# Lets have an auction!



## manaheim (Oct 5, 2008)

Le'ts conclude this experiment.

[orginal post removed]


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## manaheim (Oct 5, 2008)

hmmm... 2 responses.  So does that mean "I wouldn't buy it no matter what you charged?" 

Maybe a clarification... not really looking for what necessarily and one particular person would pay, so much as maybe "what price would you not be surprised by"?


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## heavenlymom (Oct 7, 2008)

I cant' see the photo or else I would have voted. 
I'd say for something like you explained though where I live it would be around $150 - $250


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## manaheim (Oct 7, 2008)

Well so far this is a statistical bust.  I have one vote for nearly each option. lol

Not sure why you can't see the pic- may have been a server glitch.


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## Overread (Oct 7, 2008)

I think part of the problem is that its hard to tell how much a photo really is worth - best thing is to charge as high as you think you can get away with 

also if we are to get rid of the Devils term what word do we use instead?


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## manaheim (Oct 7, 2008)

Overread said:


> I think part of the problem is that its hard to tell how much a photo really is worth - best thing is to charge as high as you think you can get away with


 
Thanks that's WICKED helpful. :lmao:  I think that was the original point of my thread... trying to figure out what the heck I can get away with. 



Overread said:


> also if we are to get rid of the Devils term what word do we use instead?


 
Anything but.  "Banana Effect" for all I care.  Bokeh must die.  In all seriousness, I usually say "depth of field effect" or "blurred background".


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## craig (Oct 7, 2008)

I voted less than $100.00. Not a whole lot of style in this shot. Looks Like someone just drove by in a helicopter and pressed the shutter.

Love & Bass


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## manaheim (Oct 7, 2008)

craig said:


> I voted less than $100.00. Not a whole lot of style in this shot. Looks Like someone just drove by in a helicopter and pressed the shutter.


 
Edited to make less snarky...

So explain to me how, exactly one makes a more creative shot of a bridge other than an interesting angle flying over it?  It's a bridge, I'm over it, I'm at an interesting angle, banking... short of the bridge having a huge accident on it, I don't see how this gets too much more interesting.

The mere fact that the shot is taken from a helicopter makes the shot fairly unique, the angle and banking over the bridge ever the more so.  "Just driving by in a helicopter" is hardly a triviality for most people.

To date you are the only person who has seen this shot who hasn't been completely enthralled by it, so I'm intrigued to say the least.


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## craig (Oct 7, 2008)

Differing opinions are healthy in forums. My thoughts are never ridiculous. I would have chosen a better time of day or a composition that did not include many different elements that make the scene confusing. Let's see the contact sheet from this shoot and discuss the matter further. No excuses. Do it.

Love & Bass


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## Sardine (Oct 8, 2008)

I'd pay less than $100 simply because I live in South Africa (making $100 = R700), and because I don't find that shot paticularly interesting.

Yes, it's an aerial shot. Yes, it's at an interesting angle (what was your banking angle? Seems pretty steep). Yes, it's of a bridge. And yes, some rich person would probably buy it for his/her 'modern' apartment.
It's also difficult to judge the quality of the picture because it's on the net. The buildings look blurred and almost pixelated around the edges. Now, that could be because of my eyes, my PC, or the effects of resizing.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

craig said:


> Differing opinions are healthy in forums. My thoughts are never ridiculous. I would have chosen a better time of day or a composition that did not include many different elements that make the scene confusing. Let's see the contact sheet from this shoot and discuss the matter further. No excuses. Do it.


 
I should put back the snarky response I had earlier.  

In the year-ish that I've been actively back on these forums, I've not had a single person be quite as obnoxious as you are being here.

I'm not crying about it, I'm just reasonably amazed.  So, I'm going to conclude my conversation with you now.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

Sardine said:


> I'd pay less than $100 simply because I live in South Africa (making $100 = R700), and because I don't find that shot paticularly interesting.
> 
> Yes, it's an aerial shot. Yes, it's at an interesting angle (what was your banking angle? Seems pretty steep). Yes, it's of a bridge. And yes, some rich person would probably buy it for his/her 'modern' apartment.
> It's also difficult to judge the quality of the picture because it's on the net. The buildings look blurred and almost pixelated around the edges. Now, that could be because of my eyes, my PC, or the effects of resizing.


 
Yeah, this wasn't so much what would YOU pay, as what do you think someone in the market for a print (presumably someone who would appreciate this image because it is local to them) would pay for such a thing.

Most of my images are of a "local" nature, now that I think about it.  Interesting.

Thanks for the feedback.


