Urban Bristol

zarozinia

zarozinia

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Name
Angi
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I had a long stroll around Bristol city centre yesterday looking for suitable scenes for this months competition. Now I have lived in bristol for three years and never liked the city centre until yesterday. Wandering around with new eyes I discovered there is so much more to Bristol than I have previously noticed and now I think its a great city centre, very diverse and full of culture.
I wont post all of my shots yet as I have not decided which to use as my entry yet, but here are some I enjoyed processing using photomatix. These types of shots are totally new to me and I must say that thanks to the guys running this competition I have found there is so much more to photograph than plants and reptiles;), I have enjoyed myself with this months challenge.

Here are some of my "rejects" that I decided aren't good enough for the competition - but I still like them. Sorry for all you HDR haters - I'm playing with the post processing at the moment, I am sure many people do at some point and I love the results I get. Anyway i would love to here your views on these.

Urban river
Urban_river_by_AngiNelson.jpg


Ye olde urbanness ( is there such a word?:D)
Urban_tavern_by_AngiNelson.jpg


Abandonned? This was taken near midday and is situated right in the heart of the city - so where did all the people go????
Its_an_English_thing___by_AngiNelson.jpg


Lunchbreak. This is an area where many city workers come to sit and watch the swans/herons/gulls on the river during their lunchbreak. Its a bit dark, so I may tinker a bit more with it.
Urban_lunchbreak_by_AngiNelson.jpg


Urban conflict!
Urban_conflicts_by_AngiNelson.jpg
 
love the first one :clap:
over-processed a bit, but it doesn't matter
almost got a Lowry look about it?!?
 
They are nice but all look like paintings. Not a criticism at all BTW :)

Gary.
 
Like the duality of the last one urban versus more traditional great concept well presented imo (y)
 
I really like the last one with the contrast between modern day graffiti and the church in the background.

Not so keen on the others I'm afraid due to the processing, not an HDR hater but doesn't look right in these instances.

Also good on you for getting out there though and to finding new things for inspiration, I need a kick up the back side and the moment.
 
I actually quite like the over processing on all of these.
Gives them all a different look, certainly one that I am not used to (y)
 
I also like the processing HOWEVER nobody has commented on the highly blown areas... hmm

Plus the HDR halo type things near masts and windows
 
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Definatley an interesting look.. i agree with the painting look.. and that manacing sky!! lovely..
 
If these were the rejects i cannot wait to see the proper shots
 
A set of really wonderful images.
I don't care about the process just the beautiful end result.
The first one is stunning.
Thank you for sharing.
Paul
 
All great, but last one is the best, such contrast between the church and the graf.
Nice, although heavy use of hdr is a bit ott in my book what you have done is just on my limit of acceptable without pushing it to far..
 
Thanks everyone for all the comments.
So I finally decided on my entry and just posted it, another sort of conflict type image with a guy drinking beer outside a derelict church in the city centre. That leaves me with this one, my second favourite. The corner shop. Although I still have more to sort out when I get round to it.
The_corner_shop_by_AngiNelson.jpg
 
Constructive criticism: Don't have kids ;)

I'm surprised, maybe I shouldn't be, that no-ones noticed the extreme patches of shadow and blown highlights other than Pirate dude up there. What the hell happened to the sky in #1? Its gone greyish brown and turned into itty bitty pixels. As someone who's done the odd HDR image in the past all I can see here is problems produced by Photomatix. They're just really badly done. Over saturated, extreme random shadow areas, patches of blown highlights, and what looks like a totally corrupted image in places. How could you fix them? Honestly I don't know. I usually chalk this up to Photomatix having a bad day, bin the image and try another.
 
petemc said:
Constructive criticism: Don't have kids ;)

I'm surprised, maybe I shouldn't be, that no-ones noticed the extreme patches of shadow and blown highlights other than Pirate dude up there. What the hell happened to the sky in #1? Its gone greyish brown and turned into itty bitty pixels. As someone who's done the odd HDR image in the past all I can see here is problems produced by Photomatix. They're just really badly done. Over saturated, extreme random shadow areas, patches of blown highlights, and what looks like a totally corrupted image in places. How could you fix them? Honestly I don't know. I usually chalk this up to Photomatix having a bad day, bin the image and try another.
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petemc we usually don't see eye to eye but i totaly agree with you on this one :geek:

The last photo you posted , look at the pathway its so bright it burns the eyes of small children! :D . Anyway of redoing that one with out the blindness ?
 
