Street scene: comments requested

[Richard]

I can't decide whether I really like this one or not. Something bothers me about it. I think perhaps the people are too dark, but I'm not sure that's the problem, as the shot is really about the buildings.

http://rsinmadrid.smugmug.com/photos/95529498-L.jpg

What do you think?

Thanks,

[Mr. 2H2O]

Richard,
I love architectural shots. This one has some really nice elements - the play of shadow and light, geometry, texture...

Perhaps the distraction is the couple in the shot. If they were not in the frame, the clear focus would be the buildings but with them there, I tend to look at their inclusion as purposeful and my mind is drawn to the interplay of the people and their surroundings rather than the surroundings.

Mike

[germaine_sba]

IMNSHO, the problem is that you are shooting very bright sun with shadow in the foregound. The building in the upper right is bright, bright, bright and the rest of the picture suffers in comparison. It would be a hard scene to look at "in person", and it's hard to look at in a photo.

I wonder what would happen if you cropped out that bit of sky at the top and cropped level with the corner of the building ono the right. That way you would get rid of the posts in the foreground which don't (again IMNSHO) contribute very much.

Technically, you've handled the light and shadow well -- there aren't any blown highlights and the detail is good in all areas of the picture. (You might want to dodge the girl in the dark outfit a little to give a tad more detail.)

[gefillmore]

richard-

just my take on it-

used photomatix to combine a light and dark version to lessen the shadows a little and darken the highlights a little-

added some 'grain'-

I dunno-

will delete if you don't want this edited version here-

http://gefillmore.smugmug.com/photos/95904405-L.jpg

[LookBothWays]

My feeling is that having people in a shot like this usually gives scale to the buildings and intrest to the shot but in this case the people are looking directly at the camera with a sort of "hey there's a guy taking our picture" look. They are also not visually interesting so they kind of make the image less interesting for me. Nice buildings though! Thanks for posting it.

[Richard]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. The scene was indeed hard to look at, as the sun was very bright and the shadows were deep. I encounter that combination frequently in the narrow streets of old Madrid and am still trying to figure out how best to deal with it.

George: I don't mind at all when people try to rework my shots. At least you didn't put a chicken in this one. I must say, I don't really care for the grain, as it obscures some of the detail in the building on the left. But I do like the lighter foreground.

I checked out the Photomatix web site. Looks interesting but I don't know that I want to spend a hundred bucks on it. I have mostly been attacking the dynamic range problem with multiple RAW conversions and masked layers in PS, but haven't found a general solution yet. My CS2 HDR attempts have all failed miserably. I am hoping that a new tripod, head and cable release will help.

Regards,

[gefillmore]

re chicken-

very tempting-

it could peck at the grain-

[geraldfinnegan]

I really like it, and the people in shadow - the bottom of the scene in shadow- balance the top 1/4 of the photo, which is also shaded. Nice color too! And contrast

[Richard]

I really like it, and the people in shadow - the bottom of the scene in shadow- balance the top 1/4 of the photo, which is also shaded. Nice color too! And contrast

Thanks, Gerald. Glad you liked it.

[swintonphoto]

The beauty of this image is the wonderful light. You have successfully controlled it so that the feel is warm and the composition is fabulous. I think that the image is about the light and the architecturally based composition. The people are the part that I could see as possibly out of place - however, that being said, it depends what you are trying to say. I think it is fabulous. Best image I have seen today.:thumb

[Richard]

The beauty of this image is the wonderful light. You have successfully controlled it so that the feel is warm and the composition is fabulous. I think that the image is about the light and the architecturally based composition. The people are the part that I could see as possibly out of place - however, that being said, it depends what you are trying to say. I think it is fabulous. Best image I have seen today.:thumb
Thanks for the kind words. I am ambivalent about people in architectural shots. They do add scale and can make the shot warmer somehow, but they can also be distracting. On balance, I think this shot might have worked better without them. I will probably try to reshoot, but you never get the same light twice. At least, I never do.

Cheers,

[stephiewilliams]

lol at the chicken pecking the grain comment...I actually prefer the rework add character :) I also think the people add to the shot, I am not much for architecture unless it is over the top nothing like I have ever seen before interesting...

[gefillmore]

steph-

I'm at a loss for words-

usually people ignore my comments or delete them-

[Gouri]

Something bothers me about it. I think perhaps the people are too dark, but I'm not sure that's the problem, as the shot is really about the buildings.


What do you think?

Thanks,





To me, it's the plant behind the man's head.

[Richard]

To me, it's the plant behind the man's head.
Bingo! That's it. It would work without the people or without the plant, but the combination is too cluttered. Nice catch, Gouri.

Thanks,

[Gouri]

Bingo! That's it. It would work without the people or without the plant, but the combination is too cluttered. Nice catch, Gouri.

Thanks,

I would also try to get a shot with just one person walking away from the camera somewhere around the bend/curve.

I like people in such shots. :)