submit a photo to the urban75 critics

[wordie]

This is my first post in the photography forum, and first photograph submitted for criticism...so be kind!

At the moment I am just a point and clicker, so any criticism and advice is greatly appreciated. Would this picture be better if you could see all of the trees rather than just the tops of some of them? Are sunsets considered a bit boring?

The photograph was taken at Ashton Park in Preston, with a Kodak Easyshare CX6200 Digital. A bit of cropping in photoshop but other than that the picture is as was.

link

This is really quite a nice shot. Nice colours - and no, I don't think sunsets are considered boring - they just need to be spectacular!

A couple of points. It looks to me as if the horizon (all the trees in this case) is not in sharp focus. They really should be! Second point. I would have tilted the camera up to get more sky and less black foreground. Third point. Ideally I would have tried to find something either in the foreground and middle distance to give more depth to the entire composition. And overhanging branch, leaves at the top or side of the frame, something like that.

Looking at the rest of your pics I reckon the 2nd one with the silhouette of the person had really interesting potential... but it's not quite there.

You've got the person silhouetted off center so that's good, but you were taking a shot of them so got distracted to the potential of making more of the water reflection at bottom right. It's obviously a pool or canal, but there could have been a more interesting shot if you'd moved around to your right a bit (if possible) and maybe gone a little lower to isolate more of the person, again get more sky and reduce the dominance of some of those distant trees/bushes.

Just a couple of thoughts like...

(And I might add, it's a lot easier to see what someone could/should have done in retrospect, than it is to actually make the call at the time!)

 

[boskysquelch]

(And I might add, it's a lot easier to see what someone could/should have done in retrospect, than it is to actually make the call at the time!)

ladder or rope? or can you get out of this yourself?

 

[NoCoolNickname]

Thanks for both the comments so far, they were exactly what I was looking for. Like I said I don't really know too much and am learning so advice is appreciated.

With regards to the comment on the black foreground, I did crop a lot of it out from the original picture, but kept the amount there is in so that the picture is split into three horizonal(ish) thirds.

The second picture is actually a statue of a man that I messed about with a bit in photoshop (new to photoshop too). If you look at where black meets water you can see that it doesn't quite look right either; messed up a bit there. I take on board your comments about better utilising the water but unfortunately the canal is much lower than the land, and the sky wasn't very attractive behind the figure. Getting lower would definately have helped with the view. Thanks to Zenie and Wordie. Any semi-decent photographs I manage to take at the moment are probably down to luck as much as skill, so hopefully I'll be able to change that soon!

 

[wordie]

ladder or rope? or can you get out of this yourself?

Cheeky bugger!

 

[pengaleng]

night photography

 

[MightyAphrodite]

night photography

the house of le chat is rockin tonight!


nice one tp

shoot that baby garf!

 

[sajana]

night photography

the light captured in the picture is quite good. but the burning light in the corner (a street light? ) is quite distracting. if it could have been cut out, the reflection on the tripod could have been delightful

 

[pengaleng]

I quite like it actually, orange and blue init, colour wheel stuff!!! its so bright cus the exposure was long << wasnt using flash so it took aaaaages

it wouldnt have reflected so well on the tripod as the dude was cutting it out... (lights were behind it) the other reflections came from other lights from the way the canal curves round which was behind us

 

[Structaural]

I shot this the other day - I mistakenly had the settings on night shot (slow aperture) but it doesn't look too bad - her face could be sharper. Any advice?

statue

 

[alef]

I shot this the other day - I mistakenly had the settings on night shot (slow aperture) but it doesn't look too bad - her face could be sharper. Any advice?

statue

You've nearly pulled off a fun trick of having the statue sharp and everything else appear moving. 'Statue walking' is a good title for it. Was your flash turned on? The highlights on the statue I find a bit distracting, though perhaps they're just from the sun. Maybe try this same idea a few more times and see if you can get it how you'd like it?

 

[atomik]

Headed up Wearyall hill in Glastonbury to snap off a few pics of the holy thorn at sunset. This one ended up as my favourite. Taken on a 300D.

Holy Thorn

 

[Cadmus]

Sunsets seem to be the thing...
This one is over Clapham but upside down. Seemed better that way, dunno why.

Clapham Sun Inversion

 

[tangerinedream]

This is my favorite thing I've taken recently. It's not that stunning technically but I was pleased with the way it captured the atmosphere.
5.30 am, Fleetwood.

 

[spitfire]

"clapham sun inversion"

that's wicked that is

 

[tangerinedream]

certainly is.

 

[Robster970]

ok, I'm new to this forum too but have been taking pics for some time.

any comments about this? taken in Iceland - I'm rather pleased with it.....

Boat

 

[atomik]

Excellent photo. I love it. Personally, I'd have been inclined to angle it slightly, but I guess you could argue taking it straight on makes for a more dramatic image. Personal taste I guess. Were you using a filter on that shot?

 

[Corax]

That photo's rather charming.

A matter of taste, o'course, but I disagree about the angle personally. If that hydrant wasn't there, yes. With the hydrant though, the composition has a good feel to it that I think would be lost at an angle.

Good stuff.

 

[Robster970]

Thanks for the feedback - quite encouraging. I kind of knew when I saw the situation that this was going to turn out to be a good one. No filters used but it was incredibly, incredibly bright and I had some Fuji Velvia 50 loaded so the colours were going to be rich.

I wish somebody had been walking from right to left at the time so that there would have been some symmetry/balance with the hydrant but c'est la vie.

I had a good read of some of threads and looking forward to some banter. Last boards I was on were devoid of any humour.................

 

[atomik]

Last boards I was on were devoid of any humour.................

*tumbleweed*

 

[Robster970]

*tumbleweed*

I rest my case

 

[atomik]

I rest my case

Curses! Foiled again!

 

[Corax]

I wish somebody had been walking from right to left at the time so that there would have been some symmetry/balance with the hydrant but c'est la vie.

I had a good read of some of threads and looking forward to some banter. Last boards I was on were devoid of any humour.................

Too much symmetry's nasty. I like it as it is. Other than perhaps trying to bring the colour & texture of the reddish areas out a bit, I'd not change it a jot personally.

And if you expect me to be funny you can fuck off.

 

[Robster970]

Too much symmetry's nasty. I like it as it is. Other than perhaps trying to bring the colour & texture of the reddish areas out a bit, I'd not change it a jot personally.

And if you expect me to be funny you can fuck off.

I didn't expect it, nor did you manage to........cheeky fucker

 

[Corax]

Bitch.

 

[Robster970]

That hurt. There was me thinking you're a friendly bunch as well.

Off topic, do any of you guys meet up? My Mrs (she suggested having a look on here) has been posting on here for years and we used to go to the unsound do's some time ago until we had kids?

 

[boskysquelch]

.... until we had kids?

And so the anarchy continues???


*I'm risking horseflies and a deluge to post this plein_air!


Why_oh_why_oh_why???

 

[Robster970]

And so the anarchy continues???

easy tiger......normal service will resume, eventually.

 

[boskysquelch]

......normal service will resume, eventually.

hook line and sinker...go on then crit my spawnage ...I'm perched on the bonnet on a car wathcing some gurlllly dl me abi_files....so do your stuff?....*ouch should be working really...runs to other PC to see if Wireless attached... ...runs back,....darn!...dunt!

 

[Firky]

Overly saturated for me, poor lass looks like she's been tangoed.