Ups 'n' Downs

I was due to visit the town of Whitby on a pre-arranged fishing trip and

after seeing a brilliant photo of this location looking down the steps by

David Speight, I was inspired to have a go myself, but thought I'd try a

different angle.I didn't count on the constant fine drizzle but managed to

balance an umbrella and my tripod to get this one. This image has an

element of HDR though and I have manipulated the light in the lamp.

Your thoughts and comments are always appreciated. Thank You. Click

to View LARGE

Well done.  Learning.  Best Regards,

Excellent work Alf.  I like the perspective you have chosen here, all three paths leading to the right lower corner. It gives a nice set of options for the eye to follow and come back to.  While you indicated that this is an HDR image, it is quite well done, by that i mean it doesn't have the usual telltales of HDR and the exposure appears naturally well balanced.  The added greenish light in the lamp pole is a nice touch.  I would have considered cloning out the green garbage bin next to the pole, but it's not a major thing.  Nice image.  Regards  always - michel

 

The composition together with the HDR work is great! But the spectacle itself isn't exactly the most attractive, I mean the house on the right isn't just the top of the architecture's achievements! But the HDR is extraordinary well done!

Best regards Alf!

PDE

Alf, thanks to you and David, I almost feel as if I have been to Whitby - which is appropriate since I have long been an admirer of James Cook. As for talk of what not to include, I have come to the realization that if I don't learn to like images of scenes as they are rather than as I wish they were, I am going to run out of things to photograph her in Japan. I like the expansive curve of the steps and the streets leading off on each side of the steps. Intriguing bit of town planning! Regards, Adrienne

Alf,

  Wow...beautiful image with wonderful details, colors, composition & lighting.  Excellent work.  Take care, Patsy

Excellent work Alf! Love that cobblestone foreground. Fabulous composition looking right up that lovely old staircase. Obviously the light could have been better for you, but this is traditional British Isle weather after all. Looks like you've picked up a new lens. My only nit would be the greenish tinge to the light. I would think it should be more yellow unless you guys are burning some noxious gases over there these days ;-) Congratulations that's a fine image Alf!

All the best,
Neil

Splendid results... Which road do i pick today? 

Thanks,

Harsha.

Very well seen Alf.  The setting draws me in, and makes me want to be there.  

Waiting for a Harry Potter on a broom...Fine work my friend.

WANGHAN

Many Thanks! "learning" is a good place to be, may we all continue to do so.

Best Regards

Alf

MICHEL

Sincere Thanks for your in depth analogy and positive feedback, much appreciated. The wide angle lens didi help with the composition, but even with a lens this wide, I found myself pressed up against a house behind me trying to get a bit more into the shot. The light is very flat at this time in the morning approx 5.30am and this combined with the natural stone colour of the area somehow suits the HDR processing. The Tone Mapping in Photomatix is the key to eradicating the faults of HDR. The greenish light did in fact start off yellowish.......but as I got sidetracked with another pat of the shot I inadvertantly changed it, not noticing until much later .......and then decided I quite liked it : - ) I totally agree about the green garbage bin, but it was at such a strange angle amongst a complex set of lines I didn't dare attempt cloning it out.

Cheers Michel!and thanks again

Alf

PIERRE

Many Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts, very much appreciated. You are right, none of the houses would get the "Queens Award" for architecture, and the painted house to the right has probably lost some of its original character behind that paint and double glazing. But these are historically, simple fishermans cottages, built on impossible slopes and with thier own kind of charm, the rest of the houses in Henrietta Street (to the left) are all of a similar construction, personally I love them, but its all subjective, and I do appreciate your honest appraisal.

Best Regards

Alf

ADRIENNE

Sincere Thanks for your thoughtful and interesting critique. You raise a good point "what to include or what not to include" it is a dilemma on most scenes to some degree, but on shots of a town, it gets ever more complicated. As for town planning.........I think it just consisted of the thoughts "lets build this one next to the last one"

Kind Regards

Alf

PATSY

Many thanks for your visit and posiitve feedback, much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf

NEIL

Thank you so much for your interest and thoughtful analogy, much appreciated. The light as your rightly observed could be said to be fairly typical, but the flatness somehow makes for better HDR images.  Yeah I have bought 14 - 24 just recently, awesome piece of kit, but not had a chance to give it a full airing yet (mainly due to the damm weather) You are right about that greenish tinge, it did start out yellowish.......but inadvertantly got changed whilst I was concentrating on something else and I couldn't be bothered starting again.....but it could signal the sequel to that new film "The Green Lantern" this one being "The Green Lamp Post" : - )

Thanks again Neil !

Best Regards

Alf

HARSHA

Many Thanks.........you take the high road and I'll take the low road  : - )

Cheers!

Alf

DOMINICK

Thank you, its a good place to be at 5.30am..........gets a whole lot busier later, but a lovely town to visit all the same.

Best Regards

Alf

VLADIMIR

I'm not sure Whitby had any witches as such, but the old Abbey at the top of the steps was said to be an early influence to Bram Stoker who stayed in the town and later wrote the book "Dracula"

Many Thanks Vladimir!

Best Regards

Alf

 

Hi Alf,

There are certainly many good reviews and points made about your posting here.

I , too, enjoy this work very much.

I am very pleased to see that you used the excellent  Nikkor14-24mm ED zoom lens. It is one of the better short range zoom lens in my collection and of the lens that I have ever evaluated in my optical lab.

