Roosevelt Chimney (please critique in lieu of rating)

Should I crop out some sky or do you like the feeling it gives?

I think you need the sky. The tower is reaching upwards and it needs somewhere to go. I do wish there were clouds or something more in the sky. In part of the sky. You need some of the top right corner to be just empty to balance all that is going on in the bottom right.

 

The light is a bit harsh on this though. I don't think I care for the shadows or the part of the tower being lighter. That seems to disorient me in viewing what is actually taking place in this photo.

 

What are the little XXX looking things? Are they stairs up to the tower? I really like stairs. I think I have a stair fetish. A close up of some of the details of this tower and the building would be interesting. Perhaps you have them in your portfolio already. I must check.

 

And now I get downright vicious.. look out. I think it could be a bit sharper. Did you sharpen after scanning? I have seen comments where people say they always use unsharpen mask when scanning.

 

Aside from all that I think you have an interesting area to shoot here. I like the angle of the building. Perhaps more of those windows shot from higher up?

 

The XXXX things are metal braces holding it up. Ya know, I forgot to sharpen it now that you mention it. I was more upset with the lab's scanning of this more than anything. All details in the building were lost because they scanned with too much contrast. It looks perfect on the proof sheet.

But I will have to agree. I don't really like the harsh lighting that much either. I like the composition and the ivy adds a nice tonal balance. I'm thinking of going back and doing it again right after the sun sets. But it's in a not so nice neighborhood so I need someone to watch my equipment and back. Or just pray for overcast or clouds. It's San Francisco for corn's sake. But we've had clear days for a while. It's usually foggy as hell in the summer.

This was shot with 100-200mm. I couldn't get any closer because there's barbed wire fence. So I had to compromise by stepping back and leaning the camera upwards. The building's only about 8 stories tall.

OK, updated the shot with the sharpened version. Sure looks grainy now though...

it appears the digital version has lost much of the interesting detail of the original - and am assuming from what you post that you left the scanning to the lab - if this is the case suggest you try to get your hands on a scanner and gain control over the whole process - i like the look of this subject and dont see anything bad that is prob not attributed to the poor scan.

 

sky is a nice balance as it is -as an alt i would be tempted to try a crop of the bottom half (from the roof right) and cut off half the chimney - i like the idea of "snubbing the norm" that presents.

 

as a side note, all that barbed wire and crime ... you dont make your life easy do you ... am sure in sf there are more accessable subjects to hand ;)

Must not take shots at tourist spots. Must not take shots at tourist spots. Must not take shots at tourist spots. Must not take shots at tourist spots. Or at least present them the same way. :)

Yeah! The sharpening helps.

 

I take pictures at tourist spots all the time. :))

 

I think you will enjoy your darkroom. I understand that is half the fun of this hobby. See Lex Jenkins portfolio on a regular basis. Man, that guy has i n f o r m a t i o n on his photos and his postings to forums.

I like this, I just wish that there was more detail to this. Good shot.

nice!

If I could have been a little voice over your shoulder as you were taking this shot I would have said: Wait!

 

Either wait for the sun to hit all of it, or wait for the sun to be hidden by cloud. Not that this is bad, but that composing the bright chimney and the bright building on opposite corneres (sort of) is risky, not that I know what I'm talking about, but what I see here is some kind of action/reaction between the bright part of the chim and the building. The Ivy, the metal braces, the darker parts of the chim: these are all supporting characters. But, there's not a lot going on between the two bright parts. Therefore, my mind thinks, the composition would be better if all of these elements were unified by light, rather than segregated by it. I might be wrong though. So much of this critique stuff depends on imagining how things would look "if.....".

I agree Doug. I plan on going back when there are not so many distractions. I took this in the middle of a street event. My kids were with me and soap bubbles kept flying towards my camera lens. It came out better than I thought however. I really like the subject matter and the composition. I'll have to go back twice. Once right after the building is shadowed by another near sunset and another when it's about say 4pm. I want some shadow for depth but not so much dramatic lighting.

going back is a good idea, on this one and the door step. I drive back and forth to work on the same road every day and some of the stuff I pass looks incredible in the morning, and dull in the afternoon. Some of it looks so-so in the morning and so-so in the afternoon. Some looks a little this, a little that, you know: you have to see things, or imagine them, as you would wish them to be, and then figure out how or when they will actualy be like that. There are some scenes on my commute that are only good during a couple of weeks in winter (speaking of light), etc.

And when you go back you can then develop your film at home, now you've said you're getting your own developing materials. I take it some of the graininess is why you now hate your former lab. Its good you're doing your own film developing now. Not only will you be able to see the results faster, but you will soon find you can do it way better than the labs. When I developed my first roll of T-Max 100, I realized that I hated the film not because it was bad, but because it was poorly processed by the lab. I think you will find out the same. Just be careful about the temperatures. Do that and make sure your timing is right and you should have some nice stuff.

 

Definitely come back to this place, with or without soap bubbles. This shot is nice, but with the right light, you'll have yourself a real gem.