Critique Local Locality

Elines

Elines

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Chris
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At my photography evening class the teacher often makes the point that you don't need to travel miles to some special place to take good photographs - he refers to this as using your 'Local Locality'.

So that is what I have tried to do - I have used my 'local locality' - an industrial estate on the outskirts of the village where I live - to produce some images.
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Now .... I quite like them but would be interested to hear what people think
 
1. Processing and lighting is very nice, try a crop without the roof space and just the pipework. It takes on a whole new interesting look :)
2 & 3. Do nothing for me because as a subject they aren't interesting, but the textures of 2 are nice but not enough for the image to appeal.
4. Is ok but not great, again the processing is nice, detailed and interesting angles but just something about it is hit or miss for me.
 
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1. Processing and lighting is very nice, try a crop without the roof space and just the pipework. It takes on a whole new interesting look :)
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Yes - I did consider that but preferred it with the roof in to give some context

I keep looking at Number 1 and cant decide if it needs the chimneys to be straightened so they are in line with the right side of the shot.
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Yes - I think you are right - I had checked it but obviously not well enough - the fact that one of them is tilting bit anyway doesn't help:)

I particularly appreciate the comments on processing as this is something I have been trying to improve (and am still getting there.)
 
1. Processing and lighting is very nice, try a crop without the roof space and just the pipework. It takes on a whole new interesting look :)


Yes - I did consider that but preferred it with the roof in to give some context
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On reflection ..... I hadn't actually done a crop so - because I am keen to improve my composition of pictures - I thought I would give it a go, as I didn't want to appear to be dismissive of your comments

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I still prefer the original though:)

PS I also took the opportunity to straighten it up
 
#1 for me the rest are uninteresting sorry :( but your b+w conversions are really very good.hth mike
 
Elines said:
On reflection ..... I hadn't actually done a crop so - because I am keen to improve my composition of pictures - I thought I would give it a go, as I didn't want to appear to be dismissive of your comments

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I still prefer the original though:)

PS I also took the opportunity to straighten it up
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No problems :)

I like this crop because to me it's a very strong / bold uncluttered image, it adds an element of what and where are these by removing there actual context of the roof space. Again just to say do like the lighting and processing with the images, the sky, shadows and highlights all work well together :)
 
Thanks for the further comments - the cropped version is growing on me:ty:
 
The uncropped version of one. With it cropped its just some chimneys without any context. Ones really good, processing and exposures are good but the subject matter isn't all that alluring.

Hence I think you do need to travel to get images. All the joys of the world aren't on your doorstep. It's why we have cars and trains to get us closer to them.
 
ST1 said:
The crop and straighten in number #1 works for me
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My first thought before I'd read any of the replies.

I think it's still a bit wonky in the crop, though. Sorry. You straightened up against the right edge, so it's actually leaning to the right. I would fix the perspective too.
 
ST4 said:
Hence I think you do need to travel to get images. All the joys of the world aren't on your doorstep. It's why we have cars and trains to get us closer to them.
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I dunno. I have spent most of the last ten years taking photos in the area a walk or short bus ride away from where I work in my lunch time and I've not run out of inspiration yet.

Possibly it helps that I work just by Tower Bridge so I have The City at my disposal, but venture a few minutes in the opposite direction into Bermondsey and it's largely a regular working class area of London.

Getting to know your local patch means you become much more sensitive to change and observant of detail. Every day of the year, the sun is in a different place and the weather changes, providing you with a multiplicity of opportunities. If the conditions aren't right for a shot one day, they may be perfect the next.

Flying off to a location means you are a hostage to the one chance you get when you're there.

There is a lot to be said for getting to know a place in depth.
 
Musicman said:
.................. Sorry. You straightened up against the right edge, so it's actually leaning to the right. I would fix the perspective too.
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I
Is this better? I put it through Filter/Correct camera distortion/perspective

I have left it in colour so people can see what it was like before conversion
 
Definitely an improvement, though it's still about half a degree off to the right, even taking into account that the chimneys aren't quite parallel.

I am hyper-sensitive to these things, though :LOL:

I rather like the colour. The blue/white combination is very striking.

Final suggestion - since you allow edits, I hope you won't mind. I used the original b/w version as it's a little bigger, but I think it may work equally well with the colour version.

I've straightened it to my taste and cropped a little off the top to get the chimney tops to line up along the diagonal.

The specific crop was decided by a negative space square bounded by the frame corner and the chimney in the bottom left - that's echoed by an implied square of the same size to the top right of the rightmost one.

Anyhow, that's how I would have tackled it. :)

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since you allow edits, I hope you won't mind
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I don't mind at all. I want to get better and for me one way of doing that is to hear views of others

I rather like the colour. The blue/white combination is very striking.
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Yes I agree - in fact I'm beginning to like the colour more than the B&W

I've straightened it to my taste and cropped a little off the top to get the chimney tops to line up along the diagonal.
The specific crop was decided by a negative space square bounded by the frame corner and the chimney in the bottom left - that's echoed by an implied square of the same size to the top right of the rightmost one.
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Thanks very much for this. I understand the point you make about the negative space squares and agree with it. It is a level of sophistication in editing/composition that I haven't yet reached and so would not have thought of it myself.

But .... don't understand the bit about 'cropped a little off the top to get the chimney tops to line up along the diagonal'. How does cropping a bit off the top of the picture make them line up along the diagonal?

Thanks again for your comments.

I am trying to get my evening class teacher to accept that constructive criticism - like yours - is a great way of learning as opposed to just looking for the good things about a picture and keeping silent about areas that can be improved
 
Musicman said:
I dunno. I have spent most of the last ten years taking photos in the area a walk or short bus ride away from where I work in my lunch time and I've not run out of inspiration yet.

Possibly it helps that I work just by Tower Bridge so I have The City at my disposal, but venture a few minutes in the opposite direction into Bermondsey and it's largely a regular working class area of London.

Getting to know your local patch means you become much more sensitive to change and observant of detail. Every day of the year, the sun is in a different place and the weather changes, providing you with a multiplicity of opportunities. If the conditions aren't right for a shot one day, they may be perfect the next.

Flying off to a location means you are a hostage to the one chance you get when you're there.

There is a lot to be said for getting to know a place in depth.
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Seems like your locality is my travel destination ;)
 
Elines said:
But .... don't understand the bit about 'cropped a little off the top to get the chimney tops to line up along the diagonal'. How does cropping a bit off the top of the picture make them line up along the diagonal?
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My poor choice of words and probably not exactly what I meant. My apologies :)

With the colour version crop, the chimneys were just about all below the diagonal line. It passes over the top of the middle chimney. It left the image a little out of balance with too much sky to the top IMO.

Taking a little off the top means that, while they're not exactly along the line of the diagonal as I said, it shifts downward to pass through the middle of the centre one, and they are balanced just above and below the diagonal line.
 
Thanks Musicman - there's a lot for me to take in but it all looks good stuff
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