As a general design rule, a 2:1 zoom range is better optimized than a longer range zoom, like 5:1 or 10:1. There are little compromises made in the lens that you used to produce this wonderful image.

Best Regards,  Mike

I think the technical details of your composition have all been said and I must say this is done excellently. Your editing skills are exceptional, and I am glad to say at least your trip to Whitby yielded at least this beautiful photo to add your *magic touch to. I feel I could walk into the photo and climb those steps to thetop of the hill. (I'll check to see if you have any more shots as well)

In my thoughts and best wishes on this lovely composition Alf. Most sincerely, Gail

You have done it again. As I have come to expect when I see your name with a photo. A very well composed and well done photo. You continue to inspire me to try to improve my photo skills

Pat

It's a great perspective -- your composition is superb.  Nice post-work on the wide angle as well.

Comments before this give the technical critiques and I agree but just like your other work this takes me into the scene. I want to climb the steps to see what's beyond the hill and come down the path beside the steps so I can feel of the cobblestones under my feet. Your work makes me want to travel more. Thank you. Happy shooting, Deanna

Indeed, awesomely composed! Great aesthetic treatment. Well done, Alf! Kind regards.

I like a lot the composition, it really "dances". The HDR is put to very good use here, bringing out the stones and delivering a feeling of painting or print.

Regards, Tibi

Very beautiful!!

This is a very appealing shot with respect to composition, depth and light/color management. HDR rendering is awesome with so natural looking result and extreme details. F/G pavement is an excellent subject for HDR images, wisely selected and executed. Three differently placed ways nicely merged at right lower corner, with so attractice visual effect. I just have some very minor points to improve this already top notch shot: Firstly, HDR images have uneven focal lighting effects, as you see small parts illuminating more than nearby regions, eg. right wall of the building has uneven lighting in distal third with respect to upper two thirds, as well as stairs at lower portion. and secondly lens induced errors, ie. slight volumetric distortion at the lamp case ( which would effectively be corrected by warp transform command ), and color aberation/fringing at left upper elements, effectively fixing by lens correction tab of acr. Anyway, these are just some minor points, without them also this shot is really excellent and superb already. Bravo.

Hamid.

MIKE

Many thanks for your visit and positive feedback, much appreciated. It is a great lens for wide angle work, and as I didn't have any space behind me to move backwards it proved invaluable in capturing the whole scene.

Best Regards

Alf

GAIL

I just got back from my trip, ( Toby had a great time : - ) and he was spoiled rotten as usual)

Many thanks for your interest and observations, much appreciated. Now if I really had a "magic touch" I would have made it stop raining........well I suppose it did.......eventually : - ) If you climb the steps, you will find the ruins of the Abbey and the source of inspiration for Bram Stokers "Dracula"  Its a great place to visit.

Cheers Gail

Alf

PATRICK

Many thanks for your interest and generous comments, I'm very flattered that I inspire you to improve, it is the very nature of the site to provide inspiration for us all, me included.

Cheers Pat

Alf

STEPHEN

Many Thanks Stephen. I have noticed most people seem to take a photo of these steps looking downwards, and it is a great view, I just thought I'd try something different.

Best Regards

Alf

DEANNA

Many thanks for your interest and response. It is most gratifying to read that the image takes you into the scene, for that is exactly what was intended in the composition, and if you did climb those steps all 199 of them, you would find moe visual delights at the top, in the form of the old church and the Abbey Ruins..........I do have a B & W of the Abbey ruins that I will post shortly.

Cheers Deanna

Alf

ANABELA

Many thanks for your interest and vote of confidence, much appreciated!

Best Regards

Alf

TIBI

Sincere thanks for your visit and positive feedback, much appreciated!

I think there are certain subjects that can really benefit from HDR and old stonework is one of them.

Best Regards

Alf

ALBERTO

I hope you are keeping well! Many thanks for your visit and kind words.

Best Regards

Alf

HAMID

Sincere thanks for your interest and in depth analogy, very much appreciated! I have noted your excellent  suggestions for improvement. It does raise another question though When do we stop editing? For my part I try my utmost to take on a "less is more" philosophy in terms of PP simply because It can very easilly be overdone and it all takes time. I suppose the right way is to have a strictly controlled workflow, that would encompass all aspects of editing that is quick and thorough, and I'm sure that must come with practise. Though I still maintain that my best images are the ones that required the least "adjustments"

Thanks again Hamid!

Best Regards

Alf

 

 

alf, i am glad you posted it.

my wife asked if you'll have tea with us at the "abbey steps"?...

still, all too quiet in the transfer market...i asked wenger if i can have the no. 4 shirt. we both know it will become available soon...

Very beautiful work! Best regards, Ilkka

A very nicely composed beautiful shot, Alf!

With best regards,

Ruud.

 

DROR

I kind of liked the cropped version you did when I sent you the preview, but thought I'd post this version on PN as it was and see if anyone else would envisage the same crop.

I would be delighted to have tea with your good lady and yourself at the "Abbey Steps" but does she really know what she is letting herself in for? Because when the photography talk stops,, the football talk starts : - ) There again I'm sure my wife would be very willing to escort her around the shops : - )

I think you are right about Cesc, but what do you do with a player that doesn't want to be there anymore. It's going to be a tough season for your team.......Wenger will have tp display enormous depth of character to rise above it all.........the thing is, if anyone can......I think he can!

Cheers Mate!

Alf

ILKKA

Many thanks fo ryour interest and kind words

Best Regards

Alf

RUUD

Thank you for your observations and positive feedback. much appreciated.

Best Regards

Alf