color -- then and now Gloaming on the River Dnieper

This is gloaming (twilight) in Spring on the River Dnieper,

presented basically in monochrome. Your ratings and comments are

invited and welcome. (If you rate harshly or very critically,

please submit a helpful and constructive comment/Please shrare your

superior knowledge to help improve my photography.) Thanks!

Enjoy! John

There is an element of repetition or 'mirroring' in this image. Without it, I don't think I'd have posted it; I think it does the subject, middle ground, with the background. What do you think?

 

John (Crosley)

I like it, John, and the colors are subtle, but I would not go so far as to call it a monochrome. --Lannie

I get the repetition and find the subtle colors soothing (as soothing as pollution can be)

 

I think it would be stronger if the boat was further away from the bridge giving some space between it and the bridge.

 

 

Well, I agree actually; it's really subtle post-sunset pastels and muted shades of both reds and blue/purples, but so muted that it gives the appearance of monochromism on first glance (to me).

 

And one look at the construction cranes in this riverside city should be an indicator of what the economy of this Eastern European country is doing.

 

I have a rule for judging countries that say they're prospering and growing -- I simply count the construction cranes. It has proved very fruitful and accurate over time; I recall at one time I thought the national bird of Switzerland was the 'crane' -- the construction 'crane' because there were so many, and cranes are necessary for building even most ordinary Swiss residences because of the height of even single-family buildings and of the enormous weight of the building materials which were being built to last centuries, even eons.

 

This sort of prosperity for this former Communist nation comes in the midst of some great poverty, and strong national unemployment, but if it's any indicator, complaints about housing prices for existing structures in that particular city seem well-founded. It appears the world-wide construction boom has extended even to the poorest of countries (this is NOT Russia, but somewhat nearby.)

 

Regrettably, however, this precursor of possible future prosperity probably won't trickle down much to the local populace where meat on the table for many is still a luxury.

 

John (Crosley)

I agree. Earlier frames which had the boat closer to the camera regrettably had the boat between the smokestacks and the lens, which destroyed any possibility of the composition you suggest, and this was the best of the bunch.

 

(I critiqued it the moment I took it, and knew the problem, but I was on a fast-moving vessel going the other direction and this particular vessel was going the other direction at a good clip.

 

ISO at 1600. Better than any film when rated at that speed or even many ISO/ASA 800 that I've used and equal to ISO/ASA 400 speed films I've tried.

 

The Nikon D70 performs equivalently in such lighting conditions, although the D70 gives some random 'colorization' in the noise among the pixels more than the D2X, which will yield 'noise' but without the colored speckels one finds when one brings out the shadows, for instance, the D2X doesn't manufacture the colored speckels, tending more toward 'true' colors in the digital noise.

 

Thanks for the helpful comment.

 

John (Crosley)

 

 

Sorry i missed so many of your great photos,but i wasnt around too much-hope to be back on a more regular basis.This one i love ,specialy the tones.Best regards,judy

Thanks for the compliment.

 

It's so nice to see you back. You're always welcome here.

 

John

Sorry, John, but a 400 Asa Provia performs much better than this.

 

Coming to the photo itself: I don't know why, but that boat so close to the bridge gives me a feeling of desperation and helplessness. As it was going to crush against it... and yes, it helps because it mirrors the buildings on the top left.

 

Well, not a postcard, but it wasn't meant to be one.

Your comments are well taken. Still at 1600 ISO, this does outperform any ultra high speed film I've come into contact with, even 800 ISO film.

 

And, yes, you're right about the composition -- if I could have moved myself or the boat, I would have and placed it as you suggested.

 

This photo was chosen because of the interesting coloring and the mirroring of the smoke patterns -- two interesting elements, but not enough to make it a postcard, for sure. And you're right, I seldom even attempt to take 'postcards'. I leave that to others.

 

Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

 

John