B&W Cityscape

[brmill26]

This is my first attempt at a high contrast black and white. Cropped into a panoramic to cut out empty roof at the bottom and empty sky at the top. Shot from a rooftop in downtown Birmingham, Alabama.

Any thoughts, good, bad, etc are appreciated. Thanks!

[AgingEyes]

I don't know why but I keep wondering if I would crop 25% of it from the right.

[jbaldocchi]

I like your image but not wild about the star filter. Interesting contrast between the geometerics of the bld. on the left and the cityscape on the right.

Jim B.

[engineer]

I don't mind the stars so much. I like it as it is, the crop works well, I love the facade on the left.

[gahspidy]

I like your compostion and framing here. The facade on the left does work to give this some base. I think i'm having difficulty appreciating the high contrast rendering for this one. It is very dark and the lights are very busy and cluttered. the facade on the left is my sort of safe haven to come back to after getting lost in the rest .

[brmill26]

Thank for the suggestions guys. FYI there's no star filter on the camera or in processing, that's just the the plain ole 50mm stopped down to F10.

Here's a color version of the same shot with no contrast boost and with my friends in it. I couldn't decide if they added to the image or distracted, but I think it might give the eye something interesting to draw it off the very cool building on the left. I also cropped the right side more, per AgingEyes' fine suggestion. Do those differences help the image?





Here's the shot with no crop. Feel free to edit if you like.

[gahspidy]

I like the color best. I like the shadowy ghosting images of your friends on the roof. It adds another element of interest. I also like the telephone pole on the right that you have cropped out in both versions. I think the other vertical of the right side adds to balance the scene. It's also a interesting piece of the setting.
I offered up what i feel works well as a crop and also brought back some of the blue in place of the yellow colocast from the tungsten lights out there.
This is just my opinion as to what works best in this original.

[jgredline]

The original I find very pleasing to my eyes, but Gary....You nailed it!!!!
That is a home run in my book...That Sky with that purple haze just adds a ton of sparkle...

[GB1]

Brad - Might be even stronger with the lower dark area cropped out. This would also nix the area on the left and right sides of course, but overall it may be better cause the black space there just seems like something's AWOL. Otherwise, great shot - very sharp, very 3-D, interesting angle and choice of buildings.

G

[brmill26]

Wow, thanks guys! I really appreciate your thoughts. I'm very much still learning to shoot and still learning to "see" the shot. This helps me a lot.

Gary - Thank you! Did you change the tone using white balance or use something else?

GB1 - are you talking about on the panoramic crop or Gary's crop? And I assume you mean crop it basically right up to the feet of the people?

Keep the comments and edits, if anyone wants to, coming. I've got to leave for the weekend (going to the Atlanta Supercross - more pics!), but I'll check back in on Sunday.

[gahspidy]

I compensated for the yellow tungsten lighting by using the Color Balance contol in PS. You could just a apply a cooling filter, but I don't really like the results of that in this case. I usually use a filter just to add a slight warmth or cooling to an image, but for actually compensating for a color cast it's best to use the Color Balance tool. ( Image>Adjustment>Color Balance)
I take away Red and add Blue (taking away some red prevents it from becoming purple) I do this to the highlights and the midtones. I set it at -16 Red, and +16 Blue The shadow I just add about +2 blue. More or less to suit your preference.
The opposite settings can give you nice warm tones in a too cold image.
If you have this in a RAW file then it would be best to adjust the color temperature there to a lower number until you got close to what you like.
btw, there is nothing wrong with your warmer color balance, I just prefer a more neutral look in this image.

[Greg McCary]

I agree that Gary's edit works well. I am not a big fan of powerlines and poles but feel they work here. I think the building on the left is the strong point of the shot. If I could offer anything it would be to work on the light, top center, and make it an even star like the rest. The sky and clouds in Gary's edit also work well.