it is all your fault!!!

mentos_007 · May 25, 2005

why? because you posted ssoooo many b&w pictures and now I'm turning to black and white photography. What's more you posted soooo many postprocessed images that now I play with levels and contrast... you demoralized me you know!?!?! But ok, seriously speaking, I need some serious critique on this one. I'm going to submit a fe of my pictures to the competition in our local photographers society. This month topic was "Stettin as a marine city" or something more less like this. Feel free to "improve" it somehow, and tell me please what you did with it and what you like or not.

added contrast, played with levels, added noise to make it iso800-look-like

edit: ok and be ready that I'll post much more like this

JonMikal · May 25, 2005

two things:

the cranes are a bit distracting to an otherwise peaceful setting and while i think it's a great pic for b&w, it seems a bit overexposed; although it could be my monitor.

i like it a lot Alexandra, and if you're not opposed to PS, it can work fine.

anyone else?

JohnMF · May 25, 2005

i think the composition is very good, just the right amount of water in the shot etc.

Dont think it can be fully appreciated at this size, and if you are going to print/develop this one i would be tempted to do it quite a big format.

I think you should clone the top of that main tree off so that it ends before it lead your eye out of the picture. That shouldnt be too hard to do without making it look un-natural as there seems to be a break/gap in the leaves near the top and you can use that as a guide.

Also i wish that house wasnt obscured so much by the trees and shadow, as i think this could have been more of a focal point or feature. but theres is not much you can do about that. (unless you have a chainsaw

)

With regards to the cranes lurking in the background i dont mind them, they give you the feeling that this place might be an oasis within the "city". Maybe i would have even liked to see a couple more in a row, next to the ones already there!

Hope this helps a bit

meotter · May 25, 2005

before i make any critiques, can i see what the shot looks like in color? the shadows (or what i think are shadows) have me slightly confoozled.

John E. · May 26, 2005

The cranes in the background could be an interesting feature and the shadows may work, the angle is good. Personally I would have gone for a tighter crop. To the right of the object sticking out of the water I cannot see anything happening there and feel it does not add to the photo nor does all that water leading to the building so I would crop it. The tree behind the object would frame your subject nicely

mentos_007 · May 26, 2005

meotter: here you are the colour version:

You can see much more details in this one but I think it lacks a mood...

meotter · May 26, 2005

wow, i can see so much more detail now! and i can tell what is what and where objects begin & end. i have to say that the B&W definitly has more "mood", but the color one also has a charm unto itself in that it's almost like a monet painting (probalby not the best example, but my art knowledge is limited) in how soft the colors are and how the details flow & contrast from one to another. the water looks like brushstrokes as does the "happy" clouds & "happy" trees. (bob ross reference)

that being all said, "stettin as a marine city" this doesn't tell me much about it being a marine city. their isn't a lot that makes me think this is anything other then a private property dock on a lake in anytown, usa (or poland if you will). I don't think that the cranes detract from your goal, but i don't think that the waterfront you've chosen helps your goal either.

that however,is neither here nor there, as you asked for critique on this particular photo. the image seems overexposed and i think in the B&W version it magnifies it even more. The tree does lead your eye out of the picture as JohnMF stated and the little house is covered by trees (or what appear to be shadows in the B&W), thus losing what would otherwise be a strong focal point. right now, the structure below the long tree and the cranes that the tree lead you to are the strongest points of interest here and i'm not sure if that's what you were going for.

is that critiquey enough? hope it's helpful

terri · May 26, 2005

I do like your B&W, Mentos, but would have to agree that, composition-wise, 1) the cranes have to go and 2) it's a bit busy. Hard to know what to look at.

And if you had more contrast, it would certainly help - your sky would look lovely!

Let's see some more. And you might find B&W film a bit easier than messing about in PS with B&W. Just a thought, if you have a film camera.

mentos_007 · May 26, 2005

thanks for your comments... I'll definitely go there again and shoot more

this topic is quite hard, I don't know who came up with it... my city is about 100km from the see, we only have shipyard here, so I'll try some ferries and ships

Terri, yes I have a film camera but... yeaterday I spoiled 3 rolls of b&w film

uhh... I haven't played in a darkroom for toooooo long and ... I forgot about a few important things heheh... but never mind... next time I'll just take my roll to the lab

LaFoto · May 27, 2005

Why do so many say that the cranes must go?
Isn't the theme "Stettin as a marine city"? Well, how could a lake, little boathouse and dock represent that, if it weren't for the harbour cranes in the background, I wonder.

However, I think that this photo ought to have included less lake water in the foreground, the entire birch tree at the dock and the whole of the tall crane on the right. In other words: a different cropping would have done this photo good. The fact that the "marine city"-aspect is only in the background and needs to be found, while we get to see a nice lake scene at first glance is what I find is the STRENGTH of this photo. Or could be, which a slightly different framing.

Just my thoughts...