composition ?

[SmartWombat]

Comments on these appreciated.

Are there better crops?
The full frames are posted 3rd and 4th.
Feel free to demonstrate !

[julsoph]

Hey Paul...for me, the shot with the two people, I think I like the full frame better than the cropped version.
The other, I probably would take off about an inch to an inch and a half off the bottom. Otherwise, I like both shots quite a bit, as is.

Emily

[zrfraser]

I like the full frame of the people, but only because it seems like focus was a little soft. I like the crop of the first one and think its an interesting pic.

[Yoyo Szeto]

Hi PAul,
I also prefer the full frame of the couple. The scaffolding has a great potential for other composition as the geometry is really wonderful.
yoyo

[dmm96452]

I like the crop on the scaffloding and the full frame with the couple. You removed a distraction on the right of the scaffolding shot but in the cropped shot with the couple the scaffolding just becomes distracting.

[dbutler]

I'm with the others. While I do like how you cropped the people, I miss the scaffolding. I think you did a perfect job on the first

[Loupey]

A quick edit. Can't say that they're better, just different.

Then again, I'm always looking for something different, dramatic.

[livin4lax09]

neither of these do much for me, just because a good portion of the photo is out of focus. The crop just doesn't work because the focus is off. The view down the scaffolding would work much better with a deeper DOF.

[SmartWombat]

just because a good portion of the photo is out of focus

I found the same shooting at the racing thie last weekend.
Looks like either my 1DS and 20D are front focussing, or the 100-400 is
Either way ALL my gear is going into Canon for a clean-up and adjustment before the racing season starts in earnest.

Looks to me like when I tried to focus on the person in the far distance at the end of that triangular secion of scaffolding, the focus is actually about 20-30 feet closer.
I see the same thing on the photos of cars I've taken this weekend, and on some test shots.

[SmartWombat]

I like the crop on the scaffloding and the full frame with the couple

Thanks Dan, sometimes my original vision is right then !
The photo of the couple, I think the AF has focussed on the scaffolding and not the couple, and has insufficient DoF in that grey dull day (it's Silverstone, it's always grey and dull!).

[SmartWombat]

I probably would take off about an inch to an inch and a half off the bottom

I wondered about that, but thought it put the triangle of light at the end too far off the third.
Not that it's a rule, more of a good idea
But I can see the problem with the density of the repeating elements changing towards the edges.

I'm glad that you like them, now I've got to do better ;)

I'll try again next time I go to Silverstone.
And also try not to get locked on the wrong side of the track, with my wife and car in the paddock and me on the outside !
That has to be the most exercise I've had for weeks, and 3 bodies and lenses, plus a bag of other bits contributed to the foot ache

[SmartWombat]

I also prefer the full frame of the couple. The scaffolding has a great potential for other composition as the geometry is really wonderful.

Thank you.
It seems I should just trust my eye instead of trying to improve the image then !

I will try to bring out some of that great potential, and see if I can produce a great photograph.
I know I am not there yet

[Ronnoco]

The location is interesting but there are a few composition problems. The guy and the girl are walking out of the shot rather than into it. The vertical cross metal strip also cuts your photo in half, which is a second problem and the lower metal cross piece cuts you models off at the legs. Then there is the problem of centre of interest. If it is the couple, then the couple does not hold the viewer's eye without the distraction of the mental structure. If it is the metal structure then the couple should be in a different location.
Slight over-exposure in the lighting is also a minor problem too.

Ronnoco

[Lava Lamp]

Comments on these appreciated.

Are there better crops?
The full frames are posted 3rd and 4th.
Feel free to demonstrate !

Yup. One more vote for the full frame people. I'm not seeingmuch difference in the othr two pics.

[SmartWombat]

The location is interesting but there are a few composition problems. The guy and the girl are walking out of the shot rather than into it. The vertical cross metal strip also cuts your photo in half, which is a second problem and the lower metal cross piece cuts you models off at the legs. Then there is the problem of centre of interest. If it is the couple, then the couple does not hold the viewer's eye without the distraction of the mental structure. If it is the metal structure then the couple should be in a different location.

Yes, I would have preferred them in the left half, but couldn't get refocussed quickly enough (and I think it's still soft) and they walked too far.
I hadn't spotted the cut off at the knees, I'll look for another area to try again.

They're building the new grandstands and there's lots of opportunity before the seating layer goes on. Once that's done it's really dark under there and the patterns are harder to expose.

Slight over-exposure in the lighting is also a minor problem too.

I think that's my adjustment on the RAW conversion, I haven't paid out for calibrating the monitor yet.

A side issue on that subject, how can you calibrate a laptop monitor?
I find that slight variations in viewing angle, tilting the screen forward and back, make large apparent brightness changes.