Hi Everyone,
Here are 4 more photos from India. Again I would value your comments and suggestions.
Cheers
Michael

Dear Michael,

I really like your work. You have a good eye for subject and color. The only minor critique I would have is that your subjects are in the middle of the picture too much. Try using the Rule of Thirds, but most of your compositons seem to work out though. Try making your subject less central to the picture. Just a minor suggestion. Great work!

Dzerzhinski

I'm loving the colors. Excellent shots. It makes me want to go to india.

Yeah India is an amazingly photogenic place; the people and everyday street life just lend themselves to photos. The good thing is that the peoples' complexion is not altered by Velvia's tonal characteristics so you can capture the colour much better, which is good because most of the colour is usually being worn.

However, unfotunately I was there on a study elective so I could only take photos during my somewhat limited spare time. I would love to go back again with a greater variety of gear and much more time. Not to mention for the amazing food (especially in Southern India where I was based) and the amazing culture that exists in this country, especially in the villages away from the big cities.
Michael

The colors in these shots are absolutely beautiful. Just stunning. How do you get colors like that? Well composed. I would love to see the last shot along with a steeper angle. I can almost see the sun setting over the water just behind it. Of course, its probably not, but that's what makes that picture so good. It makes me imagine what is going on around it.

Hi Dr Jimmy
Thanks for your compliments. The colours are just one of the beautiful things about India. Mostly due to the pollution however. Sunrise and sunset produce some very strong yellow/orange/red light and due to the height of the pollution clouds, this all begins about 1.5 hours before the sun approaches the horizon....and after it rises from the horizon during sunrise. This photo was taken about 9am, the sun was rather high so the angle of light was quite nice and the smog was filtering certain colours. As we rowed past the little prayer basket in the boat I hired, we got closer and I took this pic over the side. I agree that an angle shot would be nice here, I did not think of it at the time, however the background was very uninteresing as the smog was blocking out anything interesting on the eastern bank of the Ganges (which was about 200m across the water). I was using Fuji Provia 100 for the all photos except the one of the balcony in the sunset (with the hindu swastika) which was taken with Fuji Velvia 50. I did not alter saturation on these images after scanning them since I feel I am getting on top of curves and with a small contrast enhance (i think about +3 to +8 for these pics) I felt the colours were true to those on the slide.

If anybody has some comments regarding these photos and my previous posts I would be most appreciative. Some people have commented on the 'strength' of various photos I posted being different and it would help me greatly to know what they mean by this.

Many thanks
Michael

If anybody has some comments regarding these photos and my previous posts I would be most appreciative. Some people have commented on the 'strength' of various photos I posted being different and it would help me greatly to know what they mean by this.


Great shots again! Lovely colors, and great subject matter. Though the off centred pics can be helpful, you still are doing quite well with these shots. I think when people say your pictures are strong, atleast for me viewing your pics, your subject matter is very VERY strong and good. Your ability to not only capture landscape and buildings, but to catch the expression and the moment of time in all the peoples lives. I love all your shots, and beautiful shooting!

Keep it up,

Jared

I think the strongest shots here are the man in the doorway and the one below it of the shirt on the wall.
The one with the swastika has too many competing elements IMO. You've got the swastika, the balcony, the rectangular shadow, the tree branches, the arched window and that little curved shadow at the top (running out of breath!). It's obvious that the swastika was what caught your attention (and the light) but there's nothing really tying it all together.

The man in the doorway is very rich and interesting slice of daily life. I'd like to see a bit more of the bag; cropped a bit too close IMO. If you had reframed a bit , without changing focal length, to include the whol bag you would have moved the man up and right a bit placing him in a less static position.
Great shot otherwise.
The shirt on the wall has a wonderful patina to it. The drips on the stairs and the incongruity of these things hanging by this ancient looking door really makes for a wonderful image. I like everything about it. Very glad you included the anchor for the clothesline at the far right. I like this one the most.
Shoot as much as you can while you're there. You don't want any regrets.

The floating lantern is pretty but suffers due to what dzerzhinski mentioned. The exact centering of the subject. Had you placed it off centre it would be much stronger; had you got lower(I realise you were in a boat, just bear with me) and wider to include some background with the lantern as the large foreground interest you'd have something more interesting. Though I must admit I am drawn to the interesting pattern of ripples and wave action; those definitely add something.

Hi Jon,
thankyou very much for your in-depth reply. It was most informative. I agree with what you have said regarding the balcony and floating basket photos. While i liked both of them, i felt there was something amiss at the same time. What is missing (or what might need to be missing) is not always apparent, and I appreciate your input.
cheers
Michael