Level 1

[Fred Berg]

............

 

[KenC]

Hmm ... Interesting, but not quite there for me. Perhaps cropping in a little tighter would help because two things I can tell are bothering me are the oof top part of the railing and that there's too much of the ceiling (?) in the upper left. If you don't agree about the crop, then perhaps consider darkening those two things?

 

[Fred Berg]

Thanks, Ken. I'll no doubt try this again when I have the chance and will bear your thoughts in mind.

 

[Dave442]

I agree with the oof railing, it's throwing me out of the picture and not drawing me in. And maybe burn in some of the light area on the upper right (as if the light from the window was hitting it).

 

[Derrel]

VERY cool location! I love all the lines, and enjoy the planes of depth. This is what in the USA is sometimes called a near miss...and what I mean by that expression is a photo that could have been/ might have been/ someday might still become amazing.This is an interesting physical location, and it would be great if you could shoot this shot at another time. I really think the Level 1 typography helps. I wish I could see the woman more clearly. I really like the line of light coming in from outside--what a wonderful way to bring the outside inside. The square aspect ratio is very nice. I'm not especially fond of the somewhat muddy tonalities this has, but MAN-0-MAN,the composition....I absolutely love the way this was composed!

 

[Fred Berg]

I agree with the oof railing, it's throwing me out of the picture and not drawing me in. And maybe burn in some of the light area on the upper right (as if the light from the window was hitting it).

When I go back (need an opportunity on a similar day and at the right time) I'll try to put the railing in sharper focus and see what comes out. It may well make the rest of the scene less sharp, though, ans so the blurred railing might be something that has to stay as it is.

VERY cool location! I love all the lines, and enjoy the planes of depth. This is what in the USA is sometimes called a near miss...and what I mean by that expression is a photo that could have been/ might have been/ someday might still become amazing.This is an interesting physical location, and it would be great if you could shoot this shot at another time. I really think the Level 1 typography helps. I wish I could see the woman more clearly. I really like the line of light coming in from outside--what a wonderful way to bring the outside inside. The square aspect ratio is very nice. I'm not especially fond of the somewhat muddy tonalities this has, but MAN-0-MAN,the composition....I absolutely love the way this was composed!

Thanks, Derrel. The "woman" is my 10 year old daughter, who readily agreed to pose for me, and my first thought when I saw how this had come out was also that it would be great if she were more visible. I have to tell you, composing shots with this camera is lots of fun (it's an old Polaroid that I picked up on Ebay) but the exposure is something I'm still working on. I used a flash bar for this shot but have now bought a Polaroid flash gun that can be boosted if the shot comes out too dark.

Actually, the words here were added on the computer since I have no calligraphy skills (will have to dig out my old rubber stamp kit), but something I really love about Polaroids is being able to write at the bottom. That sounds so banal but it really can add a certain edge: perhaps it also has to do with authenticity.

 

[Derrel]

I know what you mean about writing on the Polaroid prints. I had a series of Polaroid 100-models in the late 1970's and into the 1980's, and writing ON THE PRINT, the real, original print, is an authentic experience. And so is each regular Polaroid print-no negative, each print a one-of-a-kind-original-thing. My last Polaroid was an SX-70 I bought in 1995 at an estate sale; alas, it was nearly useless. So sad, such a beautifully engineered medium-format-like SLR Polaroid, but something was terribly wrong with it. My veerrrrrry first-ever exposure was made on a 1950's era Polaroid Land camera in 1972, when I was nine years old. It was of my sister after she had dressed and done her hair for her junior prom. I have a lot of fond memories of Polaroid.

 

[Fred Berg]

Yeah, I also have some nice memories from using Polaroid, although I didn't start until well into my 20's. The thing I want to do now, though, has less to do with nostalgia and more with exploring the creative possibilities of using these cameras and films. Does this mean I'm becoming a hipster? Possibly!