have the text pass through the plane of focus (although I suppose I could get a tilt shift lens :tongue. I knew one of the "get it right in camera" crew would show up to give me a proper ribbing. But alas, I'm a modernist who enjoys playing with software to cover up my inadequacies with the camera.

 

[nianys]

N°2 for me

 

[pdh]

I knew one of the "get it right in camera" crew would show up to give me a proper ribbing. But alas, I'm a modernist who enjoys playing with software to cover up my inadequacies with the camera.

well, I'm certainly not one of those people and i've never claimed to be ... and nor am I offering a ribbing, just observing something

fwiw now I've looked on a proper 'puter, second version for me

 

[Luke]

well, I'm certainly not one of those people and i've never claimed to be ... and nor am I offering a ribbing, just observing something

fwiw now I've looked on a proper 'puter, second version for me

sorry if I misread your intent Paul. I just assumed a film shooter would be of the mindset to get it right in camera. Sorry to have put you in a little box.

 

[pdh]

well funnily enough I find I fiddle hardly at all with crops when i'm using flim, but still lots when i use digital ...

 

[kyteflyer]

Its like one of those weird images, Escher-like, that leaves you not quite sure which angle is "right". Sorry, Luke, my eyes are spinning in my head.

 

[Isoterica]

I am a fan for getting it right in camera Luke but anyway I think 2 is a little better. Count me as a second in the crew mostly because I've done that before too.. and tried to fix it. Now I am a little more mindful of what I will have to do in pp and try if at all possible to rectify any while shooting. And sometimes I just shoot to shoot because I want record of something too.

 

[Lawrence A.]

It's embossed. The camera never lies, ya know.

 

[KianO]

#2 but maybe something in between

 

[MargaretSchwarz]

i would like to cast my vote for the first one.