Thursday, March 08, 2007
morning in Vienna
The original had converging verticals and was, obviously, in colour. There is misty low cloud over the building in the distance on the right. Should it have been straightened up?
Permalink / posted by and copyright of John Ellis : 8:02 AM
Comments:
When I first looked at this, I wanted to be there. Have a strong sense of what it would be like. The people add a lot and give a sense of scale. I don't have any problem with the verticals unless I think about it too hard.
The cross at the top just made it into the picture which seems to help with the cut off top of the building. The tall, arching foreground lamppost keeps grabbing my attention. -- not sure how I feel about that element.
Did the straigtening lose any of the picture area? I really want the bottom of the lamp-post to be there.
The picture is an intriguing combination of a study of the place, and a study of the people, but I'm not sure it works as either. A purely place picture would be tidier in the composition, and a purely people picture would have them larger in the frame.
Which leaves me with a documentary shot, which it surely is, but one which doesn't really hold my attention.
The shot here is the elongated reading light with reader stood beneath. It would need a change of angle to break up the light from the building behind and wait long enough for person bottom right to vacate the scene though.
As the shot stands as presented there are many items fighting for my attention or encroaching on my enjoyment. Right and left boarders have incomplete structures and both could be cropped without losing much.
After taking the shot of the reader at light I'd have followed the four tourists(?) up that very interesting street that is flanked with some strong architecture. Perhaps a little play with the security camera on the way?
As for straightening/converging lines I've pretty much given up. Not sure if it's my lens or the effects of two many earth tremours but it's sometimes difficult to get anything straight in some of my shots. Your's seems like its fixed up well though perhaps the middle tall building in the back needs a little fine tuning as it seems to appear to be tilting towards back top right.
This probably suffers from Colin's diktat that one needs to get to know a place better - within three hours we'd walked more than a few kilometers! This was taken around an hour or so of my first ever visit to Vienna, having just 'done' 'Judenplatz' and the Rachel Whiteread memorial.
So what did I see? As far as I can remember I was first impressed by the cobbled sweep and the Viennese architecture (the only person was the young man with the book), then I noticed how the steps at bottom right connected with the level below and finally how the low cloud swathed the modern building in the background. 28mm didn't cover everything and straightening lost little (the top of the building was gone anyway) so within the few minutes before I was being asked to move along by my wife I wanted the steps and the panorama, including the mist, by which time the tourists walking along the cobbles appeared so I included them as well (although I regret that).
The weaknesses are apparent, predominantly the falling between the place and people stools. There are compositional faults both from my perspective and Akikana's desire to separate out the street lamp. Why I kept it was because it gave me the feeling that Christina mentioned of a strong sense of place and I particularly liked the view down past the woman climbing the steps on the right to where the bicycle is parked.
Akikana - you are right about continuing to the left and that is where 'Viennese Wall' from January's archives was taken. I am afraid that I have a weakness for the all-encompassing picture so no doubt there will be more.
Colin's diktat
Oh dear. I shall have to modify my language. Not a diktat. Not even as strong as a belief. Perhaps a suggestion, or somewhere part-way between a moot and a suggestion. Perhaps a feeling. A feeling. That's it. Possibly. I am English you know :-)
There I was thinking that it could be used as a mildly ironic word! It would have been better to use 'advocate' perhaps. Feeling is too passive!
Despite the failings already pointed out, I think this succeeds in conveying the sense of what of saw. I think you caught all the interesting bits of this scene, regardless of how they add up.
This would be a great place to visit at night with someone to pose as the reader on the 'lamp'.
Matt - maybe someone would be doing it for real!
Colin - as I was clearing a fallen tree this afternoon (and hence refreshing the blood supply to the brain) I realised that I must have meant 'dictum' but that is probably too strong for you as well!
John,
a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source
according to my computer's dictionary. Sounds like a more polite version of diktat!
But I could live with:
a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle
which is an alternative.
