Critiques

pamastro (7213) 2009-02-08 10:03

You've got some nice play on light here Kaj. The way the light plays off the cantilever above the hall is really cool. In its flatness it gives it some kind of weird portal ins pace look. Like it's there but too flat to exist. Then the columns on either side with their broken up bottoms create the feel like they're resting on impossible bases as you have captured the light. And then again the reflection off the fountain and the canal.

I wonder if it could have been cropped a little more tightly on the bottom. Maybe up to just above the lighter concrete ring at the bottom. And also possibly double the exposure time? It might allow for a bit more strength in the reflection in the canal and a stronger surreal look off the roof.

But as is I like it, also. You have captured a strong horizontal feel with the wide image which works well with the symmetrical and very flat object and landscape that you captured.

pamastro (7213) 2008-03-02 15:16

Sorry it's taken so long for me to comment on this one... I've been so busy with school but I couldn't forget since I made a workshopped version that has been on my desktop for 3 months now.

This is a good angle and crop for capturing a sort of emotional resonance that the sculpture has. Knowing how it's situated it is not in the most flattering position so taking everything else out works nicely here. The desaturation is also fitting of the sculpture and the Icelandic "mood" in general I think. I don't know about the slight sepia to it, however.

The things I think that could be changed would be contrast and curves to enhance to make it less flat looking and bring out some of the differences between reflection of light in areas. And perhaps a shallower depth of field but that is difficult with the smaller sensor of an A710.

But as I said the point of view and the cropping like this are good capturing it in a sort of active and engaging way between the face and the church.

  pamastro (7213) 2007-12-12 23:22

Nice shot of the lines of the museum.

Could you edit the location so it's correctly placed in the database. Milwaukee is in Wisconsin, not Illinois.

pamastro (7213) 2007-11-22 12:31

There is definitely something very Midwest about this scene. There's a simplicity to the scene. Even I might say a wholesomeness that is often associate with the Midwest. I'd agree about the blue or faded look I guess I could call it, too. I think a scene like this would be great really warm, even if it wasn't. Just dial up that WB to give it that warm look or use a warming filter. That might add to that "Midwestness" even.

pamastro (7213) 2007-11-22 12:02

Wow... I'm envious of your view. It's simply stunning. And in this light there is such a beauty to it that is uniquely New York. It's just something about the setting sun's light and the mix of buildings, small to large, glass, brick, concrete and that density of it all. And with all that there is a serenity to the city, a quietness of the between time from day to night. With that I thin I would like to see it slightly sharper. I just tried it in PS and it adds just a bit to create greater definition to the buildings. But that's just a minor point on this beautiful capture.

pamastro (7213) 2007-11-22 11:53

That's quite a place to hang out. It's an impressive geological feature, too, I think, being so square. Your point of view above it helps us get a sense of its situation in the landscape and its scale on the landscape. And it's neat that it seems to be supported on nothing with the water wrapping it in this point of view. This would really be enhanced with a wider version, a panorama, showing a bit more to the left as the rock juts out in that direction. And perhaps some touching up as was done in the workshop to give it greater depth.

pamastro (7213) 2007-11-22 11:34

Nice capture Stephane. The silver, grey and black look so stylized and clean. The composition works nicely with the bend in the pipes leading up to the building. I like this exposure, also, really emphasizing the pipes and that path they are taking to the building rather than trying to get everything in. I think it even has a look of some retro stylized version of a 1950s movie. I think Forbidden Planet is coming to mind and that giant machine. Nicely spotted and photographed.

pamastro (7213) 2007-10-31 9:07

This view is simply breathtaking Andrea. It was worthwhile to wait for this lighting as it gives the landscape such a fluid look. Every gentle undulation is enhanced by the play of light and shadow. I can almost see this land moving like ripples on the sea. And then there's the stand of cypresses (one of my favorite trees) all alone on this sea just as you say like an island. But unlike an island in the sea this island is part of the undulating sea or ground here. It's more like something poking up through the ground which makes the ground even more fluid.

The only thing I might change would be the tops of the other trees in the back. Perhaps this is a time for the clone tool to make the featured stand isolated. Also perhaps a slightly tighter crop, placing the cypresses closer to the upper left corner, possibly giving them more prominence.

Anyway, it is beautiful, Andrea, and well captured. And thanks for the patience to wait for this lighting. This makes my desire to drive the length of the Via Cassia even stronger.

pamastro (7213) 2007-10-31 8:56

I like the point of view you got here Thorsten. Rather than showing showing some kind of official background (palace or parliament or whatever) you show us the tour bus. It's almost as if this is just a trio of people in some parking lot playing around and now marching off to the tour bus for their next stop. Or that it is the official soldiers and the tour bus is part of the changing of the guard. Anyway, it's a fun way to look at it and a good position to capture them. And I have to comment also on the sharpness and color, both of which are very good.

pamastro (7213) 2007-10-31 8:51

It's a nice composition you captured here, Christian. It has a painting like quality to it. There's a nice mixture of tree colors, too, from the green conifer to the red and yellow deciduous trees.

But there's something about the colors and overall contrast of the photo that seems to hurt it. It seems washed out or over exposed slightly. The colors don't have a rich fall look to them and rather look a little more limp. It all seems like it could do much better underexposed so the colors are deeper and more rich. I think that would especially help in the reflections as well as in the other parts.

But as I said it was nicely seen with the look of a classic painting.