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Author Topic: Eidson's Florida Lab  (Read 1543 times)

RSL

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Eidson's Florida Lab
« on: November 29, 2015, 03:14:45 pm »

Been going back through stuff in my catalog again, and I don't think I ever posted this HDR I shot in Edison's Florida lab in 2008.

It was an overcast day, and the interior of the lab was pretty drab. But suddenly, as I was standing there, the sun popped out of a hole between clouds. I blasted off nine quick frames with the D3. The camera was handheld, but I was able to brace my body pretty well against a railing. As soon as the ninth frame clicked the sun went away and I didn't see it again the rest of the day.
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Diego Pigozzo

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2015, 04:56:40 pm »

I have to say that the shot doesn't work for me (but it could me just me) because it's too chaotic.
Maybe with a shallower DOF it would be less chaotic, but I don't know.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2015, 05:30:51 pm »

It's a fine shot, and the ray of sunlight really makes the image.
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Jeremy Roussak

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2015, 05:46:15 pm »

I fall between Eric and Diego: I like the light but the image as a whole lacks focus, as it were. It's also strangely familiar, Russ: might you have posted it before?

Jeremy
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BobDavid

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2015, 09:09:30 pm »

I've been there and to Henry Ford's winter home next door. The lab is dark, filled with tons of glass vessels, tubes, beakers, etc. I recall an impressive banyan tree on the premises.
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drmike

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2015, 02:56:37 am »

I'm with Diego, it overwhelms me with detail although maybe printed really big it might be less dense.
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stamper

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #6 on: November 30, 2015, 03:58:22 am »

Plenty to see here and I like what I see. The eye hops around the different objects but despite being "busy" I see a symmetry. A nice balance in the tones.

Bob_B

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #7 on: November 30, 2015, 10:29:45 am »

As a professional scientist (the job that pays the bills) and one who spends a lot of time reading about the history of science and biographies of scientists and engineers, I like your image. It nicely captures the inherent chaos of a lab, especially Edison's, who as I understand tended towards a rather messy lab. As a photographer, however, I have great difficulty finding a point to focus on. My eyes wanted to go everywhere at once. So, it seems to me that your photo might benefit by subtle changes in processing. If this were my photo, I'd consider lowering the shadows to darken the area around the light spot on the second from front bench and maybe use a local enhancement brush to increase the light area. This would help eyes lock on to a target, and then move around the photo. Just thinking out loud.
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muntanela

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #8 on: November 30, 2015, 10:44:17 am »

I have to say that the shot doesn't work for me (but it could me just me) because it's too chaotic.

For the same reason I really like it.
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RSL

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #9 on: November 30, 2015, 10:56:36 am »

Thanks all.

Jeremy, I may well have posted an earlier version of this. Sometimes I forget to drop a posted pic into the catalog I check to remind me whether or not I've made a particular post. On the other hand, in 2008 HDR software wasn't as good as what's available now, so I went back with Photomatix (which, my experiments tell me is the best of the lot), and re-did the nine frame HDR. There's been an improvement over the original.

Thanks, Bob_B, for pointing out that a lab like this is, as Diego said, chaotic. You called it "messy," but I think "chaotic" is the more accurate tag. But, let's face it: the lab just IS messy, and to try to hide that fact would make things even more messy. I wouldn't need to push the sunspot to make it brighter. As it was, I had to tone it down to keep some texture in it. As far as providing a target for your eyes to lock onto, if your eyes don't automatically lock on to the sunspot then you probably need to see an ophthalmologist.

And, Diego, a smaller depth of field would trash the picture. In the end, it's a messy lab. To a large extent the messiness of the lab IS the picture.

BobDavid's right. The banyan tree outside the lab is something else. It can shelter you. Banyans are interesting. I have a couple shots of banyan trees swallowing houses.
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Diego Pigozzo

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Re: Eidson's Florida Lab
« Reply #10 on: November 30, 2015, 10:58:35 am »

And, Diego, a smaller depth of field would trash the picture. In the end, it's a messy lab. To a large extent the messiness of the lab IS the picture.
As drmike said, probably in a big print the image would work better.
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