Very educational this 'Stills' lark :-)
I took me a while to figure out why I did not like it. I think it lacks focus on one subject. There are the people, there are the buildings, but I think two subjects for one photo is one too many. You should decide what you want to show. If it is the architecture then concentrate on that.
The guy at the forefront is too low, his feet touching the frame make it awkward. The lamp post is cut at its base, the lady in the lower right corner should not be there because it does not achieve to create a tension with anything but she distracts. The nice building is drowned in the photo and its cross almost cut makes it confined and uneasy, as if it was ashamed to be there and taking too much space.
Sorry to be blunt, but what I feel are mistakes in this shot are mistakes I have made so often I know them well.
When I look up I see converging verticals, my brain tells me that things are not falling over and are still vertical. I correct verticals or 'square' things up in images when my intent is to produce pattern. Did the original converging verticals detract from the image?
Rex - they didn't necessarily detract but the centre wasn't quite vertical and I didn't want to lose the woman coming up the steps on the right so straightening was the best thing to do!
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The cross at the top just made it into the picture which seems to help with the cut off top of the building. The tall, arching foreground lamppost keeps grabbing my attention. -- not sure how I feel about that element.
The picture is an intriguing combination of a study of the place, and a study of the people, but I'm not sure it works as either. A purely place picture would be tidier in the composition, and a purely people picture would have them larger in the frame.
Which leaves me with a documentary shot, which it surely is, but one which doesn't really hold my attention.
As the shot stands as presented there are many items fighting for my attention or encroaching on my enjoyment. Right and left boarders have incomplete structures and both could be cropped without losing much.
After taking the shot of the reader at light I'd have followed the four tourists(?) up that very interesting street that is flanked with some strong architecture. Perhaps a little play with the security camera on the way?
As for straightening/converging lines I've pretty much given up. Not sure if it's my lens or the effects of two many earth tremours but it's sometimes difficult to get anything straight in some of my shots. Your's seems like its fixed up well though perhaps the middle tall building in the back needs a little fine tuning as it seems to appear to be tilting towards back top right.
So what did I see? As far as I can remember I was first impressed by the cobbled sweep and the Viennese architecture (the only person was the young man with the book), then I noticed how the steps at bottom right connected with the level below and finally how the low cloud swathed the modern building in the background. 28mm didn't cover everything and straightening lost little (the top of the building was gone anyway) so within the few minutes before I was being asked to move along by my wife I wanted the steps and the panorama, including the mist, by which time the tourists walking along the cobbles appeared so I included them as well (although I regret that).
The weaknesses are apparent, predominantly the falling between the place and people stools. There are compositional faults both from my perspective and Akikana's desire to separate out the street lamp. Why I kept it was because it gave me the feeling that Christina mentioned of a strong sense of place and I particularly liked the view down past the woman climbing the steps on the right to where the bicycle is parked.
Akikana - you are right about continuing to the left and that is where 'Viennese Wall' from January's archives was taken. I am afraid that I have a weakness for the all-encompassing picture so no doubt there will be more.
Oh dear. I shall have to modify my language. Not a diktat. Not even as strong as a belief. Perhaps a suggestion, or somewhere part-way between a moot and a suggestion. Perhaps a feeling. A feeling. That's it. Possibly. I am English you know :-)
This would be a great place to visit at night with someone to pose as the reader on the 'lamp'.
Colin - as I was clearing a fallen tree this afternoon (and hence refreshing the blood supply to the brain) I realised that I must have meant 'dictum' but that is probably too strong for you as well!
a formal pronouncement from an authoritative source
according to my computer's dictionary. Sounds like a more polite version of diktat!
But I could live with:
a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle
which is an alternative.
Very educational this 'Stills' lark :-)
The guy at the forefront is too low, his feet touching the frame make it awkward. The lamp post is cut at its base, the lady in the lower right corner should not be there because it does not achieve to create a tension with anything but she distracts. The nice building is drowned in the photo and its cross almost cut makes it confined and uneasy, as if it was ashamed to be there and taking too much space.
Sorry to be blunt, but what I feel are mistakes in this shot are mistakes I have made so often I know them well.