Channeling Escher

sleist · Oct 13, 2015

Feedback always welcome.

mmaria · Oct 14, 2015

jcdeboever · Oct 14, 2015

Wow! Flipping awesome

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tirediron · Oct 14, 2015

Excellent!

sleist · Oct 14, 2015

Thanks all.

jcdeboever · Oct 14, 2015

What made you choose this moment to capture this? Is it a certain time of day that leads you to it? What does it say to you?

It tells me you have a great love for industrialism, volume of line, color, and it's relationship in our space. To treat a flat space with gregarious volume is very impressive.

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sleist · Oct 14, 2015

jcdeboever said:
What made you choose this moment to capture this? Is it a certain time of day that leads you to it? What does it say to you?

All the shots I've been posting this week were taken during a 3 hour photo walk around Boston. I never really have much of a plan when I shoot. I just walk around and shoot whatever catches my eye. I'm partial to urban abstracts and architecture, but I do shoot a little street too (accidentally mostly). This probably guides my eye as I wander, but I often end up shooting stuff I never intended when I started out. I just let it happen.

I like this about photography. I would never go wandering aimlessly around a city, alone, if I didn't have a camera. I have to laugh sometimes because I see people looking at me wondering WTF I'm taking a picture of.

Hell, I get home sometimes and say WTF was I shooting.

When I get home the fun starts. Once I know my settings are good I don't chimp, so I don't really know what I've got until I see it on my monitor. I check some shots that I was excited to see and often I go "meh". Then sometimes I look at stuff and I find I've caught something really cool, but I wasn't "consciously" aware of it when I took the shot. That's very cool.

I process to bring out what I saw in my mind's eye. Usually this is just basic curves, sharpening, etc. This shot had some extreme (by my standards) perspective correction. This wasn't my intent when I shot this building. The reflections in the windows caught my eye and I left room for some perspective correction in post, but I really wasn't getting something that I liked. So I pushed it a bit and I was like "Ya. OK. This is cool. Reminds me of Escher".

And that's pretty much it.

To be honest, I'm just a lazy f**k with a camera.

jcdeboever · Oct 14, 2015

Thank you for the reply, I really appreciate it. I learned so much from reading your approach. The, "I process to bring out what I saw in my mind's eye" stands out. Traveler kind of hit me on the head with a hammer with my lazy approach towards that.

I am intrigued by your anal perspective corrections. You are not lazy.

So... Reflections caught your eye. Interesting. I assumed it was line.

Thank you very much for taking your valuable time in helping me become a better artist.

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Derrel · Oct 14, 2015

Nice to read a bit about your behind the scenes approach! I like this one much more than many building/reflection images.

jcdeboever · Oct 14, 2015

Derrel said:
Nice to read a bit about your behind the scenes approach! I like this one much more than many building/reflection images.

I love that he has no plan. He is just having 3 hours of love making with his camera.

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sleist · Oct 14, 2015

jcdeboever said:
So... Reflections caught your eye. Interesting. I assumed it was line.

To be honest, it's light. Reflections are just one type of light.
"Oooh something shiny ...". Literally, that's my mindset.

I don't really see myself as being one to give anyone pointers (I'm truly just a hacker at this), but I really believe that if someone wants to get good at photography, they need to learn how to see. You can't take a picture until you see a picture. I would much rather look at an interesting photo taken with a crappy camera, that a dull, technically perfect photo taken with expensive gear. I walk around all the time framing shots in my mind - even when I don't have a camera. Practice seeing.

I also spend time looking at the photos of photographers whose work I enjoy. Not studying to imitate, but getting enough of the image stuck in my mind so that when I see something out on a walk it will click. Not so much to copy the image, but to recognize when some scene shares a similar feeling or atmosphere. Not sure that makes much sense.

Anyhoo. I've talked more on this forum today than I have in 6 years of posting.
I glad you enjoy my stuff, but I'm no expert. I just like taking pictures.

Time to shut up now.

jcdeboever · Oct 14, 2015

So glad you posted and responded.

Light, I see.

Not a pro? I see it differently but I understand your insight.

I need to gravitate towards learning how to see.

Keep talking brother, I am open to learning.

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daisyish · Oct 14, 2015

oooo very trippy the way the light hits that building...

mmaria · Oct 15, 2015

sleist said:
...........Anyhoo. I've talked more on this forum today than I have in 6 years of posting.

something similar crossed my mind when I saw the length of your posts

you should be talking more often here

sleist said:
.........Time to shut up now.

nope

you have something to say and why not say that occasionally... it doesn't hurt a bit

Tim Tucker · Oct 15, 2015

sleist said:
snip...but I really believe that if someone wants to get good at photography, they need to learn how to see.
snip

Eureka!

About the only real piece of advice anybody needs. But it still surprises me how many photographers look without seeing.
The texture of wood is brought out when sunlight hits the surface at a shallow angle but the wood and it's texture don't change only the relative difference between light and dark on it's surface.
We all know that diffuse light produces diffuse edge to a shadow and a point light produces a hard edge, but how many have notice the same relationship occurs with the specular reflections?
Stand with the sun over your shoulder and then turn 180 degrees so you're looking into the sun, can you see the difference in colour, (specular reflections and more of the complete specturm), or the differences in local contrast, the way the clouds appear because the sun is shining through them rather than light reflecting off them.
These things happen in the short moments it takes to walk past an object or wait for the sun to clear the edge of the clouds.
The whole world of vision is relative and fluid, things change constantly with the light and how you move through them.

So I ask why I see so many clouds made to look like side lit cumulus, over-sharpened and boosted contrast for 'drama'. I do wonder sometimes if anybody's looked out of their window lately...

I would have added some subtle 'counter' shading on the corners of the building to strengthen the impression of them both being 'outside', play with the Escher perspective a little more.