Outstanding abstract and well engineered exposure and composition wise, details and tone, all set right to form a remarkable image which well worth being a POW this week, thanks again to the elves and their selective capabilities.
For you dear Gordon, you do have the cap too and to my poor understanding you well worth it by all means.
Your photos on this site talk quality and superb understanding of modern photography, technically and practically, you don't just talk but in great command of your camera and its functions, I am so pleased to see view your work.
There are many who talk a lot while their photography un fortunately remain un improved, they luck learning and jump over the last step of the ladder instead of taking it a step by a step.
Back to this week POW, it is a very good one, many good have passed this and even paid any attention to its photographic value, the photographer here had a gift of Seeing and a gift of passing his Seeing to the other in a superb form.

Saad,

Thanks for the follow up and clarification. If what you are saying in your last post is that the two images in your example, the one taken on auto and the one taken with user decided settings would be significantly different, then I agree with you. I would still quibble with your math because I feel that the person behind the camera accounts for much more than 20% of the resulting image.

Gordon B.

I would still quibble with your math.

Do not,that number is so variable ,its value is ultimately related to the operator of the black box ,and returning again to the POW image ,that number could reach a hundred in some abstracts,light and smoke images,very fast moving subject images,and those difficult subjects for the artificial intelligence of the cameras to cope with.

And here is where my point stand,technology and the cameras advances is not related to an old abstract image posted to PN some 6 years ago.

It is the vision,dream,and the power of mind that make the abstract,just to be reported by any available camera.

Steve said above in the original comments that this is a test shot and he would revisit it.

I find the upper right corner a weird sort of payoff, a bit unexpected. The fact that I am somewhat let down by it, the fact that the light and geometry doesn't lead us to a clean line, an in-tact part of pipe in that corner, makes me take a second look and give it a second thought. It's not the clean, geometrical abstract I may first have assumed. I am drawn in more because of it. There's a question mark that I respond to.

There's another photo in Steve's portfolio, Lockers, that has something similar going on. The organization of the lockers and benches, with the evocative lighting, is somewhat shattered by the strewn clothing in the corner. Life goes on.

In this photo of the pipes -- which I think of as graphic, not abstract -- I don't know whether the breakdown I'm seeing in the upper right corner was intentional or would be something that Steve would consider continuing to do when re-shooting this, but it does make it a more interesting photo to me than had it all wrapped up more neatly. It would be a case where, if I saw more of this type of approach in a portfolio, I'd appreciate it even more.

I love how the lite hits the elbows, and dont think its to grainy. But I would have to say the best work is the plumbers...LOL drewsimson@hotmail.com

Very interesting subject and lighting.
I also admire the plumber!

This is an excellent image. You have asked for ideas to make it better. I'm slightly bothered by the varying amount of light on the elbows. It neither increases nor decreases as my eyes follow the series of elbows. This gets my brain asking why isn't the light equal on all, or find it increasing or decreasing as I scan the series. I think my brain sees the light coming from top right but then the pipes in the middle have less light than those at the bottom. Overall, an excellent photographer's eye.

Congratulations. It's really eye catching. When I first glanced the thumbnail, it looked like it was 3d, going inwards.
Even though the top right has broken the beautiful pattern it still gives it a realistic character. It says "I'm real and accept me as I am".
Reagards to the plumber whom Ralph Marshall mentioned :)

I love the graphic nature of this, and the light was just perfect. With regard to the upper right corner breaking the pattern (in terms of both substance and light), I think it makes the photo more real, and without it the photo would simply be too plain and perhaps boring as a result. Good eye, and a great photo.

I like the lines and forms. but the dullness and softness of 95% of it, and the too bright-by-comparison corner drag it down. The corner is also too busy in terms of the lines and forms. It doesn't just sit there as a way to compliment and complete the image - the lines and forms call attention to themselves. There's nowhere for the eye to rest.

Good eye. Great color, contrast, and exposure.

for comparison, I would have shot with a superwide, 14mm CV?, placed it almost on the subject, and waited for the light source, sun?, to really light up the lit parts for more detail contrast. maybe I would have also opened to max f and had the distant parts out of focus to give dimension. Now it looks like another rather dull digital using poor optics...

Composition and lighting are excellent. In your other images you have a good photographic eye that is worth working on. Psychologically what is missing in this photo is a specific point of interest that the eye is drawn too. Other than that, well done

It's clever and a worthy pick--except that it does not hold my eye for long.

--Lannie

Congratulations Cousin Steve.

Simple but strong composition. Very well seen. The diagonal ray of light crossing the elblows makes this image stands out. Congrats.

I like the strength and symmetry, I do not see a need for a break, but rather prefer the continuity.

I can't imagine any way to improve this picture, therefore revisiting, reshooting would be a futile waste of creativity.

