CRITIQUE #9

[Andy]

I drove by this scene every morning this summer as our main expressway was closed for rebuilding of a bridge. I was intrigued enough by the scene that I finally got down there early one Saturday morning to shoot some images. This is in the old part of downtown Saginaw, which is one of those old, Midwestern cities that everyone has abandoned for the burbs

In keeping with my philosophy for this Critique Thread, this is an image I am not wholly satisfied with. Architectural photography has never been my forte, and for sure, I do not/did not have the kind of equipment that might have made the compositional aspects of this image easier (like Tilt and Shift). I "cleaned up" some areas using content aware fill, and sharpened the image.

I find myself wondering if this is one of those images that I should just trash. Would be interested in comments.

[deaner1971]

Andy,

Thanks for sharing something in a new direction.

It is a really difficult image because this is one of those images that is probably so interesting in person and you feel like there has to be a picture there but, you just cannot make it all fit as well as you would like.

I feel like it needs a crop but I also see that you likely need to get at least one end of the columns to show that they are, in fact, columns. That leaves you with quite a bit of stagnant space either high or low.

Really difficult shot to get just the right composition.

[autzig]

Trust your instincts Andy. I think this is an image you should trash. It is an interesting concept to frame the church with the granite pillars but it doesn't work for me. First, the pillars make up 70% of the image. To be sure, there is nice light on them, but the subject is clearly the church and it only takes up about 15-20% of the frame. There is too much sky and the foreground is just negative space. Additionally, the door is in the shadow. I think I would want the door to be lit, rather than the roof, even if there are some interesting spires.

So there's my 2 cents worth.

Al

[Andy]

LOL, Al! Thats one of the things I love about our friendship. Think your comment just about says it all. Back in "the day" I would have been just to the point of dropping the k-chrome slide into the wastebasket (I can hear my wife saying -- "you are wasting ALL of those?") -- but I thought it might be a good one to put up here for "critique."

Dean, thanks for trying to be soften the blow, but I think that might be exactly what you are saying, too .

I do appreciate the "why" comments, as I think it is instructional. And, since this is a critique forum, I plan to continue to put up some of these "iffy" images over time. To me, it doesn't make sense to put up an image that I think is pretty darn good, just to get the "nice image" comments. In EVERY other forum I participate on that is what happens. The so-called "critique" forums are really "showcase" forums. This is a good format.

Carol: On my computer, your "crop" says "content protected by owner" and shows a little "padlock." Apropos of your smart-ass comment to me earlier on in this thread, I like it, but I think the padlock suffers from "bullseye" syndrome. Seriously, I would like to see your suggested crop -- if you can figure out how to unlock it.

Thanks for the critique. I'll look for more in the future.

[deaner1971]

Yeah, I was pretty much saying the same thing but also offer my commiseration as I have a ton of those shots where, in real life you loved looking at it, you felt compelled to record it and thought you would eventually find a way to make it work and now it sits in your HDD as a lingering frustration.

I have tons of these and just need to bite the bullet and delete them but I'll never stop shooting them as I believe I learn more from the shots that end up not working than from those that need 5 minutes of PP and I am done. Some of them still get opened every few weeks, I try a new tweak, assure myself that they are unfixable and then save them unchanged to tilt at that particular windmill some day in the future. Probably be best to delete them to prevent future wastes of time so maybe I'll bring them on a portable HDD when I come to VT next and Al can zap them for me.

[autzig]

Carol, the images are still locked.

Al

[autzig]

Congratulations Carol, you made a marginal image better. Unfortunately, I don't think it was enough to salvage it from Andy's trashcan.

Al

[Andy]

Here is a quote from critique #8: Sometimes in an image, we have different possible “subjects” competing for attention. That gives the photo a vaguely unsettled feeling for me. In this case, it is hard to tell whether the fence or the trees are supposed to be the subject. The other “elements” of the image should then be complimentary – but not overpowering.

Guess who said it ? The process of writing a critique has, for me, an additional effect of forcing me to think about my own images and my own approach to imagery. The above quote could certainly be applied to the image here. The columns themselves might make a good photographic subject. The Museum (which used to be the Saginaw City Library and now houses the Saginaw County Historical Society) can obviously also be a subject. The two obviously compete for the viewer's attention here in a pretty lame composition attempt. What I need to learn to do, as my friend and mentor, James Moore, would say, is learn this thought process while standing behind the lens!