Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: RSL on May 09, 2012, 01:38:56 pm
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Sorry, couldn't resist it.
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Methodist United - a football team?
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Prepare for take-off!
Rob C
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What's to resist!!! A beauty.
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Nice!
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Russ
It's lovely. And it would also look very well in B/W. The wording is an abbreviated form of "United Methodist Free Church", part of the complex history of non-conformity in the late 19th century. Pictures of important buildings, like churches, are not cliches but vital historical documents.
Will you forgive me, Russ, if I add another Methodist church to your thread? This is the gorgeous Georgian example at Tregony, about 7 miles from here.
John
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Thanks, John. Yes, I'm familiar with the United Methodist Free Church moniker. My grandmother Lewis was a Methodist. One time my brother asked her (in jest): "Grandma, how can you be so sure you'll go to Heaven?" She answered (not in jest): "Because I'm a Methodist."
I thought about correcting Bill but I figured he knew and was kidding.
Tregony Chapel is a beautiful building.You're welcome to add anything you want to my threads. That's one of the beautiful things about LuLa. We can discuss and argue, and illustrate our points with examples on the threads where the discussions are taking place. There are other fora where that's a no-no. With a rule like that teaching and learning pretty much die.
Now I have to confess: The church I posted is in the "Central Kansas Flywheels Yesteryear Museum" in Salina Kansas. My wife and I have been driving by the museum for decades when we make trips to Florida or Michigan. This time, on our way back from Florida we stopped. The church was brought in from one of the surrounding communities.
Here's a picture of the beautiful little organ inside the church. Couldn't get into a position where I could get the whole thing. And a picture of some detail from an antique steam tractor.
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If I may be so bold as well...
In my neck of the woods, the Baptists have a church every three or four hundred yards along any country road and most look like this...
(http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6050/6389175033_3cdfa95008_o.jpg)
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Why is so much American building construction in wood? Surely it must be about the worst 'solution' for a land where violent weather can arrive out of the blue and blow your washing line down, not to mention park your car on its roof, with the wheels immodestly up in the air.
Rob C
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I guess it is because it's God's way of providing us with so many weather related photo ops.
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In the harsh sun of the Australian outback they built 'em out of corrugated iron.
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Falling congregation numbers at this place>
Graeme
( Nice image Russ ).
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Wood is absurdly strong given its weight, and it tends to bend under stress rather than break. It's almost the perfect construction material.
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That it is and when we first settled this land, trees were quite abundant. With careful woodlands management, trees and wood are still the preferred choice of builders.
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Maybe we should start a church thread. I'm seeing some pretty fine stuff on this one.
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Sorry, Russ, could not resist a little critique:
First, the positive (after all, we do not want to be accused of discouraging, non-constructive criticism):
- you did not forget to remove the lens cap
- the font chosen for the United Methodist sign is lovely, elegant yet strong, modest and bold at the same time
- the leading lines on the top of the roof (see my diagram) rightly point to the main point of interest: the cross
Now, what I really think (a.k.a. the negative):
- you have two huge empty areas, as indicated on my diagram: what's up with that? My eyes wander aimlessly there and then... leave the picture, as there is nothing to hold my interest there... for the future, make sure you always have something to show, wherever the viewer might look, i.e., do not leave any areas empty and devoid of meaning
- now, the rest of the leading lines are, frankly, a huge disappointment: there are too many of them (I got tired of pointing them all out with red arrows after a while), but where do they lead!? At best, they intersect at some totally compositionally irrelevant point and then continue ad infinitum to who knows where? What's up with that!? Leading lines are supposed to lead the viewer to the main point of interest, not all over the place, or, worse into deep space
- for example, the two leading lines intersecting just above the sign: they missed it by a hair! Couldn't you find a better vantage point (use a higher tripod or a ladder, like Ansel Adams - speaking of which, he is someone you could learn a lot from, and he also had some nice church images - you should check him out, try a local library)... right, I was talking about a vantage point, a better one, so that the leading lines point out the center of the cross sign, not above it
- now the worst part, indicated by an oval in the lower left of my diagram: there is shadow there that is not counterbalanced on the other side. Even worse, the other side is underexposed (a word of advice: check your exposure before you press the shutter). This dichotomy creates a deeply disturbing sense of disbalance and lack of harmony and unity, in direct opposition to the very meaning of church and religion (if, on the other hand, that was your intended metaphorical message, I suggest you better discuss you political views in the other forum we have on this site: The Coffee Corner)
- ultimately, there is too much blue in the picture (have you tried a different white balance?)... blue is known as a synonym for depression, which clashes with the otherwise sunny disposition in your image, creating yet another disturbing disbalance
I could go on and on, of course, but I do not want to discourage you from trying harder next time.
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+1
Rob C
P.S. Try using a digital camera, preferably one of those new Nikons, a D800. No, they don't come with a fixed lens, which, granted, can be awkward for the neophyte, but there's an abundant choice available (check your local camera shop - it's sure to carry a full range of Nikkor lenses) including several which will permit semi-automatic adjustment and exposure of difficult subjects such as this one, where there are vertical lines that, if you are not careful, might actually appear to converge towards an imaginary vanishing point, such as an earlier correspondent was trying to indicate as kindly as he could (always heed this person, he comes with pedigree), a phenomenon that will inevitable take you to Zabriskie Point, which isn't a place you want to be: houses there expolode.