Great shot.

Excellent composition and DOF!Great image and very strong shot.
Regards(Bobby).

Lines Curves Shadows and Light. Very nice photo with a lot of elements!! Great Photo!!!!!!

Nicely done. As an earlier comment noted, this is a great example of intentional photography. See what might be an interesting composition, know the correct light will make the scene, wait for the light, hit the shutter, process to emphasize the subject intended. It's both abstract and literal, artistic and documentary. I'm challenged to look around for these type compositions and visualize how different light will change the image.

Thanks Steve for sharing your vision with us.

If the d.o.f. had been manipulated to put some areas more out of focus, this would have held more interest for me. As it is, the overall slightly out of focus look doesn't really do anything for me, nor does the lack of contrast. The photograph doesn't really live up to its potential, and actually sort of reminds me of an old Windows screensaver...3D Pipes, I think it was called...just not as sharp and colorful. As someone else said, no offense.

When I first saw the thumbnail, I assumed it was going to be another one of those shots. Opening it larger, it sort of was, but a bit more inviting than the standard fare IMO.

What I think I do like about the image is, as many mentioned, the way the light works in the image to take us from one corner to the other. The payoff is this sort of hunched gnomish shape in the upper right (sorry, I just see a little figure there!) I think without this counterpoint, the image would be pretty boring immediately. Although I do like the pipes and the slice of reality in this.

What make it a bit more interesting than what possibly could have been is the fact that the detritous was left in place. Without the cobwebs and rust and such that could have been wiped away manually or digitally, again, it would have been much less interesting.

I think Fred hit it on the head though, suggesting that this might be more interesting if there were a body of work to support it and illuminate it. As it is, it just seems like another one of those shots that randomly exists in a portfolio. It is nice enough, most people seem to have one or two, but it doesn't go any further. I could see people hanging it because of its own intrinsic nature and beauty, but I don't know that it could live long for many.


@ Gordon "Thanks for the follow up and clarification. If what you are saying in your last post is that the two images in your example, the one taken on auto and the one taken with user decided settings would be significantly different, then I agree with you."

Actually, I think that the results in most cases would be very comparable--unless you are comparing such things as sunsets!?! My argument would be that 100% of the quality of an image is due to the person who makes the choice of what to shoot, how to frame it and how to process it (this last step is the bonus round, IMO). I have had students who barely understood f/stops, shutter speed or let alone exposure compensation that consistently made incredible images because they could "see" with the camera--and knew how to use auto or match up the needles. (hopefully they knew more of the technical aspects after leaving the class!) The exposure is probably the easiest part, especially with the brains in today's cameras and the LCD preview/Histogram feedback. I am certainly not saying there isn't any decision making to be had there, but in many, maybe most, cases it isn't necessary.

boringly mundaine and straightforward it is what it is and for me that is pretty uninteresting and poorly exposed. Some people above have commented upon the beautiful light. Well, there is a beam of light for sure but frankly there is nothing that I can see the photographer has done to make the most of it. Far from it in fact it's lacking an achingly amount of contrast. I see neither an abstraction let alone an abstract. But with a subject like this in such lighting conditions it would perhaps be better to emphasize the lineair elements/

Quite frankly I can't understand that when someone has the ability to create something like this
(from a technical point of view alone) he would upload something like the one above

 John, while I would agree that the quality of an image is determined in part  by your brief list of factors I would add that  having a notion of how I intent to process the image often significantly effects my decisions regarding how to expose the image.  Motion or the lack thereof from shutter speed choice and dof determination from the aperture selected,  also have significant impact on the outcome of the photo.  I am not doubting that you  or you students or anyone else may be happy letting the auto function make these choices for you or that doing so has on many occasions produced passable or even  very good images  however, your suggestion that the results would be " very comparable"  I am not too sure about.  I do not use the auto function so I am not in a position to say with certainty that making those decisions for myself rather than allowing the camera to make them for me  makes my photos better, but I like to think that making those decisions consciously is a factor in the overall result.  Maybe I am just kidding myself?   It wouldn't be the first time.

In the case of this weeks potw a decrease in dof would have had a significant, in my opinion positive, impact on the end result. 

Gordon B.

allowing the camera to make them for me makes my photos better.

The camera would never do them better for any photographer,it just reach the perfection to a certain level,then you adds by your preferences,As for post processing ,that has nothing to do with cameras,that depends entirely on how competent the photographer is,the math ,the 100% if you may allow me to say,is to be stopped before PP,I want you kindly to know that I was talking about images before that stage.

And I am totally do not agree with that 100% quality of the image is due to the person behind the camera,cause if that is true,it would simply cancel the role of cameras in producing or adding quality to the images or even more,producing good images.