Statues

[Lost]

A couple of statues from Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona, taken on the way to find some food the other morning.

The neo-classical figure with the horse was quite difficult to frame as the statue is visually quite confusing with another figure just out of frame and numerous plants and structures nearby. I used Lightroom to crop a square image and to burn out some tree foliage that was intruding in to the frame. The result fills the frame, but the resulting composition doesn't fit well with rule of thirds or similar guides.

I think that I should have been a bit tighter with the background framing on the godesss, but attempts to improve it (such as cleaning up the bottom lower left and right corners) looked a bit too artificial...

[wolfnowl]

Both well done.  The first statue is quite massive, and the tight crop and square format accent this.  In the second one, the long sensuous 'frame' in the background again complements the smooth lines of the statue.

Mike.

[Dick Roadnight]

Nice.

Some times you can produce pro-quality work without flash, reflectors, diffusers etc... Was the natural light on an overcast day, or in shadow on a bright day or what?

¿Remote control clouds are yet to be developed?

[Lost]

They were both taken in natural light mid-morning on a fairly miserable day, with glaring overcast sky and intermittent drizzle. The only umbrella used was to keep the rain off...

The exposure was chosen to deliberately burn out the sky and give as much detail as possible on the statues. We've had some success with outdoor shots that allow the background to burn black or white in PP, giving better subject isolation.

What I am less happy with is the framing. It feels kind of wrong in both cases, but I am not sure what would improve things (aside from some tighter alignment of the background on the godess).

[Rob C]

Well, for the girl, you might spot out the dandruff and then apply a little sun oil followed by a slight spray of water in the right places; oh, always carry a model release.

It's raining here in Mallorca, too. Perfect weather for something or another - possibly ducks.

Rob C

[Lost]

Getting the signature might be tricky, since she is sitting alone in the center of a large pond. Maybe that is why she is so content, as it looked about the only place that was not packed with people

The weather here is just terrible for outdoor photography at the moment. While I was away in Japan, when it rained it *really* rained, and you could make it a feature in the photo...

[John R]

I like them both. If one really observes, one can see that even in low and heavy overcast light, there is play of shadow and light. In this case it is very subtle and brings out the qualities of the stautes without harsh or hard shadows; the muscles in one and the form and shape of the body in th other. If you were to crop the beautiful woman below the head, it would be a wonderful abstract of form and shapes. But I am not suggesting this as an improvement, rather, as simply an alternative view of the image.

JMR

[Lost]

Below is a photograph of the original version of La Deessa o l'Enigma (the one in Plaça Catalunya is a copy). I did wonder about trying to dust off her dandruff too, but I think that she has spent so much time outside in the Catalunian sun and rain that her skin is a tad wrinkled now.

This was taken in an enclosed courtyard in Barcelona City Hall, under a mix of (weak) natural and unhelpfully placed artificial lights. I was supposed to be there to get some photographs of the dragons before the evening's correfoc, but that is another story...