Washed Out (C&C)

[Bitter Jeweler]

In my never ending attempt to be humorous, here are two images of the old, out of business West End Laundry (thus "Washed Out" ). I spent quite a bit of time around this old building and shot a bunch of pics. Here are what I feel are the strongest. These were shot in the late afternoon. I really love this sign, and I want to go back closer to sunset and see how it effects the color. And also see if the telephone pole shadow will get out of the way

(Shutter Speed):1/80Sec., (Aperture Value): F5.6, ISO: 400, Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Focal Length: 25.0 mm

I see a strong composition of lines and shape. I think the curve at the bottom helps balance and soften the strong diagonal. I also like the layering. I should have used a smaller aperature to bring everything in focus better. I was also having trouble with my really cheap, too short of a tripod, that couldn't handle the weight of th camera. I want to go back and try again for crisper detail. Would this be better if I did some PP Lens Correction? HERE is another view from the other side, facing the sun, if you would like to see.

Next up is a painterly close up.
(Shutter Speed):1/200Sec., (Aperture Value): F5.6, ISO: 400, Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, Focal Length: 250.0 mm

I fell in love with the colors here. I know it is strongly vertical, but I think the short diagonals help keep your eye in the frame. While I was concerned about the division of this image in half, I do think it works with the sharp contrast of color, and there is enough blue and orange on the opposing sides to pull this off. Do you agree or disagree?


Continuing on working with lines and composition...

The West Side Market

(Shutter Speed):1/4000, (Aperture Value): F3.5, ISO: 800 (WTH?:er, Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Look at all those freakin' rectangles! That's what struck me on this building. I think that the curved lines above, the angle and verticals below hold the viewers interest. hopefully long enough to recognize the repetition of a single shape. I thought the lighting was great too. This side of the building would have been in shadow, but was softly lit from another building behind me.

Would love to hear what you think,
David

 

[LuckySo-n-So]

I like the colors. I can't really offer any criticism, because they seem to be pretty good exposures and good composition.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I did a lens correction of the first image. Much better, I think.

 

[Fox_Racing_Guy]

I like all of these much better than your kites in the park photos. No complaints here :thumbup:

 

[paulpippin29]

Love'em, really nice work.

 

[linpelk]

Oh, you are making this hard on me! Ok, pic #1 I LOVE the colors. This was a nice catch. The sun shining on the side of the bricks looks great. I agree with the light post shadow. I would imagine though that this picture was taken at either sunrise or sunset because of the look of the warm golden sun. If you took it any other time of day, I bet you would lose that color. You have lots of lines, shapes, colors and textures which makes this photo great. I also like the sweeping curve along the bottom, it would have been nice if it was lit underneath so it didn't have such a dark area near the bottom of your pic. I think in the second picture you posted of this, you cropped a bit of the dark area out and I think it looks a little better.

Pic #2. I like the vertical lines and I love the colors, again. The rust adds nice character. Ok, I'm really going to nitpick here..the corner is slightly tilted. You can see a tiny shadow on the right bottom corner that disappears as you look up that edge. A very tiny detail, I know.

Pic #3. I like all of the rectangles too. I just don't care for how the rectangles are cut off on the bottom and top of your picture. I don't know how else you could have taken this picture because of the curving lines. I see that there is some sort of decorative design. Ok, don't laugh...I know nothing about architecture...I'm sure there is some official name for that like a cornice or flying buttress or something It is cut out of the picture somewhat. It probably should have been completely cropped out or placed fully in the frame.

This is really a challenge for me since this is not my kind of photography. It was good for me to have to spend more than a second looking at this type of photo. I think they are nice. When I see a building like this I always think, "wow, that would make a great background. I will stick a person in front of it and take their picture"

I enjoy your photos. Nice work

 

[CyclonePWR]

#2 has to be my favorite bc of the colors and it almost looks like a painting.

 

[Sherman Banks]

1. I like this shot, and I'm a fan of old signs/buildings with a lot of textural elements. The only thing I'm not liking about this photo is the blue color cast you have in the shadows. Here's a quick edit I did to take the blue out of the lower portion of the shot and also took the sky down a bit to give it a bit more saturation. It's a great shot though, my favorite part is the two windows that kind of pop from the rest.

I really like the second here, reminds me of a painting. It does however look like a pretty sever crop as the sharpness has an almost pixelated look to it. It has some great texture to it like the first, and combined with the colors, it makes for a great shot.

The third I think is the weakest of your set in terms of composition. The problem I have with it is that the image is not mysterious enough, meaning that my mind already knows the context of the shot and visualizes what the entirety of the subject is rather than your framing of it. The geometric elements of it are great, but the framing as a stand alone shot doesn't add strength. This shot can work however if you create your own context with it, meaning if this were a framed piece, you could add two like pieces next to it to create a series to explain it differently than the viewer sees it. You can even take the shot in itself and reshape it's context. Here's an example:

Hope you don't mind the photo edits, the latter being more of a conceptual edit. You've got a good set here and your progress is showing with each one of your shots. Nice work!

 

[sburatorul]

i like the third one but i can't put my finger on it. i also like the second one.

for some reason the soft look of the third one works for me. great work

 

[Skedaddle]

I like them. They are very interesting shots. I like the colors in the first two photos and I like the way you took the third.

 

[sjluto]

I definitely like your correction on the first. I was just looking at it and thinking that something wasn't quite right... looks great now though.

The second is my favorite. I love the colors and the mystery of "what is it?" (even though I already know from the first one.

I can't say I really like the third. I like what Sherman did with it. I just feel like there should be something more, something to define it.

Great job on all of them. I love your pictures because I always get new ideas on how to look at something!