Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: John E on February 02, 2013, 01:26:46 pm
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Newly retired yesterday, after 37.5 years of civil service, so I've been taking time to go back through shots I took when I first entered the digital world in '04. This one is of a high school auditorium in Missoula, Montana, on a gray, overcast summer day.
My primary interest - have I overcooked the contrast?
(I have another color version where I transformed all the black to red, and it has more of a 'gates to hell auditorium' about, but I really did that just for giggles.)
Thanks.
John
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I like the shot, but I would have gone in closer or used a longer lens for a tighter composition. More like this.
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Or maybe even tighter still. There were multiple options for shooting that scene, all good--including yours, of course.
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Just ignore the croppers, John. They're always buzzing around LuLa like circle flies (q.v.)
That wet street is a very important part of the picture, and the contrast is just fine for the subject.
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In this case, Russ, I believe Doug's intent was to give other ideas for original framing. Don't know if I'll get up that way again, but his versions do give pause for thought. As for the wet street, I agree it's rather integral to the pic. Thanks for looking.
John
EDIT: Course, if I go back, I'll probably need to bring my own bike to use as a prop :P
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Just ignore the croppers, John. They're always buzzing around LuLa like circle flies (q.v.)
That wet street is a very important part of the picture, and the contrast is just fine for the subject.
+1
and the interplay of the different types of windows forming rhythms, as well as being architecturally relevant. I seriously wouldn't know why one would even want to crop this further?
One thought: what were the original colors like? I can totally picture this in red bricks, gray pavement, black street, which would kinda support the Hellish theme going there...
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Sorry, Oscar, as you can see in the original (after cropping to 8/10 - oops - and doing basic Lightroom work), it's really not all that hellish looking, without a bit of help. In my defense, I cropped it to 8x10, as that perspective worked better on this subject. Plus which, I wasn't all that good at composition then, just more of a point-n-shooter (not that my compositional skills are any great shakes these days either).
John
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Certainly isn't hellish looking. Makes the B&W definitely the right choice and the correct contrast and rendering imo.
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The B&W version is just right. Don't change a thing!
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Just ignore the croppers, John. They're always buzzing around LuLa like circle flies (q.v.)
For the record, my posts were not about cropping John's photograph, Russ.
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The B&W version is just right. Don't change a thing!
I agree. The contrast is harsh but it works well.
Jeremy
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The B&W version is just right. Don't change a thing!
The color version is nowhere as strong as the B&W.
Bravo!
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For the record, my posts were not about cropping John's photograph, Russ.
Since your posts included two crops of John's photograph you certainly could have fooled me.
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The B&W really personifies the feelings I had when I visited Missoula on my way to Condon. I have a friend who lives there.
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I agree with Francois: Bravo!
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Thanks to all who have taken the time to look and comment. Little did I know that a photo I've hardly even looked at over the years would draw such attention. I think that this is a good reminder that I don't always have the ability to assess photos I've taken. That conclusion is bolstered by the response of co-workers, who have responded well to other framed works I displayed in my office, works which I did not hold in the same regard (changed my photos out often in my office, just to change things up).
John
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Since your posts included two crops of John's photograph you certainly could have fooled me.
This isn't an example of you being fooled. You didn't bother to read my posts. Your reaction was a non sequitur.
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Of course, Doug, Now that you've explained the problem I can see those weren't crops after all. You must have gone there on a day with identical weather conditions and made your own shots. Thanks for clearing that up.
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Of course, Doug, Now that you've explained the problem I can see those weren't crops after all. You must have gone there on a day with identical weather conditions and made your own shots. Thanks for clearing that up.
No problem, Russ. I know better than to suggest a crop on this forum. :D :D :D
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The photo I am looking at - the first B&W in this thread - has a nice emotional punch to it. And several interesting contrasts. You see the name on sign and may think something dark inside, but then there's the bike, a sign of children. There are white windows on top playing against black windows on the ground floor, and the asymmetric rhythm is pleasing. There's a bit of mystery shapes in the middle windows. The big wet street provides a deep black base for the building to rest on, and gives it a real solid standing. I think it is showing something of the photographer.