Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => User Critiques => Topic started by: mguertin on October 11, 2006, 02:34:45 pm

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: mguertin on October 11, 2006, 02:34:45 pm

Hey everyone

Haven't posted any pics on here really until now, but hoping for some critique on these shots.

To me they give the feeling of creepy/scary ... maybe something from a Stephen King story ... These shots were done at 1AM and split toned in Lightroom.  They have some technical issues (I'm still a newbie but learning!)

Interested in any comments, good or bad!  

Mark

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: wolfnowl on October 11, 2006, 05:38:33 pm

Not my taste, but then again, I'm not a Stephen King fan either... I think the second one has more potential; the first one lacks any specific interest in terms of subject matter or composition.

Mike.

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on October 11, 2006, 07:57:55 pm

In the first one I'd be tempted to lighten up the odd-shaped objects (rocks?) just behind the foreground shrubbery, so they look even more like "ghosts".

Eric

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: mguertin on October 11, 2006, 09:16:56 pm

The objects are just the combination of the water and reflections.

Thanks for the comments!

Mark

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: jani on October 15, 2006, 04:48:13 pm

Quote

Interested in any comments, good or bad!

Ignoring what you wrote before that sentence, here's my take:

The first one reminds me of a comment I got in '87 or '89, when I as a teenager returned from a trip to London with my parents. I'd taken a photo of a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley in front of a luxury apartment, perfectly symmetrical. I had the photos developed in a local shop, and the guy running it -- whom I knew because I went there often -- said, quite plainly:

Nice, but too perfect.

And I think that covers yours, too. It's just too smooth in the smooth areas, and the reflection is just too good. A little imperfection goes a long way.

The second one is better in this regard, and it has a definitive mystical quality that appeals to me. I'm a bit uncertain about the framing, perhaps cropping off a bit of the right would help, or reframing for a bit more of the left. I feel that the foliage at the bottom is slightly disturbing the presentation. I really like the tonality.

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: howiesmith on October 15, 2006, 06:22:09 pm

Shades of Purple seems the perfect title.  When I look at them, especially the left one, the purple color seems the only thing going for it.  The one on the left, had it been taken during the day, would be nothing.

I don't think a technique, in ths case night photography, is enough to carry the day.  You obvisously understand night photography, I would suggest a subject to match.

Title: Shades of Purple
Post by: mguertin on October 16, 2006, 03:00:30 pm

Thanks for the comments.

I agree with the "too perfect" and that if it was a day shot it would have been nothing.  Before I split toned the image it didn't have much going for it ... I did like the look of it after the split toning.  Night Photography is pretty tough!  These images were just as a test for a new lens (Canon 17-40 f/4L) that I got that day but didn't have time to try it out till late at night!

I'll try different crops with the second image, thanks for the suggestions.

Mark