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Beam of light.


pavel_l.

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I wish I had a more immediate response, but I'm going to have to chew on this one a bit. Tom's comment about the wire is apropos of my own first impressions, but I want to work it a bit in my head before saying more. Just a little bit of explanation from Pavel might make my comments more useful.
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This is one where the title troubles me a little. I look for a "beam of light" and see none. Maybe "shaft of light". I'm looking for a crepuscular-like beam, and see nothing but openness, with no detail. I'm not sure if the sky is over exposed, or there's nothing there to see.

 

I was once a roofer, so this looks matter-of-fact to me, as I remember climbing ladders hung on the sides of buildings and going up between buildings and seeing sites such as this. I think that my personal experience detracts from my ability to see the art here. All the diagonals are slightly interesting to me and the good details in the dark areas are nice. If I were going to shoot this myself, I think you've done about all that could be done with it and I'd shoot it the same way. Still, I wonder why shoot it at all.

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Seriously, though, the sky is detail-less but does not seem burned out to me and seems to be wanting to define a swath of negative space, which I give kudos for. I don't think it's accomplishing much in this instance, but I note the attempt. The wire seems fine as a foil to the rest of the hard-edged shot. At least it's something! To me, it couldn't be more clear that there's an attempt at abstraction here. Today's a gray day in San Francisco, typical for July due to fog. This photo feels gray but lacks the atmosphere of fog. It's kind of drab.
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"You talkin' to me?"

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Hi @pavel_l,

Thanks for allowing us to see your photo and for requesting feedback in it. I like your 45% perspective!

 

I think that your idea (and eye)n for the photo was excellent

I'm with @Ricochetrider in that if you could find a way of 'removing 'the wires', the photo would look 'cleaner'.

 

The 'levels' in your photo are perfect. But IMHO they're not so 'dramatic'. Certainly not in relation to the title.

 

So my main feedback is to tweak the "white'' and 'black points in the photo to 'dramatize( it (highlights brighter, shadows, darker. In Lightroom shadows/highlights, in Photoshop with Curves so that the walls become darker and the sky becomes brighter (almost blown-out). It would be good if you good if you ccould adjst the mid-tone too but the main points are:

- the 'beam of light' really need to be really bright! Ether blown-out or close to it

- you also need shadows and preferably mid-tones

 

Hope this helps,

 

Miike

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I’d love it if I was escaping a burning building or a jail.

But, then again, I can’t imagine any estate agent approving it.

 

Thank you Ludmilla. It could be one of scenarios.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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Pavel, can you please clarify something? Did you intend this image to be abstract?

 

Yes Michael, it is rather abstract image in attempt to "modify" perception.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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I like the symmetry and dizzying perspective. That wire is something of a distraction, however.

Can you tell us what you see in this, please?

 

Thank you Tom. I agree that wire could be safely removed. I have a hard time to frame the narrow gated pass between buildings to create impression of flow of light through window-like frame. Nothing fancy.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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I wish I had a more immediate response, but I'm going to have to chew on this one a bit. Tom's comment about the wire is apropos of my own first impressions, but I want to work it a bit in my head before saying more. Just a little bit of explanation from Pavel might make my comments more useful.

 

Thank you David. Just wonder if somebody else may get impression of flow of light through window-like frame.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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This is one where the title troubles me a little. I look for a "beam of light" and see none. Maybe "shaft of light". I'm looking for a crepuscular-like beam, and see nothing but openness, with no detail. I'm not sure if the sky is over exposed, or there's nothing there to see.

 

I was once a roofer, so this looks matter-of-fact to me, as I remember climbing ladders hung on the sides of buildings and going up between buildings and seeing sites such as this. I think that my personal experience detracts from my ability to see the art here. All the diagonals are slightly interesting to me and the good details in the dark areas are nice. If I were going to shoot this myself, I think you've done about all that could be done with it and I'd shoot it the same way. Still, I wonder why shoot it at all.

 

I agree that the "shaft of light" is more appropriate. The sky was overexposed intentionally to mimic the bright light. Just wonder if somebody else may get impression of flow of light through window-like frame.

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"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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The next shot is the keeper ... when Superman flies into the frame ... in living color.

 

Yes, this is what we have imagination for. (pardon my grammar)

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"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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Seriously, though, the sky is detail-less but does not seem burned out to me and seems to be wanting to define a swath of negative space, which I give kudos for. I don't think it's accomplishing much in this instance, but I note the attempt. The wire seems fine as a foil to the rest of the hard-edged shot. At least it's something! To me, it couldn't be more clear that there's an attempt at abstraction here. Today's a gray day in San Francisco, typical for July due to fog. This photo feels gray but lacks the atmosphere of fog. It's kind of drab.

 

Thank you Sam.

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"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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Hi @pavel_l,

Thanks for allowing us to see your photo and for requesting feedback in it. I like your 45% perspective!

 

I think that your idea (and eye)n for the photo was excellent

I'm with @Ricochetrider in that if you could find a way of 'removing 'the wires', the photo would look 'cleaner'.

