Luminous Landscape Forum
The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: RSL on September 03, 2009, 05:23:35 pm
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I usually don't like to post something brand new, but here's an exception. I shot this this morning in downtown Colorado Springs and almost didn't print it, but I think the B&W version is worth looking at. Let me know what you think. This isn't the kind of thing I usually do, so that may be why it appeals to me. The B&W conversion is a high structure job in Silver EFEX Pro. Can you tell which way the arches actually run?
[attachment=16377:Plaza_Arch.jpg]
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I like this, for a couple of reasons:
1) Obviously, the curves of the arches engage the viewer with their deceptive lines. That's the hook, which leads to...
2) Alternating bright/dark areas unfold, holding the viewer's attention. Then, there's the observation that...
3) A dominant line extends from bottom left, 1/3 in, running diagonally up and to the right.
4) After staring at this thing for a few minutes, the interaction of the lines of the brick, the dominant oblique line, and the curves of the arches are honestly starting to make me feel seasick.
Wow!
John
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I agree; this is very interesting. Gives me vertigo as well. Also I think the very dark almost black band near the center adds something.
Looks fairly compressed. Was this about 135mm?
Nice job.
Dave
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This is a great shot. Its the combination of lines, dark and light, and perceived shapes that hold and draw my attention.
JMR
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Neat! I never knew M.C. Escher did photography!
I think you have the perfect viewpoint and lighting to maximize the ambiguity. Very nice indeed.
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I like this, it's like a visual puzzle. Kind of reminds me of an Escher painting. As others have said the alternating light and dark areas are what really seal the deal. And all those arcs for the eye to follow and try to make sense of. Maybe go a little easier on the Structure slider in Silver Efex though; a little goes a long way, and too much can make images look 'digital' if you know what I mean.
I usually don't like to post something brand new
Why not?
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Great composition, Russ. The only thing that would make this nicer for me would be if this was real brick and not brick veneer. I think it would be something you could look at a little longer, with more character. On the other hand, that obviously wasn't an option that presented itself here and the way the courses meet at the corner with the brick veneer makes it more ambiguous, in terms of the perspective. What did this look like in context? Have any wider shots, just for curiosity sake?
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Neat! I never knew M.C. Escher did photography!
That's exactly what I was thinking! Nicely done!
Mike.
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Can you tell which way the arches actually run?
My guess is the arches are set up in a zig-zag pattern.
It is a really cool shot - I like the alternating light/dark pattern and how the line of the peaks of all the arches leads you to the "door" at the bottom of the frame.
Andrew
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Russ,
I love the image and still haven't quite worked it out! Pure Escher.
I think this image demonstrates the adage that photography is all about the art of seeing. In this case finding something remarkable and compelling in an everyday structure.
I agree with Jeff about the processing. For me the textures look a wee bit plasticky - but I have never used Silver EFEX so I can't offer any constructive suggestion there.
Ed
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Can you tell which way the arches actually run?
Not without concentrating hard, which is one thing that makes this a great shot!
Jeremy
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Neat! I never knew M.C. Escher did photography!
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Exactly my first thought! Could have been photographed by Escher himself.
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Yes, I enjoy Escher's surrealism too -- especially his stairways that seem correct until you look closer.
Here's some help (maybe) in sorting out the arches. This is the original in color, just as it came off the D3, but with a quick pass through smart sharpen.
[attachment=16388:Color.jpg]
And here's a record shot I made this morning at 24mm that shows the environment. The blasted cars are always parked back there and the stairwell in the middle of the sequence of arches looks like an afterthought since no architect in his right mind would spoil that arch sequence that way. This, by the way, is just an entryway to a large 13 story building.
[attachment=16387:Full_Monty.jpg]
Dave, You were close. I was using a 24-120mm lens and I shot at 120mm in order to exclude the distractions.
Jeff, I may have over-structured the B&W, but I think the surrealism is aided by the extra local contrast. I guess it's a call shot. I usually don't like to show anything I've just shot for several reasons. There are times -- very, very rare ones -- when I make a shot and know I've got something, but usually I have to get the stuff onto my computer and, after culling the obvious losers, let it sit for at least a few days before I make any judgments. One problem is that the tolerable stuff you just did is always the best you've ever done... until you look again later and reality sets in. Then there are the rare times when something I more or less turned up my nose at just after I shot it begins to grow on me.
Ron, Actually, it's real brick, but a lighter color than I'd prefer. I watched them lay the brick on some mornings when the building was going up. The color and environment shots should help to make the real situation clear.
Andrew. You're pretty close to right. The arches are set up at 90 degree angles to each other.
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I usually don't like to post something brand new, but here's an exception. I shot this this morning in downtown Colorado Springs and almost didn't print it, but I think the B&W version is worth looking at. Let me know what you think. This isn't the kind of thing I usually do, so that may be why it appeals to me. The B&W conversion is a high structure job in Silver EFEX Pro. Can you tell which way the arches actually run?
[attachment=16377:Plaza_Arch.jpg]
Heck of a shot! It is really engaging, and plays off the confusion possible in reducing 3 dimensions to two. Nice composition. I like the B&B better than the color version you have in one of posts in this thread.
I wouldn't call it "surrealistic," though.
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The first one works best for me. Compositionally it's very interesting and technically it's spot-on. Nice shot. I also like #3, but would prefer to see that also in B&W and with the background cropped out on the left on the left and also the sky on top.
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The first one works best for me. Compositionally it's very interesting and technically it's spot-on. Nice shot. I also like #3, but would prefer to see that also in B&W and with the background cropped out on the left on the left and also the sky on top.
Pop, Number 3 is just a record shot to show the surroundings and make it easier to understand what's going on with the arches.
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Very impressive. It really plays with the eye, almost like those optical illusions (below)
[attachment=16404:cool_cube.jpg]
Very well composed - well done
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I think this image demonstrates the adage that photography is all about the art of seeing. In this case finding something remarkable and compelling in an everyday structure.
Ed
Excellent observation.
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I'm always on the lookout for this type of shot, but have never managed to pull it off as successfully as you have here.