Smithsonian - American Indian Museum 03

Although it probably sounds foolhardy to those of you who know what I've been up to lately, I got a new camera!! :-) (I can totally rationalize and justify the purchase, too!) Anyway - I took my new 40D and 28-135mm out for a walk about last week on the National Mall in DC. I wanted to explore some of the settings and performance.

 

At the same time I've been wanting to do a good series of somewhat abstract architecture shots of the new(ish) Museum of the American Indian. It's a gorgeous building, but difficult to shoot on a sunny day (which happens with great frequency in DC). But last week it was overcast, so I shot a LOT of images...

 

Of course I am always happy with critiques on individual images, but for this series, I will be uploading a whole bunch of shots and would love for some comparative critiques as well. Comments on color balance, color vs. black & white, composition, perspective, etc. comparing the images will be most valuable to me.

 

As always, I so appreciate you all ... your input and support is invaluable!

Any comments or ratings are appreciated! :-)

Gorgeous image - very partial to the curves, light and tonal range.

A very nice architectural abstract! You've got good curves where they count.

Great architectureal abstract with beautiful lines. While my personal taste would be for a bit more contrast, it looks really nice as it is.

Nice composition with curves. I think you could even increase the contrast with the dark lines.

good for you! don't have much time right now, but love these architectural images. great lines. have fun with that new camera!

Very beautifull LAA, My kind of thing.... yess love the lines, the b&W and much more

 

with love Els

Lou Ann, interesting and beautiful composition, the angle you have photographed, creats a very original flow of line. Light and B/W are spot on.

Hey, these are pretty cool! I like this composition a lot; lovely curves and geometry. I think this needs some contrast; and I might play with the red and yellow channels a bit to see if you can eke out a bit more tonal range. My saying this is based on seeing the color image you've posted. Well done! Cheers! Chris

Thanks, Chris - you're right, and take a look at the other B&W for Shawn's version with a boost of contrast. I've worked up three more that I'll post tomorrow morning. Stop back again tomorrow and tell me what you think of the newer ones....

Thumbs up. A perfect crop.

I stumbled across this scrolling through the TRP interface and was pleasantly surprised to see this was yours. I love the converging lines here. They make for a dynamic and interesting scene. I agree with Chris' suggestion of some more contrast though.

The composition and cropping/framing are simply exquisitely chosen. Well seen!

You know, the municipal building for York Region (just north of Toronto) was also designed by Douglas Cardinal and shares many of its basic elements with the National Museum of the American Indian (and the Museum of Civilizations in Ottawa). Some of his more recent projects take quite a different turn, though.

Douglas Cardinal's website

Beautiful details with a very clever crop.

Thanks everyone for all of the props on these three shots. I was also "pleasantly surprised" to stumble upon them in the TRP galleries. It's been a LOOONG time since I've seen any of my stuff there. :-)

 

Ian - thanks for the heads up - maybe I'll have to go to an art show at the university next week and then take an architecture run up to see another of Cardinal's buildings.

Impressive shapes and lines.

All your architectural images are nice.

 

Perfect angle, great in B&W. Good eye, Lou Ann!