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## ksmattfish (Oct 8, 2008)

manaheim said:


> So explain to me how, exactly one makes a more creative shot of a bridge other than an interesting angle flying over it?  It's a bridge, I'm over it, I'm at an interesting angle, banking... short of the bridge having a huge accident on it, I don't see how this gets too much more interesting.



I missed the photo, but from this response I'm assuming it was less than spectacular.  If you aren't into the subject, if it does not excite you, if you are a mere documentarian rather than an artist, if all you are doing is what anyone else could do with the same gear, then the photo is probably worth what it would cost to send someone out to take the photo.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

No, I was quite into the subject.  I think whathisface is totally off the mark on this one.  The shot is actually very cool IMO.  In fact, compared to the other hundreds of shots I took on that helicopter trip where I went "yawn... ho hum... a boring picture of a city from a helicopter", this one was like "WHOA!!! COOL!!!"  (for me, anyway...)

I killed this particular thread (sorta killed it, anyway) because some people were being pretty unconstructive and/or totally missing the point.  This happens from time to time, I just didn't feel like dealing with it.

For example... look at your own post... making the assumption the shot was less than spectacular even though you didn't see it?

Anyway... mooooooving on.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

hahah someone voted "less than $100" AFTER I removed it.

Ok that's funny.


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## Overread (Oct 8, 2008)

Personally I find a shot of white (well forum white) to be very revealing and interesting. And it has a lot of uses!
Number one is that when I blow the image up to full screen size I can spot screen dirt! Now were I to buy software to do this it would cost a fortune - throw in a few screen wipes and I think you are onto a big online seller there manaheim


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

^^^^


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## dEARlEADER (Oct 8, 2008)

put the image back up...... i didn't get a chance to see it... seems it's stirring quite the controversy.... that usually means it's worth a lot of money...


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## kundalini (Oct 8, 2008)

I guess I missed the joke........ or as the usual case, a day late and a dollar short.

However, if you (manaheim) so quickly pulled the photo from public display on the comment by 'craig', then it appears from the outside, that you may not have been that impressed with your own work (this time).

I too, would like to see the image, but alas, I refrain and use only my imagination at this point.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

I have actually posted it before (and it's still up).

My removal of it was seriously just that I was getting annoyed at people.  I'm quite happy with it.

This is kind of self-defeating because people may start being silly again, but you can see the pic on this older thread:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131627&highlight=whoa


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

Actually one of the things that's kind of intriguing about this shot is the spacing of the red cars... I haven't gone as far as measuring them, but they look REALLY equidistant... like almost a statistics problem in action.


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## rubbertree (Oct 8, 2008)

Just because someone doesn't agree with you does not mean you should pick up your toys and go home.
My honest opinion? The angle is too severe and the colors are flat with no saturation or contrast.
Sorry if that upsets you.


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## kundalini (Oct 8, 2008)

manaheim said:


> but they look REALLY equidistant....


 Can't say that is what I see, but it could obviously be a perspective issue.  What I see is that red car 1a (West bound traffic of lower bridge from this image) is almost covered in the cabeling of spire #1 in lane 1 and car 1b is about 4 car lengths in front of the crossing shadow and in lane #2.  Car 2a is pleasingly centered, but in lane 3.  Car 3a is about 8 or 9 car lengths behind the crossing shadow of spire #2 and in lane #3.  Not sure that equates to equidistant.

Not trying to be snarky.  The photo is good , but I am getting a crick in my neck looking at it.


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## mdsoares (Oct 8, 2008)

Personally, I would up the contrast a little bit.

Other than that I think it's a very cool shot.

Shots like this however, are tough to gauge, which is why I think you're having such varied responses.

Unlike a photo of the Empire State Building, The Golden Gate Bridge, or the Statue of Liberty, a shot of this bridge is very much something that would appeal to locals only.

While it is a nice and interesting shot, being from Buffalo, I'm not all that enthralled by it.

However a person in Boston may very well pay a nice fee for it. I have photos of sites here in Buffalo, that while they are nice photos in their own right, not many people are going to like unless they are from Buffalo.

That's why I think you're getting some less than enthusiastic responses. Alot of the appeal of your photo is the local factor, which you're not going to get with someone not from Boston.

That being said, if this were a similar picture of the Peace BRidge here in Buffalo, I'd think someone here would pay $100-$150 for it.  Boston is more expensive, so maybe adjust accordingly


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

^^^ that's really excellent feedback, thank you.

I suspect you are right.  It was actually this thread that led me to realize that soooooo many of my pictures are actually very much of a local appeal.  I should probably branch out, but currently I'm really enjoying taking Boston related pictures.  Boston is kinda' cool. 

Still, good to think about and plan for.

