Artography - Train Stop and Alley at Night

[Mike Lamb]

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[Les]

number one. light and hue. did you have to move around much for alignment? two is good, one is better.

[kurt]

#1....I think the composition and color is very good, but the barrel distortion messes it up. For that arrangement of forms to work (for me, anyway), you need clean verticals.

#2, nothing special.

[Les]

#1....I think the composition and color is very good, but the barrel distortion messes it up. For that arrangement of forms to work (for me, anyway), you need clean verticals.

#2, nothing special.

guess I don't know what barrel distortion really is. I like the arrangement and thought the "verticals" were fine.

Mike, was verticals the consideration?

[kurt]

All the verticals lean to the center; wall corner, light post, stop sign, train lights, color lines on building, etc....all lean to the middle. Barrel distortion, some might call it parallax.

You've got this strong horizontal-vertical composition going on with great massing, color blocks , proportion; train tracks, the building, lights, walks, all the stuff that makes it interesting juxtaposed against the free form sky/cloud thing. It's a great idea, but the distortion messes it up.

I don't want to be aware of the camera, let alone the distortions it brings to a composition. Great eye, faulty execution. You can't shoot this sort of composition with a point and shoot.

[Tom Raymond]

There is definitely some distortion going on but that light pole is from the hood and is leaning to project an attitude, or maybe it just got whacked.

[kurt]

I think it definitely got whacked. If that was the only slanting vertical, it would be fine. It might even be better. It's honest. There's a story to consider.

But, that's not the the case.

The fact that all the verticals lean inward bothers me.

[Les]

now I can't even look at it without cocking my head! thanks!! But - - - - - I still like it.

[Mike Lamb]

Thanks for the remarks

[Tom Raymond]

Could be worse. The RE shot every one of the listing photos of the house I did Tuesday as a panorama. Check out the fun house mirrors for yourself: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6983- ... 3188_zpid/

[John Kogel]

Tom, I was not able to view any pics except the cover shot. I think you should nuke that post to avoid repercusions from your clients if not from others involved. [:-party].

There's also a brightness feature some people like to overuse.

Here I fixed #1 up for y'all. Just need to hang it crooked. []

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[Rob Amaral]

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That shot has a lot to play with in many ways.. I fooled around with it.. Hope you don't mind! You take great photos Mike!

[Jim Katen]

#1....I think the composition and color is very good, but the barrel distortion messes it up. For that arrangement of forms to work (for me, anyway), you need clean verticals.

#2, nothing special.

I think that what you're seeing is just perspective, not barrel distortion. A camera with tilt shift adjustments could eliminate it, though nowadays, you can do it post process, kind of like this:

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[kurt]

That's better. Not sure I like it though...part of the stop sign got trimmed, and there's some altered nature I can't put my finger on. The whole stop sign is some significant part of the success or failure in my book.

Verticals don't lean due to perspective. The corner of the building, the stop sign, the shadow, the train signal.....all lean. It's distortion.

More accurately, verticals could lean due to perspective, but the vanishing points are so far outside the picture frame it's not likely to impress on this sort of image.

I think the image shows great possibilities, but one shouldn't be aware of the camera in a well crafted image, at least in my extremely small retentive analysis of imagery.

[hoosier inspector]

I noticed within the pictures of an inspection from last week was this misfire. You never know when an opportunity presents itself, the sun is just right, the wind, a shadow. It was interesting but not quite right. Is it too busy, or unbalanced? I'm always looking for pics to include in marketing but don't know how to stage a shot. Does anyone know of a good primer for an amateur on composing shots? Not trying to become a professional, but just want some tips like "lose the camper", or "center the flag". That kind of stuff.

Thanks

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[kurt]

Never put the horizon line in the middle; either upper or lower portion of image, but don't ever have it cut the pic in half.

Try to avoid diagonal composition, although on occasion, they work great. In the case of your window, they don't.

Try to compose with your darkest darks next to the lightest lights. It makes an image punch.

Try not to compose with color. Compose with value. Value refers to the gradual movement from black to gray to white. A value that is on the upper portion of the value scale is known as being "high key". A value that is located on the lower portion of the value scale is known as "low key"......highest key would be white, lowest is black. It's the hardest thing to get right. If you want to understand value, look at anything by Ansel Adams. Reread the previous comment.

Balance voids and solids....sort of.

Be lucky. Very lucky. It's the only rule that works all the time.

[Mike Lamb]

I agree there is too much distortion with the first image. This edit removes much of it and is also better for it, I think.

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And one with no stop sign.

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[hoosier inspector]

Never put the horizon line in the middle; either upper or lower portion of image, but don't ever have it cut the pic in half.

Try to avoid diagonal composition, although on occasion, they work great. In the case of your window, they don't.

Try to compose with your darkest darks next to the lightest lights. It makes an image punch.

Try not to compose with color. Compose with value. Value refers to the gradual movement from black to gray to white. A value that is on the upper portion of the value scale is known as being "high key". A value that is located on the lower portion of the value scale is known as "low key"......highest key would be white, lowest is black. It's the hardest thing to get right. If you want to understand value, look at anything by Ansel Adams. Reread the previous comment.

Balance voids and solids....sort of.

Be lucky. Very lucky. It's the only rule that works all the time.

Thanks, that gives me a lot to go with. I've reconsidered looking for shots during an inspection though. I am too easily distracted.

[kurt]

I agree there is too much distortion with the first image. This edit removes much of it and is also better for it, I think.

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And one with no stop sign.

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Much better. The whacked light pole now provides a lyrical component.

The original pic without distortion would be pretty cool. I think it needs all the original elements. Taking out the stop sign isn't right. It needs all the elements. Your eye had it right the first time. Execution lagged.

[Mike Lamb]

"Execution lagged."

It's a fairly common criticism of my pics in the photo forums. My execution has also been described as awkward and clumsy. Terms of endearment.

[kurt]

Hey, I know all about the awkward and clumsy part. My paintings are the definition of awkward and clumsy. I've had the critical equivalent of having been keel hauled under a barnacle encrusted Man o' War, then a flamethrower inserted where the sun don't shine.

It doesn't effect me at all......[:-censore[:-paperba

I'm a painter, not a photographer, but the same basic rules apply. What you're trying to do is technically quite hard. It can't be done with a point and shoot in most cases. You got a good eye for a lot of stuff, and getting the technical stuff right only comes with doing it.

The greatest learning occurs when you practice diligently but seem to be getting nowhere.

You're most likely to make substantial progress by practicing not to make progress, but simply to practice.

Those not on the path of mastery practice in order to achieve goals.

Those that are on the path to mastery have their goals in order to enhance their practice.

Goals are transient, practice is forever.

Think hard about these. It's what makes the difference.