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LOL, Given that on these forums we measure creativity by the size of our d… uurrrr, price of our equipment, I have to agree with the former two gentlemen. They are after all better line-drawers than I am. Or it might be a case of just seniority… with age comes experience. And between the two they have plenty of that.
Age that is…
;)
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... Or it might be a case of just seniority… with age comes experience. And between the two they have plenty of that.
Age that is…
;)
"I will not make age an issue in this campaign. I'm not going to exploit for political purposes my opponents youth and inexperience."
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Well, Slobodan is 55 and Rob is N/A, so, since I'm 82 that means I'm 27 years older than the two of them together. It's clear that I have the edge in experience. 8)
I agree with Slobodan: one should always draw ellipses and diagonals on one's photographs before they're posted. That way the graphically ignorant won't have to draw their own conclusions about composition and can be appropriately instructed. ;D
Nevertheless, I have to explain to Slobodan that those "huge empty areas" aren't "empty areas." They're "negative space," a very important part of this kind of composition. A point he missed. :-[
But Slobodan slipped up. The other thing he missed is that (sotto voce) I cropped. If he'd noticed that, instead of saying "I could go on and on..." he'd have gone on and on.
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Falling congregation numbers at this place
What an incredibly serendipitous line of cloud you have been gifted in this shot Graeme.
Cheers,
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Actually, I think Slobodan did go on and on. But then he cropped, too. :D
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Actually, I think Slobodan did go on and on. But then he cropped, too. :D
I was soooo waiting for you to point out to Rob how Slobodan has added some mammary symbolism to the image in honor of his search for a naked lady in a window frame somewhere, but I suppose that changes the connotation of the image to such extend that this thread would quickly have degenerated to unprecedented depths…
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I was soooo waiting for you to point out to Rob how Slobodan has added some mammary symbolism to the image in honor of his search for a naked lady in a window frame somewhere, but I suppose that changes the connotation of the image to such extend that this thread would quickly have degenerated to unprecedented depths…
Or grown out of all control.
Rob C
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I was soooo waiting for you to point out to Rob how Slobodan has added some mammary symbolism to the image in honor of his search for a naked lady in a window frame somewhere, but I suppose that changes the connotation of the image to such extend that this thread would quickly have degenerated to unprecedented depths…
Mammary symbolism!? Really?
If you are referring to the two gravity-distorted circles (a.k.a. ovals) in the upper part of the diagram, then I suspect your church of choice would be... wait, let me guess: Our (very old) Lady of... ;)
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Well, there we go. You chaps have gone and spoilt it all again.
Me and Russ and the boys were going to have a nice little thread where we could post some unassuming snaps of chapels and churches (and do I have plenty of those ;)) and stay right in our comfort zone . . .
And you lot come along and kick sand in our sandwiches. It's just not fair, and I shall tell Michael. You have your ruddy car threads, why can't we have churches?
John
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Well, there we go. You chaps have gone and spoilt it all again.
Me and Russ and the boys were going to have a nice little thread where we could post some unassuming snaps of chapels and churches (and do I have plenty of those ;)) and stay right in our comfort zone . . .
And you lot come along and kick sand in our sandwiches. It's just not fair, and I shall tell Michael. You have your ruddy car threads, why can't we have churches?
John
Had you made known your car-deprivation, I'd have sent you along a couple of Dinky ones from somewhere; but don't despair: we accept trains as valid alternatives, though I suspect it'll mean coal fragments in our eyes again...
;-)
Rob C
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No coal fragments with this one, Rob . It's the Orange Blossom Cannonball, one of the last wood-fired locomotives in the U.S.
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Look closely and you'll find more churches than cars… 8)
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I was soooo waiting for you to point out to Rob how Slobodan has added some mammary symbolism to the image in honor of his search for a naked lady in a window frame somewhere, but I suppose that changes the connotation of the image to such extend that this thread would quickly have degenerated to unprecedented depths…
And here are my contributions to the major topics of this thread: One church with a very small current congregation (built circa 10th century), and one naked lady in a window frame somewhere. Both in Italy in 2006. :D
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Booo! Eric; the poor lady's petrified! She must have been waiting there since the 10th C as well.
Rob C
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Maybe if she stays at the window for a few more centuries, she'll develop a bit of a sun tan to make her look healthier.
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Eric, I like the pictures. This kind of thing is my second love -- after street.
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Thanks, Russ. Of course they both show the Hand of Man. ;)
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Hey, what's up with that pigeon on a string, right up to her face? What kind of voodoo magic is that? Or, is that some kind of sign from Cosa Nostra?
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Hey, what's up with that pigeon on a string, right up to her face? What kind of woody magic is that? Or, is that some kind of sign from Cosa Nostra?
I'll have to start a poll to find the answer to that one.
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Hey, what's up with that pigeon on a string, right up to her face? What kind of voodoo magic is that? Or, is that some kind of sign from Cosa Nostra?
Never mind the pigeons: check out the Rolling Stones logo on the door!
Rob C
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The best thing about posting images here is hearing new ways of seeing things in them that I never noticed.
I guess all my attention must have been on the white, unreadable sign to the right of the door and below the window. ;D