Thanks for the comments.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

rubbertree said:


> Just because someone doesn't agree with you does not mean you should pick up your toys and go home.
> My honest opinion? The angle is too severe and the colors are flat with no saturation or contrast.
> Sorry if that upsets you.


 
I regret taking the image down ONLY because that really wasn't what I was doing.  

It takes a lot to genuinely upset me, but I was in a bad mood for reasons outside this thread, and felt certain people on the thread were being silly... snarky... something.  Can't think of a good word.

Something about just shrugging off hanging out the side of a helicopter and getting a unique shot as a "drive by" just really hit me the wrong way. 

Anyway, I just didn't feel like dealing with it, so I hoped if I took it down people would just move on.  Clearly that became more of an invite to come give me more of a hard time than before... which is interesting.

Blood in the water!


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

kundalini said:


> Can't say that is what I see, but it could obviously be a perspective issue. What I see is that red car 1a (West bound traffic of lower bridge from this image) is almost covered in the cabeling of spire #1 in lane 1 and car 1b is about 4 car lengths in front of the crossing shadow and in lane #2. Car 2a is pleasingly centered, but in lane 3. Car 3a is about 8 or 9 car lengths behind the crossing shadow of spire #2 and in lane #3. Not sure that equates to equidistant.
> 
> Not trying to be snarky. The photo is good , but I am getting a crick in my neck looking at it.


 
hahaha... "snarky" is such a great word.

Someday when I'm super bored I'm gonna figure out a way to measure it accurately and see. 

The pic is actually hanging up on the wall at my office... it's funny to see just how many people walk up and actually turn their heads to look at it.  Very amusing.


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## manaheim (Oct 8, 2008)

Sorry for 4 posts in a row... actually didn't realize I had more responses when I did the first one.

In all seriousness, I'd like to put this one to bed.  So if everyone feels like they've had their say, I'd love to move on.

Thanks for all the comments!


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## craig (Oct 8, 2008)

manaheim said:


> I should put back the snarky response I had earlier.
> 
> In the year-ish that I've been actively back on these forums, I've not had a single person be quite as obnoxious as you are being here.
> 
> I'm not crying about it, I'm just reasonably amazed.  So, I'm going to conclude my conversation with you now.



Bummer you took down the post and decided to turn away. I was hoping to see a contact sheet and discuss what was going on when you took the shot. I hope to see more of your work, but if you are going to remove it when opposing views come along you should think twice. I invite you to check out my M.I.L.K thread. It is a positive place to showcase your most amazing moments.

Love & Bass


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## manaheim (Oct 9, 2008)

craig said:


> Bummer you took down the post and decided to turn away. I was hoping to see a contact sheet and discuss what was going on when you took the shot. I hope to see more of your work, but if you are going to remove it when opposing views come along you should think twice. I invite you to check out my M.I.L.K thread. It is a positive place to showcase your most amazing moments.
> 
> Love & Bass


 
See the key bit is it was not really intended to be a discussion about the particular image, it was intended to be a discussion about pricing for prints. I could just as well have put up a picture of the mona lisa, in effect. Ok, maybe not that, but hopefully you see my point.

So since the thread was spiralling off into a guardrail, I figured I'd try to just end it.

I will admit I did get defensive... not sure why... maybe just because I didn't expect the criticism here... or it could be just because your particular criticism was at once authoritative and dismissive.  It really _was_ kind of annoing. 

TBH, I don't even know what you mean by a contact sheet... unless you mean just a collection of all the shots I took on that particular helicopter trip... but I don't much see the point of that. Most of them were fine, but fairly unexciting.

I put up my pictures for commentary and critique all the time, and get a variety of responses- favorable and non. Always open to criticism, it just wasn't the point here.


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## craig (Oct 9, 2008)

Gotcha! Since it said "less then 100.00 please explain". I did. Water under the bridge. 

At any rate. Contact sheets or a collection of the images shot good or bad is really handy. That way you and I can see your thought process during the shoot. Again I digress. Feel free to PM and I can explain how to set one up and all that fun stuff.

I can be annoying at times. Please feel free to tell me to shut up or whatever. I am fairly thick skinned.

Love & Bass


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## manaheim (Oct 9, 2008)

craig said:


> Gotcha! Since it said "less then 100.00 please explain". I did. Water under the bridge.
> 
> At any rate. Contact sheets or a collection of the images shot good or bad is really handy. That way you and I can see your thought process during the shoot. Again I digress. Feel free to PM and I can explain how to set one up and all that fun stuff.
> 
> ...


 
It's all good.   I'll drop you a line to chat, regardless.  Cheers!


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## craig (Oct 9, 2008)

Excellent!

Love & Bass


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