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Pirate Neilsouth said:
petemc we usually don't see eye to eye but i totaly agree with you on this one :geek:
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Usually being a whole 2 times :p They really are patchier than Windows Update. Even without that they're just too extreme. Its like you've put everything to max with no real thought of whats going on besides "OOooooh gritty"
 
Just keep experimenting and expressing yourself.
You have a good eye and a feel for this style of work.
I'm still impressed and look forward to seeing your work develop.
 
Seaboarder said:
You have a good eye and a feel for this style of work.
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This style of work most likely being bugs in Photomatix? There's no option to adjust the patchiness, or to fix the sky. If you bought a new camera and it did this you'd think its faulty.
 
Thats okay Petemc, I do not mind hearing your thoughts on the images. We all like different things. I do however have more subtle versions, but do not care for them much, I personally quite like this effect - in this set of pics anyway. Using HDR treatment seems to be so debateable, people seem to love it or hate it. I do understand where you are coming from re the blown and dark patches, but it is simply a different look thats all. I am not your traditional English girl and have never quite fitted in with the average crowd, because I often like different things to mainstream, so it does not upset me if the majority of people do not like what I do, as long as I like my images then I am happy. Having said that I do wish to improve my photography skills (if I have any:LOL:).
But I will post some of the more subtle ones just for you.:p and thankyou for being honest, I do prefer honesty and respect people that give open and honest views.

This is an old church in Bristol city centre, with a more subtle approach to HDR post processing.
Foreboding_by_AngiNelson.jpg




lrg_76915_1211498074.jpg



River_Avon_by_AngiNelson.jpg


I quite like these versions too, but they may be too contrasty for some people.

Old_tavern_mono_by_AngiNelson.jpg


Sepia_tavern_by_AngiNelson.jpg



Another more subtle HDR ( well - subtle for me anyway:LOL:)

Urban_river_Avon_____mild_HDR_by_AngiNelson.jpg
 
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The last one is better, the balance of painting versus photo is slowly being restored :D
 
Pirate Neilsouth said:
Agreed ! (y)
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I'm glad you like it, but I still prefer the highly processed version, lol. Oh well, you will just need to wear special glasses when you look at my images:LOL::bonk:
I am going to resist subtle use of HDR - you can't force me to be subtle, ( cackles)
 
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zarozinia said:
Thats okay Petemc, I do not mind hearing your thoughts on the images. We all like different things. I do however have more subtle versions, but do not care for them much, I personally quite like this effect - in this set of pics anyway. Using HDR treatment seems to be so debateable, people seem to love it or hate it. I do understand where you are coming from re the blown and dark patches, but it is simply a different look thats all. I am not your traditional English girl and have never quite fitted in with the average crowd, because I often like different things to mainstream, so it does not upset me if the majority of people do not like what I do, as long as I like my images then I am happy. Having said that I do wish to improve my photography skills (if I have any:LOL:).
But I will post some of the more subtle ones just for you.:p and thankyou for being honest, I do prefer honesty and respect people that give open and honest views.
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I figured you might say something like that :) I'm not arguing for or against HDR. I'm writing on a book on it after all :) Theres having a different look and then theres having images that look like your camera broke. I've seen the effect in your images happen many times with Photomatix. I have no idea why it happens. I'm aware of how extreme HDR can make an image look, set everything to max and away you go :) Thats not the issue. Remove the whole HDR thing and imagine you'd taken these photos. They might say that you've done some extreme dodging and burning on the images too. People have been able to achieve your patchy effect since the darkroom ages, but I think theres a clear reason why you don't ever see it. Its just plain wrong :) Besides being different, what does the effect achieve? What does the pixelated sky in the first add to the image? What does the over-exposed pavement in another add? How does having most of the subject in shadow add to the image? The whole point of HDR is to extend the dynamic range of the image, but yours are still mostly under-exposed with random areas of light and dark. Personally I would just bin them, chalk it up to Photomatix having a bad day and go take some new images that will work.
 
