Readers' Showcase: Steve Badger

I applaud the brave souls who dared offer constructive criticism of the artist's work. I find the photos themselves to be technically excellent, and the one with the keys is downright artistic, but I must agree, many of the pictures look like the thousands of photos you can find all over the web. I cannot say mine are better, but I am not stating as such, I am simply giving my opinion. I look forward to landscape photography heading in a new, original direction, and I will applaud the artist who leads the charge. Will it be me? Maybe, maybe not.

I enjoyed looking at these. Things like the clouds in number 8 and the boats and houses in the distance of number 6 were a pleasure to see. Yes, I've seen many landscapes on 500px of very good quality but I also enjoyed these. Well done, Steve.

Great set of photos, I love 7 and 9

Very, very well done!

Fantastic. Inspiring. Thanks for sharing.

I like number 1 and 2. Number 1 because of the lighting and composition that draws you constantly in to the image and number 2 because of its classical monochrome composition.

Amazing portfolio! Glad you stuck with it.

You are farther on your photographic journey than most get. Good work!

i like no 9

I am jealous...lovely photos indeed....

Technically ok but no "vision" , no "personal touch". Though everything has been already photographed , there's "uniqueness" in the true artistic photos that convey the photograph universe. I'm sorry to say that there's no such a thing in these photos. They look like technical photos in "gear review websites". Oh, Goodness!
With all the good amateur photographers revolving around Dpreview, why choosing this one, and why no series of photos instead of this constellation of different takes?

The photog deserves praise. He has the gumption to satisfy a desire to do something creative. Many people here are talking about what is art. They deserve praise too for sharing their subjective impressions even if there is no common agreement. Here is my subjective impression.

The photos are good technically—an accomplishment in itself. But most lack a unique point of view with a distinctive voice and style. This is not as bad as it seems. Imitation lies at the heart of all art. Legions of imitators always have copied masters. Merely proficient artists simply regurgitate dominant trends. Viewers experience this as banality. But imitation helps develop creativity and every so often leads to original art.

My favourite photo is the one titled “The Locksmith.” To me it's the most unique and evocative. It has elements of story, metaphor, formal composition and feeling: a stoic face behind a metal grill, a man encased in a small space. This photo speaks to me the most.

Sarcasm ON:
My keyboard warrior mentality has been offended by real images like this made onsite. You think I'm NOT inspired??? Bah! I have my 5D mark III that I use like a P&S! There's no excuse to be bored when there's a big sensored cam in my hand ---- at home with my stuffed pink panther!

REAL photography is about sitting in front of a PC all day and commenting on how other shutterbug's work fail to make the cut. Commenting on every image like I know every lens and filter will earn the respect of my peers. I can "copy paste" intelligent arguments after I download the quotes from kelbyrockwell.com. This makes me truly brainy! One must grow roots on his chair because STILL photography is abut staying still in one place!

How dare you urge me to move away from my fish and chips at home!!!??? I can produce new work by using Photoshop for 12 straight hours on one downloaded image! That is the only way to perfection!

If you like the pics and/or the article, you are free to comment on this forum. if you dont like the pics and/or the article, you are also free to comment on this forum. i am in the latter group and sick of people having the position that if it is featured on dpreview, we should all like it. and i dont have to be a chef to dislike a certain dish at a restaurant (and yes people do like me in parties).

these images, though pretty as they are, lack of any distinct characteristics that makes them special.. lack of substance.

Beautiful work. Keep going strong!

These extreme foreground background juxtapositions, along with fuzzy water , and with HDR color is a trifecta of gimmickry. That is not a good formula for timeless photos

Of course this is just my opinion, but when you use a lens that's too wide for the subject, the perspective is so unnatural that the photo becomes about the lens, not the subject.

For example, the photo of the boardwalk looks like its from a camera brochure where they're trying to illustrate how extreme the lens is. But that's personal taste; some people like to shoot portraits with a fisheye.

Very good, professional images. Unfortunately, the kind business likes to degrade by putting banners over the top like, "INSPIRE" and "PERFORMANCE" and hanging them on boardroom walls.

Isn't it amazing when people say 'seen these pictures 1000 times before', "not original" etc? Everything has been photograph to death (or even painted) thus making photography more boring than ever. Some people still find the location, get there at the right time and posses the right set of skills to capture 'nice' images - Steve did exactly that. Considering Australia's coastline is 25,760 kilometers, or a little over 16,000 miles, long, there are slim chances the pictures of exactly the same spot are out there. Even if they were, Steve's 'captures' are unique - and he does it extremely well. Good on ya Steve!

As usual, the comments section are filled with how "X photo has been done before or PP is overdone" while the article just wanted to inspire.

Can we just appreciate that a guy went away from "keyboard and forum photography" and actually shot great images in the real world?

Nice, mate. HDR is a little overdone for me. I did like #2 a lot. Reminded me of a few of Ansel Adams' black and whites. You might look to history for inspiration as well. Best

Yea, those are nice pictures.

Nice exposure and colors, but like others have said the market is saturated with this theme/look. The next step would be to carve your own niche and stand out from the crowd.
Also, is it just me or do the horizons not look straight on some of these??

These images hurt my eyes. Too HDR-y, too contrasty, too much tech, no soul kills the beautiful nature. Maybe it's a phase in his photographic journey.

Those typical Aussie seascapes - wide angle, slow shutter & HDR all look pretty much the same.

I think I see a pattern. Wide angle and clouds, and something in the foreground :)

Pretty pictures.

Beautiful work all around...ignore the jealous naysayers. DP Review is not what it used to be.

The most profound thing about this is "there's 'no excuse to be bored' when there's a camera at hand."

Lovely landscapes, especially number 4 and 8
Although my favorite shot was the dude standing behind the keys.... Well done, bravo!

I really enjoyed this set Steve, perhaps I'm 'devoid of personality' too but these are the sort of shots I aim for... keep up the good work!

Nicely done. Eminently forgettable.

Technically great but completely devoid of personality. I've seen very similar shots all over 500px and flickr. These types of shots are quite trendy these days.

Amazing pictures, keep it up!

Lovely photographs, thanks for sharing!

These are wonderful photos...this photographer does a nice job... Great technique and discipline.
Nature is everywhere, we just have to take our gear and backpack, leave our homes, go outdoors ... And enjoy shooting what we have around us !!

For a "3 years old" photographer, you had a very steep learning curve!
Your enthusiasm and dedication surely help here.
I wish I could show some pictures as good as yours.
Congrats, really!

Except for the man with the keys these lovely calendar pictures could have been made by any one of thousands of photographers. I suspect editors at DPreview prefer to anticipate the taste of the average consumer rather than risk a new idea.

Really like number 7. Not a huge fan of sharpened clouds but compositions good throughout.

These are good examples showing how over hyped the lack of DR is with Canon cameras vs SoNikons.

These works of art simply look fantastic!