Where's Waldo?

I keep on looking at this...and keep wondering how to crop it. Truth

is, shooting up with a 35mm (x1.5crop factor on the D70) is simply not

a good idea, but that what my only lens in India...

 

...your comments and criticisms are most welcome.

Incidentally, that's the original shot...

nice name for this pic too, i like that you took this angle and not centered as like this I can see that part as a balcony

I like this image as is. I am not sure that other crops would work better. I tried some and none, to me are better than this. I like the simmetry and the framing and the fact that the balcony is offcenter. I think is well composed and I agree, in that shooting from that angle is always very difficult, but I think you have achieved very good result.

 

Ciao.

Ciao Salvatore,

at a first glance it is an intriguing photo. That means it looks interesting but it is not immediately clear what it is. The original is much easier to recognize but less interesting. The colours are fine. The architecture is well represented. The balcony looks a little bit twisted, due to the close position and the fact that you have not choosen a symmetrical view. I am not sure whether it disturbs me or I like it. I would have choosen a symetrical position. More conventional and perhaps less original. Karl

It's an interesting shot but the lighting and current contrast doesn't help it much.

 

 

It's somewhere between abstract, architecture and travel shot but the aesthetic doesn't fall in any of them.

 

The image makes you to look at it twice anyway...which is a very good thing.

 

Cheers

 

M.H.

Salvatore, I can't think of a better crop. It is a disconcerting image. Waldo gives it context. Without him, it would be most confusing. Having him as a minor player is good. I had to chase around the image until I found him and it then made sense.

 

I've seen images of this building many times but each time they resemble the last one I saw. Salvatore, you have managed to steer yourself away from the crowd and present a different angle without the complementing blue sky.

 

Interesting, indeed.

Salvator I like the crop you have chosen.My nits are two, it is too bright and therfor a bit flat, I think that darken it a little will help and bring out the nice texture of it. It is a bit biased CW. I would have straighten the left hs. so at least one side will be straight.I like a lot your title! Pnina

Salvatore,I like your crop,perspective and caption. I agree with MH.

A crop is often a good idea, but here I vote for the original. Perhaps I would play a bit with perspective correction to enhance the special effect of the camera point a bit, for a wide angle feeling and more converging lines upwards.

Cheers

Carsten

oh, i have been there, and its so frustrating, isn't it? something magnificent in front of you, and you have to shoot on an up angle like this. very tough. i like the original better, as the sky gives the structure a little room to breathe. in my experience perspective correction will help some, but the angle is too great to overcome i am afraid. thanks though for taking me someplace i would not get to on my own these days.

Just to clarify what I meant (to make the best of it, I would underline the perspective).

Thank you all for your feedback and the interesting discussion. Truth is, I still have mixed feelings about this shot. I've tried to correct some of the perspective, but shooting upwards with that 35mm (with 1.5x crop factor in the sensor) onto a forest of straight lines is just too much... or at least too much for my PS skills.

Raresh, thanks. For sure, I wanted to offset the balcony in the shot, even though -had Waldo be more visible- it could have been fun to have everything symmetric and breaking with him the symmetry of the shot

Marco, thanks. I also tried so many framings, and at the end the choice was either to retain this or to trash the shot...what might still happen, though.

Karl, thanks. As I was mentioning above, maybe the using him to break the symmetry would have been a good idea. The colours came out particularly well thanks to the red hue of the palace, the golden sunset light shining on, and the warming filter I've always on the lens.

M H, your comment intrigues me: which kind of lighting and contrast would you think would have helped, here?

Jeff, I am glad this entartained you a bit. All the title came indeed from the fact he's hard to spot at first sight.

Arthur...do not make me blush!

Pnina, as for the CW bias, I rotated it, and then it looks CCW biased... that lens cannot simply be used for such things but (1) I had only that throughout the trip and (2) even if I had another, the moment was short to seize.

Ben, (and Carsten), I am surprised you see some value in the original...but thinking of it, I guess the sky can help in putting the building under perspective...but we'll never find poor Waldo like this. Ben, I am glad I brought you back there.

Carsten I see your point. I have to take some time to think of it... having spent too much time looking at the original -which of course looks plain wrong in terms of perspective- now your proposal looks very strange to my eye... but it works, for sure. Thanks for taking the time!