You have I have had 65+ people saying they really like one of them, 50+ saying they like another and 40+ another, so if it is all so terrible then how come so many people appreciate that look. Art is subjective, different people like different things. The post processinghas produced some completely different images to the original photographs and so far 85-90% of people who have commented like them. Which is odd and I certainly did not expect that, but it shows that sometimes people like some images that break the rules and dare to be different and not " perfect".
What do I know about HDR - hardly a thing, am I a professional photographer, nope just a hobbist starting out and trying to learn, but with a dual interest in art. But I like what I like as you do. Do I like to see blown areas, over pixelated, gritty or dark patches in photographs? - more than often no. I just like the effects on these images and stand by them.
I have also never taken images like these previously, it would be good to have some comments regarding composition, angles etc to help me learn in that area.
Feel free to use them in your book as "what not to do" if you like ";**
 
I thought I would post the originals ( some have been cropped, but no other photoshop work on any of these). Then people can give views on these, nothing exciting here. Feel free to rip them apart, I think they are pants:D. As you can see this is an area of photography that I certainly could do with some advice on and I am sure this will be more counterproductive than the old HDR disagrements. I think they all need straightening up a little for starters.
bargeos.jpg

benchos.jpg

churchos.jpg

cornershopos.jpg

drinkeros.jpg

pubos.jpg

riveravon10s.jpg

urbanworshipos.jpg
 
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zarozinia said:
You have I have had 65+ people saying they really like one of them, 50+ saying they like another and 40+ another, so if it is all so terrible then how come so many people appreciate that look.
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Not here. To be honest, given all the "Please comment constructively" threads we've had, I'm surprised others haven't jumped in to say the same.

Art is subjective, different people like different things.
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I'm well aware of that. I'm also well aware that people do use it as justification for bad things. I've had more than enough people hate my work, but at least I know where the line is. I know when Photomatix has screwed up.

Please do not for one second think that I'm anti-hdr, that would be incredibly stupid. I'm not arguing for or against hdr here. I hate it when people go "Ahhhh another hdr fight!" I already pointed out that the issues with your photos could have been produced in a darkroom. You can achieve that with dodging & burning in a darkroom or Photoshop so its not HDR. Thats my single biggest issue here. The software has gone potty basically. It shouldn't do that. The end result should be a nice blend of 3 exposures, not a complete mess of light and shadow. Except you seem to be ignoring that and are hiding under the cloak of differenceability. They're not as different as you might think really.

Did you make these from 1 jpg?
 
Oh, I am not hiding under any cloak, lol. I am happy for people to see the originals as boring as they are.
Yep, I did produce them all from 1 jpeg, which may be why the results were so "dirty".

Please do not think I am trying to argue with you here, I love to debate things. i think we both feel that the other person is not " hearing" what the other one is saying??? Anyway I am taking everyones comments on board.

By the way - just seen your website and I love most of your dramatic landscapes, theyre great, something for me to aspire to one day (very far off I think).
nOw maybe you could offer me some suggestions upon how I could do better with the original shots? Cheeky aren't I?
 
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zarozinia said:
Yep, I did produce them all from 1 jpeg, which may be why the results were so "dirty".
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Indeed, that really does explain why they look so corrupted. So you just dumped a jpg into Photomatix? Its hardly HDR because theres no H. (Before anyone says anything I'm aware that 1 RAW isn't either :p). Using 1 8bit jpg means you're trying to pull information out of it that just isn't there and you can see the result. I didn't want to go "Oh these are wrong. Look at mine, they're right" but mine are good examples of what the software can do if you use it correctly. Read my guide, buy my book and go play.

Please do not think I am trying to argue with you here, I love to debate things. i think we both feel that the other person is not " hearing" what the other one is saying???
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Yes I agree :)

By the way - just seen your website and I love most of your dramatic landscapes, theyre great, something for me to aspire to one day (very far off I think).
nOw maybe you could offer me some suggestions upon how I could do better with the original shots? Cheeky aren't I?
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Thanks :) The original shots, if thats all you have, aren't good for HDR unless you shot RAW and then you can maybe pull something back. But to be honest they seem like random shots on a bad day. Your best bet is to wait till its a nice sunny day, 1hr before sunset and to try again. The light isn't very good in these.
 
Yeah, I just made 3 versions of each, increaasing and decreasing the exposure in photoshop by 1 increment. I have used HDR before with 3 seperate images in raw. But all these images were taken in jpeg as I was getting fed up with spending hours sorting through RAW images - it takes forever! Unfortunately I just grabbed the chance of taking my camera on the only day that I could and no the weather was not wonderful, plus I cannot get away early morning or late evening very often, even if I could I cannot drive so I am a bit stuck there. Back to shooting flowers and reptiles for me then eh!
I will try again another day hopefully, lots to learn and practice will hopefully help.
 
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