 

The 'levels' in your photo are perfect. But IMHO they're not so 'dramatic'. Certainly not in relation to the title.

 

So my main feedback is to tweak the "white'' and 'black points in the photo to 'dramatize( it (highlights brighter, shadows, darker. In Lightroom shadows/highlights, in Photoshop with Curves so that the walls become darker and the sky becomes brighter (almost blown-out). It would be good if you good if you ccould adjst the mid-tone too but the main points are:

- the 'beam of light' really need to be really bright! Ether blown-out or close to it

- you also need shadows and preferably mid-tones

 

Hope this helps,

 

Miike

 

Thank you Mike.

So something like this?wdw2frm2.thumb.jpg.2d36dca7156bfdd874acc32e2d38290e.jpg :

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"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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Yes. I guess it depends a lot on what's important to you. The original photo is "better" in the sense that it's more realistic and has a wider range of graytones. If you want to express a "beam of light" then - unlike Ludmilla and Sam - I the darker version does this better than the original. You could, alternatively, just use a different title for the original ;).

 

Good work on removing the wires!

 

Mike

Thank you Mike.

So something like this?[ATTACH=full]1304109[/ATTACH] :

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Highlighting and emphasizing the opening at the top of the buildings seems better accomplished in the reworking but, to me, it comes with a sacrifice of the visual experience. It also comes with the sacrifice of that opening as a source of light since we're seeing less of the effects of the light throughout the rest of the image.

 

Perhaps just a bit more finesse in choosing areas to darken and ways of adding contrast without losing a sense of textural and tonal variation. While the tone varies from wall to wall, there's little variation within areas that might give a sense of the spreading or wash of light. The new version looks like it was darkened to make a point rather than hitting the eye in a more accepting or holistic manner. Even stronger darks and lights, as in some of the very high contrast Japanese photographers (MORIYAMA) allow one to readily accept the combination of content and style as somehow belonging in a visual sense. In Pavel’s new iteration, the darkening and the content don’t quite feel in sync. HERE'S a specific shot that has many similarities to Pavel's (minus the bicyclist). Note how, even in the dark lower part of the photo, we're still experiencing such a sense of light. The subtlety of the illumination even in the darkness of the road against the more silhouetted sides of the buildings provides a lot of depth and makes the scene feel palpable and real even with such a high contrast orientation. I don't provide this example to be necessarily mimicked, but to show a case of strong contrast that still maintains the feeling of light throughout.

"You talkin' to me?"

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Highlighting and emphasizing the opening at the top of the buildings seems better accomplished in the reworking but, to me, it comes with a sacrifice of the visual experience. It also comes with the sacrifice of that opening as a source of light since we're seeing less of the effects of the light throughout the rest of the image.

 

Thank you Sam.

I actually, was thinking that window-like frame is the source of light.

 

 

 

Perhaps just a bit more finesse in choosing areas to darken and ways of adding contrast without losing a sense of textural and tonal variation. While the tone varies from wall to wall, there's little variation within areas that might give a sense of the spreading or wash of light. The new version looks like it was darkened to make a point rather than hitting the eye in a more accepting or holistic manner. Even stronger darks and lights, as in some of the very high contrast Japanese photographers (MORIYAMA) allow one to readily accept the combination of content and style as somehow belonging in a visual sense. In Pavel’s new iteration, the darkening and the content don’t quite feel in sync. HERE'S a specific shot that has many similarities to Pavel's (minus the bicyclist). Note how, even in the dark lower part of the photo, we're still experiencing such a sense of light. The subtlety of the illumination even in the darkness of the road against the more silhouetted sides of the buildings provides a lot of depth and makes the scene feel palpable and real even with such a high contrast orientation. I don't provide this example to be necessarily mimicked, but to show a case of strong contrast that still maintains the feeling of light throughout.

 

I did not increase contrast by post-processing, I pushed darks down in Curves. I maybe wrong but I think the contrast "inside" the dark areas (walls) did not change but the pic as a whole gained more contrast.

The one of the reason that in this Moriyama's photo "... even in the dark lower part of the photo, we're still experiencing such a sense of light." but not happens in my one is that the rich texture of the walls ( in compare to Moriyama's) on my pic grabs the viewer's attention and prevents analyzing the impact of the light, in addition to the wall's limited "real estate" to record the complete fading of light on the walls.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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I can see the intent. The corner of the building cut off near the left upper side is like a bad note standing out in a good melody and makes the composition feel not as effective in its intentionality (some sort of symmetry in the angular geometric balanced abstraction and perspective) as it otherwise could be. So adding more to the left side in post-process (retouching in that left cut-off corner of the building and using content-aware fill for sky and wall) or re-cropping, if this is a crop from a larger frame, would improve the intent in the composition of the image.

 

Thank you Phil. Unfortunately, the clipped corner is the product of lens/composition limitation.

"... Our perception of the world is a fantasy that coincides with reality."

Chris Frith.

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